It’s another late night with beer and pizza and good friends.
The sun arrives far too early and with 5 guys sharing one bathroom I decide to
forego the morning shower and shave. It’s 8:30 AM and I head over to the convention
by myself. I didn't preregistered for anything but I am sure that there will be
something available for me. I am torn between the annual Diplomacy Tournament
hosted by Ken Murray or trying out a new rule set. The miniature game wins out.
9:00 AM: Recon to the Reichstag by Tod Creasey.
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View of the Terrain
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This Bolt Action game is designed for 12 players at a
beginner level and I always try to play at least one new system at Cangames.
It’s a chance for me to check the waters without any outlay. The rules are a collaboration
between Osprey Publishing and Warlord Games. Bolt Action is the name of Warlord Games’ line
of 28mm WW2 miniatures. I have a collection of about 150 WW2 Soviet infantry (mostly
Westwind Productions and Black Tree Design) in 28mm, along with three T-34 tanks, for
use with The Face of Battle, that can be played in a Bolt Action game as is.
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Selecting the Trroops
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IMO the simplicity of the game lies in its method of
activation and actions. Each unit in play is represented by a 6 sided die. The
referee pulls one die at a time from an oblique container and announces whether
it was Soviet or German. The die is handed to the C-in-C of that side. It is
then passed to a sub-commander who announces which unit he/she will activate
and then places the die next to the unit with a selected action face up. The six possible actions are: 1. fire, 2.
advance, 3. run, 4. ambush, 5. rally, and 6. down.
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I selected 1 Half Track, 1 LMG Team (mounted in Half-Track)and a 6-man SMG Squad on Foot
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These actions are all fairly self-explanatory: fire allows
the unit to shoot at full effect whilst remaining stationary, advance allows
the unit to move and shoot but at reduced rate and effect, run allows the unit
to move at maximum speed without shooting, ambush puts the unit into ‘ready mode’
and allows it to shoot later, as opportunity fire, at enemy units that move
into sight, rally reduces the number of hit markers on the unit, while down
simply gets the unit to take cover, making it harder to hit.
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The Soviets I will Face in the Battle
10-man Rifle Squad and a 10-man SMG Squad
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Units have to pass a morale roll in order to carry out an
order, which can be modified by the presence of officers, the quality of the
troops and the number of accumulated hits on the unit. When hits are taken, your
opponent rolls to try to convert them to kills, which remove figures from the
game. In the shooting phase each figure fires (throws) dice based upon the type
of weapon carried. A rifle gives one die, a SMG allows you to throw 2 dice, an
LMG team giving 3 dice. Fire is directed unit against unit. The roll is
modified by range, cover, movement etc.
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The Soviets Advance Quicker than I
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My SMG Squad takes Two Hits as I Cross the Road.
I Go Down and Take Cover
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Once the ref has emptied the bag, the turn is over. If a
unit is eliminated from play, its die is removed from the pool. I found it to
be a simple system that allowed for quick play. Once we understood how the
combat tables worked the game ran rather quickly. The main problem laid in
getting your commander’s attention to be given the die or dice you need.
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I get very lucky. Better yet, the Soviets are very unlucky. They Fail to Destroy my SMG Unit by Fire from their SMG Squad. They then failed in a Close Assault with their Rifle Squad.
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Based upon my experience in this game I will be making an
outlay at some point in order to purchase these rules.
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My Troops are receiving support from a friendly Stug III
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My Half-Track and LMG Team have outflanked the Soviets
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The Remains of the SMG Squad clear the Position
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2:00 PM: Plassey 1757 by Nick Swales.
According to Wikipedia, " The Battle of was a decisive
victory of the British East India Company over the Nawab of
Bengal and his French allies on 23 June 1757. The battle established the
Company rule in Bengal which
expanded over much of India for the next
hundred years. The battle took place at Plassey (anglicised version of Palashi) on the banks of the Bhagirathi
River (another name
of Hooghly Riverupstream of Calcutta), about 150 km north of Calcutta and south of Murshidabad, then capital of Bengal.
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The forces of Siraj-ud-Daulah, Nawab of Bengal
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The troops of Mir Jafar awaiting their orders
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Siraj-ud-Daulah had a numerically superior force and made
his stand at Plassey. The British, worried about being outnumbered, formed a
conspiracy with Siraj-ud-Daulah's demoted army chief Mir Jafar, along with others who assembled their
troops near the battlefield but made no move to actually join the battle.
Siraj-ud-Daulah's army was defeated by roughly 3,000 soldiers of Col. Robert
Clive, owing to the flight of Siraj-ud-daulah from the battlefield and the
inactivity of the conspirators.”
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Lord Clive's Command Stand
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This was a six player game using the DBR rules. Nick
provided three magnificently painted 15mm armies to take part in the game. There
were the soldiers of the Honourable East India Company and the army of Siraj-ud-daulah, the last independent Nawab of Bengal, and standing in the wings the
forces under Mir Jafar. Whose side were they on, who knew, or which way was the
wind blowing?
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Both Sides Advance. The Bengalis take the Reservoirs.
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I played the part of Clive, commanding the troops of the HEIC,
with my two sub commanders. Joseph took command of the right flank and I the
left, with Simon in command of the centre. Our forces were fairly evenly
divided. Paul took a cavalry command under Siraj-ud-Daulah and was joined by
Duncan and Mark.
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Clive rushes to join his Troops
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Rgts of the East India Company Advance
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One thing I like about the rule set is the ability of units
outside of tactical range (240 paces) to continue to use additional pips to
keep moving. This can allow some grand manoeuvers.
Until the very end I was not sure if we could pull a victory
out of the hat or not.
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After the Battle, Lord Clive Meets with Mir Jafar
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The forces of Mir Jafa were controlled by the referee and
released depending on how the game was going. Some of those troops initially
activation joined the native side. Later in the game, others joined up with the
company. My greatest fear was of the right flank being smashed by a sudden release
of the majority of Mir Jafar’s forces against the Company. Finally, the Bengalis
reached their breaking point and victory was ours.
Meanwhile next door to us was another interesting game.
7:00 PM: DBA Tournament
DBA 2.2 ‐ Tod Creasey
Intermediate ‐ 4
rounds open book DBA tournament with NASAMW clarifications. Players can bring
their own armies or borrow one of the loaners provided. Some degree of teaching
the rules will be provided but players should be aware this is a tournament.
Prize is a painted 15mm army.
I arrived with three armies.
I was going to play using my Seleucids, and I brought two loaners. Paul planned
to borrow my Nikaian Byzantine army, but I also had Mongol Conquest Army
for the use of any who needed an army to play.
This tournament is what I look forward to the most at
Cangames. Normally, it is the only time in the year I get to play DBA. My first
match was against a gentleman by the name of Chris. Chris, like Paul used to
play WRG years ago, but never played DBA. He borrowed my Mongol Conquest Army
from me for duration of the tournament.
I must apologize to Chris if I lost my cool, but we were
playing in a competition. Each round is of 45 minutes length and after 20 minutes,
he had failed to complete his set-up. The clock was ticking. I don’t mind
losing, and I don’t mind teaching the game, but I want to complete my match. Finally
we were engaged in close combat when Tod walked by and told us to finish the
round. I was fortunate in that I achieved three more kills and was able to walk
away not only with a completed match, but a win. I would have been upset if we
were halted with a draw.
My second match was against Nick Swales and his Indian Army.
It was the second time today I faced his figures, the previous being in the
Battle of Plassey game. Due to the shortest of the DBA matches I didn’t take
any photos, nor make any but the briefest of notes. I can do no more than announce
a 2nd victory in the evening.
My third match of the evening was against Mike Abbott and
his Viking Army. It was a close run game but in the end I destroyed four of his
element for the loss of two of mine. This was the third year I faced Mike in
the tournament and the 2nd time I've defeated him.
My final match of the evening was against Duncan Martelock. We
were the only undefeated participates in the tournament and were waiting for
the next round of play to begin. So Tod matched us up and said we could start
early if we wanted. Duncan fought using a Middle German army, which was very
impressive. Along with elements of six knights, he also had two war wagons. It covered
a lot of space.
This was an interesting match because I recently painted a Hussite Army with War Wagons,
but I had never faced them in game. It was for that reason I decided not to deploy
them this year. Next year may be a different matter.
Of the troops I had at my disposal only my elephant offered
a real chance to get a kill on the war wagons. It was going to be a difficult
match and despite my best attempts I failed to get the upper hand. In the end,
Duncan won his second DBA tournament and I walked away for the third time (2006
Welsh Army, 2010 Burgundian Army) in 2nd place. As a consolation prize
I received an unpainted 15mm Viking Army to which I have already added a black
base coat.
At this time I want to thank all the volunteers and the
people who year after year help put on Cangames. I for one am appreciative of
your efforts and enjoy the chance to go to Ottawa and game in an atmosphere of
friendly mayhem.
