A Gathering of Friends

Last year, my friend Brian organized a game weekend at a small inn on Lake Huron to replace crossing the border to attend Fall In.  

International relations being what they are, it was repeated again this past weekend and 16 of us gathered for a weekend of games, food, comradarie, and cheer.

The gang, 8 of us are on the Hotlead Team.

Most arrived Friday night and left Sunday. With beds being limited, and only living an hour away, I drove up Saturday morning and left after dinner. 

Big Dave does a good charcuterie board, which is my favorite board game. Sadly missed it.

Table from Friday night game of When Nightmares Come

There were a bunch of games put on. Here are photos from the other table.

What a Cowboy

Great Helm, Medieval skirmish 

Something in Vietnam 

One of Big Dave's trees

Devilry Afoot, with characters from Black Adder S2.  Lord Flashart saved Queenie from the werewolf. 

The tea lights providing atmospheric illumination are there because the overhead lighting was nonexistent 

Some more supernatural shenanigans 

I played in a game of Nimitz, with Keith's lovely 1/2400 scale collection. He'd forgotten his sea mat so instead of Mediterranean blue, we sailed on Reflecting Pool green.

Donski and Brian commanding the Regia Marina 

We had the Italians on the ropes, but I got too aggressive with our cruisers trying to bag one of the Italian battleships, leaving a light cruiser division isolated. As the RM were withdrawing they sank HMS Ajax, which gave them the tactical victory 39 points to 35.

Brian then set up a scrumptious 15mm game of Big Chain of Command 2nd edition. Set in Normandy, Don, Keith and I ran a German kampfgruppe with 2 grenadier platoons, supported by a StuG III, 2x PzIVh, and a Jagdpanther.

US objectives are the closest farm, the crossroads, and the road bend behind the furthest farm.

Facing us was a reinforced US rifle company. 3x infantry platoons, with a platoon of Shermans, and attached M10 and M18.

The Americans also had a preparatory barrage, hampering our deployment in Turn 1. German armour couldn't arrive until Turn 2.

So we were naturally eager to end Turn 1 and spent our first CoC Die to end the turn. 

Turn 2, American player Joseph promptly rolled 4x 6s, ending that turn!

Brand new, just painted, M18 advancing 

I deploy a section to cover one of the US objectives in the building 

Don deploys a section to cover the other flank and ambushes the M18, blowing it up in spectacular fashion. 

A Sherman advances up the center. I try to deploy 2 sections. 1 is held up in the barrage. 2nd section fires a panzerfaust and misses. 

Americans approaching on left

I deploy another section in my next phase and manage to blow up the Sherman. 

It was late so I handed my troops off to Keith. 

German armour arrives to engage the American armour 

The Americans bring down a mortar barrage pinning Don

Smoke from a fire, which started end of Turn 1, is spreading merrily 

The Americans pushed me off the left hand objective,  starting the Countdown Clock. American player Joseph then rolled 3x 6s ending the turn and the game! 

So German victory with us holding 2 out of 3 objectives. 

Good day out and it was a pleasant drive in lovely fall weather. These were games 39 and 40 for the year!

Clash at the Crossroads

Yawdryl Puwl of the 7th Crusader Mounted Rhyfles (7CMR) watched the Alithean belch exhaust and rattle up the dirt road to the cottage at the crossroads. He steadied his cadier, snorting angrily about the mechanical beast, and trotted across the field, his squad of Mounted Rhyflers following him. The cottage ahead of them looked snug, with smoke issuing from the chimney. He had a purse jingling with Tokish gold half schillings, and he hoped that the farm wife would be willing to sell them some mothcakes or other stuffs from her pantry.

His Mounted Rhyflers were part of an Advance Guard, or Recce in Force. Along with some troops from 1st Pathfinder Company and the Alithean, they were to probe this valley and set up a blocking position at the crossroads ahead. A heavy shotgun team attached to the combat team was set up behind a hedge to cover the advance.

The Alithean stopped with a rattle and the turret rotated slightly. The short 73mm gun barked, sending a round down the road. The enemy was in sight. Mothcakes would have to wait.

Using pretty much the same terrain as my last game. Just changed the building. The game area is 3x3 demarcated by the hills and the field lower right. But obviously the terrain spills over the edge. Which is kinda nice. If I'd been thinking I would have deployed the Alithean (Lower Right) in the lower left corner, where it would have started the game with flank shots on the Chyweethl (Upper Left).

Traded some excess 3d prints for official CoR Activation Cards. They're very pretty and I'm very pleased. 

 

Coftyran lancers from Lord Strythcyna's Cadiers (Royal Coftyrans) trot forward

Coftyrans lost the die roll and set up first within 10" of the upper left corner

Crusaders set up 10" from lower table edge

The Alithean already has LOS on the Chyweethl and begins firing at it.

Heavy Shotgun team 

Pathfinders finding a path

"Maybe there's some good eats, let's check it out!" Infantry jog forward to try and get to the cottage ahead of the cavalry. 

Pathfinder hits the cavalry Yawdryl's mount, leaving him prone in the dust

Coftyran deployment 

Couple of lancers gallop forward, charging the Pathfinder squad before they get into the house

BLAM! "Oof!" One lancer has his mount shot from under him, leaving him prone. The other Pathfinder misses his snapshot and is skewered by a lance.

Crusader round, the Pathfinder Yawdryl dispatches his prone adversary and two shotgun blasts knock the other lancer out.

Field gun deploys to help engage the Alithean 

The Crusader Alithean immediately began engaging with the Royalist tractor. They exchanged fire, consuming many activations, giving each other equal damage to tracks and hull.

The Alithean, briefly "Rattled," has backed up to try and get some cover behind the house. I probably should have put some LOS blocking terrain in the middle to force the tractors to maneuver a little. 

"Chaaaarge!" Lancers rush forward to engage their opposites.

One lancer wounds a Crusader while the other is blasted out of the saddle with a close range shot. The Coftyran cavalry NCO has stood up and shoots at the Crusader NCO, wounding his cadier. 

The Crusader NCO wheels and engages the Royalist lancer, while the other Mounted Rhyfler charges the Royalist NCO.

Yawdryl Puwl has led his squad around to engage the Coftyrans mainline. A lone lancer blocks his way.

The lancer is knocked OOA. The field gun slews 

to the left! "Action left! Cavalry! Load cannister!" the Gun Milwer shouts, but their round goes wide, exploding in the middle of their LMG team on the hill, killing one and Gobsmacking the other two.

"Hurrah buckos!" Carbines barking and sabers flashing up and down, the Mounted Rhyflers overrun the field gun.

The Crusader Yawdryl buries his saber in the chest of the Royalist lancer, killing him outright. The Royalist NCO is also rendered OOA.

With friends beside the enemy tractor, the Alithean switches targets to drop high explosive on the advancing Coftyran Rhyflers.

The two Mounted Rhyflers still mounted wheel around the enemy tractor and pounce on the Gobsmacked Coftyran infantry. 

With that I ended the game (Game 38 of the year!) in the middle of Turn 3. The Coftyrans, with only 4 Rhyflers still on their feet, didn't have enough troops to recover their OOA figures. I did some rolling on Tend Wounds to tally the final Butcher's Bill.

The Crusaders lost 2 KIA and 2 wounded, plus a wounded cadier and the Alithean is damaged.

The Coftyrans lost 9 as POWs, 5 KIA, the field gun captured, and the Chyweethl is also damaged.

Yawdryl Puwl picked himself up beside the Coftyran field gun, it's crew were all bleeding and groaning like his now prone poor, faithful mount. He shouldered his carbine, but the few Blues still on their feet were running back up the road, following the rattling Chyweethl. He began checking the prone figures around him and hoped that the Pathfinders wouldn't eat all the mothcakes in the cottage.