Announcing Ambush Friday

Starting with next week, December 26, we will start to run an evening of miniatures gaming at Ken’s, more than likely themed around Ambush Alley and its expansions; namely, Ambush Z (zombies), Ambush Valley (Vietnam), Force on Force (regular forces on regular forces) and Ambush Mars (my science fiction work in progress set on Mars between corporate insurgents and the UN). I’ve already been writing about my and my son’s interest in these games, but now Ken and Chris at UGG have got the bug as well.

As for Force on Force, the same figures needed for Ambush Alley will work quite well, so we have a good start on Iraq and Afghanistan. The rules also work with World War 2, so we more than likely have enough to run in this period as well. I also have a ton of 15mm figures and vehicles for the 73 Arab Israeli conflict, so I will be working to get those figures ready.

Our first game will be December 26 and will be an Ambush Alley game set in Iraq. New players are welcome.

Check Your Six! on Hiatus

Well, after six months of flying, it’s time to move on. After speaking with Ken at Unique Gifts and Games, the Friday night Check Your Six! campaign will end. Please note that we will continue to play the game on occasion, but it will no longer be a regularly scheduled event. Some of the players, myself included, want to play some of the scenarios in the books versus having a set campaign, so we will most likely do that.

Ambush Alley Continues to Grow

We played two more games of Ambush Alley over the weekend. The first ended in a Marine nightmare. We were playing a variation of the Search & Clear scenario. The Marines had one squad (three fire teams and a squad leader), plus attached LAV-25. The mission was to move block to block and eliminate the insurgent “hot spots” on the board. Unfortunately, the insurgents had other ideas. First of all, the Marines did not do a good job of bounding movement and a few overwatch assignments were missed. As a result, a lone Marine fireteam ran for a tree line, only to be cut down by hidden insurgents just across the river. The house could not be brought under fire quickly enough to save the trapped Marines. The LAV-25 attempted to drive to their rescue and use its armor as a shield, but then several other RPG armed insurgents scored multiple hits on the flank of the LAV, turning it into a smoking hulk. While many insurgents lost their lives, two Marines were killed and a third critically wounded. No “hot spots” were neutralized and the Marines beat a hasty retreat back to their FOB.

The second game is still in progress. We discovered that we had been doing vehicles and small arms incorrectly, so this time the LAV-25 was a bit more resilient. The same scenario was played, this time with more buildings and more maneuver room for both sides. To this point, the Marines have cleared a few buildings and are threatening one of the “hot spots,” but the LAV-25 has taken some damage. We’ll see how this resolves as the week unfolds.

In the meantime, our order from Scale Creep came in and we now have a Blackhawk helicopter to paint, as well as more insurgents (this time, Somalis). I finished painting our Stryker and am nearly done with two LAV-25s.  I have also started filing and priming my Taliban figures from QRF. Also on the project table are two N-scale buildings (actually slightly large for N-scale) for a downtown area. We are taking two four and five story N-scale office buildings and “Middle Easternizing” them by adding patriotic posters, Aramaic signage and plenty of weathering. We’ll take some pictures when they’re finished.

We are also considering the possibility of modifying Ambush Alley for science fiction. I have purchased several packs of the Rebel Miniatures Earth Force and Sayhadeen figures. I’m thinking about an insurgency on Mars in a future colony. I have no doubt the rules will work just fine given their flexible and abstract nature. I have two MKP Mars terrain mats, so I would simply need to build some colony buildings and rocky outcroppings for the game to progress.

Ambush Alley Set-up

My son Will and I have been busy putting together our layout for Ambush Alley. We have been calling the city/country Derka-Derkastan, a nod to the Team America movie.

The first photo is a shot of the downtown of the capital city. The buildings come from a wide variety of manufacturers, everything from old Architectural Heritage to JR to Miniature Building Authority to Deimos Design. The roads, palm trees and fields are from The Terrain Guy. The river is from JR Miniatures. The second photo is a convoy of US Marines heading down one of the streets. The Humvees and figures are from the Old Glory modern Command Decision line and were all painted by my son Will.

Meanwhile I have been working on the Irregulars and terrorists. Most of the figures I am painting right now come from Rebel Miniatures. I have also painted up an Old Glory Technical, and am currently 1/2 done with a LAV-25 and a Stryker (the latter is for my US Light Infantry).

Beautiful downtown Derka-Derkastan

The Marines in convoy.

Ambush Alley Games over Thanksgiving

My eldest son and I picked up Ambush Alley awhile ago and never had occasion to play it. This past holiday weekend we painted up some Old Glory moderns and some Rebel Miniatures insurgents and had at it. We played a total of four games, two resulting in Marine victories and two resulting in Insurgent victories. It has been quite a long time since I have found a game I like so much that I play it that many times in a short period.

Ambush Alley is not for the ultra detail-oriented. While the mechanics cover an enormous amount of ground, the game abstracts scale, time and weapons minutia in favor of quick, easy mechanics. Troop quality and morale are more important than how many rounds were fired or the relative performances of AK-47s and M-16s. As the game designers note, a well-trained fireteam will make the most of a poor weapon’s strengths than a poorly trained fireteam will make of a good weapon’s strengths. Another difference is that range is not much of a factor. The board sizes for most of the scenarios are such that troops often start in contact. With 15mm miniatures a typical board size is 2′ x 2′, so most weapons will have range across the board. We played 3 of our 4 games on smaller boards, and one on a 4′x 4′ board. Line of sight was far more important than range in all cases.

The game rewards realistic tactics. Overwatch/bounding fire is essential for the regular forces player. Firepower for regular units can be overwhelming, so insurgents need to rely on surprise, stealth and bringing numbers at close range to minimize the concentrated fire of the regulars. Vehicles are somewhat abstracted, but that is fine for the size of the forces typically involved. A Marine squad is a good force for one player (one leader and three fireteams of four men).

Another innovation of the game is the Fog of War (FOG) cards. In addition to the starting ORBATs for the regular and irregular players, Fog of War cards means neither side is sure exactly what they have or what is going on. FOG cards cover things like media teams showing up unexpectedly, IED’s, low ammunition or unexpected assets.

All in all, I heartily recommend Ambush Alley to anyone looking for a fun game set in the modern period. My son and I are already expanding our forces and terrain to cover other modern conflicts.

A Few Pictures

Sadly we did not get very good photos from Legends in the Fall…my iPhone doesn’t do that great of a job. I am hoping my wife gets me a digital camera for Christmas that can render my miniatures better. I took a few photos of a few of the models after the fact…here are a couple:

Erkenbrand, Gamling and a Royal Guardsman of Rohan

One of the new GW plastic Ents...I have named him Strongbranch

Check Your Six! Resumes Flying this Friday Night

It may be Black Friday for retailers, but it’s a fine night for flying WWII aircraft. Now that I am no longer stuck painting only Lord of the Rings miniatures (that convention game is done-phew!), I hope to get a few new aircraft ready to go for Friday night. As always, wheels up at 7:15 PM. I picked up some War at Sea miniatures from Axis & Allies, so we may feature a bombing run on some naval targets. Hope to see you there!

Games Day in Peotone, IL

I had the privilege of attending the recent games day at the Dragon’s Refuge in Peotone, IL. This hobby shop sponsors a day long event every other month that includes miniatures, card games, a silent auction and a raffle. My friend Rich ran a Sword and the Flame variant set in the Belgian Congo involving a rescue column trying to link up with Belgian Askari at a native fort, then push on to rescue an archaeological team that had run afoul of the natives.

My column, replete with ammunition bearers, is ambushed by the natives.

The game was fun, although the Belgians did not fare well against the pesky native ambushes. The terrain was quite impressive, including a scratch-built earth/log jungle fort.

The Askari sally forth from the fort, only to find death in the jungle.

All-in-all, everyone had a good time.

Great Legends Day at Trinity College

Sorry that I have not posted for a few weeks, but I have been very busy getting ready for Legends in the Fall, which took place on November 14. First of all, congratulations to Skip Peterson and the convention staff for a near flawless performance. We had good weather, good logistics and good organization for the day. Despite a parking lot/paving glitch, we had a record attendance for the day. I think the final head count exceed 200 people. Second, thanks to all the game masters who once again showed the best looking and best run games in the Midwest. Hats off to Mark Feldman for yet another pulp masterpiece, this one set in late war Germany with Russians, Americans, Germans, zombies, aliens, rockets and other craziness that was another crowd-pleaser. Also notable was Ivor Janski’s World War I game set in October 1918, replete with fall trees, trenches and well-thought scenario-crafting. The Cold Cannister and Steel crowd had a good attendance. The afternoon session featured an excellent 1/35th scale Alamo game, using Conte Collectibles terrain and figures. There was also a 90mm version of Command and Colors Ancients played on the table next to me. My Uncharted Seas fleets sailed under the command of Ken Wickes from Unique Gifts and Games, whose staff ran several demos of the game.

Our two games went off without a hitch. My son Will ran Starship Troopers to much fanfare. This marks the fifth consecutive year that we have run the game, and in fact, Skip told me that we are the only game that has run at every Legends event since its inception. The Bugs made a meal out of the Mobile Infantry this time, so no new citizens will join the ranks of the Federation. Our Lord of the Rings game went well, but not as expected. The charge of the Rohirrim was stopped cold by Uruk-Hai well-positioned pikes and horrendous die rolling by the horse lords. Erkenbrand, Gamling and Eowyn had to beat a hasty retreat from the Westfold back to Meduseld. The highlight of the game for me was the Isengard Troll and an Ent from Fangorn playing catch with a large boulder for most of the game, each trying to wound the other to no avail. I’ll try to post some pictures from both of the games later in the week.

Legends in the Fall November 14

Legends in the Fall is coming up at Trinity College on Saturday, November 14. The college is located in Deerfield, IL, and represents a new venue for the convention. I have been running games at this biannual convention since its inception. The crowd is a good group of people and the gamemasters represent some of the best in the Midwest.

I will be running two games this year. First, my son Will and I will be running Starship Troopers again (we’ve run at least one game every convention). We’re still working out the scenario. Second, I will be running Lord of the Rings, using all this terrain and miniatures I have been painting. The scenario will be set in Rohan (see earlier post) and should be a lot of fun. Check out the Legends in Time link on this page to get more details about the convention. Hope to see all of you there.