An Unexpected Party

It's quite often very hard to get one's game on around here. I pine for the glorious golden days of only 5 years ago; a lot of friends lived nearby and we could get together between 2 and 4 times a month to game. We played a lot of different periods and had some really great games.

Now everything has changed; many have moved away or are too busy now to game very often and trying to co-ordinate our schedules can be frustrating.

But still, every once in a while the planets align and I end up with a bunch of excellent people in the basement for a game. It was one of our number's birthday so we clubbed together for a cake and put on the coffee maker and suddenly had a party. One friend, who's busy family life doesn't let him game much said the next day: "Man, I needed that. I haven't laughed so hard in a long time."

So onto the game.

American right wing; Rocketmen, sailors and Roughriders

The birthday boy opted for Victorian Science Fiction so we ended up with an alliance of Dutch and Russians on Venus versus a coalition of Americans and British. The AngloAmerican alliance have occupied an ancient Venusian temple, so to prevent a mass uprising among their Venusian Native Infantry, the Dutch with their Russian allies need to liberate it. There were enough troops in evidence, so I left General Wooster and my Anglo-Indian army in their boxes and helped run the very nicely painted Dutch instead.

View of Anglo-American lines; 7th Cav have occupied ancient temple

The American steamtank. It caused a lot of trouble for the Russians. But then the British steamtank caused a lot of trouble for the Dutch.



British hold center between 7th Cav and Roughriders

Part of the Dutch RW; mechs, steamtank and Venusian Native Infantry ("Parrotmen")

The Tsarist hordes advance on the left.

Parrotmen surge from the jungle.

Depleted British line awaits the Dutch onslaught.

Russians having trouble with American steamtank.

Dutch cavalry, both mechanical and normal charge the British Naval Brigade overruning them. A second charge against a square wasn't as successful.

Russian mechanical scorpions are cut down by American sailors.

Polly wants a cracker. The parrotmen charge the 7th Cavalry!

The fight comes down to a duel between the last Venusian and Gen. G.A. Custer himself.

It's a dead parrot.

Custer gets gunned down by a volley from the Dutch askaris however, who then capture the objective.

The Dutch King (with mechanical butler) surveys the captured temple.

The happy British Naval Brigade commander expresses the general feeling of the evening.

I think the Dutch and American steam tanks were from Iron Brigade miniatures. A couple were kitbashed from old toys. The Parrotmen are heavily converted Games Workshop Warhammer 40K Kroot. The mechanical cavalry are heavily converted historical cavalry riding mounts from Mageknight or one of those plastic collectible clicky games that I don't pay attention too.

The commander of the Dutch is posting a more complete (and accurate) After Action Report on the Lead Adventures Forum.