Back of beyond adventures

[flatpack]

Good discussions on the rules.
Ultimately they are really good fun, simple enough to understand, and we get a giggle and toy soldiers on the table.
Long live FFOL......I’m welling up.

[has.been]

Long live FFOL......

Sounds like your AK47 Army Bob.

[flatpack]

Game 2 - Back of Beyond revisited. Chinese takeaway.

We fought out another battle yesterday.
Once again using FFOL Bigger Battle rules.

The Chinese has captured the mission in game 1, so for game 2, they had reinforced the area, and set up barricades, trying to hold all 3 objectives, the higher ground around the important bridge, and the mission. They look a little stretched, with the masses of Russians entering the battlefield.



The Chinese held the centre ground with an infantry unit, and their only artillery piece.


They also held the high ground next to the bridge.


The Russians attacked on mass, on all sides, just a little slowly.

On the far left, the Cossacks steamed forward, infantry and cavalry combined to take the higher ground.




The Chinese await the Cossack cavalry attack.


Cossack cavalry charge the Chinese barricades.


Luckily the Chinese forces repulsed the Cossack cavalry.

In the centre of the battlefield, the Chinese infantry unit had been reduced dramatically and was finally overalled by the Russian troops, including dogs.


But then the Chinese cavalry turned up to save the day...NOT.


On the far fight, around the mission, the Chinese irregular troops were trying to fight off even more Russians.




Finally the Chinese reinforcements arrived to recapture the high ground and the bridge.....just in time.

Chinese officers didn’t go very big on health and safety, riding into battle on the back of a tank, and I can point out the nasty Russians tried a couple of shots at him, but he stood tall....

Final situation....Chinese forces held the high ground, and the bridge, so 2 objectives out of 3. Looks like Russian forces would have taken the mission if we had continued, but at this stage, we had eaten the bacon and sausage sandwiches, drank the beer, and it was getting a bit warm in the Bunker. 


Great game. Good fun, good rules (we are all getting more familiar with then now),good mates.
Another enjoyable day in the wargaming world.

[Sparrow]

 Very nice!

[marianas_gamer]

Fantastic, though I refuse to believe that you drank all the beer! Surely you had planned better or sent out for more.

[has.been]

I refuse to believe that you drank all the beer!

With 3 out of the 5 players having to drive home,
 drinking was less than you might have expected.

Here are a few more pictures, mainly from the Chinese end,
not due to bias, but that was the end I was sitting at.

First three pictures show the Chinese manning their defences,
& bringing up the cavalry.
The forth shows the hard pressed Chinese cannon being forced to
regroup, well it had been the target of an awful lot of Communist
fire power.
Fifth & sixth are the magnificent, but not successful, Red cavalry
charge. 'Proletariats to horse!' (& get shot off them).

[has.been]

1st picky = Arrival from off table of the start of Chinese re-enforcements.
2nd picky = Having successfully stormed the barricades the comrades,
                  Men, Women, Dogs & a mad Monk (Rasputin figure) are
                   charged by the Chinese Cavalry. This was VERY bloody,
                  with no quarter being given, or asked for!  So many
                  casualties that a whole pack with nothing but Queens of
                  Hearts would have been needed to recover.
3rd Picky= Some Cossacks manage to grab the high ground, but yet
                  more Chinese armour arrives.
4th Picky= Despite hordes of Reds (now) advancing Chinese Tanks
                 are on the bridge, effectively 'Game over!'

In our first game the Armour seemed too powerful, so in this game
the player first said how far he planned to move, then rolled 2xD6.
If the score was less than the chosen move, the vehicle moved only
 that far & gained a 'wound' i.e. something went ping or made
grinding noises.  This certainly slowed down armour advances &
(in this game) gave the players with vehicles added problems.
The Russians dealt with it my using their two A-cars as pill boxes
for most of the game. The Chinese commander lumbered with their
armour  (Flatpack) HAD to advance, well he started off table.
The advance was painfully slow & riddled with 'breakdowns'.
 Much more believable I think.

Overall another fine game at Bob's, many thanks for his hospitality.

[Digits]

My first go at Back of Beyond (very characterful armies) and with the new rules.  Straight forward, no frills rules, great for a group of fellas not taking it too seriously and having fun.

As for our “slow” advance, the cavalry tried moving quickly and got shot to crap.  It’s easy to sit behind barricades and wait for your opponents to advance in the relative open.....so as much as a straight advance in may have fit the timings, it was necessary to thin out the defence a bit first!

The Chinese sure loved their cannon so the reds opted to concentrate their fire to remove it.....twice!

But even the horde of Chinese peasants armed with antiquated musket and mixed firearms were able to drive back one of the two armoured cars.

Another couple of games turns may have allowed the Russians to enter and hold the compound but with their slowly grinding forward massed tank formation  I dare say the Chinese would have stormed and held the bridge anyway so I figure at best we could have gotten a draw.

However, it was great fun, nice to see the guys again after more than a year  and left me wanting to play it again so thumbs up all round.

Thanks to Bob for a great table and bacon & sausage butties!

[Mad Lord Snapcase]

Superb looking game. Lovely tanks and figures.   

[Grumpy Gnome]

Tasty looking games! So much to love on those tabletops. Sorry that I have not come across this thread sooner. I am a sucker for interwar tanks.

[flatpack]

Same here for interwar tanks. Always a giggle to get them to the table.

[marianas_gamer]

+1 on those nicely painted tanks!

[has.been]

+1 on those nicely painted tanks!

And just what is wrong wiv us Armoured Cars??

[flatpack]

Day ain’t tanks....

[gamer Mac]

Cracking set up guys
What size wa  the tale and how many players?