August 2012 Game Night

Last night was our club's monthly game night. I've been having some issues with my back so I didn't play in any games but I did stop by to drop off some boat kits for a few who needed them and I was able to take these photographs. There were three great games hosted. These photos are of Phil's Pacific air-to-air game using the new Angels 20 figures and rules from Axis & Allies.

Earl and Mark hosted a War of 1812 skirmish game using Brother Against Brother rules. When I left there was action all over the table on this one.

 Charlie hosted a Normandy WWII game using "Ain't Been Shot Yet Mum" rules. I watched this game for a while and the rules seemed interesting although they do have a bunch of British mechanics and terms in them that might take some getting used to for us 'yanks'.

 Finally Gordon brought in his Islands and boat for us all to see in person. They look even BETTER in person than in the photos he sent earlier in the week. Earl brought his Old Glory 22 gun warship which is partially painted now. The photo below right shows it next to the smaller 8 gun cutter. I think somehow I did OK with the scaling. Everyone is excited for September game day which will be our first run of the pirate game. Arrrgh!

Castillo de San Marcos

Constructed and maintained by the Spanish from 1671 through the Revolutionary war the Castillo de San Marcos is now maintained by the National Park service and is a national monument. In my vacation to Orlando my wife and I took a nice drive up to St. Augustine to see the historic town and this famous fort. The most surprising feature to me was that although the fort is constructed in the Vauban style, it's built based on an inner square and has four sides, which makes adhering to the Vauban geometry somewhat difficult. Still it's a stunning fortress complete with a ravelin protecting the gatehouse and a dry mote, which at times in the fort's history was flooded and at others kept as a safe holding area for livestock to support the garrison.

The fort features several original artillery pieces, some on reproduction carriages and some barrels without carriages for display. Of particular interest was a pair of very ornate mortars with a bore of about 8-10 inches.

With my club starting work on a group project for some Pirate games, the visit to the fort was just what the doctor ordered for inspiration. Additional photos are available in our club's photo gallery.
   

War of 1812 Game

This is a game I played last night at my friend Mark D's house with some of my other Northern Conspiracy friends. The game was a historical scenario for the War of 1812 - the battle of Queenstown Heights, October 13, 1812. This was the second time I've played the scenario that Mark is developing for the upcoming Carnage Convention, the first was at our club's August game night. The game used Volley & Bayonet rules in wing scale using some additional period-specific rules. This was a fun game although the British side, which I was a member of, got soundly beaten by the Americans.

Mark is fine tuning the scenario and I'm sure his game at the upcoming convention will be excellent based on my enjoyment of both of the play tests. One of the unique wing-scale features Mark added was flank company stands that serve as the elites for each unit. These added a nice amount of flavor to the game and sparked quite an active discussion from the players about other periods where this mechanic could be used. I'm guessing we're going to see this used again by other people in possibly Iberian peninsula early Napoleonic games in 25mm. I'm looking forward to some of those games.