Castles in the Sky - A Pseudo-War- Americans vs French

[Easy E]

This was a pick-up game I arranged with a local player in my area.  We decided ahead of time to play a simple Patrol mission.  We then proceeded to Gestalt Studios in Powell Wyoming to play! 

French airships had been on maneuvers off the coast of South America with the permission of the local government.  However, the United States saw the region as their sphere of interests, and invoked the Monroe Doctrine as a pre-text for interrupting the French maneuvers.  Things quickly escalated as the two commanders refused to backdown, and a clash became inevitable.   

Forces:

I brought the French.

L'Aire National
Bouvet- Charles Martel class Battleship- Command 3
Cassini- D'Iberville class Cruiser- Command 4
Epee- Chasseur class Destroyer - Air Torpedoes- Command 1

My friend Marc from The Painted Dwarf brought the US, and he was still painting them up for the game.   

US Navy
USS Murphy's Law- Michigan class Battleship - Command 4
USS Thomas - Bainbridge class Destroyer- Command 2

Mission:
This was played on a 36 x 36 MU board as a standard Patrol mission.  We played 6 turns and victory was determined by armor value.  This was a straight forward Raid mission with the US as the attacker. 

We opted for no complications.

Set-up:
We divided the table into 4 quadrants and generated some terrain. 

Grid 1 = Mountains Altitude 3
Grid 2 = Mountains Altitude 3
Grid 3 = Two cloud banks at 7 and 3
Grid 4 = No Terrain

The United States choose sides and began to deploy up to 6MU in from the board edge with Grid 2 and 3 in them.  The French had the opposite side of the board.  The Bainbridge was close to the Michigan class to act as cover, and they were roughly in the center of the board at altitude 4, going 4. 

The French were in the corner, with the Charles Martel at Altitude 4, going 4.  It was escorted by the Chasseur at altitude 5.  The D'Iberville anchored the line at altitude 6.     

I am going to try to cover this turn by turn, but as it was a teaching game I am sure I missed a few things while also monitoring the game and the rules a bit. 



You can read the full details and report on the Blood and Spectacles blog:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2022/06/battle-report-castles-in-sky-pseudo-war.html

[fred]

Good stuff - always key to let the new player win their first game, especially against the author!

What do the various d10 represent (behind the ships)?

[Easy E]

We chose to use D10s to represent altitude (blue) and speed (not blue). 

You do not need to use this method to track them, but you need SOME way to track speed and altitude. I have also just written it down on a side board as well.

[fred]

Thanks - perhaps there is a market for some fancy flight stands with a couple of dials in them?

[Easy E]

Indeed. 

I liked the old Aeronautica imperialis bases with altitude and speed dials from 0-9 on each. 

[carlos marighela]

As any Spinal Tap fan will tell you, dials should always go up to 11.

[Easy E]

 


More Americans vs French action.....



I went down to Gestalt Studios in Powell, WY to face off against my friends Americans one more time with my French fleet.

French airships had been on maneuvers off the coast of South America with the permission of the local government.  However, the United States saw the region as their sphere of interests, and invoked the Monroe Doctrine as a pre-text for interrupting the French maneuvers.  Things quickly escalated.

Forces:

I brought the French.

L'Aire National
Bouvet- Charles Martel class Battleship- Command 3
Gloire- Gloire class Armored Cruiser- Command 3
Cassini- D'Iberville class Cruiser- Command 4
Voltaire- Descartes class Cruiser - Command
Epee- Chasseur class Destroyer - Air Torpedoes- Command 1

My friend Marc from The Painted Dwarf brought the US, and he was still painting them up for the game.   

US Navy
USS Murphy's Law- Michigan class Battleship - Command 4
USS Poe's Law - Connecticut class Heavy Cruiser- Command 1
USS Thomas - Bainbridge class Destroyer- Command 2
USS Smith - Bainbridge class Destroyer- Command 2

Mission:
This was played on a 36 x 36 MU board as a standard Patrol mission.  We played 6 turns and victory was determined by armor value.  This was a straight forward Patrol mission with the US as the attacker. 

We opted for no complications.

Set-up:
We divided the table into 4 quadrants and generated some terrain. 

Grid 1 = Cloud at 3
Grid 2 = Mountain to 3
Grid 3 = Mountain 3 and cloud 5
Grid 4 = Cloud 8

The Americans spread across the board at mid-range and height spread out across the board.  The Americans are relatively evenly spaced. 

The French are on the left side of their deployment zone set-up to move at an angle across the board.  The battleship is leading the way.  with the following cruisers at various heights. 



You can read all the gory details on the blog:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2022/06/battle-report-castles-in-sky-pseudo-war_0366208745.html