Happy Birthday, Dad!

This is something of a special post, as my Dad has turned 70 today and I thought I would write something of a tribute to his influence on me as a gamer. Throughout my life I have always been surounded by games of all descriptions, whether they were the board games I got as presents when I was younger, or wargames, either playing them with Dad or seeing him playing with friends. This has fostered an interest which has continued to this day and is evidenced by a room in my home full of boardgames and miniatures.

Here is the earliest picture I have of us as 'hobbyists' together. I was allowed to paint one of Dad's figures for the first time, so here we are, hanging out together in the garden in summer. I'm not sure what happened to that particular model, but it was certainly the start of something!

Here's one of my Dad (left) and one of his best friends who he used to wargame with. Bill used to live in Southend and they would meet up a few times a year for a game. They played AWI and had an ongoing campaign in which they would play out some of the engagements solo and others face to face. I remember Dad's maps and little flags showing the position of various troops, but I also remember their splendid tables of figures and terrain. From my memories, I would say this was gentlemanly wargaming of the highest order!

I was far too young to really be able to play at this point, except for maybe occasionally rolling some of Dad's dice for him, but it wasn't too long before I was playing games myself.

The above picture is one of my earliest memories of wargaming and I remember the moments up to the picture especially well as my Tiger had just destroyed one of my Dad's tanks as it was crossing the bridge, leaving his other vehicles stranded on the other side of the river. Victory was mine that day!

Above is another battle from my childhood. I have no recollection of this at all, or even if I was actually playing or just 'posing' at the top of the photo. Not sure where the rest of my head went! Anyway, it just reminds me how interesting and exciting wargaming seemed to me when I was younger. All the figures and terrain looked splendid, plus they were actual games you played, not just something to look at.

Of course, an interest in historical wargames goes hand in hand with an interest in history, and my Dad took me to plenty of museums, fostering an interest in the subject which remains to this day.

And of course there is living history and reenactment. Below is a picture from when we went to see some jousting. As you can see, my Dad got roped in to helping out, and very good at it he was too!

I'm as much, if not more (depending on my mood), of a boardgamer as a wargamer and Dad has always been willing to give most things a go. Below is one of many intense games of Lost Cities we played one weekend about ten years ago.

My wife took the below picture of one of our many games of Battlestar Galactica and, before the birth of our son, it became a bit of a mini tradition for the three of us to play. I don't think I ever got to be a cylon though...

As fate would have it, my wife and I decided to settle in my old hometown, so I now have many more opportunities to play games with Dad. Here he is pondering how to get his heroes out of a tricky spot during a game of Imperial Assault.

So what I really want to do is just say thanks to my Dad. Thanks for introducing me to the hobby of wargaming, thanks for encouraging an interest in history, thanks for demonstrating the gentlemanly principles of fair play and fighting battles with honour and, most importantly, thank you for being an excellent Dad. I have always enjoyed the games we have played and look forward to many more in the future.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Month 1 Project

As stated in a previous post, this year I'm picking a random project each month to work on and, as our house move is just round the corner now, I thought it was time to choose the first one, for the month of March. 

I decided to list 6 potential projects and then let a die decide the outcome. The idea is that these will all be things I want to work on, but I can drop the one selected after it has been worked on and replace it with something new if I like. To start with I picked: 

1 Judge Dredd

2 Rogue Trader

3 Muskets and Tomahawks

4 Flintloque 

5 Land Ironclads

6 Mars Attacks

One die roll later and my fate for March was decided: Mars Attacks!

So the question is, what to paint! As the idea is to paint something new and play a game with the selected project, it seemed to make sense to paint the forces for the first scenario in the rule book. That would be 5 Martians and 8 U.S. Soldiers. As that leaves me not too short of a squad on each side, I decided to up this to 10 Martians and 10 Humans. So now I'm looking at:

As each squad has the same paint scheme, it should hopefully not be too tricky to paint these in a batch. Let's see how we go!

"Sci-Fi Rules"

A bit of a random post this time. Recently I have had a fair bit of time to do what I should probably have done years ago, and have a good root through some of the things I left at my parents' house when I moved out, with a view to deciding what is worth keeping and what I can do with out.

As part of this process, I stumbled across some a small set of sci-fi rules, conveniently entitled: Sci-Fi Rules. Nothing quite like something saying what it does on the tin... What's more, the Alien on the front cover add to the reader's understanding of what he or she is getting, even before the cover is turned!

Possible subtitle: Not a set of historical rules

Strangely enough, there is no author or publisher information available anywhere in the book, but fear not, all will soon be revealed! Ah, okay then, I'll tell you now... To the best of my knowledge, these are a set of rules published by Warrior Miniatures to accompany their 10mm sci-fi range. The only reason I know this is that, about 15 years ago, I recall buying some of their figures and I am pretty sure I got a set of rules to go with them. Now, I could be wrong, but given they list a set of rules with the range of figures, I'm willing to bet that this is them. Even more so when I see they are listed for the princely sum of £1.50.

£1.50??!! Yes, that is correct. One pound and fifty pence. But before we get too excited, a few things to bear in mind. The production quality is, errrm, let's call it 'quaint'. They could have been produced in the 70s. But I quite like them! Check out the staples holding them together! Secondly they are written in a 'typewriter' font, with some hand drawn tables for good measure. Thirdly, they are only 8 pages long (although they feel deceptively large as they are only printed single sided. And in case you are wondering, they are pretty much A5 size. So they basically fit on 4 sides of A4.

Here's a picture of the first page. I won't show any more as if I show you a second page I'd have just reproduced 25% of the whole book....

But on the plus side, whereas I might break down a review into sections based upon each chapter of some rules, here I can review each page! Let's do it!

Page 1: Pictured above, this gives the background and what is needed to play. Basically it is a simple recreation of an Aliens type scenario. Interestingly, it opts to scale the map at 1cm = 1m, but then overlay it with a 1 inch grid. Nothing like mixing imperial and metric measurements! I'm also not entirely sure where I would get a map of that scale to overlay with a inch grid in the first place... So ultimately, just do your own thing is what I'd suggest...

Page 2: This suggests a couple of objectives for the humans, such as locating colonists or defending an outpost. The rules to govern objectives are pretty loose. For example, under the 'Find a colonist' scenario, it merely says 'randomise level/room of objective.' So again, plenty of scope for adding more detail as desired! In fairness, the second half of the page does give an optional rule for rolling to see if the colonist is okay or impregnated by an alien, but the whole page seems unsure whether there is one colonist to be found or more, or exactly how you determine if they have been found.

Page 3: Outlines the order of play. Which is that Marines move and fire, then Aliens dice for their movement. Human organisation is also mentioned here. Marines are divided into fire teams of between 3 and 6 marines, one of  whom is equipped with a flame thrower or heavy weapon. It also says that a command section 'can' be used, but given the bottom of the page describes how orders can be issued to fire teams under an officer's command, I'd say it was pretty important! It doesn't say what happens if all officers are killed though! What is interesting about these rules is the order system. Orders are issued at the start of a turn and then you roll to see what effect they have. Which brings me nicely to...

Page 4: Possibly my favourite page in the book! This page outlines what the 5 order types are and what might happen when they are issued. Basically they are: 'move toward objective', 'move towards the command section', 'disperse', 'fall back' and 'retreat to the exit'. They are given more interesting titles than that though. But what I really like is that, once an order is issued, you roll a d6 to see if it is followed. Most have a 50% chance of being followed, a 1 in 3 chance of being followed but not as effectively and a 1 in 6 chance of not being followed at all. This actually is an interesting approach and I'd be tempted to use something similar for other games, especially when human soldiers are facing a particularly brown-trouser inducing foe.

Page 5: This page introduces the Aliens. You roll to see how many are encountered, which is either 1x, 2x or 3x the number of Marines... This seems to make for quite varying difficulty so I'd probably stick with the 3x option! Aliens are placed randomly on squares at the edge of the map and this makes me think a smaller map might make for a more interesting game as there will be less option for the Marines to pick off the Aliens as random movement disperses the pack. On the other hand, Aliens have entirely free movement, unhindered by doors and walls, so the Marines may well be lucky to get many shots in before the Aliens are on top of them! Alien movement is determined by a d6 roll. The most likely (33%) result being a move directly toward the nearest marine and the others resulting in movement in other directions (never away), so there is the possibility of being outflanked.

Page 6: This page outlines shooting. Interestingly, it suggests you need a 1cm gap between friends to shoot between them. So although movement is on a grid, placement within the square has some importance. Although perhaps it is just a typo or a hang over from a previous version of the rules? Oddly, an assault rifle shoots 2 squares, giving it a whopping 5 meter range at the ground scale. And you remember the kick ass heavy weapons from the movie? Well they can blast aliens at a distance of 7.5 meters! I think it is probably best to either ignore the ground scale, or adjust the maps and ranges to something the player feels is right. A table gives a d6 score to hit depending on range and weapon used. The shooting section also mentions that Marines are placed to face the side of a square when firing. Now this has an impact on close combat, but I'd have thought it might be best decided during movement. But there you go.

Page 7: Talking of close combat, it is covered on Page 7. It takes place after the Alien move and you basically roll a d6 on one table if the human is facing the Alien and a different table if the human is not. The 'Human facing the Alien' table is hugely generous in that it gives a 5 in 6 chance of the Alien being killed. There is a 1 in 6 chance of the human being killed and a 1 in 6 chance of the human being disabled, which unfortunately is an effect mentioned nowhere in the rules. If the human is not facing the Alien there is a 50% chance they are captured, which means the human is removed and the alien placed on the edge of the map. There is only a 1 in 6 chance of the Alien being killed in this situation. In fairness, I assume the odds of the Alien being killed during a frontal attack on a human represents the effects of shooting as they close. Indeed, there is a -3 modifier if the human is armed with improvised weapons (which I assume means a colonist). There is vague reference to a facehugger counting an Alien victory as an attachment and the human counts this as dead. Given that a 'victory' for the Alien in close combat pretty much means the human is out of the game anyway, this rule seems slightly redundant!

Page 8: For a very simple set of rules, Page 8 is dedicated to special rules, including stairs, lifts, the Alien queen, facehuggers and vehicles. As you might expect, none of these are covered in huge detail, but there is enough to go on.

Well, there you have it! A review of every page! I actually find these rules quite fascinating... They have a few good ideas and are suitably simple for a fun game. On the other hand, they are in pretty significant need of clarification and polishing, or perhaps just more rigorous playtesting. I kind of get the impression that they might have been written with a participation game at a convention in mind, one run by a GM who can adjudicate situations as and when they arise. Ultimately I think you will struggle to find a better set of rules for £1.50, but I would love to clean them up and rework parts of them.

As it is, I'm happy I own them and will probably play them in some form as a simple Alien skirmish. I really like the idea of the how Marines are ordered and how Aliens can use air ducts to avoid having to move normally like the humans do (just like the film). I imagine having Aliens moving closer to you while to try to dash to a larger room so you can get a good shot in would create quite a few tense moments.

Time to start a 15mm Aliens project...

Plans for 2016

I've been a bit in limbo over the past few months. We have moved down south, but it probably will be at least another month before we move into our new house. So rather than any actual painting and gaming, I've been trying to come up with a plan for the year.

What I've decided upon is to have a monthly focus. At the beginning of each month I will randomly pick one of my projects. Then I will paint something for it, perhaps a new regiment or character, and then play a game or two. This should  be enough for my flitting attention to deal with, while knowing that in a few weeks I will be doing something fresh and new.

So, plan decided, what projects will be part of it? I'm thinking the following:

Judge Dredd

Rogue Trader

Muskets and Tomahawks

Zombies

Flintloque 

Starship Troopers

Land Ironclads

Wild West

Greek Myth

Notable exceptions are Star Wars, because most of my figures are pre-painted for this, and my 15mm Warhammer Fantasy project, because that is a big enough thing to have its own blog. 

Of course, my list might change as time goes by, I might add toand remove from what is 'in the hat' and I've got more than enough projects for one a month! But we shall see how it all pans out and hopefully it will make for some varied reading on my blog this year. Fingers crossed. 

Patrol Angis Pro-Painted Set

I was hoping to bring you a Comic Life AAR to acompany the recent Patrol Angis report I posted, but unfortunately I am having ongoing technical issues with the software which is preventing me from completing this. So, in the meantime, I thought I would give you a brief review of what you get when you order the painted version of the Patrol Angis Starter.

The starter comes with two complete sides for playing the three scenarios included in the rule book. As well as the figures, you get the rules, the monthly freebie miniature and an additional Patrol Angis Sculpt. The additional PA figure also come painted, but the freebie miniature does not (understandably).

So let's take a look at the sides. The Yordan side, painted in green, consists of a weapon platform, a Post (i.e. squad) of Retained Knights and 3 battle armour suits. Here are some pics:

Yordan Post

Yordan Weapon Platform

Yordan Battlesuits

Here is a close up of one of the suits (just to prove that sometimes I can focus my cheap, old camera!)

The Yordan force assembled.

I really like the green/yellow paint scheme on these guys and the folks at the Ion Age don't scrimp on the basing either.

The other force comes from the Prydian army and is comprised of two posts of Retained Knights and a command squad:

Female Retained Knights

Retained Knights

Close up of one of the knights

Prydian characters

Group shot!

Again, I really like the paint scheme and basing. The figures are all painted with artist acrylics (available from The Ion Age here) and the results have made me consider swapping to them as well as it works out much more cost effective than normal model paints.

This is the first time I have got figures that have been pro-painted in this way, and I am rather impressed. If I were to aim for a similar standard, either I would fail to achieve it, or it would take me so long that I'd give up. So in that regard they are excellent!

Here's a picture of the extra figure you get when you buy the set:

To finish off, here is an 'action shot' of all the figures:

The pictures probably tell you more than words can, so I'll just reiterate that I am very pleased with them!

I should also mention that, as presented, the Female Retained Knights are usually painted in Yordan colours. As I prefer to mix up the male and female characters, I asked if they could be painted as Prydians so I had the two squads to play around with and the request was handled no problem. How accommodating of the chaps at The Ion Age!

If you are interested in buying painted figures, then you should check out the Ion Age site. As it is the same company as 15mm.co.uk and Alternative Armies, you can check out painted options from those sites as well.

Zomtober 2015

What, but it is only September?! Yes, but we are right at the end of it, which means Zomtober is only a few days away. As such, I thought it better to plan for some frantic painting. I've got a fair bit of zombie related lead in my pile so I've drawn up a list of some key things that could do with sorting out.

HazMat Teams

I've wanted to paint some of these for a while, as there is a certain appeal in attempts to catch zombies rather than blow them away! Or is that just me?!

Riot Police

These have plenty of utility in 'early days' scenarios when crowds of civilians are getting out of control. And later, when order needs to be maintained in the'safe' zones.

U.S. Infantry

I have a woeful lack of military types available for my games. Something that would be good to sort out as automatic weapons are always the best solution to a zombie problem. Not. 

Time is really at a premium at the moment, but I'll try and paint what I can and get at least one game report done for Halloween. 

ATZ PEF resolution

(Just to explain the title for those who are not familiar with the rules, it refers to the resolution of Potential Enemy Force counters in All Things Zombie!)

A while ago, I spoke at some length about my idea for a card deck to replace the tables in the ATZ book. My rules for this were covered here and here and a sample game was played here. 

The problem I've had, however, is that I don't get to play ATZ that often and I have ended up wanting something simpler. What's more simple than a deck of cards, you ask? Well, it isn't so much the deck of cards that's the problem, it's that every time I paint some figures I want to use, I have to pull out the laptop, design a new card, hope I'm not out of colour ink, print it on suitable paper and then sleeve it. Which is, I'm afraid, a bit too much work than I want to put into it. 

So what about an alternative? It needs to have roughly the same effect as the deck of cards, but be a bit more than just pre-generating a handful of encounters. 

After a bit of a think, I decided it had to do certain things. It had to allow for a decent chance of zombies being encountered. It had to provide a range of encounters of varying REP (this being the skill level of the forces encountered). It had to be easy to set up and need minimal bookkeeping. 

In the end I opted for a partially completed encounter grid. Certain aspects, such as REP, were pre-defined, as were the odds of a zombie encounter. Other aspects were defined at the start of the game by the player and allowed for variation and flexibility between games. 

I drew up a grid on a sheet of paper. Cell selection would be done by rolling d6 along each dimension. Obviously it is hard to fit a square grid on a rectangular piece of paper, so I decided that a roll of 1 along the horizontal axis would mean zombies had been encountered instead. This number could vary, but I think 1d6 would be a reasonable amount. (Personally I like to use a special die with a skull as a 1 for this axis. A nice little aide memoir!)

Next I populated each cell with the REP of the figures. Cells selected by higher d6 rolls corresponded to higher REPs and these are printed in the box as I don't expect these to change between games. Before playing, I place figures in each box, thereby pre-defining the type and quantity encountered. Going through my figures in this way takes almost no time at all and means it is easy to add in any new ones I've just painted. 

If I want any special rules or skills to apply to the figures, I can just pencil these into the box as a reminder, or just decide to roll skills up as I go. Also, if I need more encounters to be zombies, I can just mark the box as such and if that one is rolled, I can just roll up a number of zombies. Or if I don't have enough human figures to fill out all the boxes (there are 30 after all!), I could just stick a zombie or two in any left over. 

To make things more interesting, I can add a note in a few of the boxes to roll a second result and place that 1d6 inches from the first. With this additional mechanic I could stumble across a group of civilians being attacked by zombies or a pair of gangers engaging a SWAT team in a firefight. This adds an instant layer of narrative to the game. 

So when I resolve a PEF, all it takes is a simple roll of two d6 and I know all I need. Plus I don't have to manage a deck of cards or even limit what the figures are. So what was defined as a REP 5 axe wielding hero by the cards could easily be a REP 3 civilian in another game, who happened to be chopping wood when the apocalypse happened!

Simple! (Click to enlarge)

I could also happily laminate the sheet and use marker pens to note details or changes on it. And it is easy to refresh it or just print a new one for another game. Next up is a good test of the new 'system'.