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Author Topic: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming  (Read 4770 times)

Offline flatpack

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #30 on: January 22, 2021, 09:26:08 PM »
Cheers, should be fun.
Flatpack

Offline flatpack

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #31 on: January 24, 2021, 10:30:14 AM »
So here we go, remote game number 2.
Using zoom, with 4 players and me moving the figures on the table.
Great news was that zoom worked.
All 4 players were able to stay online all the way through.
Zoom - got to be the way forward for our games.

The scenario -

The stand at Kra-sching Halt.
Capt. Mainwaring looked yet again at his pocket watch. 9:45am & it was already hot.
He was promised Naval support yesterday! Still no sign of it.
The Germans attacked yesterday & had been repulsed only after a fierce fire-fight.
He was worried about the ammunition. Another attack & he felt sure it would run out,
then what? Where the heck were the Navy?

Lt. Albert Weber (little Al to his men) peered out of the jungle. The British were still
there, at the railway halt. He had hoped against hope that they would have pulled out
during the night, but no such luck. The attack had to go in. Scouts had reported a
Royal Navy force heading towards the Halt. He couldn't wait, he had to attack now.

Eric Von Torson proudly stepped onto the wooden bridge. Yesterday's attack had
been a black mark on his  proud military career. He was determined today to
expunge it. His men had been ordered to shoot to kill. The British must be driven out.

Mr Philips reread the wireless message. 'Cor lummy' he said to no-one in particular.
It should have been decoded & passed to him hours ago. The instruction was brief,
'You must come to Kra-Shing Halt right away. Army in dire need of Naval assistance'
'Better late than never' chirped up Petty Officer Pertwee, trying to cheer things up &
soon after (definitely late) the Navy set off along the jungle trail.


Game notes.
Bob will be drawing a card from a special deck at the end of each move.
The first joker drawn = Royal Navy is getting near.
The 2nd joker drawn = Royal Navy arrives on table.

Mainwaring (David) Throws of a 1 OR 2 = Out of ammo. When  the 1st
joker is drawn this changes to 1,2 OR 3 = Out of ammo. When the 2nd
joker is drawn this changes to 1 OR 2 = Completely out of ammo.

Lt. Weber (Jamie) Has ordered his men to 'Fix bayonets!'
One way or another Germany will take control of the Halt.

Von Torson (Ian) is looking for a medal & he intends to make the Tommies
pay for it. Another repulse will be an absolute disgrace. It would be almost
as bad as victory being achieved by the Imperial Navy.

Mr Philips (Peter)  Upon Bob drawing the first joker it will be announced
that the Royal Navy is approaching the Halt. Upon the 2nd joker being
drawn they will be placed on the table (on the jungle road leading to
the bridge.

Overall view.

Here you can see the German infantry advancing towards the radio mast, over the bridge.

So, the British are holding out, and praying for reinforcements.
They assemble next to the radio mast.


The German naval unit appears from the jungle.


Initial fighting happens between the British and the German sailors, with the sailors occupying the British trenches either side of the railway.


The German sailors then advanced on the British infantry, taking casualties all they way.


The German infantry had done well. They advanced over the river and were attacking the British from the other direction.


The British were desperate for those reinforcements to turn up, fighting on, and defending the position to the last man.
Mainwaring finally bit the dust as the German infantry stormed forward, gunning him down in his sandbag enclosure.


With the final Tommy going hand to hand with the German Naval officer, it was a duel to the death.


Then, as the sun set, and the British were down to their last figure, the British naval detachment arrived over the bridge.




So to sum it all up, it was a marginal British victory, but only down to the timely arrival of the British naval unit.

Mainwaring and his troops held out valiantly.
The German naval unit struggled to survive.
The German infantry did well, advancing on the British position.
The British naval unit, rode in and saved the day.

Overall, a good game, played to the end, with the tech all working.
Hopefully we have happy gamers ?

Next plan is another game in a couple of weeks time.
We will start earlier in the morning, so that another player, James can hopefully play before he goes off to work.






Offline Digits

  • Scatterbrained Genius
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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #32 on: January 24, 2021, 11:10:28 AM »
That was hard fought!  My poor Brits managed to bag a few with well placed rifle shots but my ammo ran out very quickly.  I was surprised the Germans dithered a little.  They knew I was outnumbered and in hindsight maybe should have just rushed me head on.

The first casualty inflicted on the Germans, took out Hans, the brave hero from the last encounter.

My own casualties started mounting, and I lost Mainwaring and another trooper as they tried to hold the sandbags to the North of the tower.  Things started looking bleak with no sight of the Sailors....probably still asleep in their bunks.....

The other three, fared a little better in the compound, despite the rapid German advance to the dug outs.   As their ammo ran out, they each fixed bayonets knowing the end would be bloody.  One held behind the door and skewered the first German (Knees) to come through it.  Another German fell approaching the compound (Bumps-a-daisy!) but I was quickly down to my last fellow as the wounded German officer sprayed pistol shots though the open door. 

The last rays of sunlight were sending long shadowy fingers across the battlefield and my last “hero”, thinking any chance of rescue had past, decided to charge out of the compound and at least take the Hun officer with him.   The officer,  already fallen to his knees from his wounds, knelt transfixed as the angry looking Brit, bayonet gleaming charged purposefully toward him.   Rolling a natural 10 before modifiers, the fight was extremely one sided as the German was stabbed........but a 1 on the wound table probably meant I’d stabbed him in his pocketed bratwurst!!   

Finally, I could hear the sound of boots clattering over the bridge as the sailors charged over, some with cutlasses  in hand.  The German officer made one last effort to stand but the effort proved too much and he bled out.  My guy, exhausted from the days efforts stood and watched on as the sailors started to pin the remaining Germans.....



Great game Bob, thoroughly enjoyed it.   Technology worked a treat and can’t wait for the next one!
« Last Edit: January 24, 2021, 02:04:17 PM by Digits »

Offline PrivateBuzz

  • Assistant
  • Posts: 36
  • Too Fat Lardies fan.
Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #33 on: January 24, 2021, 12:04:47 PM »
It was an epic stand by the Brits at the start. They were deadly to any that approached.

The timely arrival at the end did indeed win the day mopping up the Germans as they stormed in nice and fresh.

It was a really good game and a successful method of gaming. Thank you all.

Jamie.
All the best!

Jamie.

Offline has.been

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 8235
Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #34 on: January 24, 2021, 03:21:29 PM »
A very enjoyable game, well at least from my (Royal Naval) perspective.
All players seemed to think they had it very hard, which is most likely true.
It was, as Wellington said, 'A close run thing'.
The British Infantry were, quite literally, down to the last man & last bullet.
The Imperial German Navy were wiped out & the German infantry had lost two
of their five men.
It was generous of the German players to agree on a (very narrow) British win.

Thanks must go to Bob (Flatpack) for yet again putting on a feast for the eyes,
(he even sent an image of a bacon buttie, but when I licked the screen it didn't
taste as nice as the real ones) as well as doing all the running around for us.

Zoom worked much better for us than Discord had, but the credit for that belongs to
Jamie, Bob & one of Bob's sons.  I do not do technology.

Looking forward to the next game.

Offline fred

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 4360
    • Miniature Gaming
Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #35 on: January 24, 2021, 04:18:38 PM »
Good to hear you chaps have sorted the technical details out - sounds like a great game.

Looks really good - I’m impressed with the look of the table - very nice.

For the next game, perhaps try without the numbered counters for the figures - hopefully the players will have the hang of the remote gaming, and won’t need these to help them know where their troops are.

Offline Grumpy Gnome

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    • The Grumpy Gnome
Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #36 on: January 24, 2021, 04:31:10 PM »
Great looking table! Looks like the games have been fun.
Home of the Grumpy Gnome

https://thegrumpygnome.home.blog/

Offline bollix

  • Bookworm
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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #37 on: January 24, 2021, 05:10:50 PM »
Wonderful scenery and table setup.

Offline Westbury

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    • Westbury Wargamers
Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #38 on: January 24, 2021, 06:34:57 PM »
I was glad Zoom worked after having winged and swore about Discord  lol

Yes as the German infantry I should have closed quicker but I'm more of a flank attack guy and anyway it paid off until the bloody British navy turned up at the end  :(
What I have found interesting is that when Bob posts the pictures I go "oh so that's where we were!" The table does look very different at a distance (not a complaint) and so you do end up fighting differently to when in the physical presence of the table and others.

The pace of the game is a little slower I think, probably due to one person doing all the physical work on the table and another overseeing the rules plus the attendant delay in "can I see the other guy?" or "is that a......?" Can't be helped and it was a fun Saturday morning and sure as shit beats doing no gaming at all  :) I wonder how well a bigger game would go given the restrictions of the technology?

Thanks again Bob for the organisation and indefatigable enthusiasm and thank you Pete for being rules master.

Offline fred

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #39 on: January 24, 2021, 07:20:22 PM »
The pace of the game is a little slower I think, probably due to one person doing all the physical work on the table and another overseeing the rules plus the attendant delay in "can I see the other guy?" or "is that a......?" Can't be helped and it was a fun Saturday morning and sure as shit beats doing no gaming at all  :) I wonder how well a bigger game would go given the restrictions of the technology?

We’ve tended to move to smaller games over video links over the last 9 mths or so. We started just trying to play 4 player games on a 6x4’ table. But found this wasn’t great. And have moved far more to 2 or 3 player games on 4’x4’. The smaller table works better on camera, and fewer players means less waiting between turns. With a face to face game there is plenty of chance for side conversations, but these are much harder on a video link.

Offline flatpack

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #40 on: January 24, 2021, 08:05:38 PM »
For the next game, perhaps try without the numbered counters for the figures - hopefully the players will have the hang of the remote gaming, and won’t need these to help them know where their troops are.

As Ian says, it’s a struggle to view the game from just one or two cameras, so I think the markers do help.
It means the remote lads can have a chance of identifying their figures, and from my side, down on the ground and moving the figures around the table, I can confirm which figure the players want to move, by calling their number/colour, and once the figure has done its movement/firing, I turn the marker over to signify it has completed its move. I then turn the markers back over to show the number, at the end of the move, so it’s something that helps for remote gaming.
I would agree it doesn’t make nice photos for the aar, but I’m in this to get my mates a game that puts a smile on their face, as there aren’t many other games in town at the moment.

Offline fred

  • Galactic Brain
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    • Miniature Gaming
Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #41 on: January 24, 2021, 09:51:46 PM »
Absolutely getting a game in is the key bit. On our remote games we have certainly simplified the terrain a fair bit to make it easier for the remote viewers.

I was just sharing our experience of FFoL and the players have generally managed to track their figures OK. But I can definitely see the benefit of the numbered counters, and flipping them down when activated is really helpful in knowing who is left to go.

Offline flatpack

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #42 on: January 25, 2021, 07:20:23 AM »
Cheers Fred.
Anything that helps the remote gaming is a benefit to all.

Offline JBaumal

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #43 on: January 28, 2021, 11:24:37 AM »
What a beautiful table! I’m enjoying your AAR’s and pictures. As like most face to face gaming is lacking here. I’ve played in one very large NWF game over video link that took us 3-4 sessions to complete but was awesome. I’ve also played a couple of TSATF remote games where the GM sent pictures and situation reports, we would reply with Move orders, the GM would move the troops, and we would react for Fire & Melee. It gave a heightened excitement level due to not knowing everything on the battlefield, it was big fun.

Keep Calm And Keep Rolling Dice.

Offline flatpack

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Re: FFOL - East Africa WW1 - Remote gaming
« Reply #44 on: January 29, 2021, 08:37:59 AM »
Looks like our games are going to grow, as we are planning a 28mm ACW game using Patriots and Rebels in a couple of weeks time, using the same zoom method. We will have to see how it goes.
Just waiting for more Perry figures to turn up, then straight on with the building and painting.

 

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