Initial set up, from behind my right flank. |
On the other hand, some bits were really confusing - especially the unit displacement rule - when you first spot a defender, it gets moved randomly to a slightly different position. We just couldn't get our head around that one - why should a defending unit hiding in cover be teleported outside of it when it is first seen? So we just ignored that one. (Maybe we simply didn't understand it properly - our brains aren't what they were when we were younger...)
Being a plonker, I left my printed-out copy at work, naturally, but we could still access the electronic version to play - internet to the rescue! We rolled up our forces pretty well much randomly, going "by the book". I had Aaron's Americans as "stretched", so his force would be smaller (but naturally, the tanks are way better - their 105s are vastly superior to my 100 mm guns); my Czechoslovakians infantry/MICVs had a miniscule advantage over his infantry in M113 APCs in that I could let off anti-tank fire at a greater distance - needless to say, I never got to use it...
Yankee mechanised company in front of a T-55 company. |
Aaron's game objective turned out to be "hold area against enemy" - he chose a hill just on his side of the centre line that had a good view of a lot of the board to be the key location. Mine objective to exit at least 1/4 of my companies off his baseline. I got two extra companies in compensation for him being able to take a defensive stance, further inflating the numbers discrepancy (he had 6 companies on table at the start, plus one as reinforcements; while I had 8 plus 3, respectively). The recommended 'base size' of company is extremely hazy in the rules. They talk about 1", 2", and 3" bases sizes in a single passage... Since there is at least a defined ground scale (1" = 100 yards), I took that into consideration when decreeing we would use three MSH bases to represent a standard company, with ranges being taken to and from the middle one; the flanking ones would be to make sure they occupied a realistic amount of space.
Turn 6. Aaron (top) has been forced to retreat numerous times. |
Once we really started coming to grips with each other, I kept scoring 1s or 6s on my "shock" dice, forcing Aaron's units to fall back constatantly. In fact, it looked like he was running out of room to retreat at some points, with some of companies falling back even beyond his HQ. On the other hand, my poor tankguns meant I was never in a position to land any "kill" dice on him, and my few assaults didn't work out. On the few occasions Aaron was able to actually get some shots of with his M60A1s, he was able to rip up my guys handily. I forgot to bring my smoke markers, so that part of the visual spectacle was AWOL; in the above picture we are using little 5 mm-a side coloured cubes to represent unit status. This should be done with appropriate dust, smoke, and fire markers...
Goddam Yankees! The American's are Aaron's own figures. |
Things were really really really not looking good for the Czechoslovakians at this juncture...
The casualties (Aaron's sole company lost at top). Not pretty... |
Now technically, I did complete my objective - I did get 3 companies of Aaron's baseline. But since he not only held his hill, but had but a single company rendered hors de combat while doing so, while I had lost seven (!) in getting my three off table, it was clear who the real winner was!
So what did I make of the rules? Well, they were indeed fast play. Very fast. You get maybe 6 to 12 companies total, and they are digital: they are either alive, or dead. So no fiddling about with 'casualities' or the like as platoons get whittled down. No 'morale' as such to speak of, either - combat results can force you to halt, or retreat, but only on a company by company basis. And this is all fine. I'm not sure I like the way artillery was handled - will have to investigate more. Likely we mishandled it...
There are lots of things I would tweak in terms of 'army list' design - I think not having lots of attachments is likely to be more of a wasted opportunity than a useful simplification, but further play-testing will be required. Even if I don't end up liking everything, there is a solid core here that is very much worth investigating. The fact that we could slap a game together, starting with generating an OOB on paper, to packing it away after the game, in something like 4 hours maximum, was quite the revalation. It would probably take me 2 days to do that with MSH...
Great write up. Shouldn't have read it, really... Will probably influence my own!
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