NBW Combat Commander Tourney

GMT Games was kind enough to send me a box full of prizes for a Combat Commander tourney, and John Foley sent me instructions on how to get a "free-form" tourney up and running. Basically, folks were asked to play 4 games (later we knocked this requirement down, as it was clear not everyone could get in 4 games, based on other commitments), play the same opponent no more than twice, and stick to Europe, Med, or Paratroop (though Stalingrad was available by mutual consent, and we modified this to include Pacific, as well).

In the end, 15 "Combat Commanders" fought it out over a host of scenarios. The Scenarios played (many were played multiple times) were:

Europe:
1
3
4
6
7
8
9
Med:
13
14
15
20
22
23
24
Paratroop:
28
Stalingrad:
35
Pacific:
A
B
C

I do have many stats, such as who won what scenario, but they are incomplete, as not everyone provided all the information asked for. So, instead of posting incomplete statistics here, I'll list the participants, their final tourney score, and the prizes received, courtesy of GMT:

1. Rob Winslow (blush!): 20 points, CC:Europe*, Pacific Typhoon
2. Francois Petitclerc: 12, CC:Med, Pacific Typhoon
3. Nels Thompson, 10, Paratroop, C3i #21
4. Robin Griller, 9, Pacific Typhoon
5. Michael Kiefte, 8, Stalingrad
6. Marty Sample, 8, C3i #21
7. Ernie Lo, 6, C3i #21
8. Jeff Heidman, 6, DiF - Fighter Pack
9. Jeffrey Wilson, 4, DiF - Fighter Pack
10. Don Macintosh, 2, DiF - Bomber Pack
11. Cory Wells, 2, DiF - Bomber Pack
12. Jeromey Martin, 1, DiF - Bomber Pack
13. Marc Guenette, 1, DiF - Bomber Pack
14. Larry Sisson, 1, DiF - Fighter Pack
15. Jeff McBeth, 1, DiF - Fighter Pack

* I plan to donate my CC:E set to the first "newbie" who shows interest in the game at my local club. Fresh blood, yum!

Everyone had a lot of fun, and I certainly learned some new tricks for the future. Now, I have to break out CC:Pacific and start getting decent with those forces. So many scenarios, so little time...

Raising the Stars and Stripes at Iwo

So, thanks again to GMT for providing great prizes, and thanks to everyone who participated. Onto 2010!

Niagara is Approaching...

With less than 2 weeks to go until Niagara Boardgaming Weekend begins, I'm getting kind of antsy. It's a real fun mid-winter break, with 4 straight days of gaming. 9 more school days, then I'm there...

Getting geared up for Niagara, I played Hannibal with Mike Cardwell last night. Mike has really been enjoying the game, which is good, for I'm trying to wean him from hexes and games without cards! This was a great game (I was Carthage). Hannibal entered Italy on the 2nd turn, and took 2 northern Provinces. With the help of Diplomacy, and the Macedonian Alliance, I sailed Mago to Sardinia and secured that island. Rome was concentrating on building up its forces and suppressing the pro-Carthaginian tribe in southern Italy. By mid-game, Hannibal had built a decent force in northern Italy, and I went defensive -- thinking that if Rome came after Hannibal I'd send Mago to Sicily or send Hannibal south if mago was getting harassed. What I didn't count on was Rome playing a Major Campaign and sending three armies against Hannibal. Ouch! Once the dust settled, Hannibal was down to 1 CU, and nestled in Gallia Cisalpinia, his back against the Alps. Mike had a chance to finish Hannibal off (assuming I flubbed the avoid battle roll), but left him alone, instead choosing to bring spaces in northern Italy back under the Roman yoke. This gave Hannibal the "out" he needed, as he fled westward over the Alps. Over the next turn, Hannibal went back to New Carthage and emerged with another large army...

Hannibal Barca

While Hannibal was recruiting his new force (though no elephants), Rome was clearing out northern Italy of Carthaginian sympathizers. Hannibal then headed back and crossed the Alps with a full 10 CU force before Rome was ready to deal with him again. This time, he wasn't fooling around -- 2 battles in Gallia Cisalpinia completely routed 2 Roman armies (17 CUs lost!) and the northern Italians welcomed the Carthaginians back. Even Syracuse, in Sicily, decided to ally with the now strong (again) Hannibal. Game ended with Carthage winning the province count 11-6 (Celtiberia being neutral). It was a much closer game, falling apart for Rome only at the end (after those 17 CUs disappeared). I must say, I really love this game.

Ah, gaming...

Bob Titran is coming by tomorrow for some Combat Commander. Can't wait!

What a Slacker!

Yeah, I've been a horrible slacker, lately...

Since my last update, before Thanksgiving, we've had the following:

Thanksgiving
Syracuse Basketball goes to 8-0
Played Hannibal x2
Played Combat Commander x2
Had 2 new dog training days
And a lot of other boring stuff...

Thanksgiving was fine, nothing exciting. I made oyster stuffing and a peppery giblet gravy. For dinner, I had a lot of dark meat, stuffing, gravy, and whole-berry cranberry sauce. Most excellent. Had some of Deanna's pumpkin pie later in the evening, and it was good (though I prefer my non-cook pumpkin chiffon pie!). Didn't really bother with the football games, as the match-ups all sucked. Played poker into the night, though my Visa will no longer deposit money into my Poker Stars account (I had recently taken back a good deal of winnings, so when I went to put more $$ in, I was rejected -- I need to do an e-check one of these evenings...).

Syracuse won a tourney in Kansas City, beating #17 Florida and #22 Kansas in the process. And they kept winning, beating Virginia, Colgate, and Cornell after that. They're an exciting team that has the bad habit of falling behind early, then coming on like gangbusters and winning the second half. Jim "2-3 Zone" Boeheim has a team that excels at man-to-man D, and whenever they get out of their zone, they play much better. AP has them ranked #16 now, and the top 25 has EIGHT Big East teams in it -- a third of the poll. What a monster conference, I'm betting 10 teams get into the NCAAs (they should).

I played a practice game of Hannibal with Mike last week, to help him learn the mechanics (we ended after 3 turns). Last evening we started a real game, and are through 6 turns. My Carthaginians have the upper hand, but Mike's Romans had a good last turn, with Scipio Africanus leading the way. Should be an interesting end...

Bob Titran came by last Saturday, and we played a couple games of Combat Commander. First game was from the paratrooper battle pack, a fight over glider resupply outside Bastogne on 12-27-44. My American paras were able to overcome the evil Germans and pick up the victory. After a nice Thai lunch, we decided to use the Random Scenario Generator for a new game. Bob rolled up the Italians in 1940, while I got Allied Minors, so the scenario worked out to a Greek company trying to take back a village held by an Italian Blackshirt detachment. A couple of weenie armies, which made the scenario a lot of fun -- it took me a while to get the Greeks going, but they were on the move. Then we thought we had misplayed a victory condition (which, in hindsight we hadn't, d'oh!), so we decided to call it for the Blackshirts, as Bob had to hit the road anyway. All in all, good fun, and I think this may be my favorite game right now -- so much happens!

On Saturday night, I was talked into playing a game with Deanna and 2 kids. The 4 of us ended up playing Santa Fe Rails, and it was actually pretty fun. Brad, the youngest, ended up winning with 163 points, I was 2nd with 159. I admit, I helped him out, and I didn't play as cutthroat as I could (should?) have, but it was pretty fun, nonetheless.

Cheyenne's new training regimen has begun, and she's not getting along with an English Mastiff in class. The Mastiff growls at other dogs, and this pisses Cheyenne off, so she barks back at him, and gets all the dogs going. She needs to learn that it might not be a good idea barking at t dog 3 times her size! She is a smart dog, but so damn stubborn. Maybe she has a little Sicilian blood in her, as I do.

And life goes on. I have gaming and Cheyenne to keep me busy, and I really need to get back into shape (this is proving elusive). I also need to focus on getting a game design going, I really do.

Oh yeah, I need to be more vigilant here, too.

So many resolutions, waiting for the New Year...

Into Bessarabia...

Bill Peeck stopped by last evening for a game of Combat Commander. I decided to pick the scenario and have the pieces ready before he stopped by. I thought it would be fun to play one I hadn't experienced before, so I settled on Scenario 15 from the Med expansion. This scenario has hordes of Romanians approaching a lightly held Russian village in Bessarabia (Moldova?), on the road to Moghilev. The Romanians have 20 squads (6 decent ones, 14 poor ones), 4 leaders, 2 medium machine guns (MMG), 3 light machine guns (LMG), and 1 light mortar. The Soviets are a mixed bunch, with a smattering of squads ranging from quite good (Guards rifles) to pretty poor (Militia), 2 leaders, 2 MMGs, and 2 LMGs. This scenario postulates that the Romanians are approaching the town without having properly scouted it, for it's July 7, 1941, and Barbarossa has been going on for 2 weeks -- the Soviets are reeling and the Axis armies are confident. Due to this, the Soviets can withhold up to 6 units and their weapons, popping them up on Turn 1 (game start is Turn 0) in any hex they could originally set up on (which is 80% of the board), as long as they're in cover (which means one of the many buildings or wood hexes). The Romanians can withhold units as well (I believe 8 is the max), entering them later as normal reinforcements. An interesting puzzle, beginning with the set-up!

And I almost forgot to mention victory points... There is an open objective that makes all 5 board objectives worth 3 points. We each picked a secret objective, and mine made objective 5 worth an additional 5 VPs -- this would drive my mid-game strategy, as I really felt I'd need to control objective 5 (right smack in the middle of the village!) to win the game.

Well, Bill arrived, with a six-pack of Sam Adams in tow, and we headed down to the game room, Cheyenne, with rawhide, following. He had played 3 times before, all scenarios that pitted Americans against Germans. I offered him choice of sides, and he took the Soviets. Bill utilized a forward set up, giving the 2 MMGs as many fire lanes as he could. Other squads were scattered across the board (up forward), ready to met the Romanians who had dared enter their soil... Bill did hold off 5 squads, a leader, and 2 LMGs, ready to "pop them up" where needed on Turn 1.

I withheld 7 Romanian squads, a leader, and 2 LMGs myself, opting to enter them on Turn 2, once I had a turn to see/deal with the hidden Ruskies. I opted to send in all 6 of my "good" squads at this time. For initial set up, I could hide 5 squads in the woods (along with both MMGs), give some a tiny bit of help in a wheat field, while leaving several guys out in the open (no choice -- damn Romanians needed to scout this situation a little better...).

Then we were off!

I began by moving 5 squads on my right flank toward the building cover. A forward Soviet MMG opened fire and hit my guys pretty hard with sustained fire. A couple squads made the building line, while 3 cowered broken among the shattered wheat stalks. I fired (mostly ineffectively) my MMGs on the left flank, trying to get the Soviets there out of the woods, but to no avail. Luckily, I was able to rally 2 of the 3 broken squads before Bill could take his turn. He did hit me back hard, killing my broken squad, and I was thinking this might be a short game. But the Romanian surrender level is 17, so I had a ways to go...

I was able to move into the buildings on my right flank, and push his defenders back (not to mention get some cover against the MMG). Having several "Move" cards, I decided to rush 3 squads and a leader across open terrain, to try and exit them. No MMGs could see them, behind the buildings, so I was able to get them off the board, as they only had to withstand a few shots from Russian squads. No problem! I did make the mistake of having a close combat (CC) with a "4" strength Romanian -- we both had "Ambush" cards, and not only did I lose the CC by rolling poorly, I lost the Initiative, as well. D'oh!!! This mistake allowed Bill to send one of his squads toward my board edge, when we had our first "Time" event.

Bill was then able to prop up his defenses with the hidden Ruskies, and he created a nice fire lane on my right flank, which would make it tough for me to make another end run. He also beefed up his center (where most of the objective hexes were), and only put 1 extra unit on my left flank, as a blaze over on that side of the board was limiting my options somewhat (it would spread into a huge, 6-hex fire shortly!). The VPs were firmly "Pro-Soviet," and I didn't have a right flank anymore!

Lady Luck was with me, though, as I had a sniper attack which broke the Soviet squad trying to edge off the board, then we had another quick "Time" event, which let me enter my reinforcements, plus my exited units, and I went to the Wheatfield (as much as I could) to try and kill the broken Ruskie. But Bill had an advance card, so he did exit...

The Soviets began to fall back toward the center of town, as my once again strong right flank advanced through the buildings, heading to the town center. My left flank did clear some weak Russian militia out of the woods, and I advanced a MMG up to a woods hex which had excellent fire zones. Of course, the first time it opened fire, it jammed, then a sniper check eliminated it. Good idea, poor Romanian execution...

We had several more time checks, and VPs remained around Soviet 10-12. An event drew an additional objective chit that made all 5 objectives worth an additional 2 points -- I really had to take as many as I could... By Turn 6 (7 is Sudden Death), I was able to make a big advance into CC, with 2 Ambush cards as well as a Light Wounds. We both ambushed each other (my light wounds helping me), and I took the BIG objective hex in the village center. I raced another squad toward the board edge to take another objective, and with 3 of the 5 under my control, and several dead Soviets, VPs edged into my column. At this point, Bill conceded, though, if I had been in his shoes, I would have continued -- if he was able to win a CC against me, things would have quickly turned around, for VPs were only at about 5 Romanian.

All in all, this scenario showed how hard it is to advance less than stellar troops into defended (even lightly) terrain. And even harder when most of the Romanian units can't even drop some smoke to screen their movements! I really enjoyed the attack here, as frustrating as it was using the Axis Minor deck. The differentiation this game makes, using unit values combined with the specific card decks is brilliant. I hadn't played for a few months, and I was able to get right back in, with a quick skim of the rules. I really love Combat Commander, and will certainly play it whenever given the chance. I really need to start experiencing it on Vassal...

Snow!!!

Finally, winter has truly arrived. About 3" of snow in my driveway when I headed to work. The 7-day forecast has us staying cold, so I imagine what's down will stay, and we will probably get more. Snow day? One can hope...

Cheyenne really loves the snow. Last winter was (probably) her first winter with snow, as I don't think she got any in her first year (she was a Nashville pup). I've gotta get out and play with her today -- she loves catching snowballs.

The Sabres are on tonight vs. Boston, and this is turning into a huge early season game. If the Bruins win, they really begin to open up space. If Barfalo wins, the race becomes tight again. They (the Sabres) have not played well lately. I'm hoping they can shake out of their funk...

Tomorrow (Thursday), Bill Peeck is coming by for some Combat Commander. As much as I love this game, I haven't played for a couple months, at least! I've really got to be more on the ball about this. Also have to get the rules down for Sicily: Race for Messina, as I think Mike and I will be tackling that next week. Maybe I should just play more Combat Commander!

4 more workdays, then onto Thanksgiving break. Yee-ha!

Fun and Busy Days...

Tuesday evening, Nels Thompson came by and we played 2 Combat Commander scenarios from the randomly generated section. First up, we went my German company attacking his Soviet company. Line units all around, and I advanced too slowly (mainly because he was killing me!) and ran out of time, losing big. Next game saw me draw an elite Russian detachment attacking his line German detachment. I made better advances here, and ended up winning, after a lot of brutal house-to house fighting. Nels lives in Buffalo but works in Rochester, so he crashed here. A fun evening.

Next morning, Bob Titran comes by, and we decide to play Command & Colors: Ancients. First we do a Successors battle, Gabiene, twice. Bob crushed me in the first game, killing my elephants early and having them trample my infantry. I came back in the second. We moved onto Gaugamela, and Bob wanted the Persians. Alexander's companion cavalry was like a panzer army, and the Persians were soon decimated. I offered to switch sides (this one looks too easy for the Macedonians, for my tastes), but Bob wanted to try Darius again, and though it was a closer, Alexander still came out ahead. We finished with my Romans (I was Caesar!) invading Britain. The legions were met at the shore by brave warriors, and almost driven back, but the line stiffened and I got a couple very lucky rolls, so Rome got its foothold in the British Isles!

I had to run and take Cheyenne to her private lesson, and the skies opened up. Man, but it rained hard. Bob was caught in it going back to Grand Island, glad he made it safely!

Then, in the early evening, Nels calls and wonders if I'm up for more gaming. Of course, I say, but I need a quick nap first (forgot to mention Deanna called in the wee hours of the morning to let me know she was safely in Seattle, so I didn't sleep well), so I crashed for 30 minutes, and Nels came by around 8:00. We did another random scenario, and I decided that I was going for a platoon, hoping to be the defender. Well, we got a 1941 German vs. British scenario on a hilly map, so we decided it was Crete, and Germans vs. Kiwis. Nels went for the company, so I was really outnumbered. I did pick up prepared minefields and a lot of wire, to try and slow his advance. Luckily for me, the Germans didn't get any artillery. Well, this was a real tense one, as I felt I was always on the verge of losing (either via surrender, since I had so few units, or by Nels breaking through and getting exit VPs).The game ended on Turn 7, just in time for me! The minefields did their job, and the New Zealanders were tough, winning all 3 melees they got into. This was one of the most fun CC games I've played -- so tense for a small defending force vs. overwhelming odds. Thank God for mines and wire...

Waiting for the German Onslaught...

Tonight, Bill Peeck comes by to finish up our Espana 1936 game. Now, if it will only stop raining...

Deanna On Vacation...

Well, she and they are flying out to Spokane, as I type. It's just Cheyenne and me, and I won't see her again for 19 days (when I return from WBC). I've got a lot to do around the house, and a lot to think about (how's that for cagey?). On the up side, I truly love my dog and plan to spend a lot of time training her and having fun with her. I really want to get this girl into some canine athletics -- she's as fast as greased lightning, and can jump like a frog -- but she has to listen better first, much better.

On the gaming front, Nels Thompson is coming by this evening for some Combat Commander. Nels currently lives in Barfalo and works in Crotchester, so he's crashing here tonight after gaming. Always happy to put my buds up when there's room!

Other than that, more Espana 1936 with Bill Peeck on Thursday, and I continue to fool around with some solitaire Warriors of God. Gaming life be good, with WBC less than 2 weeks away...

UB and sushi...

Made it out to UB for the Buffalo Area Consim Simulation Gamers (BACSIM) meet. Yes, the head of the group, Grant LaDue, knows that's a mouthful! Drove out in 90F degree weather, and my a/c stopped working (I drive a 12 year old RAV4, and it's been "touch and go" with the a/c for a few years now. Luckily, with all the windows open, there was enough of a breeze to keep me alive. Started off with a 6-player Pacific Typhoon, the card game of Pacific Battles. I believe I finished in last place. It was just one of those games... For the last 6 or 7 hands I had Admiral Halsey, which would have let me play two American ship cards instead of just one. In all those hands, I had Japanese cards exclusively, save for one hand where I had a wimpy American sub. Just the way the game goes, sometimes.

After that, I played two games of Combat Commander with Bob Titran. We played Scenario 23 from the Mediterranean set, which is an Italian vs. British fight in the Western Desert. No terrain, save for a road running diagonally down the middle of the board. Both sides start in trenches, and a British leader with a heavy machine gun has infiltrated "no man's land" during the night to set up a sniper's nest behind an abandoned truck. 6 squads for the Italians, 3 for the British, a medium mortar for the Italians, a light for the British, and both sides have 2 light machine guns. The British also have some off-board artillery, but special scenario rules make it difficult to use (as fire was sporadic, at best).

The first go round saw me as the Brits. Bob quickly pounded my sniper with mortar and machine gun fire, and he ended up running back to his friendly trench line, under a cover of smoke, heavy machine gun in tow. There after, the game became a medium/long range slug fest, and the heavy machine gun did quick work of any Italians leaving the trenches. A British squad was able to grab a couple objectives on the road, under a smoke screen, and this provided the margin for victory.

We then went out to lunch, it being mid-afternoon. We were going to just grab a burger at Red Robin, but we drove past a new Japanese place called Kyoto Grill, so we stopped there, instead. Bob had a shrimp/chicken hibachi dish, while I had a bento (sp?) box that had a beef/scallion dish, dumplings, salad, and a California Roll. We also had a few draft beers -- Killian's for me, Blue Moon for Bob. After the meal, as I came out of the bathroom, Bob had already picked up the check -- and it weren't a tiny one. Next time he's in Rochester I've gotta take him to a nice place...

After returning to UB, we switched sides, and the scenario played out very differently! I was able to kill his sniper right away, and then deny the Brits from using artillery for the rest of the scenario. Over time, the Italian squads moved out under smoke cover, capturing objectives, and even infiltrating the British trench line. By the time it was over, the Italians were in control of the board. It's a great game, and interesting how each scenario can play so differently each game -- goes to the strength of the system, and its inherent "chaos," something I both like and find quite realistic. In a tactical game, I don't want perfect control over my troops. I realize that's anathema to some, though it truly is much more realistic than knowing exactly what everyone can do every turn...

But we have games for 'em all, we do!

After the 2nd Combat Commander game, Bob hit the road, and I watched the 2 train games in progress. Nels Thompson and I talked about playing another game, but I was having trouble staying awake by then (beer, early morning, and old age, I guess!), so I decided to hit the road back to town. Nels lives in Buffalo and works in Rochester, so we'll have to get together one of these evenings, as it's been too long.

And, of course, it's always a pleasure to come home to my waggy-tailed friend who missed me!