Monday, May 27, 2013

Miniature, terrain update May


Good first half of May, with tons of time for hobby.
Little update on the painting front. Resistants and Partisans are increasing in numbers. I made also more rifles as I almost ran out last time.
In addition, I finally painted my APE for my Secret of the Third Reich French units and got 2 new buildings to increase the variety of my ATZ-FFO terrain.

A Mongoose Judge Dredd wasteland
the forefront three are from Artizan Design
From left to right: Warlord, Warlord, Artizan Design, Warlord, Artizan Design
Group shot. Artizan Design and Warlord
Westwind/Grindhouse American APE

APE with French marking

Flamer's back
Sergeant's back
Foldable Dave Graffam building.

Destroyed tower, Dave Graffam, back (foldable)
Destroyed tower, Dave Graffam, front (foldable)
Destroyed tower, Dave Graffam, front (foldable)

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

RRtK : Battle Reports - Summer 1031

Main engagements:
Derigion Marshal Vicus against Vorozion Marshall Colwyn
Derigion Army is invading...

Derigion Army: 40 Heavy Cavalry, 10 Cavalry, 700 Infantry
Vorozion Army: 200 Infantry, 220 Heavy Cavalry

Derigion: Marshall Vicus
  • 2 Heavy Cavalry 
  • 3 War Chariot
  • 1 Mercenary Cavalry
  • 5 Phalange
  • 2 Infantry levies
  • 1 Hero (Gygax)
Vorozion: Marshall Colwyn

  • 4 Heavy Cavalry
  • 1 Knight
  • 2 Infantry Levies
The Vorozion draw the Derigion army to a very difficult terrain but it was not possible for Marshall Vicus to not accept the battle with a larger and better force.
Deployment
 Vicus went undecided in the middle of the battle as the Heavy Cavalry was routing units after units and the Derigion infantry almost breaking the army. Gygax also forgot the battle and for several precious moments, the Vorozion forces were undisputed on the battle field.
Cutting through the infantry like butter
 

A final push  from the remaining phalanges and the return of Gygax won the battle for Vicus at a very high cost for the Derigion.
Derigion won the battle.
Gygax took it personal against Colwyn
(in fact, I forgot about Gygax for 2 turns as the Vorozion literally wreak havoc, destroying 4 units in 2 turns without any hit!)

Loot: 2  resources

Derigion losses: 1 experience Phalange
Vorozion losses: 2 Heavy Cavalry, 1 Infantry Levy

Vorozion left the provinces and wait for reinforcements.

Sekeker against Alweg lords
Sekeker Army: 550 Infantry
Alweg Army: 200 Infantry, 10 cavalry

Sekeker: Marshall Jenny
  • 2 Warrior (1 level of experience) 
  • 2 Young (1 level of experience)
  • 2 Warrior
  • 3 Meat Shield
  • 1 Hero (Lydia)
Alweg: Captain Yob (attribute: Minor Weapon - (Defensive Expert))

  • 8 Infantry
  • 1 Archer

Sekeker ambushed the Alweg with a better scouting. Jenny was hit during the battle but fully recovered. She also won the Weapon of the opposing Captain . Enemy tried to retreat to a fort by turn 4 but all units were routed before it happened. (final was Jenny’s unit against the last Alweg unit, all fresh, giving a 7/1 vs 2/1, 6 hit in 1 roll!).


Sekeker won the battle.

Loot: 4 resources

Sekeker losses: 1 inexperienced Warrior unit

Batranoban against Alweg free city of Komsomoloskaya


Batranoban Army: 290 Infantry, 45 cavalry
Alweg Army: 200 Infantry

Batranoban: Marshall Al'Sun
  • 3 Warrior (1 level of experience)
  • 2 Archer (1 level of experience)
  • 2 Slave (1 level of experience)
  • 2 Cavalry (1 level of experience)
  • 1 Cavalry
  • 1 Slave
  • 1 Warrior
  • 1 Alweg Infantry from local lord.
Alweg: MARSHAL Islav (attribute: Major Weapon(Charisma, Ambush))

  • 4 Cavalry
  • 2 Infantry
  • 2 Archer
  • 1 Levy
Batranoban wins, Al’Sun unit charged against the general of the Alweg unit which was decimating the Batranobans and kills Marshal Islav during the melee. The enemy tried to retreat to the city but last cavalry and infantry units were destroyed. Al’Sun gain a Major Weapon (Charisma, Ambush)

Batranoban won the battle but at a high cost.

Loot: 2 resources

Batranoban losses:
1 experience Cavalry, 1 inexperienced Cavalry, 1 experienced Slave, 1 Archer

Monday, May 13, 2013

Boardgame opinion : Kickstarter/ Battle for Alabaster

I pledged again on Kickstarter...
A year ago, I joined the hyped Kickstarter and funded my first game, Battle for Alabaster. A good concept and a nice game, on paper by then.

I had been looking for Sedition Wars mini for a long time and curiosity/innovative business model achieved to overcome what resistance was left. As a wargamer, I am weak by default when it comes to mini.
This opinion will review my Kickstarter feedback, the communication from the Kickstarted and the final product. It won't review or analyze the game mechanics themselves, I am no game mechanics expert nor historian, just a player.

.::The Kickstarter::.
My first reaction on most kickstarter
 Back then, the MRSP was at $89.99 (+25$ for shipping), so backing at $100  (+25$ for shipping) did not seem overpriced.

The game was presented in a very good way and it was understood to be only conceptual. The differents stretch goals were adding a lot of goodies, some of them payable, some of them free. Because of the success and the number of stretch goals achieved, 2 shipping periods were set.

That was back then.

Buying it only today would cost me US$62.52 on Amazon with free shipping. That would be the game without the goodies earned during the kickstarter. That's still a $42.48 savings from the Quarantine Pledge and for the 55 people who pledged it. Sorry guys, you've lost. To me that's bad.

The shipping and the deadline were far from committed. The game was advertised to be sent for Xmas, and I, like I believe many people, bet on that, buying our little present in advance. This seemed to be a general kickstarter issue, so I would stay neutral even if I am very disappointed. Usually company who plan a distribution for Christmas do their outmost to do it on time, but maybe because the money was already paid with no refund possibility, there is less pressure to deliver on the committed dates or even close to them.

.::The Communication::.
CMON postsales communication
So when a company screw its commitments, they usually have the typical "Sorry guys" and good communication to bring back people back to the comfort zone.

Not with Cool Mini or Not. They have a very bad Public Relation team/guy. Even if the delays may not be its fault, as they said it is industry standard to be late, I would dare to say "Who cares? That's your job to know and fix it. If it is a standard to be late, start early!". Usually, you buy a product for different reasons, and some criteria are trust, price/quantity-quality, delivery date.
Emailing unapologetic emails that there will be delays because it's "weather-tool-ship-customs-manufactory..." is not professional. That is their job to foresee these issues and solve them before they happen. I am not working in the manufacturing but a toy maker who miss the Xmas period has usually lost 50-75% of his business potential and really try to be more proactive, less "Shit happens"

Big minus for Cool Mini or Not for that.

.::The Game::.
- Game cancelled, still not ready - Shall I cancel the pizzas?
The game has a good atmosphere game, pleasant to play but messy to get around (one of the few modern game without a "quick reference sheet" included or a simplified version of the rule to play right away).

To be fair, it is NOT possible to play right away, independently of the rules. And I should have been careful about that and I am now careful about it. The miniatures are not ready to play.
The issue lays in the DNA of McVey and Cool Mini or Not. Cool Mini or Not is a pure marketing company, and they do it well. It is able to cut a product into meaningful stretch goals, generate excitement about the game and the kickstarter, great graphics. When the kickstarter is running, you really want to pledge. It's a compulsive buy.
So Cool Mini or Not is a marketing company, it does not design game, just know how to sell them. Production, shipping and communication is not their best skills. McVey was (and still is) a small miniature wargame company run by a talented guys and a few people company. It is a high-end miniature design company. They do mini the way miniature game industry is done: multi-part, finely designed, unpainted. It is a hobby, a long term commitment.
Unfortunately, it is not the way miniature-based boardgame are done.
I spent about 4-5 evening only to take the mini, trim them, discover what piece goes where, glue the pieces together, so then I could play.

That's a lot of time to get started for a boardgame. Miniature game, I don't mind, you build your army your way, feel attached to the little grunt and build it a story as you glue and try to give it a pose to illustrate it. Boardgame is not about feeling. After the game, Grunt A will never have a name or a recurring "Again, Grunt A save the day with an incredible roll". Because in a boardgame, Grunt A and Grunt B are the same, they are clones, they have no feeling. So Battle for Alabaster has about 24 grunts, with roughly 3-4 different poses, that's all. So either McVey does a miniature game, or a boardgame, but not a mix of both where only the inconveniences (gluing and trimming, limited personalization of the models) are provided and the joyful parts forgotten (play out of the box, loving the miniatures).


I will still play with it, but it will be less than planned, and with less excitement as I keep on recalling that amount of plastic minis that took so much joy away...



Tuesday, May 7, 2013

ATZ-FFO : Episode 5 : Are they here to save us? (AAR part 2)


Part 1 (here)
The Germans had gathered 13 civilians so far, lost 2 soldiers (1 dead, 1 OOF) and were reinforced by a medic and his ambulance containing 2 OOF soldiers. 
The Zombie horde was 1 turn away.


Turn 15    (2, 3)
Friedrich ran with his civilian to the trucks. It was bad news for the Germans as Muller could see that Klaus was OOF and Peter missing. Once everybody loaded up, the Germans drove backward, facing North with the MMG as the horde had a great chance to arrive from there.

Turn 16    (6, 5)
Even with the drone of the engines, they could hear the moaning surrounding them. They all stared at the horizon. The real challenge was coming....

Turn 17    (3, 1) 11 Zombie in Area 6. (1d6+9 zombies generated from the previous firing)
Feeling the urgency to do something, Friedrich jumped from his truck and ran toward the cottage across the street. A large group of zombie just arrived on the West, threatening ALL the uninspected houses.
Seeing from the mirror the horde, the medic quickly drove away and readied himself to drive South at full speed if necessary.
The zombies are effectively threatening 3 unsearched houses.

Cunning zombies, arriving right where they could jeopardize the whole mission
It is worth noting that from now the convoy itself generated 30d6 for zombie generation, with a zombie generated on a 6.

Turn 18    (6, 6) Event: Mist.
"What is that now?"
Oberst Muller was watching with disbelief a thick mist appearing all over the village effectively blocking the visibility.

The visibility would be reduced to 4" until the end of the game. Surely the worst time for it to happen. All the MMG and heavy weapons were now useless...

Turn 19    (5, 1) 8 Zombie in Area 5 (2d6 zombies)
Friedrich ran as fast as he could and literally jumped in the house closing the door before being seen by the zombies. At least with the mist. he was invisible and the sound of the engines would divert the monsters.
In the house a civilian was seating still, staring at the blood stained and panting German, a glass of cider in one hand, a book in another.
"Pardon me Sir, but you are in my cottage"
Friedrich looked back at the calm Frenchman.
"Pardon what? Take your stuff and out now, undeads are going to storm the place in any minute." Friedrich was nervously spotting all the fragile windows of the ground floor.
"That is a funny thing. See, I am completely neutral in your little war and don't want to be dragged into it, because you see...."
Friedrich was not really listening and automatically replied
"Whatever whatever. Take your stuff, you're coming with me" but he sounded unconvincing, his attention focused on the events unfolding outside. And the French was a real stubborn man with fancy principle. This would take long to ask him to leave.
Friedrich is in the cottage at the forefront of the picture
Kohl saw the danger of Friedrich being alone, drove his half-track to block the main door and hoping to attact the zombies. The Sdkfz was a good vehicle with a  high sloped armor that will slow down the zombies long enough for the crew to pick them with the machine gun. Well, at least that was the only plan he could think of.

Will Kohl being Hannibal Smith and his plan work as designed?

Meanwhile, Muller and the rest of the convoy readied to leave. The loss of Klaus and Peter thinned their ranks too much, and Kohl fool's plan engaged 4 soldiers already.

Turn 20    (3, 2) 15 zombies in area 5 (3d6)
"Takatakatakataka..."
Kohl and Gretchen were firing at will at the mass of zombies charging them. while many limbs flew away, it was only slowing down the tide.

Friedrich was looking through the curtain, the shambling shadows were too close of the windows to be safe. Suddenly he heard the sound of door, Friedrich raised his LMG.
"Calm, it's me Hans. Fold this quick, things are getting nasty outside"
"How did you get in?" gasped Friedrich "I was sure I closed the door"
"Not the backdoor" replied Hans. Friedrich was dismayed that he forgot such a basic safety measure.
"Sir, if I may, this is my house, and as stated, I am hereby neutral in your fight against the Allied forces, so..."
"Allied! If only. You fool" was saying Hans as he caught the French by the collar and dragged him to a front window.

Kohl is trying to swisscheesing (making holes) the zombies, with success. Unfortunately it was not the right method.

Turn 21    (6, 6) Event:  Sniper
Clement had been hiding on the top of the house when the damned Germans had arrived. The mist and the confusion was a miracle.
He aimed at a single German driving the small half track. He kept his breath and pulled the trigger. The bullet went straight to the chest of the soldier. Clement jumped and disappeared as fast as he appeared.

The sniper rolled a 6 on 1d6, eventually hitting a random German (in that case Jorgen) but fortunately, this was only a Knocked Down result.

Turn 22    (3, 6) 6 zombies (with a 4d6 - result 1,1,2,2 , that was a very lucky roll, including the 30d6 generation of zombies with zero 6!) in area 3
a group of zombie arrived in the back of the convoy, threatening to cut the exit
The civilian decided that it would be safer to go with the German. You can't be neutral with zombies

The French was horrified by the mass of zombie trying to climb up the half-track.
"I, I...I am,....Take me with you please" he was holding Hans left arm, terrified and crying. "Don't leave me alone...."
Hans smiled. "Ok, but you promise to be a good boy and to listen to me". The civilian nodded.

Friedrich grinned.

sky view. the 3 people on the top right are to represent Friedrich/Hans and the French in the house
Turn 23    (4, 1) 18 zombies in area 3 (5d6)

Friedrich and Hans moved upstair and faced a resistant (REP4, Bolt Rifle).
Friedrich froze and signaled to Hans to stay out of sight in the staircase.
"Calm, we are here to help you. See these th...."
Friedrich did not finish his sentence, the French shot at him but aimed to high. Before Friedrich could react Hans tumbled in the room and headshot the resistant.
Meanwhile Kohl and Gretchen were doing their best to keep the zombies at bay but firing full automatic was not the best option to kill a zombie and most of the shot missed the heads.
In the main convoy, Jorgen recovered from being shot and was still shocked. Muller and Sven stayed behind their wheel as things may go worst and they needed to leave quick if necessary.

With the zombie horde threatening to cut them off, the medic drove away and left the convoy. He was not part of the mission and could not helped with only a pistol. Muller let it go. He was now able to focus on his men and prayed the situation at the house conclude as soon as possible.

Too much of a party, the medic decided to carry away the wounded before it is too late.
Kohl and Gretchen have a certain success with zombies, less with women...
Turn 24    (4, 4) Event: REP3 Infected Civilian in Area 4
Add caption
"Take me, take me" could hear Muller as the ambulance was leaving. Somewhere in the south, a civilian was looking for help.

Turn 25    (1, 1) Event: 3 civilians in area 4
"don't be a fool, there is nothing to expect from them, they are as scared as you are"
"Are you sure Jean-Jacques that we are heading away from this things?"
"I told you already many times that I am the best for this. The horde is miles away and this village is free of any undead"
"But the sounds, it sounds like them"
"Too loud for that, that should be the Saint Prieux chorus. Trust me, there is no zombie here"

The larger group of civilians reached the previous one. They were armed, but Muller did not that.


3 civilians arrived by the South, and I assumed they were the same group. REP3 unarmed, REP2 Hunting Rifle, REP5 Hunting Rifle

Turn 26    (2, 6) 29 zombies in area 3 (6d6, I could not place anymore zombie, because I ran out. I kept a paper with the number to track them)

Friedrich took a look by the window and saw the half-track almost submerged by the zombies. It seemed the zombies could not climb up, for now. Hans put a hand on Friedrich's shoulder and winked at him.
"Dare to jump?",  he must have seen his face as he continued,"We have no time, we shall leave now or never"
"Mister Neutral Switzerland" said Hans as he invited the French to jump first. "Jump now on the half-track and don't miss."
The French looked by the window and froze in panic. Hans pushed him in the back the fell from the second floor and landed on his back knocked down.
"You're getting crazy Hans" said Friedrich before jumping.
"Just tired of this mission" he replied as he jumped after his teammate. They both landed safely on the half-track.

Kohl looked at the 3 men who came from the sky. "That's all?"
"Yes. Drive fast"
Kohl drove backward, leaving the zombies surprised.




" We got two aliens." said Gretchen reaching for the spade. 2 zombies were holding equipment on the right side of the vehicle. Gretchen promptly cut hands and heads.
Muller saw the sdkfz coming back with everybody and ordered the retreat. But with the mist and the backward facing, they were moving very slow.
2 zombies are still holding the half-track
I moved the half-track backward and saw that 2 zombies were still holding the half-track. I played them as it was.

Turn 27    (5, 1) 26 zombies in area 2 (7d6)
As the convoy reached the 4 French civilians, Muller convinced them to jump in and surrender their weapons.
He would never be sure what convinced them. The mist, the loud moaning, the blood on the half tracks, the German soldiers or the opportunity of a free ride.

Turn 28    (6, 6) Event: Rain in 3 turns.

Irrelevant as Rain Event reduce visibility to 12", and with the mist, it is already only 4"

Turn 29    (6, 2) 40 zombies in Area 4 (8d6)
The stop to take the civilian was fatal to the engines, they stalled.
"Damned" as Muller and Sven were trying to restart the ignition.

Kohl and Jorgen sdkfz were blocked by the trucks and panicked, forgetting to shoot the zombies, all focused on what was happening behind them. The zombies quickly caught up on the convoy.



In the truck, the infected civilian went into a shock and died. Muller killed 1 zombie who almost entered the cabin and knocked down another one. Jorgen killed 2 more and knocked down another one.


Turn 30    (6, 1)

The zombies were making their way on the half-tracks, climbing on them. Kohl's crew and Jorgen were fighting for their life. If Muller and Sven could not restart anytime soon, they would be all doomed.
time to go, time to go, time to go...
2 turns without activations, just as the mass of zombie were in contact and the trucks had made a stop. I was getting worry for Muller and his team.
The fact they stopped was bad because had they been in motion, the rules said they should continue moving their way out even if not activated.

Turn 31    (3, 1)
The truck and the sdkfz 7 left while crushing 2 zombies on their way out. A zombie hold on the half track of Jorgen and made his way to Jorgen, surprising him. The fight was unbalanced and Jorgen was knocked down.
Friedrich almost tried to jump out of his half-track to help but was stopped by Hans. 

A zombie hold on Jorgen half-track
and beat him...
Turn 32    (2, 3)
Kohl saw no chance to help Jorgen and left the area, leaving the zombies feasting on Jorgen's body.

Scenario ending
The team arrived at the base, Von Evil standing at the entrance of his quarters. The civilians quickly disembarked and were brought to a fenced area by SWD soldiers. Muller could see that most of the Wehrmacht soldiers had been replaced by SWD troopers.
"Oberst Muller to report Sir." greeted Oberst Muller.
"How many?" replied Von Evil.
"We have 20 civilians and 3 casualties, we lost the sdkfz 250"
"Still a good number Oberst. Dismissed."
Von Evil moved inside his command post. In front of him a scientist and a black uniform soldier with a gaz mask were standing next to a map and top secret document.
"We have enough specimen to start the Nemesis project. Herr Rugger, take as many civilian as you need and start now. Hauptmann, make sure the conscience of the Heer soldiers do not stand in our ways."


Summary:
20 civilians evacuated (but not saved from Von Evil evil plans)
17 civilians who willingly evacuated
left to right: Dead infected civilian, German killer civilian and OOF civilian who jumped from the 2nd floor
3 Germans NPC were evacuated (1 medic, 2 OOF)
Surving Team 1: Muller and Sven
Surviving Team 2:  Kohl, Gretchen, Hans
Surviving Team 3: Friedrich and OOF Klaus
The lucky Medic who was able to evacuate with the firing support of his mates
Casualties: 2 deaths and 1 OOF

All had killed zombies and all have evacuated civilians. but 2 houses and 2 ruins have not been visited, the mission is not a failure neither it is a success. No REP increase or decrease. The fact that the team did not activate at the end (with a REP5, Muller needs a 6 to not activate) was very critical and as a houserule, the drivers had a -1d6 in melee test.
I had a stock of 70 zombies, and they were all on the table, and more than a 100 were not placed.