LardEhs Game Day II

Updated May 16 with some news on which games are full and which have spaces (also one game has been cancelled).

When:  Saturday, May 28, 2022

Where:  Royal Hamilton Light Infantry Veterans Association Hall, Hamilton (1353 Barton Street East)

What:  Two time slots of TooFatLardies Games

Who (organizers):  Chris Robinson and Barnaby Ore, with Mike Peterson helping with the fundraising for charity

Who (attendees):  Anyone!  Pre-registration and payment will be required (details below)

GMs Wanted?  Yes please! We’re looking to have 6-8 games per time slot

Cost:  $15 (GMs receive complimentary entry)  Please pre-register with payment to the Hamilton Tabletop Gaming Society account at htgsgroup AT(@) gmail.com  - e-transfer or Paypal accepted.

Game Pre-Registration:  Once you've registered for the event, please either send your game choice  (and a backup) for each timeslot you wish to play in with your payment as a note, or to Chris at: chrisrobinson AT nexicom.net.  Your game choices will be confirmed with a reply.

Sponsors:

• Cardboard Dungeon Games
• TooFatLardies
• Canadian Wargamer Podcast
• Dan the Dice Guy

Vendors:

• 5 Arrows Figures and Books - 20mm WWII and Ospreys - at a minimum!
• Cardboard Dungeon Games - Won't have a table at the event, but will be able to bring anything ordered from their shop to the event - use the code LARDDAY to remove shipping from your online order! (Note: obviously you must actually be coming to LardEhs for this to work!)
• Crucible Crush - Lee will be there with an assortment of merch from CC and other companies.

Current Game Selection

9:30am - 1:30pm

A. Counter Attack at Fontenay-Le-Pesnel (Big Chain of Command) 

Operation Martlet was part of a series of attacks to capture the French town of Caen after the D-Day invasion. XXX Corps was tasked to capture Raury 20km west of Caen. The 49th (West Riding) Division and the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division face 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend. The 49th has made progress by taking the village of  Fontenay-Le-Pesnel just to the north of Raury. As was their tactic, the 12th SS counterattacked within days.  Will the counterattack by 12th SS be successful or will the West Riding Division hold?

20mm.  6 Players.  GM Thomas Sero

B. Pennypacket Bridge Part I - The Confederate Morning Attack (1863 ACW Sharp Practice) - FULL
A fictional scenario by Nick Skinner from WSS #115 to look at cavalry in the American Civil War, this opening action sees a Confederate infantry column come up against US cavalry setting a defensive screen on the flank of a Union position.  Can the smaller force in blue hold the river long enough for the flank to be covered?  In the afternoon we'll flip the roles and on the same battlefield see if Confederate cavalry can do the same.

15mm.  4 Players.  GM Chris Robinson

C. What A Burmese Tanker! (What a Tanker) 

The jungles of Burma were not tank friendly. The vehicles had to be light and nimble. The stress of commanding is in managing what you have to do and what the dice say you can do. Up to three scenarios in rotation in each time slot:

1. Yikes that’s a big un!

2. Not so fast!

3. All together now!

20mm.  4 Players.  GM Howard Tulloch

D. Parabellum! (Infamy Infamy)

It is 43 AD, and the forces of Caratacus are fighting the Claudian invasion of Britain, under the command of Aulus Plautius. After months of hit and run tactics by the Celtic tribes that have plagued the legions, the Romans have managed to bring a force of Celtic warriors to open battle. The legionaries are primed for the fight. The warriors of the Catuvellauni have driven themselves into a murderous frenzy at the chance to finally come out of the shadows and strike at Rome.  Parabellum. 

28mm.  4 Players.  GM Sean Malcolmson

E. Frenchtown (1812 Sharp Practice) - FULL

An American force under Brigadier General Winchester have driven out a small force of Canadian militia and First Nations from Frenchtown, Michigan Territory, and occupied the village. 

The British forces under Colonel Procter have force marched from Amherstburg with their First Nation allies under Chief Roundhead to make a surprise "Dawn Attack” on the U.S. forces.

From TFL Games' War of 1812 scenarios by Mike Hobbs.  

28mm.  4 Players. GM Roger Chrysler

1:30pm - 3:00pm

Lunch - There are several locations for lunch within a short walk or drive of the RHLI Hall.

3:00pm - 7pm

AA. Frenchtown (1812 Sharp Practice) - FULL

An American force under Brigadier General Winchester have driven out a small force of Canadian militia and First Nations from Frenchtown, Michigan Territory, and occupied the village. 

The British forces under Colonel Procter have force marched from Amherstburg with their First Nation allies under Chief Roundhead to make a surprise "Dawn Attack” on the U.S. forces.

From TFL Games' War of 1812 scenarios by Mike Hobbs.  

28mm.  4 Players. GM Roger Chrysler

BB. Pennypacket Bridge Part II - The Union's Afternoon Counterattack (1863 ACW Sharp Practice) - FULL

In the morning, Union cavalry had to screen a flank from a CSA probing attack, now after eventually taking the battlefield, Texan and Virginian cavalry are guarding the Confederate rear area when Union infantry reinforcements burst onto the scene.  Without the breech-loading carbines of the north, can the greys come up with tactics to hold off this attack?  Part Two of a a fictional scenario from WSS #115 by Nick Skinner to look at cavalry in the American Civil War.  Playing in Part One not required!

15mm.  4 Players.  GM Chris Robinson

CC. What A Burmese Tanker! (What a Tanker) 

The jungles of Burma were not tank friendly. The vehicles had to be light and nimble. The stress of commanding is in managing what you have to do and what the dice say you can do. Up to three scenarios in rotation in each time slot:

1. Yikes that’s a big un!

2. Not so fast!

3. All together now!

20mm.  4 Players.  GM Howard Tulloch

DD. 30K Ultramarines vs. Iron Warriors (Horus Heresy Chain of Command rules variant by Ioan Davies-John) - CANCELLED

As the Warmaster Horus musters his legions of traitors on Ullanor, the Iron Warriors are mired in brutal fighting on the planet of Krade. Originally tasked with preventing the Ultramarines from reaching the final battle on Terra, the Primarch Perturabo has now been ordered to withdraw and join up with the invasion forces. A small garrison lead by Lt. Soltarn Vull Bronn covers the evacuation in the face of the relentless advance… Can the brothers of iron hold out long enough against the onslaught of Guilliman’s finest?

15mm.  4 Players.  GM Anthony Watts

EE. Wertingen 1805 - On the Road to Austerlitz - FULL

8 October, 1805:  after the Grande Armee crossed the Rhine to deal with the Austrian-Russian Third Coalition, Napoleon's advance guard under Murat caught one of General Mack's Austrian corps by surprise at Wertingen.  The French force under the dashing Murat is heavy in cavalry, stiffened by Oudinot's grenadiers, and historically made short work of the Austrians, but the brave whitecoated infantry might make a better showing if ably led in this re-fight.

This 6mm game is a chance to try General D'Armee, the large-battle Napoleonic rules by Dave Brown published by Reisswitz Press.  

6mm.  4 Players.  GM Michael Peterson

FF. Parabellum! (Infamy Infamy)

It is 43 AD, and the forces of Caratacus are fighting the Claudian invasion of Britain, under the command of Aulus Plautius. After months of hit and run tactics by the Celtic tribes that have plagued the legions, the Romans have managed to bring a force of Celtic warriors to open battle. The legionaries are primed for the fight. The warriors of the Catuvellauni have driven themselves into a murderous frenzy at the chance to finally come out of the shadows and strike at Rome.  Parabellum. 

28mm.  4 Players.  GM Sean Malcolmson

7:00pm+

Curry!  As with the first LardEhs Day in November, we'll look to order in curry (other options are available from the restaurant) for those who wish to stay and have a casual dinner and chat afterwards.

Charity Raffle & Dice:

We'll be having a fundraiser (raffle, sale items) for the McMaster Children's Hospital Foundation, thanks to the help of Mike Peterson, aka the Mad Padre.  The fundraising will include:

• For sale on the day will be official TooFatLardies dice ($2 each), donated by TFL.
• Raffle tickets ($5 each, 5 for $20) will be available and prizes include a 28mm MDF WWII terrain pack (pictured below) courtesy of Cardboard Dungeon Games once again, 12-packs of TFL dice, a set of Zoporozhian Cossack figures from Pulp Figures courtesy of the Canadian Wargamer Podcast, and yet more dice in TFL rule-sized packs of 24 supported by Dan the Dice Guy.

Other News:

• For those coming in from out of town and wanting to make a weekend out of it, on Friday night the Hamilton Tabletop Gaming Society is having their monthly game night at the same venue - you're welcome to join in.
• Please bring cash for any purchases (dice, raffle tickets, entrance fee).
• For our GMs (and to entice more GMs to come forward!), Cardboard Dungeon Games is also offering a set of weathering paints for our GM-only raffle.

To contact me, please e-mail chrisrobinson AT nexicom.net

"Fayre Winds and Foul Tides" now out!

As you'll recall (maybe) from March, I was playtesting a supplement for Ganesha Games' great Galleys & Galleons age of sail/pirate rules by Nic Wright, and those rules are now out!

And available here: http://www.ganeshagames.net/product_info.php?cPath=1_25&products_id=308

The blurb covers what's in the book at a high level, I'll mainly be using it to make my voodoo and ghost pirate factions more spooky, and give the good guys some options to fight them.

It also comes with a ton (or tonne) of newly rated ships as well (don't think the blurb mentions that) - over 20 pages worth!  It gets the game into some new periods or genres too, so all those unpainted Uncharted Seas ships I have sitting in a box could be used with these rules, though Wessex's Strange Tydes was originally slated for them.  I think you could even do fast and furious ACW Ironclads rules with them, though the purists will probably freak out.

Hotleaded

Last weekend was the Hotlead convention in Stratford, Ontario, and I made my second pilgramage there and once again had a great time. I stayed at a brother's in Kitchener, about 40 minutes away, and travelled over daily (which problem helps keep me out of trouble). Several other members of my Toronto gaming group were there, particularly Saturday morning, when Glenn and Ron ran the Guilford Courthouse battle again in 6mm using a pending Polemos rule set. I seemed to be the only 3 day attendee from our group though.

Once again I played in all five time slots, and again one objective was to play either rules or periods I was interested in. I wasn't able to get into the Friday night game I had as a first choice (Skopje 1912, using Triumph of the Will rules), but I had a backup game in mind and was glad I did.

That game was Coastal Patrol, found in Too Fat Lardie's Summer 2011 Special, and is a set of rules for WWII coastal actions. This game was the Royal Navy vs. Kriegsmarine, and saw seven of us go at it. When the game started (a night action), we were all on blinds, and only a couple of players knew who their teammates were. I was one of the ones in the dark (figuratively and literally), having to escort a slow as molasses German tanker from one end of the table to the other, with a converted trawler and a well-armed R-Boat to do it.

The game got off to a fast and furious start at the other end of the table, at my end I played peekaboo with what turned out to be a comrade - a U-Boat unable to submerge. After various adventures that didn't involve me, I used my R-Boat to beat down a British Fairmile that had shot up the U-Boat, eventually driving it back off the table. However, as I was doing that a British MTB that I'd thought my comrades at the end of the table had dealt with scooted into the open and launched two torpedoes at the tanker. On my activation I blew him out of the water, but had to wait a turn for those torpedoes to intersect with the tanker...and miss! Each needed an 8 or less to hit on 2d6, and both times the player rolled 9s. That pretty much wrapped up the game as a German victory. The rules were fun and I'm going to have to round up my few 1/600 coastal ships soon.

Saturday morning I played a game of Cold War Commander in 6mm. I was the Poles in a mishmash Warsaw Pact assault on a mishmash of NATO forces. Basically Poles, Russian Naval Infantry and Airborne Assault units vs. US Marines, Danish Home Guard, and Canadians. As the least capable force, I was to be the anvil, but just getting into position left me open to a hammering (my ranges were such that I couldn't fight back with most of my battalion). I did divert the Marines to me, tying up both them and the bulk of the Danes. Unfortunately our other flank bogged down and was stopped by the Canadians, who'd beat us into town.

I struggled coming in relatively cold to the CWC rules, though I do have them and have plans for them in 3mm. Figuring out units/forces, etc. was tough, and my teammates were little Napoleons, which doesn't help.

Saturday afternoon I played in Mike M. and Nick's Poltava 1709 game, using Might of Arms rules. Yes, MoA is an ancients-medieval ruleset, but Mike has made a few tweeks and the rules work well for early gunpowder. I had an easier time with MoA this year, probably because the unit types were fewer, and the situation simpler (straight ahead charge for us Swedes). We were winning, but barely, when on the last turn one of my units fired on Peter the Great's bodyguard and killed him!

Saturday night was a game of I Ain't Been Shot, Mum, which of course is the set of rules I plan on using with my 6mm forces. I commanded a German platoon, with another player controlled a second platoon, and a third player being in overall command and controlling two small SPG/TD units. We were charged with defending the bridge and ford in a Russian village from a Soviet assault, which could come from any table edge. We were up against five Soviet players, who controlled what turned out to be a Soviet infantry company bulked up with a tank platoon.

We set up what we hoped was an all-round defence, only to have the Russians come out right on top of me! I had one squad hidden in the woods, intending to use them as an ambush in one direction, only to have a Soviet platoon charge straight into me. My surprise attack hurt them, but on the next turn they were able to launch a human wave attack on me with two platoons that essentially wiped out two of my squads. I fought back for a while, but took most of the Soviet heat for the first half of the game and eventually succumbed. When all was said and done, the Soviets won a marginal victory - they got the river crossings but didn't have much left.

Sunday morning saw me in a game of the preview version of Maurice, fighting a general SYW battle of Russians vs. Prussians. I was one of two Russian commanders. The rules were fun and convinced me to pre-order them. I'm happy with King of the Battlefield for SYW etc., but I'll be looking to these for WSS gaming; I haven't really found rules that satisfy me for that period. We lost the game, but like I said, it was fun.

I'm sure you're asking if I did any shopping, and while I'm going to try to hide the damage done - yes, some things were bought. RAFM had brought me an order of 15mm sci-fi (their Traveller line) and 28mm Space 1889. I also picked up some more pulp figures from Artizan - French Foreign Legionaires, British detectives, and cossacks. I also picked up an ECW Osprey, a painted 15mm government building that will work for Solomon Kane, pirates, and pretty much any other period.

I also picked up a 1/72 Sherman for my smaller scale WWII gaming, and a pack of wooden fortifications for colonial North America.

Here are some other blogs/photos from the convention:
Friday
Saturday 1
Saturday 2
Sunday
Overview

Lardcam

Well since painting and prepping are continuing on without anything sexy to photograph, I thought I'd post a link to some fun stuff that's come out from the Too Fat Lardies gang - their own Youtube channel.

In three parts they describe the basics of Sharp Practice (Napoleonic skirmish) and play a few turns showing off the system. Beware the sound sometimes goes in and out when they switch camera viewpoints, so keep the volume dial handy during episode one, but they're working on this for their next videos.

While I have Sharp Practice, a lack of mini's for that period are keeping me from trying it. However, I was able to pick up the game's basics pretty quickly from one viewing. It may have helped already being familiar with TFL games, but I think this video will help anyone interested in the rules.

In other news, the painting table is again dominated by helicopters and their bleedin' canopies. I finished the US flesh and uniforms, so per my plan then switched to the copters.

The green-tinged top windows turned out nicely, only a few touch ups needed, but I really buggered up on the gray. I'm using gray for windows on open doors and blue for everything else, and for some reason I concluded I wanted dolphin gray, as I'd used that before on my UH-60's. What I wasn't paying attention to was that I'd used dolphin grey for THE FUSELAGE of a couple of UH-60's, and a darker gray for the windscreens. Idiot, idiot, idiot. Eventually I realized the windscreens looked kinda white and repainted what I'd done, but still.

This is when you have to remind yourself "punch pillows, not walls."

On the prepping front, I've started on the Microworld fantasy mini's - really nice stuff, I'd recommend them (and for all you non-continentals, worldwide shipping is only $4 US!).

I've also been on a real VSF funk and have prepped some aeronef and land ironclads, as well as gotten to work on the setting again (it helps avoid painting canopies!). My VSF is set after Victoria (1938) but still has a real Victorian feel, with all the steampunk changes not much has changed other than the Queen's in the ground. I actually don't remember why I went that route initially but I'm good with it.

I also spent my August money on Brigade Models' summer sale, picking up more stuff for three of the four VSF angles - aeronef, land ironclads, and aether ships. Only the navies got neglected.

Anyway, hopefully some helicopter pics soon!