December Game Day 12/10/23 “Warlord Learn to Play Day”

Our December Game Day featured four different Warlord Games to engage our players and give them a chance to try out different rule sets in some hotly contested action on the table tops of Miniature Market Retail Superstore,

and the players turned out in force for the day.

First up was a trip to the age of sail with a Hunt The Wounded Bear a scenario for Black Seas run by Chris Coffelt. Both sides took a beating in this game, but the it appears the Royal Navy did not achieve its goal of escaping the clutches of the USN.

As Chris reports…..”We set the game up with the 3 American frigates advancing in a line abreast. The British took a formation with the HMS Africa in the center being towed a 5th rate frigate and being escorted by 2 other frigates. At the last moment an unknown force captained by no else but the infamous Pirate Pat with 2 brigs and a gunboat squadron. The first two turns were spent jockeying for position. In turn 3 main protagonists joined battle. The Constitution broke the tow line between the Africa and her towing Frigate, and delivered massive damage as she raked both ships. Unfortunately the Constitution became the focus of the British fleet and slipped beneath the waves. Lots of ships struck their colors, the Africa was taken and a marginal Yankee win ensued.“

Next up was a D-Day game of Bolt Action with Dave Schaffner at the helm as GM providing another of his spectacular presentations wrapped up in a historical scenario.

We will let Dave tell us the story……

“This month’s Warlord-featured rules gaming went well I thought, with a nice mix of periods presented.”

“The game I contributed was a D-Day Bolt Action scenario, based on a hot firefight fought outside the small hamlet of Nueville-au-Plain, NW of Saint-Mere-Eglise, on the morning of the Invasion.  The guys had a great time with it, and I thoroughly enjoyed putting it on for them.  Mike, Pete, and Bob skillfully handled the deployment of two German infantry platoons from the 91st Luftlande Division, as these deployed off of road march.  John V., who commanded 3rd Platoon, D Company, of the 505th Parachute Rgt., had a tall order on hand – maximum delay with minimal forces at hand to do it..”

“The pressure of two enemy platoons pushing hard, on a eventually, crumbling American flank, would not be denied.”

“John was able to extract his remaining troopers from contact, and skedaddled back south back towards Saint-Mere-Eglise, but the German attack would roll well forward, as the small roadblock gave way – without much delay.”

The English Black Prince had been raiding Villages and needed to get the loot to port before the French Army closed in recapturing the ill gotten gains. Randy Higgenbotham treated his players this setting in the Hundred Years War using Hail Caesar rules and 15mm miniatures. Randy has sent in this report from the field…..

“The game’s time period was a fictional battle during the 100 Years War. Six brave souls joined us to play the Hail Caesar rules in 15mm scale. The English victory conditions required them to successfully exit their treasure hoard in wagons off the board. They were escorting the loot to the coast for transport home and they expected reinforcements.  The French were determined to stop the English from withdrawing to the coast and needed to capture the wagons.”

“The French pressed hard and sent their larger calvary wing up against the English rear guard. The rear guard supported with knights and longbows stopped  the attack on the rear. The rest of the English captains formed blocking lines to defend the road and permit the safe transport of the wagons. The French Center pressed hard but culminated and could not break the center. The French captain on the right flank made a desperate charge into the English. They sent troops through the woods to cut off the road. But this last desperate thrust was halted by English dismounted knights that were guarding the exit site. The French left and center commands began to withdraw, finding themselves below half strength. The English claimed a major victory by achieving  two objects. Successfully transporting the wagons off the table and forcing two French armies to withdraw due to heavy losses.”  

Through the use of Bolt Action our players had a chance to look into early WWII and the John Nozka transformed a table top into the terrain of Poland in the opening stages of the conflict.

The objective was the bridge for both parties. Capture it for the team in German Gray or blow it up for the Home Team.

John put some super terrain on the table for the players to enjoy.

Both sides had a rough go of it trying to tackle their objectives.

Overall we had a great game day with some new faces joining us and some folks who we hadn’t seen in a significant time coming back to get in on the action. It is clear the our dedicated GMs who work hard putting interesting and attractive scenarios on the table have once again achieved the victory conditions for our gaming community. Coupled with the ease of getting into a new game that Warlord rules presents gave us a big +1 to our dice rolls. As always a huge Thank You to the great staff at Miniature Market for their consideration and support to help us grow our hobby of historical table top miniature gaming.