Playing To Do Part II

With my PBeM schedule currently down to one game and given I'm much more up to speed with the mechanics of PBeM now, I've managed to add a couple more games and new opponents just through a quick Opp Wanted ad on Gamesquad.

The best thing is I'll be playing through packs from start to finish so my To Do plan actually survived first contact. Friendly Fire Pack 1 and either BFP's Operation Cobra or High Ground will be the other theme to run through.

I'll be playing Paul from the UK in FrF 01 Jarama Proving Grounds and Whit from the USA in one of the BFP scenarios.

I'm definitely loooking forard to this. The opportunity to be exposed to new play styles and tactical approaches will do my game no end of good. I guess I'm lucky in that I enjoy PBeM a lot and find it a relaxing way to really appreciate the game.

Pete

Currently listening to: Glenn Miller -Signatures

Playing To Do Part I

This is probably the easiest one to get out of the blocks. I'm looking at themes in terms of products and subjects. I'm hoping to get one Live VASL + Skype game done per month and have maybe 2-3 PBeM games going simulatneously. My goal is to hit 50 plus games next year - nowhere near the numbers posted by the hard chargers  in the 100+ games club, but unless I get a new job closer to home, the 4 hour commute each day is a limiting factor.

The basic idea is to get a like minded opponent willing to run through a theme list in partnership. Sure it may mean playing a couple of scenarios that both of us have played before, but generally that will mean playing a solid design anyway.

WCW '96 ASL Open -

Interestingly, I thought I'd played more of the scenarios, but I guess the amount of multiple playings has skewed my memory.

• 01. Will to Fight...Eradicated - Played, but always willing to play again
• 02. Scotch on the Rocks - ROAR Brit 30 vs Germ 20
• 03. Tigers at Merefa - ROAR Germ 21 vs Sov 9
• 04. Cat Becomes the Mouse - ROAR Brit 16 vs Germ 22
• 05. Abandon Ship - ROAR US 74 vs Germ 69
• 06. Los Ejercitos Nuevos - ROAR Rep Span 27 vs Nat Span 21
• 07. Eye of the Tiger - Played, and would play again at the drop of a hat.
• 08. The Last VC in Europe - ROAR Brit 30 vs Germ 20
• 09. Sweep Up
• 10. Stand and Die - played this most recently at ASLOK, I don't think I've grokked this yet, but I like it a lot.

Winter Offensive -
Currently playing through this with John Knowles although we skipped the first for some reason..

• 01. French Toast and Bacon - ROAR US 21 vs Germ 24
• 02. Failure to Communicate - Completed
• 03. Counterattack at Carentan - ROAR US 18 vs Germ 22
• 04. I Don't Like Retreating - ROAR US 6 vs Germ 9
• 05. Astride Hell's Highway - ROAR Germ 10 vs US/Brit 7

Action at Carentan -

This is out of left-field a little, as it's not widely known or publicised but it got some pretty good  press in Desperation Morale, the downside is making the VASL map work unless it's already been fixed. And with four scenarios it's certainly something that could be completed pretty quickly.

• Cole's Charge - ROAR Germ 5 vs US 1
• The Cabbage Patch - ROAR US 1 vs Germ 1
• Green Devils - ROAR Germ 3 vs US 2
• Cooperation Reigns - ROAR Germ 2 vs US 0

After these I'd like to have a crack at Busting the Bocage from CH, another set of scenarios on an HASL style map. Further down the track, Time On Target/KE MM97-99 series and knock off the Friednly Fire back catalog.

Pete

Currently listening to: Glenn Miller - A Portrait of

Back to the Hellish Hedgerows

It's very seldom I get to obtain two recent ASL products in a timely fashion. Admittedly Valor of the Guards was a tad late in arriving (heh) but Action Pack 4: Normandy 1944 is very much going to see my tabletop within a few days of it's official retail release by MMP. Milsims again to the fore - less than AU$40 landed as opposed to something like US$45.

As I mentioned on VASL last night in a discussion with Commissar Piotr, I've not been overly impressed by MMP's more recent offerings (AoO and VotG excepted because they're modules and I've nothing but praise for the physical components) as I do think that their production holdups and necessary and justified focus on ASLSK have influenced the usual hands-on aspect of ASL production.

It seemed to me that the recent Journals and the last AP (Few Returned) have lacked that imprimateur, and in some cases have been more codifications of TPP designs (Le Franc Tireur and On Top in Journal 7 for instance). Because my personal take on ASL play and indeed  focus of ASL design philosophy differs diametrically from some of the principals of MMP, I've always felt that MMP have done some designers a disservice in the way they run roughshod over the original design in their subsequent revisions.

It's now at the point where I tend to look at the original provenance of a scenario and prefer to play it as originally designed: again Le Franc Tireur comes to mind. Sometimes I feel that there is a definite shift in play style paradigms outside of the North American continent which doesn't always translate well when undergoing MMP transformations.

But back to Action Pack 4. Normandy is one of my major interest areas in both miniatures and boardgames. It's an area of history that I'm reasonably well read in at the small unit level, and so I'm very appreciative of the focus of the new action pack.

Now when I initially heard of AP4, I admit that I was dubious, not wishing to see an action pack that consisted only of an American perspective. This proved to be unfounded thankfully as Chas Argent has taken the role of AP development to a new level of efficiency and I'm going to be seeing a selection of actions and terrain configurations that should keep me going for some time.

The new boards just look very nice indeed:

Board 53

Board 54

Board 55

There's nothing really to criticise on these boards in terms of the ASL depiction of Bocage, although I'd have preferred perhaps a couple more boards along the lines of board 54 without the village or hills of the other boards. I also would have liked to see perhaps a more naturalistic depiction of the Normandy farm holdings which should  really be multihex stone buildings with possibly rowhouse bars separating the individual buildings rather than actual separate constructions. All minor quibbles really though and something to ponder creating an overlay sheet for or SSRing anyway.

The scenarios are the gravy on this pack though with the boards a sine qua non and the revised Bocage rules a serious step forward in clarity. The preliminary reports I've read from ASLers whose views on play balance and excitement level have all been very upbeat and positive which is a good sign.

As for the breakdown in subject matter, well here's a brief look at the featured actions:

•     A Lesson for Lehr: US vs Germans
•     Raff’s Dilemma: US vs Germans
•     The Head of the Mace: Poles vs Germans
•     Old Hickory: US versus Germans
•     Infiltrators: British vs Germans
•     Bocage Blockage: US vs Germans
•     First Cristot: British vs Germans
•     Second Cristot: British vs Germans
•     Second Crack at Caumont: US vs Germans

I've missed one scenario I think. However it's still a little mystifying to see no Canadian actions featured, but at least we're spared an over-representation of US paras this time around.

The new bocage rules may well get me to look at getting out the old Hedgerow Hell scenarios again (but using the McGrath/Chaney modifications as a starting point) and it'll certainly mean revisiting some of the classic tourney/VASL scenarios that originally kept me going with the Bocage rules as they once were (Hornet of Cloville comes to mind for some reason).

Really though, AP4 is going to satisfy my requirement for geo-map scenarios for the foreseeable future, with VotG and more RB taking care of the HASL map side of things. With a return to regular face to face play via the Paddington Bears, a resurgent PbeM schedule and now a willingness to play live on VASL (as soon as I can get Skype up and running in a manner condusive to resources on the PC), I shouldn't have many problems getting a lot more games under my belt in the next couple of months.

I blame Balkoski!

The bocage rules in ASL never held as much fear for me as they have for others. It's notable how my interest in the American actions behind the beaches on D-Day and afterwards has gradually increased. I can point to the series replay of an old SL-COI tourney scenario in the General magazine that first made me look at the airborne ops behind Utah and gradually I've developped more of an interest in the US sector of D-Day, although I still struggle to throw off the negativity of the Longest Day and SPR in terms of association with the worst kind of jingoistic pap.

Thankfully Balkoski and admittedly BoB have helped a lot, but rather than focus on the beaches (particularly Omaha) it's the actions on D+1 to about D+8 that really hold my eye. Hence the easy decision to acquire the latest issue of Critical Hit magazine as it includes Busting the Bocage, a look at the fighting inland from Pointe du Hoc post the cliff assault. Now while the smaller ASL scenarios don't really appeal, there's a lot to be said for BtB as an accessible series of games particularly as the mapsheet is so much better in terms of rendering the Normandy countryside than any geomorphic collection of generic boards.

Here's a pic of the map (sorry it's not the best picture):

Busting the Bocage by CH