Floor Tiles: Funny Things You See in a DIY Superstore

Wandering around a DIY store (and a large one at that) is not my most favourite pastime. For me it is like seeing a museum of guilty sins, the ultimate confessional of jobs I should have done. I must confess I am left with a feeling of inadequacy and perturbation at the sheer amount of "choice" available for all the jobs I did not even know needed doing! So within a matter of minutes I naturally get distracted (it is a defence mechanism) when I see something that has a meagre amount of wargaming potential (see below, in this case it was some ceramic tiles, but those hexagon shapes shouted out as potential terrain pieces to me - naval or space?): 

Pretty patterns and shapes can lead to interesting discoveries and off the wall (literally) thoughts (see below, never saw this before, a hexagon is really three trapeziums - there should be something deeply significant to wargaming and board game construction - but fo rthe life of me I cannot see what it is): 

Hmm, gameboard or unit facing or is it useful for both? Who knows where this musing will ultimately lead. Potentially an abstract game or can I get toy soldiers to run all over it?

Getting Ready for The Xmas Rummicub "Battle Royale"

With the pending arrival of the Scottish in-laws it was time for me to brush up on the rules - I had already "gone over the rules" with a colleague at work so felt half prepared (see below, getting familiar with the playing pieces):

Note: Please don't be alarmed at the bright red, fake "cap" gun laying on the table, it was something absently minded left on the table by my youngest - so nothing to do with a high-stakes gangster gambling den.

Rummicub is a cross between cards and dominoes it plays an entertaining game. I was to discover there can be regional rule variations - Newcastle to Edinburgh variants, all subject to the subtle interpretation of the English/Scots language. The Scots lore took precedence, something I will pass back to my Newcastle colleague. In the long rule my "rule discussions" with the mother-in-law served to focus the attention of my wife who swooped in to win and be hailed as Christmas House Champion!

Update: Won first game of Rummicub (thanks to wife showing me how I could get out with an "Orange 4"). Technically "Reigning House Champion" but another game is scheduled after dinner and I fear my performance may be alcohol affected!

Back to "Escape from the Dark Castle" for me then!

Another Randomly Generated Simulating War FireMove Battlefield (Flipped)

Playing around with my new toy and generated the following default terrain. At first glance it looks poor for the German defender (see below):

However press the "flip" button and it suddenly becomes a defender' paradise (see below):

To my "game players" eyes this would be a "hard" task.

FireMove Terrain Generator

Here is my first attempt at a simple Terrain Generator for the Fire and Movement game from Phil Sabin's Simulating War book. I took a basic version of the software to Connections UK 2016 (see below, no more do you need to spend all that time rolling forty eight pairs of d6's to generate a random 2D battlefield):

Note: I have gone for a basic home-spun (retro) 'make-it-yourself" feel that does a basic job for the wargamer, hence the off-set squares instead of hexes. A cheap trick picked up from Naval Wargaming  without a plentiful supply of hex paper to hand (I should say before the era of desk-top publishing but that would accurately age me somewhat). It runs in a browser with a mixture of HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript. Something that a second year (or someone just having completing their first year with good web-grades) Computer Science graduate could do.

PS: I hope to distribute the code on a MIT Open Source Licence via Phil Sabin's web-site in the near future,

Just Playing with my "Sea" (and some old Napoleonic Ships)

Just laid out this British squadron to see how they looked (see below):

I like it ;)

Note: I might have to point them down the hex spines instead of at the face of a hex. That may be a better way to "Box the Compass" ;)

Sea Project: Ideas Appreciated ...

I have a "new toy" of sorts (see below):

A naval game looms .. the only decision is whether is should be:

• Ancients (new kit required, but I have always wanted to play Salamis with David Manly's Greek Fire and Roman Fury rules)
• Napoleonic (time to bring out Avalon Hills "Wooden Ships and Iron Men" with a small squadron of British versus a mixed bag of French and Spanish)
• World War One (General Quarters II, Dogger Bank or Jutland Battle Cruiser Clash)
• World War Two (General Quarters II, Narvik [done once already] or Mediterranean, or even a "Convoy"?)
• Modern (although this means I would need some new kit, but I always wanted to play Larry Bond's Harpoon)

Logic dictates that in the 100th year of Jutland it should be WWI, quite fitting as the corners are held down by Jutland books (and research wise a god excuse to try and sneak some of the new '2016' Jutland books in), but somehow Napoleonic seems so very, very tempting (lovely models to make).

Thoughts and ideas appreciated

Getting them started early: Labyrinth

I picked this up in a "Charity Shop" and thought 'this looks good' one for all the family (see below, note even the balsa tank in the background [that my youngest son had weathered up for me with a black crayon] did not help me win):

We got the family round the table and gave it a go. Early introduction to a bit of role playing (RPG) methinks and true to form the kids wiped the floor with me and my good wife. Something about agile little minds (plastic intelligence?) and old 'world-wise' minds crystallised in set patterns. I didn't stand a chance really.

"No dice" involved with threw me a critical blow as I could not just blame the dice or "get lucky"!

The Circus Maximus Project: A game or more of a "Frame of Mind?"

Do you covert the laurel wreath? Will you risk all in search of glory at the games? Not even put off by those horrific crash scenes in Ben Hurr .. OK then Avalon Hill's Circus Maximus is for you. It's time to take a the chariot of your choice for a trial race. He drives like a pro ... (see below):

Looking good, then ... Oh dear what could possibly have happened here then? Medic! (see below):

The course will be cruel and unforgiving (see above and below, just look at the number of charts):

Nevertheless a new batch of Colosseum hopefuls (fresh farm boys from the country) arrive (see below):

So I will probably need these extra crash markers painted then (see below):

But will it be ready in time for Xms? All I need do is get twelve 6mm chariot pieces painted, doesn't sound hard does it?

(Ahem, I suppose there is the small matter of reading the rules too)

A Wood in the Hand is Worth Two Bushes? (More Terrain)

Terrain (continued): 

Ridges done, now time to wrap-up the "tree hex" collection. I had previously "flocked" these bases and PVA'ed thicker bushier clumps (but all at the 'same level'). A trip to Hobbycraft was needed to top up my supplies and a side-effect I that was able to generate an improved "multi-level tree-line" (see below):  

This all came about from an errant purchase, but 'quality' purchase (see below):

Instead of something that was "a lot of little bits" that I poured flat onto some PVA glue that just stuck, I got a big, solid block of  "foam stuff". I had to break chunks off. In the end I think it worked to my advantage because it meant with a touch of the artistic I created a jagged tree line instead of flat uniformity.

Into every stable system a little bit of chaos should be poured ;)

Much ado about "Green Hills and Ridges" (Battalion Attack Terrain)

To my little bowl of grit varying shades of flock are added. This is reminiscent of true Shakespearean drama, aka the Witches of Macbeth, "hubble, bubble, boil and trouble". It is also why I am probably such a terrible cook limited to a 'Chilli Con Carne' at best (see below):  

But these you have it, my terrain features are complete (see below):

From another angle (see below):

A new world of randomised terrain awaits ;)

Much ado about "Brown Hills and Ridges" (Battalion Attack Terrain)

Terrain:

Time to attack the pile of terrain "ridges" that I need for the 'free form' randomised terrain set-up of "Battalion Attack", aka "Fire and Movement". By now I~ have had my fill of the introductory scenario, its duty is done.

There are twenty 'ridge hexes' needed all told (to match the books counters), two have been already 'done' (but may need a little rework to look similar to the others) and eighteen are on the 'highlight' production line (see below): 

Note: To the ultra observant, you are not mistaken, you do in fact see the painted footprints of a small child leading away from the "Man Shed" table in the photograph above (bottom right). I will not dwell on the matter further, but suffice it to say that my stock of brown paint was seriously depleted by mysterious guest(s) who in Neolithic cave-art fashion had great fun (and if truth be told produced some fantastic abstract art in the process). Luckily the paint wore off, half way up the path, before they got back to the house proper.

Back to the Man Shed work in hand ...

I really like this highlight red-brown and white-brown effect and it seems such a shame to now have to paint and flock over most or all of it, but such is the sacrifice of 'art' and such is the urgent  need is for wargaming ridges not comic-book alien moonscapes (see below): 

Next comes the varying degrees of 'pebble and sand' stuck onto prominent features with the ubiquitous PVA hobby glue in copious quantities. These terrain making materials have been gathered from a variety of sources ranging from the left over DIY projects ("mixed grit"), to the ridiculously expensive connoisseur train-set gravel. I even have a as yet unused secret weapon; a packet of budgie grit, unopened, left on the side, waiting for 'its moment of glory'. See the result below:   

The hills are now half Terra-formed (we are back on the Sci-Fi theme again) and need an urgent  vegetation upgrade. To me they still look "cool" in this raw form IMHO :)

Next: How Green is my Valley? 

Battalion Attack: The Reason Why - Fire and Movement (Game 3 - Part III)

End Game: 

After the butcher's bill (casualty counters) is paid and the logistic (ammo low counters) withdrawals depart the British central portion of the front line looks depleted and a "tad" (a traditional Yorkshire expression) forlorn. Only one British platoon from "Green Company" remains in close assault position but is now effectively out numbered three-to-one (see below):   

Off to the left hand side a solitary "Blue Company" platoon had reached "Outcast Wood" and was in a position to close assault it (see below). This was in the twilight phase of the game. The last four turns were played out in effect solo as the British Commander "had seen enough" and was contemplatively sipping on his John Smiths with his 2-in-C knocking back a Guinness. As I was driving I was looking at them rather enviously ;)

But to me it also raises the question of "The Reason Why" we should play to a finish. Not to win, sorry if I sound overtly pacifist here, because nobody wins in war. No it is to see how it pans out. Not in a statistical sense, as in "how many ones and sixes followed" but did the game still manage to represent at the end what it nobly stated to achieve at the start?

Certainly a "philosophical" point.     

In terms of "Fire and Movement" Battalion Attack, retreat is impossible. If a platoon tries to retreat the chances are they will get suppressed and effectively be pinned in place and whittled away by the defenders  (which have no ammunition restrictions). So there is no point going back unless you are guaranteed (or stand a good chance of not being hit because of the enemy's range to you) to get off table as you will become suppressed, frozen in place and subject to the cruellest direct and indirect fire (war is unfair and hell).

What you need to seek is "hard cover" (aka "farms") or a hidden from view hex. This could explain the situation with respect to the final position (see below). The British platoon in the centre successfully close assaulted the "Farm Crescent" to inflict three casualties on the Germans, which brought their total to six, one more and a German platoon is removed. However this victory was Phyric as "ammunition expenditure removed the unit from play" - this was the bane of the British commander's life! The British platoon in "Little Gibraltar" was again lost to "ammo expenditure" but the Vickers HMG platoon caught a bullet from the defenders of the "Farm Crescent".

The one German casualty was caused by "catching a German platoon in the open" as it came from behind the "Farm Crescent" in a vain hope to reinforce "Outcast Wood". With no protective cover or dug-in status, the Germans are as equally vulnerable in the open. One additional casualty to the German total meant a platoon  removal. The board below shows the end of the game (German turn twelve - there is no British turn twelve to avoid the "last two minutes of the Superbowl land grab" - not an issue in this game).

The one ray of hope for the remaining British platoon is that it has isolated one-on-one a German platoon and if the fight were extended past turn twelve it would have at least the initiative. The bad news is that everybody else has "gone home" (not necessarily as in "dead") and with nothing left to pin the Germans in place it is only a matter of time before they bring overwhelming force to bear - but that is beyond the scope of the scenario brief and who knows "operationally" what else would be happening on the wider battlefield.

Was there a point to playing on?

I think so, not just because it is a forty mile round trip for me to play the game and that this was the only wargaming thing I managed to do this month. I did offer to "play on" but switching sides, winning was not the issue here. This was a "road test2 of the rules, it doesn't happen very often as this is only the third game I have managed to play in over seven months. To me it tested out the (unsavoury?) end game and illustrated as much as what we are NOT playing more than what we are trying to play. We are not simply killing people/soldiers. Counters are removed because the unit (some forty soldiers) becomes "combat ineffective" (10-20% casualties should do that). Over half the removals in the game were actually logistical (7) and only half combat casualties (6). In a campaign setting the battalion would have half its 'order of battle' force ready to defend itself against an immediate counter-attack.

Does the game need to visually represent the fact that there are British troops still on the table in some way? Is the ground taken/last-occupied by the British now 'unfriendly' (in some way) to the Germans and will they need to clear it? Does it restrict their future defences or give the British a closer jumping off point for next time. Will the surviving Germans be subject to a withering artillery bombardment or 'Jabo' fighter-bomber attack? I will take the discussion to the to the forum:       

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simulatingwar/message/1739
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simulatingwar/message/2057
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simulatingwar/message/2077

Meanwhile, although not played to win, what was the scale of the British defeat?

Victory Points: 

In the end it was a clear German win in the order of magnitude of six British platoons lost to one German platoon. However with respect to scenario balance it was very "pro-German" in terrains (a statistical extreme given the number of "farms" generated as terrain pieces) and had already been started with an idea to go through as many rule mechanisms as possible, rather than purely tactical gain.

The next game will be a random terrain generation affair. The book's play-test scenario should be put back in the bag as the Germans have convincingly took it (3-0). I would love to hear from anybody who has played it and got a British win. IMHO this was clearly was NOT the sector to attack

;)

Battalion Attack: The Bloodied Ground (Fire and Movement Game 3 - Part II)

The Middle is Pressed:

The British commander moves up a flanking platoon from "Blue Company" (bottom left below, which in this colour photograph looks almost the same colour as the "Green Company" marker dots) but in turn it draws additional fire from another German platoon off camera. Soon it too becomes suppressed and the steady tide of British casualties begins to mount ominously (see below):  

The sickening rise of red casualty markers as the British commander extended the attack frontage is evident (see below). Two German platoons are managing to freeze 'in-situ' four British attacking platoons in the 'open'. Controversially(?) the British mortar was engaged in (it had to be said very effectively) pinning two German platoons on the far right of the board (albeit a third of the total German defending forces) for most of the game, but leaving the supporting Vickers HMG too much to do on its own

The advanced British platoon from "Yellow Company" is poised to (almost) make an end-run assault on the left most portion of the German "Farm Crescent". The huge amount of open space makes this area a true killing field for the PBI (see below, red casualty markers indicating hits this round):

The result is bitter sweet for the British. Although the 'Yellow Company; platoon is in position to close assault the flanking wood, another British rifle platoon (from 'Blue Company') is removed from play through casualties (see below):

The Germans reinforce the centre by advancing a platoon to the far right wood. This is approximately turn seven with everything still hanging in the balance. There is a heavy exchange of fire along the line with the Germans besting the British. The 'open ground' is literally the killer factor for the British. They even suffer the indignity of being close assaulted 'back out of the far left wood' by the Germans (see below):  

British casualty removal and losses through ammunition expenditure has broken their attack. The British commander concedes 'the attack has failed' in his turn eight, but do we stop there? After all I am keen to understand what "Battalion Attack" simulates, can the British make a tidy fighting withdrawal?

Battalion Attack: The Familiar Starting Point (Fire and Movement - Game 3 - Part I)

After what seems an absolute age, I finally got behind the familiar wargaming table to throw some dice. Playing "Battalion Attack", using the book's tutorial scenario (again), but this time the co-player (rather than an opponent) had also 'read the book' (Simulating War, by Phil Sabin), hurray. Pump-primed we jumped into the action walking the scenario through to the step-off point in the book, the start of German Turn Three (see below, British attacking left to right): 

One advantage of having played the game/scenario several times before, is that the 'counters/logistics/terrain' are now prepared for in advance and subtle playing aids (e.g. units from the same company having the same coloured sticker, counters instead of cumbersome dice markers for ammo and causality counts). The "big plus" was that we never lost track of what was happening, or debated what the status of a unit was and whose turn was it to do something. The game mechanics ran smoothly.

The battle soon heated up with the British pressing the German held "Farm Crescent" hard with an important 'close assault' attack opportunity after the Germans had critically failed to nail a 'sure thing' (anything but a one .. we've all been there) on an adjacent British Infantry platoon (see picture below).

Note: The assault position (see below, before British move but after the German turn three was completed) was one the British had worked very hard (as in 'bled' casualties) to get to. The British 'Green Company' platoon adjacent to the "farm" will be assaulting this turn and a second 'Green Company' platoon is set to move up and exploit the situation and hopefully double close assault a suppressed(?) German platoon in the subsequent turns. This 'potentially' could crack the German 'Farm Crescent' defensive line wide open (which would be a 'first' in all my play tests of this scenario).

The odds were in the attackers favour: 1d6, with a British roll of (3,4,5,6) and the German defender would take three casualties as well as becoming suppressed and incapable of firing next turn, but a roll of (1,2) and the Germans would be fresh to wreck havoc on the exposed British Infantry platoons ("PBI").

The die was cast ...

The British attack was stymied (with a roll of a 1). If there was even a candid lesson in statistics and there is "no such thing as a racing certainty", then this is it. The Germans (after breathing a huge sigh of relief) in return elected to spread their defensive fire (rather than concentrate a close assault on one British Infantry platoon for slightly higher casualties) to suppress both British Infantry platoons (see below, two rolls of anything but a one [this time] sufficed for the Germans to achieve this):   

The British "Green Company" are now left 'hanging on the wire'. The proximity of friendlies stopping their 3" mortar helping and the proximity plus terrain leaving the HMG with only 50% chance of being effective each turn. Piling more troops forward will not directly help the British but probably instead serve to increase their casualties Meanwhile the German mortar has been very effective in causing additional PBI casualties in the rear ranks of the British attack.  

Next: The battle is pressed

Man in Shed - Making Terrain (Battalion Attack)

A painter's progress ...

A sight that Picasso would have been proud of, thick slabs of acrylic paint daubed seemingly indiscriminatingly at random over 'many' surfaces (see below):    

You should be able to see (in the picture above) ten hexagon 'ridge tiles' getting prepared for the terrain box needed for Battalion Attack's random board set-up (see below):

In total  there will be:

• 20 Ridges
• 10 Woods
• 6 Farm Complexes

Which is six extra ridges and one extra farm complex than the counters provided in the box, but the hexagon terrain project is slighter larger in scope than the 'Battalion Attack' game. 

"Fire and Movement" - Battalion Attack (Terrain Version II)

I need to run the "walk through" scenario again. Firstly to get the rules correct, secondly to use a consistent terrain look and feel (I was four farms short last time and substituted in some 'brown card' which I think made the prospects of attacking the 'farm crescent' LOOK too easy) and thirdly it was challenging fun. If possible I would like to play the attacker this time.

The 'new' farm terrain (courtesy of my son's Lego collection) is shown below, British attacking left to right, moving onto the board on Turn 1 (hex row 1), with the Germans defending the right hand side board, positioned in rows 4, 5 and 6 (where rows in this photograph are running vertically up and down the page).  

The 'new look' of the formidable defensive 'farm crescent' as per viewed from the British lines looking across at the German positions, with the German 'Alamo' farm in the far distant (see below):

Note: This picture (below) is rotated 90 degrees from the first picture in this post (above)  

An aerial view of the 'farm crescent' from behind the German side of the lines, with the German 'Alamo' nearest the camera bottom-middle and away top-right of the frame is the British farm I nicknamed contentiously as 'Little Gibraltar' (see below): 

By contrast the countryside to the left hand side of the battlefield is spare and open, dominated by the German held 'Hexagon Wood' far left and the wood to the left of the 'farm crescent' complex (see below):

So the attacker has the choice of a bloody assault into the 'crescent farm complex' or a rush across open ground, hmm, the game is called 'Fire and Movement' but perhaps it would br better called 'Fire, Suppress and (only) then Move'.

Battalion Attack: Fire and Movement - Board Part VI (Terrain Generation)

One of the interesting aspects of "Fire and Movement" is the random terrain generation, with each hexagon having a one in six chance of being occupied with a terrain piece (see below):

• Green equals Woods
• Orange equals Ridges/Low Hills
• Black equals Farm 

Like all generated schemes, it seems to inevitably produce a much 'stranger' set-up (but who is to say that is not more realistic) than the 'aesthetic' wargamers-eye terrain placement.

The defender then chooses which baseline to defend and in this case the German player chooses the bottom. Why? Two thirds of the defensible terrain is there (as the defender can deploy up to and including half way in) and it also denies the attacker the luxury of the two orange ridge lines/low hills being used as a fire base for HMG overhead fire.

Scenario:
The above set-up seems to suggest the British are attempting an outflanking manoeuvre to the (their) left of a more heavily wooded sector. The open farmland poses its own problems.

Next: Tarting up the terrain

Battalion Attack: Fire and Movement - Board Part V

The mysterious "glue gun" revealed (not as you may have thought, a reference to a non-lethal urban crowd control mechanism but a method of sticking cardboard together) and waiting for its first hexagon. Seeing as the tip of the "glue gun" can reach a temperature of 200 degrees centigrade it should be handled with fair bit of care (see below):

The "glue gun" ammo, two "glue sticks" (see below):

The finale, hexagons laid out ready to be finally glued in place, the first row done (see below):

Trial layout, taking the attacking "British Infantry Battalion" + "HMG Support" out of the box and putting it against the defending "Two German Infantry Companies" (see below):

The British infantry stands on the black (off table) would be deemed "in reserve" allowed to come on from any British baseline "hex". Missing are company designations and markers to denote "fresh" and "spent" status. Also missing id terrain other than the default "open" fields

Next: Random Terrain Generation 

Battalion Attack: Fire and Movement - Board Part IV

So ... this is what I should have done in the first place, hexagons pointing up (long grain as per 'rice'[?], see below):

Seeing as I had painted out a  completely different sized board it seemed such a darned pity to 'waste' a useful game board by covering it up again, hence I transferred the hexagons to an alternative 'fresh' board (see below):

The new board got two coats of undercoat black (see below), a darkish brow/black house hold matt paint we (as in the family) had inherited after moving in to the new house. It was the leftover paint for a wall that was top of the list to paint another colour. I had silently spied out this colour for a' wargame' use a long time ago and now Maitland this was your time, sorry getting a little carried away.

The forlorn, but useful hexagaons are stacked in a quiet corner (see below): 

This was also the perfect opportunity while the black/brown under coat was drying to seal up the edges of the hexagons a brownish colour, I had noticed an annoyingly small amount of white showing through in the original set-up (see below, hexagons left to dry over night): 

Then a trail run. Do they fit? There is a slight overhang to the left but I can live with that (see below):

Next: Sticking it down "again" (or should I say "hopefully stuck down and staying down this time")

Simulating War:Fire and Movement (WWII Battalion Attack - Rural) Game Board

Basic Considerations :

With the relatively light loading on figures front "Fire and Movement/"Battalion Attack" (certainly for the initial 1/200 figures used at least) my attention now turns to the requirements of the Game Board.

What is needed is a Game Board that is divided:

• "Hex" or off-set "Squares" (if the 1/200 kit has a 40mm square base, then logically then the hex side should be at least 40mm)
• 48 needed in total
• Width (8 Hexes)
• Depth (6 Hexes)
• Basic colour/flock green depicting rural countryside (aka Green)
• Addition terrain (cover - farm buildings, cover - trees/woods, cover - ridges) that can be easily added onto it (very similar to the portable wargames concept)
• The above "additional" terrain is to be randomly assigned before each battle, note this will be tedious to do by hand and a classic task for a computer to generate in advance
• By laws of averages there should be one terrain piece per column
  

Watch this space as I need to spend some "solo man-time" in the garage ;)