Friday, March 31, 2017

Moving on

For some reason i can't connect to this blog from my phone, and since that's where 99% of my photos get upl o aded from, I've decided to start another blog.  You can find it at saltflats1929again.blogger

Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Saturday, September 19, 2015

Cold War Commander: The B Team


The United States has deployed it's crack National Guard units to fill
holes in their lines. The 1/69 is being rushed to the front as we speak.
Losses have been extraordinary, but the US war planners anticipated such
losses after studying the Arab Israeli conflicts. They therefore, feel
completely confident in the ability of the equipment being fielded by
the National Guard units. Of course no one on the ground asked the
Private or the Sergeant how they feel about rushing into a modern battle
inside a M113 with only M60 support, and not the sexy M60a3s.

The only hope is the Soviets are also experiencing the pains of war.....

The US will field 2 Infantry companies and 2 tank companies. Battalion
has also assigned AA, artillery and air assets to support the move. 
S2 does not anticipate enemy in the area of operations [AO]. The move to
the front should not encounter any opposition.
View from the US side.
"Unsexy" M60 tanks on the right flank.
On the left and center, US forces push up.
Soviet attack helicopter slows the advance on the right.
A10 finds some choice targets in the open.
Fiendish Soviet copter makes its "pop up" attack from behind the cover of the village.
View from the Soviet side.  Infantry battalion struggles to advance through the center.
Pavlov's house.  The stout soldiers of the motherland hold the crossroads to the end.

By turn 8 neither side had reached its breaking point, but the Soviets had done more damage percentage wise.

A fun game of CWC in 6mm.  Interesting to play with the US "second string" equipment  for a change.  Although the US tanks aren't the indestructible Abrams,  there sure are a lot more of them.

Thursday, September 10, 2015

Some more Summer games

Finally got around to uploading pics of games played back in June.

 WW2 game using Disposable Heroes rules.  28mm
 The US is attacking a German held town.  All the ugly yellow slips of paper are potential hidden German units.  Some were decoys.

 The Germans inflicted a lot of casualties and didn't lose any armor but in the end the US held more obejective points for the win.
 Another 28mm AWI game using home modified "This Very Ground" rules for big battles.
 This time was another "professional" fight with Hessians vs a mixed force of French and USA.
 US and French forces setup behind a blind.
 French cavalry and grenadiers push up the right flank.
 American regulars attack in the center.
 US militia attemptes to flank on the left but they have a long duel with Hessian Jaegers who eventually fall back.
 Towards the end, the French throw their weight into the center and right flank.
 The Hessians are left with a few weak units on the right and their center in full retreat.
One more WW2 game set up.   I forget how this one turned out.

Monday, July 6, 2015

Playcation 2015

This year we played a lot of AWI and WW2.   As usual, click the picture to get a larger version  (we all know how the internet works by now, right?).

First off was a what if "Battle of the Professionals" AWI  between French and British.
 The British, with a numbers advantage, head for a French defensive position.
 The French have a 2:1 gun advantage.
 British cavalry on the right flank.
 The British advance goes smoothly while in round shot range.

 Once they reach grape shot range the casualties begin to mount quickly.
 French cav looking flashy.
 Supported by infantry, the French cav charge the flank to counter the British cav and light infantry.
 A wholesale slaughter leaves a single French unit in command of the flank hill.
One fresh British unit manages to make it to the French guns but they loose the melee and the battle is won by the French.

Sunday, May 10, 2015

GURPs: The Lost Librarian , part 1

This was a short sideshow adventure based on a d20 module I found cheap on ebay.  Taking place in the pirate city of Cove.
Our two PCs arrive fresh off the boat.  Looking for work they head to the nearest tavern, where they are approached by a priest of Arken to find a lost friend.
(Ok, I will admit, this whole adventure is just a showcase for this pirate card game vignette I have had sitting on the shelf for years)
They search the missing librarians house for clues.
Noticing that an old crone across the street has been watching them, Rogerina sneaks in and acosts the poor old woman until she tells them all she knows.
Following the trail to a local gang, they enter the tavern where the gang leader holds court.
Things go to combat quickly and our heroes are making short work of the rabble, when two quick criticals reverse their fortunes and make the combat desperate.
Claude the dwarf decides it is time to use his dwarven technology and draws his revolver.  Lying on the ground, he deftly clears out their foes with one shot each.
Unfortunately he has also dispatched all their leads to the missing librarian.
To be continued. ....someday.

Saturday, April 11, 2015

GURPS: The Queen in waiting

For the erudite, another installment of the brave achievements of Sir Joshua Hiffin.


 The weapons of Azog in hand, our intrepid party now ventured forth to find their target.  We learned from Brother Piroutte that the King Harold's Queen was being held in their summer estate at Castle Keep in the South East.
Sir Hiffin planned to move his forces by river down to Minch where they would outflank the besiegers of Derog and then travel south to Castle Keep.



As they passed the hills north of Castle Keep a force of orcs was spotted atop a nearby knoll controlling the road.
The Frisian king Oswall put his men in battle line and went up the hill to meet them.
Mugabe picked off many of their archers and the crossbows did the rest.
Out of missile troops, the orcs charged down the hill at the Frisians.
The newly equipped Frisians had the better end of the combat and turned the orcs back, running down those that fled.  140 casualties to 5.
The Orc screening force eliminated, the army then set up siege outside the Castle Keep.  While the orcs were distracted by this, Hiffin and his party entered the castle via a shaped portal made by Goldfinger the earth elemental.
Sadly, King Harold's royal guard had all been slain and given a new guard duty as undead minions.
Putting them to death a second time, Sir Hiffin and company moved deeper into the castle...
...where they found a grotesque display of torture in the main hall.
Rushing in to save the tortured priest, Father Wolfgang raised his holy lantern, bathing the undead in it's light (that is holy...).
Two of the skeleton warriors fled, but the others closed in for combat, including the now dead form of Sir Brendan, a grand knight of the Keep.

As several of our heroes engaged Sir unBrendan, the captured priest ran up behind Sir Hiffin and...

...revealed his true colors,  our old nemesis the Arch Cabalist!  The cowardly undead creature attacked Hiffin from behind, but the blow glanced off Hiffin's shield.
"You should have chosen a weaker victim!"  Shouts Sir Hiffin, shaking off the foul beasts spells.  He tips the brazier over in an attempt to burn it, but it leaps out of the way.
Knowing that the Cabalist's Tome is part of its powers, Hiffin snatches it out of his hands.
The Frisian King and Father Wolfgang finally dispatch Sir unBrendan...
...and join the final assault on the Arch Cabalist, while Hiffin spirits its powerful book away.
The bridge to the Keep itself is finally reached.
"Water bad!"   Goldfinger will not cross the moat.  He stays behind.
Entering the Keep, Sir Hiffin hears the cries of distress of ladies above, he heads up to save the Queen, when suddenly he hears Mugabe cry out an alarm behind him.
"Very bad thing, my Lord Hiffin!"
The six armed Gorgon slithers out of a concealed passage.

The group engages the demon.  Two blades pierce King Oswall's breastplate, putting him on the edge of death.  All our attacks are deftly parried by the wicked thing's swords.
Finally Sir Hiffin lands a cut on it's nubile belly and Father Wolfgang uses the Lord's Flash to disorient it.  It backs into a corner but a combination of blows cuts it down.


Upstairs,the Queen is rescued along with her ladies in waiting.  Fortunately the have refreshments ready!
The group heads out,  the confrontation with the army from the Red Pit still ahead of them.