2019 Cincycon Bolt Action Tournament

Ok, so I have been a little busy working on my house and I'm almost done.  So hopefully I will be able to get back into gaming.  in the mean time I did run a Combat Patrol Tournament at Cincycon 2019 on 1-March.  I had a lot of help from Ben Capazo.  He is a graphic designer and a great painter and has some terrific terrain too.

This was 600 point Combat Patrol Tournament.  limited armor and other things.  We had 12-13 guys signed up but only 9 showed up, so Ben and I alternated playing to even things out.  Also prize support was from Game Time Miniatures since this was a small tourney, but Karl had support from Warlord, Rubicon, and a few others.  I also received a few Gift Certificates from Warlord to hand out so we had great support.

Now to the pics:

Speaking of Prizes, here is the table,. Lots to pick from!

Here are the tables, we set them up as 4x4 which works great for smaller games:

Round 1

Some game pics.  I got some int he first round and a few later, but as the night went on, I was winding down

This is the first table and features buildings painted by Ben. See I told you he was a great painter! Plus he painted the LVT... lol

Round 2:

So I played in Round 2 and it was against Ron....He was running Ghurka's and it was ugly.  I was running just a small German Recon force and shoudl have held back and fired at him instead of pushing up the left side, but I was trying to get to his base.  the game was point defense.  Oh well will try again.

Round 3, yes thats Ron in the pic below.

So  the last round had Jamie and Christian playing for the top spot and I really thought Christian would be able to beat Jamie, but Jamie won out and won the tourney.  AJ was 2nd and Robert Sprague came in 3rd.  We had a couple guys that were playing in their first tournament and even their first games.

Overall great time and thanks to all who turned out.  I hope to make the next Game Time game day and get a game in.

Storming the Citadel Mini-Campaign Scenario 6

So this is the last scenario for the Storming the Citadel Mini-Campaign.  Since this is a play test using Bolt Action as the game system and Chain of Command for the campaign, so far this has been a success.  The similarities between the two system is close enough that with the minor adjustments we have been able to play the CoC mini-campaign with Bolt Action.

So the last game.  Below is the map and the table:

This game as the Russian, I start with a fresh platoon of 4 squads.  Since we didn't play Scenario 5 because I didn't have any troops left from the previous game, this is all I start with.  We had rolled for the reinforcements and I received 7 and Phil received 14.  For my 7 points I took 2 entrenchments, a ATR team and a 45mm ATG.  I figured Phil would take 2-3 251 Haltracks and the PZIII from the previous game . I Bolt Action the 45 gains a +1 to its penatration die roll if the target is within close range, so wit the +4 and +1 I was hoping I could take out a couple 251's and maybe the PZIII .

My Force:

Here is what Phil took:

Yep, a 251 HT and a TigerI ...sigh.  didn't plan on that one. His comment was he had never used his Tiger before and with 14 points this gave him a chance to bring it out.

So I had to put up to half of my force on the table in Hidden Setup, at least I had that.  I setup the 2 Rifle Squads, one behind the fence on the left side and one behind the hill. The 45mm ATG, I setup behind the building in the hopes that anything that came that way I could Ambush and maybe get a flank shot.:

Look at the Russian setup.

So turn one Phil moves on the table with everything and he moved the 251 HT on his right.  I didn't plan on that move. 

Turn 1 I didn't move anything on the table.  Figured I better wiat for things to develop

Turn 2 saw Phil advance slowly this time so seeing how his attack was developing I moved on my 2 LMG squads, using cover to move them on:

Phil's advance:

Turn 3 Phil advanced his HT further past the house and dismounted the squad inside. I brought out my Rifle squad in the entrenchment and fired at the squad, with no hits.  The return fire from the Tiger caused a pin and couple hits on the squad. 

  I advanced my other Rifle Squad up the hill and fired at his 2 squads int he open and caused a couple hits, but the Medic saved one.I did not get a pic of this action.

Turn 4 Phil got the first die, which I really needed and fired at the Rifle Squad in the entrenchment.  end result was they took enough hits that caused a Morale check and they failed.  This dropped my FM down 2 to 7.

I brought out the 45mm ATG and fired at the squad and put a 2 pins and causality on it. Pic shows Turn 5 when I rotated this and fired at another squad in the center.  I had brought my ATR rifle on just out of the picture and hit the 251 HT and caused it to be immobilized. small victory.

So my turn of bad luck continued.  Phil put heavy fire on the squad on the hill and forced a Morale Check, which they failed:

This dropped my Force Morale down to 6.
Phil then fired the Tiger at the LMG squad in the Building and got a Critical hit.  he took the Squad Leader out and this dropped my Force Morale down to 5:

That was pretty much the end of the game. the Tiger was just too much as he could sit back and put down heavy fire.  I guess I should have put 2 squad on my left in entrenchments as that would have forced Phil to direct another squad that way and weakened his left. 

Well Phil won the campaign, and his CO and men like him very much.  Me, I guess I will be sent to the front without a weapon lol.

Since this was test to see if we could make this work, we both agreed it was big success. There are a few minor tweaks, one which was since in this campaign, the Germans Roll their FM as Elites but are Regulars, in the game itself, play them as Regulars, but roll their Order Test and Morale as Veterans.

We talked to a couple other gamer's that have been following this and we have bounced ideas off of and we think this is ready to roll out to the local group for further playing.  One of the things we talked about was if we get together as a group is to all play the same game at the same time.  So we might have 3 games of scenario 3 being played.  but we take the results of the 3 games to determine who the winner is.  So on table 1 and 3 the Germans win, but the Russian win on table 2 then the overall results is the Germans win Scenario 1. Terrain shouldn't be an issue as only Scenario 4 has a lot of buildings.

As to additional rules, we discussed the changes to MMG and Mortar Teams, and Sniper Fire.  For Snipers firing they do not take the Mortar or MMG team completely out.  These teams were trained to fire an done shot should not take them out. 

As to MMG's we agreed to try a rule that has been discussed on the Bolt Action Forums in that MMGs cause D2 Pins. This makes MMGs usable again since no one takes them in a list.

I through out a rule i would like to try which is AFV Hull and Turret mount MG reduce the range form 36" to 24".  These weapons have a reduced barrel length and the sighting for this is also reduce. Some said to reduce the angle of fire, but reducing the range is the simpler move, so we will give this one a couple test.

We will try to start this the end of the month

Storming the Citadel Mini-Campaign Game 3

So Phil and I met again to play out game 3 of the Storming the Citadel mini campaign and try out a few new things/adjustments.  We had been playing the Germans as Elite when that is what we should use for their Force Morale roll.  They should be Regulars.  In the campaign they are listed as Regulars/Aggressive.  So we played them as having the Stubborn trait in Bolt Action, which should work out if we get into Close Combat.  I also worked on the scenario conversions and do to me miss reading how Meeting Engagement was played, had to adjust on the fly.

So this game was an Attack and Defend scenario.  Phil rolled for points at the end of the last game and rolled a 1 so he received 11 points and I got 6. this was the one scenario so far that I thought I had a chance of holding him off.  Our FM was both a 9 for this on.

So for my 6 points I took a ZIS-3 76mm gun and 2 entrenchments.  With Phil having 11 points, I knew he would be taking some sort of tank.  Plus in BA, the ZIS3 uses a 2" template, so if he bunched any infantry up, there was a good chance to take out a few.

For Phil's 11 points he did take a tank, a Pzfkw III M, a 251 halftrack, and surprisingly a Sniper Team.

Below is the map from the campaign:

Below are some pics from the table:

OK, don't give me grief on the unfinished terrain.  i have been working on the fences from 4Ground, as their bases wont let them stand up all the time.  So I glued them to some wider pieces of wood to give them a better base.  Just not done yet.

So I set my Zis 3, 2 entrenchments, 1 small squad and 2 other squads on the table :

I thought I could cover the center and the 2 squads could cover the flanks.  this left me with my Platoon Command and 2 squads off table in Reserve.

Since Phil has won all the games so far, he received a Prelimiary Bombardment.  To say it was effective is an understatement.  I lost my Platoon Commander, and the ZIS3 received 2 pins.  several other squads also got pins. With my FM roll it went down from 9 to 8.  Not a good way to start the game.  I tired to Rally the gun and of course failed but was able to remove a pin from the squad in the entrenchment.

Turn 2 saw Phil moving on to the table:

Close up.  Phil is one of the best painters around

These pictures do not do them justice.
I tried to fire the ZIS, but alias it went down again.  There is a pattern forming here. Phil then brought on the 251 HT with a squad mounted up down my left side along with another squad on foot:

I was able to bring in my other 2 squads one on the far left and one on the for right.

The sniper Team had taken up a position in the center of the table and took out a LMG in the squad behind the entrenchment. Phil tried to bring on the MKIII but it failed its check...there was some hope!

Turn 3 saw the MkIII come on, with the last squad.

It immediately put 3 kills on the squad on the far right. Things of the left weren't looking any better as the 251 HT advanced up and fired into the squad behind the fence, then Phil getting the next dice and the mounted squad unloaded and poured fire into this squad.

Ground level view

Oh by the way, the ZIS tried to fire but went down again.....4 points for this!  lol.  I slide the squad behind the building to the left and put some fire in the squad that just unloaded and did cause some casualties.

Phil's squad in the center moved up to the fence and poured more fire in the my far left squad.

Turn 4 saw the ZIS fail again and go down.  The squad on my far right took more fire from the MKIII and the squad to its front, but it did cause a few casualties.  The fight was to the left.  I was able to put some move fire into the far left German squad, but return fire eliminated most of the squad and the lose of the LMG caused my FM to go down to 7. Then on the morale check for loosing more then half, the squad routed.  My FM roll was a 6!  this caused my FM to go down to 5.  Time to withdrawal.

Overall a good game as we worked out a few things and continue to fine tune the conversions.  We are thinking we can use this in a group setting and have the overall results determine the next steps.

Storming the Citadel Mini-Campaign Game 2

So Phil and I were able to get in Game 2 of the Storming the Citadel CoC mini Campaign last night. Recap of Game 1 is below or here: /storming-citadel-mini-campaign-game-1  There are a few things we missed after the game that we needed to take care of. The CO's Opinion and the Men's Opinion  Rolls. There is a section on the Leader himself, but I need to read through that to wrap my brain around it first.

So for Phil his CO and Men's opinion went up by 1.  Mine on the other hand went down 1, since I lost the game and had more casualties.  No affect now, but we will see in the later games

So we rolled for points after the first game so we could figure out what we wanted to use and build if need be.  Since Phil has the initiative he rolled and we received the maximum of 3 support points for this game. Phil decided to use a new platoon at full strength and picked a 251/1 Halftrack.  Since I was defending I picked 3 dugin positions since I forgot about those the last game and paid for it. Phil's FM was 9 and mine was 8, we both rolled low.

So for setup we agreed to allow the Russians to setup up to 24" from their side and the Germans 24" from their side. I put the 2 LMG squads in the center and far right where I had 2 minefields.  these were dummy fields.  I did this since they had a longer range and could put out 8 die.

Below are a couple setup pics.  I only put 3 of my squads on the table and kept 1 of the Rifle Squads in reserve as this squad was down to 4 men and I really didn't need to loose anymore from this squad.  I will get a few of these back in the next day. I placed the Rifle squad on the left in front of the double stacked Minefields thinking that this would slow down the Germans pushing through here and they could inflict some casualties.

LMG squad on the hill on my right

Yes I know the marker is a fence.  I only started building the dugin markers and only had 2 done.

Phil decided to put maximum force on his right, in front of the Rifle Squad.  This was goign to be a long day for them

Turn 1 - Phil started laying down some long range LMG fire on my squads and of course on the first turn he killed 3 rifle men from my Rifle Squad on the left. Return fire from the Russian caused 1 kill. The Mine Clearing Teams pushed into the first line of Minefields without my causing a hit.

Turn 2 - More long range fire from the Russians only caused a few pins, but no kills.  Return fire caused a few kills on the Germans.  The Mine Clearing team rolled and cleared the first Minefield.

Turn 3 - The Germans put down more fire and caused a couple kills against the Rifle Squad and the LMG squad in the center.  The return fire caused a kill of German squad on the right and it was the LMG! small victories. Another Minefield is cleared, 2 down 2 to go.

Minefield Clearing Team on the far left has been hit and lost a member.

Turn 4 - This saw the Germans really push through the minefields with the lead squad and the halftrack.  I guess Phil want to really try and knock out the Rifle squad on my left. I did get a hit on the Grenadier Squad but did not cause a casualty.  The Halftrack was also hit, but I rolled a 2, even with a +3 I still didn't destroy it. The Mine Clearing Teams cleared the last Mine Field and thus the game was over.

Overall I lost 6 men, no NCO's or my Officer so 2 Dead and 4 light wounds which will be back for Game 3 since that is the next day.  Phil lost 7 men of which 3 are dead and the rest are back also.

We rolled for opinions and my CO stayed the same, but my Men's opinion went up by 1.  I guess since we put up a better defense, they felt better about their chances of surviving.  Phils CO stayed the same but his Men's opinion went down to 0.  Guess they thought he could have done better.

We also rolled for the points for the next game and Phil rolled a 1.  11 points for him and 6 for me...hmmmm wonder what he will take.

This was a fun game even though I knew the odds of winning were slim.  Force Morale never came into play in this one so no issues there.  Still working on setup and I think it should have been a 50% on table and the rest either First Wave of Reserve.  Will play that one next game.  Remembering the Opinion Rolls throws a new twist into it and adds to the flavor.  As Phil and I talked afterwards, tourneys are ok and great for the day, but playing this really adds to the game.  Using Bolt action just cuts down on how many rules we need to remember.

I'm thinking about maybe having a Game day with people who have Russians and Germans and tie all this together. If there are 3 games, they all play the same game.  If the Germans win 2 of the, then that is the result for the next game.  I think we can get 3 sets of games in a day.  Terrain is minimal, just need the troops.

Storming the Citadel Mini-Campaign Game 1

So Phil and I have started playing the Too Fat Lardies Chain of Command Storming the Citadel with Bolt Action rules.  To view the conversion rules see previous post:

So Phil is taking the Germans as he has not painted enough of them yet to play them yet.  This works out OK, as I have a ton of Russian figures to cover the campaign.  What I am missing is dugin markers, which will come into play in this game.

Setup: With Bolt action there are no Jump Off points.  What we did was allow the sides to setup half their force within 12" of the starting point rolled for.  then any unit left could come in as the first wave or reserve if so desired.

We rolled for supports and I received 2 points and took the 50mm Light Mortar, should have taken dugin markers.  Phil received 1 point and took a Pioneer Demolition Team. For the entrance points
Phil rolled and came in on the far left (3).  I came in the center (2) setting the OP post across the table with the occupied one in the center so I could defend it.

I set up 2 of my rifle squads on the table and the 50mm Light Mortar on the table as shown.  Phil setup a Rifle squad and kept the rest off table for now.

So turn one saw the Germans advancing an putting down effective fire taking out several Russians.  they brought on the rest of their force and advanced up the hill.  I returned fire only taking out 2 figures.

Turn 2: was even worse for the Russians as the fire from the Germans took out even more troops reducing 1 squad to only the NCO.  Return fire was not as effective and it was beginning to look like I might need to retreat early. Picking the Light Mortar instead of some dugin markers was proving the incorrect choice.

Turn 3.  I was trying to move a unit to my left flanks, when Phil hit my units hard again.  his die rolls were brutal.  At that point I figured it wasn't worth it when Phil has 2 other platoons to pull from and I only have this platoon until Game 6.

Losses:

Squad 1 - 1 Casualty - Light Wound - 1 Rifleman, will be available for Game 3

Squad 2 - 6 Casualties - Light Wound - NCO, 1 Rifleman, LMG and Loader, Back the next game, Dead - 2 Riflemen

Squad 3 - 1 Casualty - Dead - 1 Rifleman

Squad 4 - 2 Casualties - Light Wound - 1 Rifleman, back next game. Dead - 1 Rifleman

So 4 total dead, 1 not available until the next day, but at least 5 coming back for the next game.  Still tough losses.  I really need to make some dugin markers!