This blog is to share my main hobby which is painting and wargaming with miniatures. I paint and play historics, fantasy and sci-fi, from 6 mm to 28 mm.
This time we played the fourth scenario from the Primer, counter attack. German Waffen SS (Q10, M10) must kill 60% US forces (Q8, M8) defending a bridge, to win the day. We both decided not to use the infantry trucks included in the scenario as no one would be so crazy to go in them into battle anyway. Remember to click on pics for bigger view.
Deployment
Germans counted with two Stugs III, one Tiger I and an asset card which turned to be one Light Artilleryround every turn (this card was very unbalancing as it killed two full fire teams in two rounds). US forces counted with two Shermans and one asset card which was Air Strike.
US infantry dug in and tanks hull down.
The game only lasted two turns as at the beginning of the third turn there was only four US soldiers and one Sherman immobilized that had heroically resisted many shots from the Tiger and Stugs combined with panzerfausts shooting from a very looong distance. The crew resisted all the morale and bail out tests and even force the Tiger crew to bail out!Although the battle only lasted two turns it took us three hours to play it as the game involved too many dice rolling with the rounds of fire and the opposed rolls for everything. I'm afraid the game tends to slow down with so many troops.
Tiger blowing up a Sherman. The explosion is an improvised piece of paper :)
Sherman and bazookas were no match for the German armour, mainly because my opponent insisted on rolling nines and tens which I couldn't defend with my D8s, and also because I kept rolling under four during all the game.
US forces totally exterminated at the start of 3rd turn.
I miss a bit more chrome or granularity in the game as infantry weapons and tanks are too much similar among them. I understand and agree with the philosophy of the game to put more emphasis on the quality of the soldiers than on the weapons they are using but even so, I still do not like panzerfausts being exactly equal to panzerschreks, or Tigers practically equal to Panthers, or all the Panzers IV or Shermans being the same thing, etc.
Although the game mechanic is innovative in the sense of not using the IGOUGO activation, I still prefer Nuts! to FoF for smaller scenarios as it is much more fluid IMHO. For larger action I'd incline for BKC for the same reason.
I think I'll let FoF rest until an expansion specific for WWII is released; then I'll give it a new opportunity as I think it a good system anyway.
Me and a buddy played in his house the scenario "White Christmas", in Ardennes on 23 December 1.944. Germans had to occupy the hill defended by US troops hidden in foxholes (we used crystal beads to mark them).He put his scenery and I brought my soldiers and tanks, all of them 1/72 plastics.
Deployment
We rolled for reinforcements and the German player was to received two Stug III Aus.G on turn 2 and the US player two M4A3(75)w on turn 8. Regretfully the US tanks never came into play as the game was interrupted on turn 6 after three hours of playing as I had to leave to pick up wife and kids.
Close up of German forces advancing on the left flank
The game uses D6, D8, D10 & D12 dice and many more characteristics that you can see in Stargrunt II from GZG (actually we used its markers for our FoF games), but it has some new concepts that make it a totally new and different game; the most important being the quality dice, the defensive actions & aggressor reactions and the round of fire. These three concepts make the game tactically challenging as well as easy and fluid play.
US forces stopping German advance on the right
Bearing in mind that we only have played two games so far and that we can be wrong, I dare to say that Force on Force is an interesting game and we certainly will be trying it again, although we didn't like very much the concept of opposed rolls when firing.
In our first game we felt that German LMG teams were a bit weak when facing normal infantry, mainly for two reasons: a LMG team has a firepower of 3 (men) +2 (support weapon) +2 (team) = 7 dice, whereas a squad of six men would have 6 (men) + 1 (light support weapon) = 7 dice, the same firepower than a LMG team. Besides, when taking casualties a squad could take up to 6 whereas the LMG team only three. We have always had the feeling that MGs are more powerful and dreadful than they are in this game, and as a quick solution we decided to merge them into infantry squads, so they would have more fire power and endurance, though we didn't like much the idea as we envision them more as small independents support teams than any other thing.
Germans taking the left of the hill with Stugs advancing in the middle, on the last turn we played.
Thus, by integrating LMGs in normal infantry teams we also discovered the importance of having many dice to roll. Now a squad had the maximum firepower allowed in the game (CAP 10) and as the firing is done with opposed rolls it wasn't so important who fired at it or who fired first, due to the big quantity of soldiers to soak up casualties and to fire. As an example: a German squad was made of two sections integrated into one squad; 1st team with 1 assistant squad leader w/MP40 SMG plus 4 riflemen w/mauser 98k rifles, and an LMG team with 1 squad leader w/MP40 SMG plus 1 gunner w/MG42 LMG (light support) and 2 assistant gunners w/mauser 98k rifles. All this for a total firepower of 11 dice, 14 if in optimum range and counting the double dice of SMGs at such distance, and a total of 9 men. This means that when confronted to a 5-6 enemy infantry men team or a three MMG team, they would devastate them either shooting before or after because of such difference in numbers.
Moreover, as the game doesn't give any bonuses for outflanking enemy, shooting at his back or cross firing, we saw that the best tactic was just making big squads and forgot about manoeuvring and flanking as in the end it was almost a matter of just rolling dice.
Something that we didn't liked neither was the initiative check. There are a lot of modifiers to check the initiative (something that must be done at the beginning of every turn) but the plain truth is that once a side grab the initiative it's rare he loses it as he has a + 1 die for possessing initiative on last turn and also keeps it in the case the check is a draw.
Last thing to say is that we missed in the rule set some things regarding WWII, and that our feeling is that FoF was written with modern combat in mind and that WWII was added in the last moment.
Recently somebody asked me about the different sizes of Copplestone's, GW and Pendraken 10 mm. fantasy figures so I've put a picture to show him. IMO, the three brands mix rather well excepting perhaps Pendraken as they are almost a head taller than the other two. As usual click on the pics for a bigger view. They are from left to right:
Orcs: Copplestone's, GW and Pendraken.
Humans: Copplestone's, GW and two of Pendraken though the human belongs to a historic range which are smaller than the fantasy one.
Either 28 or 10 mm. Copplestone's figures are a joy to paint! Here's some tiny adventurers of my future WHAA campaign. Don't forget to click on the pictures for a bigger view:
They are 30 x 30 cm. squared floor tiles, so four of them make a perfect 60 x 60 cm. DBA board easy to transport and to store. I bought four of them for 9 euros; it could be a little expensive but it isn't when compared to other DBA mats in the market. I bought them all in green so I didn't have to paint or flock them. I'm quite happy with the result. What do you think about it?
Here are another three bases of my EIR army for DBA. Now I only need to finish two Lh, one Kn and one Bw and I'll have finished my DBA project for this year! Don't forget to click on the pics to see them big.
Después de traducir al español las reglas gratuitas CR 3.0 de Two Hour Wargames junto con algunos miembros del foro La Armada (CR 3.0 se puede descargar en español aquí), decidí echarme una partidita jugando el único escenario que sale en las reglas: patrulla. Una patrulla de dos escuadras militares de cinco soldados cada una patrullan por un sector de una ciudad rebelde.
No olvides pinchar sobre las fotos para verlas más grandes.
PATROL
After translating CR 3.0 from Two Hour Wagames into Spanish with some guys from the forum La Armada, I decided to play the only scenario you can find in the rules: patrol. Two squads of five soldiers each are patrolling a sector of an insurgent city.
Do not forget to click on the pictures for bigger size.
Tal como dicen las reglas, dividí el tablero en nueve partes y las enumeré de 1 a 9. Entonces tiré para ver dónde podrían haber Posibles Fuerzas Enemigas (PFEs) y me salió una PFE A en la casilla 1, otra B en la 2 y una última C en la 3. Las PFEs son los marcadores amarillos que se ven por el lado izquierdo.
As the rules say, I divided the board into nine sections and numbered them from 1 to 9. Then I rolled to see where there could be Possible enemy Forces (PEFs) and I got a PEF in section 1, another one in section 2 and the last one in section 3. You can see the three PEF blips on the left side of the board.
A continuación tiré por las Reps de los PFEs para luego poder moverlos, y me salió PFE A Rep 6, B 4 y C 2.
Desplegué mis dos escuadras de soldados en las casillas 7 y 9 y tiré por primera vez por activación.
After that, I rolled to see the PEFs’ Reps to move them and I got PEF A with Rep 6, B 4 and C 2.
I deployedmy two squads in sectors 7 & 9 respectively, then I roll for activation.
Turno 1. Activación: Soldados 2, Rebeldes 4
Primero mueven los rebeldes; la PFE A mueve 16 pulgadas hacia la escuadra Alfa, que ve a la PFE y la resuelve.
Turn 1. Activation roll: Soldiers 2, Rebels 4
Insurgents move first; PEF A moves 16” towards Alpha squad who spots it and resolves.
Son cuatro rebeldes y la escuadra Alfa realiza un test de contacto visual, pasa 2d6 y dispara el soldado con el Arma Automática de Escuadra (AAE), un rebelde cae Fuera de Combate (FDC) y el resto del grupo rebelde lo recoge y Busca Cobertura, retirándose detrás del edificio de donde habían salido.
There are four insurgents and the Alpha squad does an In Sight Test, passing 2d6. The soldier with the SAW fires, one insurgent is OOF and the rest of the group Ducks Back behind the building from where they came from, taking their fallen comrade with them.
La segunda PFE mueve hacia la tercera PFE situada en la casilla 3, y al cruzar la calle es avistada por la escuadra Bravo, que la resuelve. Es el grupo principal con seis rebeldes armados con rifles semiautomáticos, subfusiles, una escopeta y una AAE.
The second PEF moves towards the third one in sector three and when crossing the street they are sighted by Bravo squad. The PEF is resolved and it is the main group formed by six insurgents armed with SA rifles, SMGs, a shotgun and a SAW.
El primero que dispara de la escuadra Bravo pasa 1d6 en el test de contacto visual y dispara rápido, sin apuntar, y falla. El grupo rebelde tira por estar Bajo Fuego y pasan 2d6 sacando dos unos, ¡ojos de serpiente! A partir de ahora están en modo Todos Héroes, y pasarán automáticamente con 2d6 todos los tests de Bajo Fuego, Recibir Carga, Caído y Sin Líder.
A soldier from the Bravo squad snap fires and misses. The insurgents roll for Received Fire and get Snake Eyes! They’re now Heroes All.
Los rebeldes con armas sin alcance suficiente buscan cobertura y los demás devuelven el fuego y dejan a un soldado FDC y a los demás Buscando Cobertura al ser superados por la potencia de fuego de la AAE rebelde.
La tercera PFE no se mueve.
Insurgents out of range Duck Back and the rest returns fire and OOFs one soldier, the rest of the squad is Outgunned and Ducks Back.
The third PEF does not move.
Ahora les toca activarse a los soldados. La escuadra Alfa intenta flanquear a los rebeldes por la izquierda.
Now the soldiers activate. Alpha squad tries to outflank the insurgents on the left.
Un soldado resulta inconsciente y al tirar para recuperarse le sale que ha muerto (Obviamente Muerto). También en el tiroteo un rebelde de la PFE A cae inconsciente pero sólo queda aturdido. El líder de la escuadra mata a otro rebelde y el resto se retira.
Un soldado de la escuadra avanza y explora el terreno, descubriendo una nueva PFE (D) oculta dentro del edificio central.
A soldier is Knocked Down and results OD after passing 0d6 when trying to recover. During the fire fight an insurgent from PEF A is knocked down and finally stunned. The squad leader kills another insurgent and the rest of them retire.
A soldier from Alpha squad advances and discovers a new PEF (D) hidden in the central building.
Por el otro lado la escuadra Bravo se asoma para disparar pero los rebeldes los ven y reaccionan inmediatamente (recuerden que están en modo Todos Héroes).
Un soldado cae FDC y otro inconsciente y luego muere. El AAE de la escuadra también cae FDC. Sólo quedan el líder Rep 5 y un novato Rep 3 en la segunda planta.
In the other flank Bravo squad pops up to fire but the insurgents spot them and react instantly (remember they’re on Heroes All mode). A soldier is OOF and another one is knocked down and then OD. The soldier with the SAW is also OOF. There are only left the leader Rep 5, and a conscript Rep 3 on the second floor of the building.
Turno 2. S4 R3
El líder de la escuadra Alfa avanza un poco más y vislumbra el PFE C y lo resuelve. Son ocho rebeldes, uno de ellos con un lanzacohetes. Disparan al grupo rebelde y cae uno FDC, el líder aturdido y otro que se retira.
Turn 2. S4 R3
Alpha squad leader steps ahead and spot PEF C and resolves it. They are eight rebels, one of them armed with a rocket launcher. Alpha squad fires at the insurgents and gets one OOF, their leader stunned and another one retiring.
La PFE D se activa y mueve hacia la escuadra Alfa, que la ve y resultan ser sólo dos rezagados. Pasan el test de Contacto Visual, disparan y un rebelde cae FDC mientras que el otro se retira por detrás del edificio de donde salió.
PEF D activates and moves towards Alpha squad who spots it and discovers there are only two stragglers. The squad passes the In Sight Test, opens fire and one insurgent is OOF and the other one retires from where they came.
El lanzacohetes de la PFE C y otro rebelde de su grupo se asoman para disparar a la escuadra Alfa, pero ésta reacciona disparando y abate a ambos, dejándolos FDC.
The rocket launcher and another insurgent from PEF C advance in the open to fire at the Alpha squad, but they react shooting at them, causing two more OOF.
Turno 3. S6 R2
Los soldados no se activan pero los rebeldes sí, y corren hacia la castigada escuadra Bravo para acabar con ella.
Turn 3. S6 R2
The soldiers do not activate but insurgents do and they run like hell towards Bravo squad, trying to finish it.
Turno 4. S4 R2
Viendo que el enemigo avanza hacia el flanco derecho, la escuadra Alfa hace Movimiento Rápido para intentar alcanzar a los rebeldes, y por el camino remata a tres de ellos que estaban heridos en el suelo.
Seeing insurgents run towards left flank, Alpha squad moves fast in the open trying to catch up with the rebels and caps three of them in its way.
El líder de la escuadra Bravo tira una granada pero con tan mala fortuna (doble seis) que le cae entre las piernas, tampoco puede esquivarla (otro seis) y queda aturdido por el impacto. El novato tira otra granada desde el segundo piso y acierta de pleno, dejando a un rebelde aturdido y el resto huyendo a Buscar Cobertura por ser superado en potencia de fuego.
Bravo squad leader throws a grenade with so bad fortune that if falls at his feet. Fire in the hole! He doesn’t prone on time and results stunned. The conscript Rep 3 throws another grenade from the window and hits all the rebels, leaving one stunned on the floor and the rest outgunned and ducking back.
Turno 5. S3 R6
Esta vez los rebeldes no se mueven. Los soldados de la escuadra Alfa siguen corriendo y dominan las líneas de tiro. A su vez, los dos supervivientes de la escuadra Bravo toman posiciones a la espera del asalto de los rebeldes del PEF C.
Turn 5. S3 R6
This time insurgents do not move. Alpha squad keeps running and takes control of the fire line down the road. Meanwhile, the two survivors from Bravo squad take positions and wait for the inminent attack of the rebels.
Turno 6. S2 R4
Los rebeldes vuelven a avanzar y son destrozados por el fuego cruzado de las dos escuadras.
FIN
Turn 6. S2 R4
Insurgents advance again and they are torn into shreds by the crossfire of both squads.
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