Better Late than Never

We can joke about Americans arriving late for wars - and the day after Gaelcon the Marines arrive!
Staff Sergeant Baxter leads a patrol into the jungle away from the St. Paul river where their gunboat lies.

Also, testing out solo-play for Perilous Trail! Solo Nexus made November Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month
Spacejacker (Tiny Solitary Soldiers) coined the term Solopalooza - which I am stealing!

Baxter, Norton, Jackson and Hill move slowly through the jungle.



Up into the foothills through lush jungle



"Stay frosty" Baxter warns them. Jackson has a bad feeling about this one - Hill tells him that he always says that!



Two beasts lurk in the deep undergrowth



An uphill some Rators creep along a ridgeline



With danger surrounding them, Baxter orders the men onto a rock ledge overlooking a peaceful pool - here they can make a stand against whatever's in the jungle



A Crocodile strikes, but Norton avoids the beast - just like an Albino Alligator he saw in New York Zoo! (OK, I admit it, it's not painted)



Distracted and stepping back from the water, the Marines don't notice the creatures charge out until it's almost two late



A stern fusilade puts down two of them, Baxter waits until he can smell the Raptor's breath before unloading the shotgun into it. Another raptor teeters into the pool, and the waiting jaws of one lucky crocodile



The surviving Achillobator makes a hasty retreat to look for another opportunity



Baxter gives chase and uses his pump-action to telling effect



Rather pleased with how this played out actually - I'm writing up some notes into the game now. Another playtest to come tomorrow or Tuesday.

Wargaming 101

I see it's 'Teach your Kids to Game' week

Over the last few weekends, I told a story quite a few times to various people about this wargaming experiment during the summer!

An amphibious invasion by aquatic smurfs (aboard a flotilla of sailboats) with a gaggle of rubber duckies of a peaceful island (dominated by a yellow keep) held by Peppa Pig and her family.



Old-school rules - throw a ball, if you knock it over it's out, and every throw the flotilla moves close to the island!



Given that she's only 3 and a bit, Isabel's aim wasn't quite as good a mine



But she took the nuclear option in the end - point blank range!



Enjoyable fun! She's playing with my dinosaurs already, and she wants to paint a crocodile with me over the weekend...

Battle of Salamanca (Epic)

Early on July 22, Marmont's army was moving south, with its leading elements southeast of Salamanca. To the west, the Marshal could see Wellington's 7th Division deployed on a ridge. Spotting a dust cloud in the distance, Marmont surmised that most of the British army was in retreat and that he faced only a rearguard. He planned to move his French army south, then west to turn the British right flank.

Marmont was mistaken. Wellington actually had most of his divisions hidden behind the ridge. His 3rd and 5th Divisions would soon arrive from Salamanca.



The British left crosses the Algabete, with the proverbial wind behind them this Division makes a serious attempt to destroy the French here



The French storm through the British centre, sending the 'Halberdiers' reeling backwards and splitting the Anglo-Portuguese army in twain



The massed cavalry on the British right make attack after attack, but they are fended off and sent packing by the French line



The British advance on the left is stopped and the intense struggle at the ridge between Calvarasa de Ariba and the river continues all morning



The Grenadiers combine with the 'Drogheda Cossacks' to send the advance French battalions back to hell! But is it enough to win the day?



On the left, the British sweep back across the river, with the loss of some guns but inflicting serious damage on the French over the hill



It is not enough, and the French surge to victory on the British right, taking the honours.

This scenario was played three times over the weekend, this time going to the French 12-8; in the afternoon it was 12-10 to the French, but on Sunday the British restored their honour with a 12-9 victory.