Captain Blood's Western Desert: P.125 - SdKfz10 half-track with 2cm Flak 30

[Iván kopets]

Very nice.

[Captain Blood]

What size was the table?

Sightly under 6' x 4', John. Played lengthways.
Great Escape Games claim the rules are really designed for large tables, like 12' x 6', with lots of tanks and infantry and support squads.
But on a first outing, they seem to me to work well enough in a smaller space. I guess it's more fire and less manoeuvre, but none the worse for that 

[Vanvlak]

Sightly under 6' x 4', John. Played lengthways.
Great Escape Games claim the rules are really designed for large tables, like 12' x 6', with lots of tanks and infantry and support squads.
But on a first outing, they seem to me to work well enough in a smaller space. I guess it's more fire and less manoeuvre, but none the worse for that 

Thanks Richard.
12' x 6' is out of my league, 6' x 4' just there. Should work with small numbers of figures and vehicles I suppose.
Cheers

[Malamute]

Gald to see you have got your first game in. Must meet up and hand over the black smoke!

[Captain Blood]

Gald to see you have got your first game in. Must meet up and hand over the black smoke!

Oh yes please! I need that smoke! (As you can see  )

If you want to pop over to try the game out, just say the word

Otherwise it's just me and junior... Although I am trying herd cats and get another group of stray wargaming chums together for a larger scale pilot game after Easter... We shall see.

[Malamute]

Sounds like a plan, I'll see if I can persuade James to come out as well

[Keith]

Hmmm ... I discounted these rules when a big play was made about them being armour focused. This looks like a cracking little game though. Must investigate further ...

[Captain Blood]

I'll keep you posted Keith 

My sense is, if anything, infantry are a bit more powerful than they should be. Armour gets firing minuses if there are enemy infantry in the vicinity. Infantry can inflict a lot of damage, even on light armour, and they are highly resilient as far as I can see. They have lots of advantages.
But yes, it is a 'tanks and soldiers' game, with A/T guns, mortars, HMGs and other infantry weapons, alongside armour and transports.
There is no heavy artillery or air support.

They are clearly designed to give a cinematic, flavoursome, large scale skirmish game amongst friends, where an unfolding narrative, tricky command decisions, and prioritisation of where to put your resources, when to attack and when to hold back, take precedence over a more accurate, rounded reflection of warfare in the period.

In other words, I think they're a great set of rules if you want an enjoyable, fluid, flavoursome game.
If you want lots of detailed rules and absolute historical accuracy, they're not the answer.

Sounds like a plan, I'll see if I can persuade James to come out as well

Good man

[Arlequín]

They are clearly designed to give a cinematic, flavoursome, large scale skirmish game amongst friends, where an unfolding narrative, tricky command decisions, and prioritisation of where to put your resources, when to attack and when to hold back, take precedence over a more accurate, rounded reflection of warfare in the period.

In other words, I think they're a great set of rules if you want an enjoyable, fluid, flavoursome game.
If you want lots of detailed rules and absolute historical accuracy, they're not the answer.

I think the detailed rules thing is actually out of place unless you are playing a squad game. A platoon leader wouldn't concern himself with the details, he tells his section leaders what he wants and when, and they go off and hopefully do it. Okay figures don't move themselves (yet) and so we have to deal with that along with deciding what they shoot at.

Thinking about whether to put a team on overwatch, or whether someone should shoot a rifle grenade, or whatever, is micromanagement. It should be about tactics; so you send 1st Section to the hedge to cover 2nd Section's approach, while 3rd Section covers the flank for example. It sounds like these rules do that.

[Silent Invader]

Lovely report and interesting analysis. 

With Arlequin's observations the rules make more sense to me (ie, that in a tank game it would be disproportionate to micro-manage individual soldiers).

[Andym]

Thanks Andy - actually, it's going to look an awful lot like the desert board you made a little while ago 

Well the only help I can be, the best way to do it is build the board for some other setting/game.....f#$k it up!!......then paint it desert colours and use it as a desert board!

[Captain Blood]

I'll do that then!

[Clawed_Greengrass]

Stunning painting and a great game report. I really like Iron Cross, they're nice and quick.

[Dr. Zombie]

They are clearly designed to give a cinematic, flavoursome, large scale skirmish game amongst friends, where an unfolding narrative, tricky command decisions, and prioritisation of where to put your resources, when to attack and when to hold back, take precedence over a more accurate, rounded reflection of warfare in the period.

That sounds like everything I would look for in a game.

As usual everything is absolutely stunning.

[Arlequín]

I've been reading around on them, apparently 'falling back' is a reaction you can use to regenerate morale if things get sticky; I've never come across that in a rule set, as far as I recall. It's usually always push-on till they run-off or they're dead.

I've ordered a set.