FoG (N) of War

Yeah, I know, I know. We rag on Napoleonics quite a lot on Behind Enemy Lines. The set-up times, the labourious nature of the games, forming squares and all that...

In all honesty though, I think the Napoleonic period in terms of historical tabletop wargames looks is possibly only rivalled by an Ancients game for sheer beauty. In WWII gaming, you're really limited (mostly) to greens and browns and greys and dunkelgelbs. Other periods aren't much better, Moderns, Vietnam, all the rest of them are just variations on the same.

The pageantry and vividness of colour on display in a well-painted Napoleonic force is outstanding....

I managed to get my first game of FoG (N) under my belt on the weekend just gone. I played a Russian force pitted against Andy's British in a learning game to understand the rules and come to grips with how it all works before I decide if I'm going to dip my oar into another period.

FoG (N) is a great rule set, which really challenges you on a grand strategy basis. You really need to formulate your plan of attack and then execute, not knowing quite exactly where the terrain is going to be, or what kind of stature (defensive or attacking) your opponent is going to bring. In that way, it really is a unique wargaming experience.

FoG (N) really relies upon the quality and training of your troops, be they Drilled, Conscript, Reformed, Unreformed, and each has their own way of operation on the battlefield. Coming to grips with that is part of the learning. It is pretty unwise to send a bunch of Conscript Hanoverian into the fray against Guard Cavalry...they tend to come off second best.

I think I lost the battle this time, but I really am looking forward to some more games here.

Massive thanks to Andy for walking me through this and also to his lovely wife Maria for feeding me on the night. Wargaming and dinner, what could be better?!

And now, the beauty....

Russian lines formed to advance...

Russian cavalry prepares to reinforce the infantry.

The British are disordered from the Russian artillery fire...

The British cavalry are repulsed...

The British lines now advance toward the Russian batteries...

While the Russian centre begins to falter...

I missed taking more photos after this but because my centre had failed, I lost the day. I did have some infantry moving toward the British town at the rear, routing the British line in the process. Had they made it to town and routed the troops there, I reckon I could have won.

So there you have it, we don't just play 40k...and Flames of War...and Bolt Action...

Doctor Who - Time of the Daleks

Gale Force Nine has been producing some seriously good board games based on popular culture over the last few years. Firefly, Spartacus, Star Trek, Family Guy...

And now they're adding Doctor Who to their roster with their most recent release, Time of the Daleks.

Now, I was lucky enough to have been involved in the creation of this one by play testing the rules, so I do have some slight bias here. It is a seriously cool game though.

You, as one of the Doctors, along with your other Time Lords are attempting to stop the Daleks from reaching Gallifrey and destroying all of time. You'll need the help of the Doctor's companions and all his tools on the way if you hope to defeat Davros and his minions.

The premise of the game is very simple. As you travel along the Web of Time to Gallifrey, you will travel (via TARDIS) to many different locations. At these locations, you'll be faced with Dilemmas which need to be defeated lest the Daleks move closer to their goal.

Dilemmas are defeated by rolling your pool of dice and matching them to the symbols on the Dilemma. Roll enough and you achieve your goal and take your reward. Fail and you bring the Daleks to your location, making it harder for you to beat the Dilemma.

Your TARDIS is where you hold your equipment, companions and the Doctor himself.

As you can see, each Doctor starts with a pool of Story Dice. These can be added to and changed (focused) by the varying companions available to the Doctors on their travels. In this case, Clara allows the Twelfth Doctor to add a Green Story Die and a Red Story Die to his pool. In addition, he can choose to exchange one of his Black Story Dice for a Blue one.

Each die has its won strengths and weaknesses and you need to figure out which combination of dice will allow you the best chance of completing your mission.

Should you fail to roll the combination you need to meet the task, fear not! You companions and your equipment will allow you the opportunity to either re-roll some or all of your dice or even change them to exactly what you're after.

As well as facing the Dilemmas, you will also face Time Anomalies along the way. These are triggered by the approach of the Dalek ship on its way to Gallifrey and present more serious challenges for the Doctors.

Winning the game is pretty simple. While it's cooperative, only one Doctor can be the winner. Get to Gallifrey before any of the other Doctors, and you win! But, if the Dalek ship gets there first or you fail too many Dilemmas, then the Daleks win. If at any point you're required to place the seventh Dalek on the table, then the Time of the Daleks has begun and you lose.

The mechanics of the game are very simple and easy to learn, but there is definitely a degree of complexity and cooperation you need to get to grips with to make sure you're not failing too many challenges and bringing more Daleks on to the table.

And of course, you know that there are some pretty cool minis in this game too, right...

These are all in plastic and they should also paint up very nicely, or just be left as is.

So, if you're looking for a Christmas gift for that Doctor Who fan in your life, then this is something definitely worth looking at!

There are plans for expansions to include other Doctors in the game, but for now, the base set definitely has enough fun packed into it for you!

List Building from Stripes - UH-1 Huey Infantry Combat Team

Apart from the Marine list from Stripes, this is the list that really got my attention. While I know it's a Vietnam thing (and I can't wait to see the new 'Nam rules, by the way!), the thought of a flight of Huey's heading across the table with some Hendrix playing in the background is a damned awesome feeling moment. 

And given I already have a few Huey's lying around, this list is definitely within my reach, although with Battlefront bringing out new plastic Huey's.....

Looking at the list for the 82nd, we have some pretty nice options, in my opinion. I'd like to point out here, in case you didn't know, that I am not really a tournament player. I make lists for fun and to get toys on the table.

I have to take a UH-1 Huey Infantry Combat Team HQ for 1 point. No questions there, no major decision making needed here.

From here, I need to take at least 2 UH-1 Huey Rifle Platoons. My choice here is to have both of them armed in the same manner. I'm taking the full compliment of troops, so 7 SAW/LAW teams, a Dragon team and 3 Hueys. I'm adding 2 M-60 GPMG teams to each which means I need another Huey so in total, the platoons cost me 10 points each.

From there, I reckon some tank support is the way to go here. My option is the M551 Sheridan. Much like the Patton, I love the Sheridan and remember having a heap of 6mm ones as a kid that never got painted. I wish I knew where they were...

I'm taking my full allotment of tanks here, so 2 platoons of 5 Sheridans. While they're seriously paper-thin when going up against other tanks, they have some hitting power with either the 152mm or switching to the Shillelagh missile for some extra boom-boom. Just have to make sure they stay reasonably well hidden....get them before they get you!

Each platoon here is 10 points, so that's another 20 points spent of my 80.

That's tank support taken care of, now to fill out my core.

The more and more I look at the lists in Stripes, having both the HMMWV Scout Section and an HMMWV-TOW Squad is an automatic inclusion in almost everything. If you can get the Hummers in the right place, they're going to cause problems for enemy armour and transports, guaranteed. In the case of my 82nd list, I'm taking both which costs me 7 points. Done.

On to support options now, and I'm doing things slightly differently here. Ultimately, I need to protect my air assets because they're gonna drop the boys off close to objectives so they can get stuck in and get rid of defenders. For that reason, I'm doubling up on AA.

First off I'm taking a VADS platoon for 6 points. They act in a dual-purpose role for me here. If they're not shooting down enemy air, they provide some pretty good fire support for the infantry as well. Halted, you're taking 7 shots each with AT6 and this goes down to 4 on the move. With 4 tracks in the platoon, I'm still looking at 16 shots on the move. Pretty good value, I think.

After that, I am taking the much maligned and heavily discussed Sgt. York, for a similar reason to the VADS inclusion. They're multi-purpose weapons here and they have an even better AT than the VADS. 4 (of the 50 ever made) are in my list for 8 points.

Apparently, you can't take VADS and Sgt. York's so looks like I'll be taking Chaparrel's instead here. No major problem, same points and all that.

And lastly.... it's Cobra time.

If you don't like the Cobra, I think there may be something wrong with you.

I'm sinking 14 points into these BAMF's because they're a) cool as fuck and b) powerful.

They're Hunter Killer, meaning that they can pop in and our where you need them. They've got a massive array of weaponry at their disposal to take care of all comers.

These guys are here to ensure that my Huey's get through to their objectives and take the game. Backed up by my AA assets to keep them in the sky, I think the list has the potential to be a real winner.

And if not, it's still gonna look damned sexy on table!

Expanding the list is pretty easy I think. Adding another Huey platoon would take care of 10 points putting me to 86 and I can then add 4 more Cobras!

Oh the fun I'd have with that!!

So, what do you think of the list? Any changes you'd make?

List Building from Stripes - Greg's Marine Tank Company

I haven't really built a new list for Team Yankee since I got my West Germans painted up and ready to go so with the introduction of Stripes to the fray, I've found myself drawn into wanting to build Marines and especially a Marine Tank Company. While I appreciate the power of the M1 Abrams, I really do have a soft spot for the venerable M60 Patton. It's a damned fine tank!

So, taking a look at how my 80 point list would be fleshed out, here's where we start. I'm taking a Marine Tank Company, so I need a Tank Company HQ. Here I have the option of 1-2 M60 Patton tanks for 4 points each. I don't tend to take a second tank here, so it's an easy choice.

I have to take 2 Marine Tank Platoons, so I'm gonna make sure they're maxxed out. 5 Pattons in each costing me 20 points per platoon. Remember that the Marines have the M60A1 so it's slightly worse than the Army M60A3. Armour is the same, as are the guns. I don't get Laser Rangefinders but I do have the benefit of Accurate.

Those are my compulsory choices sorted, so now adding to the core formation, I'm first going to be adding my HMMWV Scout Section for 2 points. This gets me 3 Humvees with Scout and Spearhead to advance my deployment where possible. Because the Scout Section also has the HMMWV-TOW in there, there is also the potential that they can mess with my enemy's armour as well. Definitely a benefit in my eyes!

And if adding the HMMWV Scouts was a no-brainer, then getting the HMMWV-TOW Anti-Tank Squad is even easier! 2 points for 2 TOW-Armed Hummers to really start messing with anything coming close is a great buy for your money!

Rounding out my core forces, I need some boots on the ground to defend the objectives and hold on should the need arise. For this, I'm taking a Marine Rifle Platoon. I'm taking the smaller version which sets me back 6 points for 6 SAW/LAW teams and 2 AAVP7 transports for them. I'm also adding 2 Dragon teams here just in case we need to really defend against an armoured assault on our positions. I would also then exchange 2 of the SAW/LAW teams for M60 GPMG to guard against infantry assaults and also 2 SMAW teams, as extra insurance!

And now on to support options.

Ummm, hello! Harriers anyone?! I have to take 4 of these bad boys and at only 6 points for the 4, the fact they arrive on a 3+ and cluster bombs, I'm in heaven! The 30mm Aden gun has AT 7 and FP 5+ to take our both APC and other soft skin targets as well but can also shoot down enemy choppers if needed.

So I now need clear skies to make sure my Harriers can get through unmolested. My AA of choice here is the M48 Chaparral. I'm take 4 of these to protect my formation from the air which costs me 8 points. They can hit anything on the table and their 3+ firepower should pretty much guarantee some kills.

Rounding out my list, I'm taking 3 M109's and a HMMWV OP for 8 points in total. Artillery can be an absolute game changer in the right circumstances and without the benefit of mortars here, this is the best option for me.

All up, you're looking at an 80 point list which I think is pretty well rounded and covers most bases. The key here is making sure your M60's survive. They have less armour than the Abrams so you need to make sure you're making use of cover, use your TOW's to eliminate threats and get them into the enemy's face!

I have a couple of options for expanding this list to 100 points if needed. I can either add another platoon of 5 Pattons for 20 points (more hulls = more fun!) or I can look to add a HMMWV Cavalry Troop, an option I'm quite keen on exploring.

For 19 points, I get 6 Scout Sections each consisting of a HMMWV-M2, a HMMWV-MK19 and 2 HMMWV-TOW. The HQ adds 2 more HMMWV-M2 which would give me a total of:

8 x HMMWV-M2
6 x HMMWV-MK19 and
12 x HMMWV-TOW

Surely I'm not the only person for which that sounds incredibly appealing???

There we have it team, I've already taken steps to make this happen by pre-ordering the Ryan's Leathernecks starter box from Battlefront.

It's a good starter but I'm definitely going to be needing more Pattons and Hummers!

In my next article, I'll take a look at a build for the 82nd pulling on some recent discussions I've seen around helo troops.

Until then....