Michael and I played through another of the Operations Magazine scenarios today, the first to combine two different starter kits. This game was set in Stalingrad, during the battle of 1942-3. It was quite a surprise to be back in the heavy industrial centre – and with the Russians – after playing through nine straight scenarios without them, as SK#2 has no Russian troops in … Continue reading Advanced Squad Leader: S18 Baking Bread
We’re back with the Advanced Squad Leader Starter Kits, and Michael and I were playing S17 A Ridge Too Far this time around. Set on the 8th of June, 1944, it takes inspiration from Lt John Alderson of the 1st Special Service Brigade’s 6 Troop, whose men ran into a lot of Germans as they defended a road junction. Historically, they routed the German troops … Continue reading Advanced Squad Leader report: S17 A Ridge Too Far
A couple of weeks ago I noted that our numbers had been dropping. They surged back this week with a vengeance; two new players and a lot of returning players meant we had three tables each with a DM and six players. That’s 21 people playing D&D! Logistically this was a challenge, because the store also had (unusually) people playing Attack Wing and Magic, taking … Continue reading D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast, session 6
Yesterday was Good Games Ballarat’s turn to hold their A Game of Thrones LCG Store Championship. In contrast to most of the stores running the championship, GGB chose to run the event using the newly released Draft format for A Game of Thrones. Thirteen players competed for the prize and – much to my amazement – I walked away in first place. There’s also no … Continue reading A Game of Thrones LCG – Ballarat Store Championship
Last night, Sarah, Tim, Michael, Jon and I played two games of Republic of Rome, an awesome board game originally published by Avalon Hill and later republished by Valley Games. We were using the Valley Games version. It’s a long game and is best played with five players, but seeing that we had five players and that I had it in my car, Sarah leapt … Continue reading Republic of Rome – an awesome board game
I played in this tournament about 2 weeks ago. Five players turned up to Good Games Ballarat to play in the game, with Garth, new to the game, providing a sixth player who played whoever had the bye. We had three rounds, all lasting about an hour, which gave us plenty of time to find new ways to choose the wrong manoeuvres! X-Wing is a … Continue reading An X-Wing Tournament
Italy had a terrible time during World War 2. In 1943, Italy attempted to sign an armistice with the Allies, only to have the Germans invade. This scenario took place in June 1944, by which time the Allies were attempting to neutralise the Germans in Italy as well as those forces still loyal to Mussolini. A small number of men from the French Foreign Legion … Continue reading ASL Report: S16 Legio Patria Nostra
No new players turned up to this session of Scourge of the Sword Coast, but we had a number of returning players who had missed a session or two, and a few regular players who couldn’t make it. All of which conspired to allow us three tables, one with three players, one with four players, and one with five players – with a DM at … Continue reading D&D Encounters: Scourge of the Sword Coast, session 5
16th December, 1944, and the Battle of the Bulge was beginning. In Bleialf, Germany, the Americans of the 106th Infantry found themselves under attack by the 293rd Volksgrenadier regiment. They had courage, and they had anti-tank guns – not great against infantry, but perhaps enough. Michael and I played a scenario based on this situation the other day. Michael chose to take the part of … Continue reading ASL Play Report: S15 Hammer to the Teeth
Operation Market Garden. It’s a legendary operation, although possibly legendary for all the wrong reasons. The idea – capture a lot of bridges simultaneously with paratroopers, and drive up the length of a long road to gain a “back door” into Germany – sounded great, but actually pulling off the operation required entirely too many things to go right. And things, it turned out, could … Continue reading ASL Report: S14 88s at Zon
