tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18093349369030177262024-03-05T08:20:07.483-05:00Full Steam Ahead into Uncharted Seas!My voyage into naval tabletop gaming.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comBlogger100125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-19693951297468366432013-02-28T18:43:00.003-05:002013-03-01T08:10:53.522-05:00Demo Games DayI ran a day of demo games with a group of tabletop gaming fans
showcasing their favorite "alternative" games in a store devoted to the
top couple of miniature companies. I set up a basic scenario which could accomodate 2-5 players. <br />
<br />
<img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="http://fancywars.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/demoday2013-table-setup.jpg?w=625&h=468" src="http://fancywars.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/demoday2013-table-setup.jpg?w=625&h=468" style="height: 469px; width: 625px;" /><br />
<br />
On
the "starboard" side of the table I had a rocky cove set up, flanked by
some crumbling ruins and centered around a lighthouse; on the "port"
side was deployed a damaged Elven flagship with only a single squadron
of destroyers running escort duty. The objective for the Elven player
was simple--get the flagship with the First Sea Lord to any place
between the ruined pillars behind the lighthouse where Elven shore
batteries could drive off any attackers. Other players would either
play allied squadrons of Elven ships helping to ward off attackers or
Dwarven, SM, or BG squadrons attempting to sink or capture the Elven
flagship.<br />
<br />
I had two very interested players, and
although one was interested in playing the Bone Griffons, the other
really preferred to play Dwarves, particularly the "magic" Dwarves in
the cast iron ships. They also wanted to play against each other. So, I
quickly modified the scenario, removed most of the other squadrons, and
the SM player had the objective of moving the "heavy cruiser" (yes,
it's a SM battleship but I had a card printed out with stats for a heavy
cruiser) to the safe haven behind the lighthouse while the BG ships
attempted to sink or capture it.<br />
<br />
<img alt="" data-cke-saved-src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IYxxkLe0sew/USqBSUufeCI/AAAAAAAALrg/EOZp6NxpTEc/s640/dscf1156.jpg" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IYxxkLe0sew/USqBSUufeCI/AAAAAAAALrg/EOZp6NxpTEc/s640/dscf1156.jpg" style="height: 480px; width: 640px;" /><br />
<br />
I
restricted the space on the table, and the Shroud Mages started 12" in
from one corner while the Bone Griffons started 12" in from the other
corner on the same table edge. The fleet of Iron Dwarves among the STAR
cards deck marked off the 12" out of bounds, so the players were
effectively playing on a 3x3 foot area. All the better to get them to
the meat of the action, and by the end of turn 1 we had the heavy
cruiser firing at submerged undead whales (to no effect), and a squadron
of SM frigates closing on the squadron of BG cruisers.<br />
<br />
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<br />
The
center of the board represented shallows, and I explained that only
small surface models could move across that area, between the volcano
and rocky island. The BG player, on turn 2, surfaced his orca, deciding
not to circle around to intercept the heavy cruiser (especially after
the heavy cruiser changed course to follow the frigates and take chances
with the oared galleys), and moved across the shallows to head directly
toward their objective.<br />
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The sea monsters, by the way, are only obstacles in this game, like terrain. Turn 3 was quite exciting: the squadron of orca moved to ram and board the heavy cruiser, but only 2 managed to reach the SM ship; a fast and furious boarding action damaged the target, but the boarding parties from both orca were absolutely destroyed. The heavy cruiser moved to trade broadsides with the squadron of oared galleys: all ships took some damage, but no criticals. During the 4th turn the heavy cruiser moved to a stern raking position on one oared galley, and a double critical hit damaged the propulsion and rudder both, leaving it to drift ahead only 2".<br />
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The last remaining orca moves to collide with 2 SM frigates at once; it was a gamble, and it didn't pay out--one frigate was lost to the ramming, but the other managed to resist the boarding action and destroy the last of the undead crew on the whale.<br />
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Finally, with only 1 cruiser limping in the water with a single hull point while the heavy cruiser still had more than 50% hull points and was within sight of the harbour, the player of the Bone Griffons conceded the game. The two new players had completed 5 turns in under an hour with fewer than 300 points worth of ships per side.<br />
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-66472163345950880242013-01-15T16:23:00.000-05:002013-01-15T16:25:22.400-05:00Canoes Are Boats Too!I've done almost no naval gaming these past few months, but I should admit I've still been busy. During this past summer I bought a copy of Muskets & Tomahawks, convinced by the review I heard on the Meeples & Miniatures podcast <a href="http://traffic.libsyn.com/meeplesandminiatures/meeplesandminiatures_ep88.mp3" target="_blank">epidsode 88.</a><br />
<br />
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<br />
I liked everything I read; the rules are relatively simple and familiar, but there is definitely an 18th century theme. I visited a local Hobby Lobby and picked up several inexpensive packs of Indians and Colonial Infantry in 1/72 scale plastic, along with some discounted Christmas trees for cheap terrain. All together, less than a hundred bucks for the rules, cards, a wide range of figures, and terrain.<br />
<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-66484015655756898542013-01-10T17:52:00.005-05:002013-01-10T18:17:29.504-05:00New Uncharted Seas CampaignThe goal of this campaign is to develop a fleet and engage in missions
to secure gold by transporting cargo to and from the Old World or simply
seizing it by raiding villages or securing valuable cargo from
shipwrecks. The first player to accumulate 10,000 Gold Bars is declared
the winner of the campaign.<br />
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
List of Campaign Definitions:<br />
<br />
* Admiral:
Each player has an Admiral who is the top of the food chain in the
respective fleet. Call your Admiral whatever you want--a Captain,
Scallywag, Emperor, or Lord of the High Seas. For the sake of this
campaign, each player has an Admiral which is the representative, in
game, of the player--a player's avatar, so to speak, in the campaign.
An Admiral lives a charmed life, always managing to be washed ashore
after shipwrecks, always finding the bullet hitting his chest to be
stopped by a flask, always managing to escape the shackles in the
darkest dungeon of his captors. Throughout the campaign the Admiral
survives. One thing the Admiral may not do so well with as surviving is
managing his funds to keep a fleet afloat and operational. When an
Admiral accumulates 10,000 Gold Bars to his personal treasure he then
may declare himself Lord Victor of the Uncharted Seas and retire to a
private island.<br />
<br />
* Gold Bars: These are the measures of wealth,
victory objectives, ship building and operations expenses. 1 Gold Bar
is the equivalent of a point of a ship's cost. Gold Bars are collected
by delivering cargo (or capturing and selling cargo), ransoming
important prisoners, finding and liberating shipwrecks or lost temples
of their treasures, or selling prized ships in a neutral Pirate's Haven
port (calling it Redport for now).<br />
<br />
* Pirate's Haven REDPORT:
The main, neutral port around which the campaign revolves. Redport is
an international port, not as large or civilized as the capital cities
in the Old World, but it's the last stop in a civilized port on your
voyage into the Uncharted Seas and the first stop before heading back to
the Old World. Redport is a ramshackle city built around an atoll
which is the remnant of an ancient volcano crater. Almost no food is
grown here, but because of the protected, deepwater port and a
concentration of trade and willing labor, not to mention the only
collection of skilled shipwrights in this part of the world, Redport
thrives by the commerce which flows through this port. The population
is at least five thousand score of souls, and of all nationalities and
races. The city is divided into quarters, each controlled by a
different faction. A half-dozen shipbuilders line the docks, and each
day several ships, merchant and warship alike, are christened and crewed
by many willing and able hands. In Redport an Admiral may buy and sell
anything, for the right price.<br />
<br />
* Borrowing: Defeat can be a
grim reality for an Admiral. Debt usually follows. At any time an
Admiral may borrow Gold Bars from one of several large banking houses
and less scrupulous lenders in Redport. But these loans come at a
price, and if not repaid in a timely manner an Admiral may find his
fleet hunted by Imperial warships or simply find himself watching his
fleet slowly fall apart for lack of funds for repairs and replacements.
There is no limit to the amount an Admiral may borrow during a campaign
to fund repairs, new ships, and replacements. But if an Admiral
accumulates 5,000 Gold Bars in his personal treasure while still owing
any amount of debt, then each opposing player receives 500 Gold Bars
each Campaign Turn in credit toward repairing and building ships or
paying for crew and operations expenses.<br />
<br />
* Action: Each ship in a
fleet may perform 3 Actions per Fortnight. An Action is an abstract
measure of time that a ship is generally engaged. Missions will each
have an Action cost. Returning to a port for repairs costs 1 Action.
Docking in Redport for repairs or to sell or buy merchandise costs 1
Action. Moving from port to a Mission location costs 1 Action. Playing
a game against an opponent for any Mission objective does not cost an
Action to complete, but each ship in a fleet which is deployed for that
game and Mission must have spent 1 Action to effectively arrive at the
location for the battle. (As long as a ship has 1 Action remaining
after surviving a battle it may spend that Action to return to port for
repairs; if the ship has used all 3 Actions during the current Fortnight
then it must wait until the start of the next turn to spend 1 Action to
return to port for repairs.) An Admiral may divide the fleet and have
different squadrons perform different Actions, but each ship may only
perform 3 Actions in any given Fortnight.<br />
<br />
* Campaign
Turn/Fortnight: Each Campaign Turn covers 2 Weeks of time. Each ship
in a fleet may perform in 3 Actions during that 2-week turn.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-37486413084453151492012-11-15T19:11:00.003-05:002012-11-15T19:11:40.275-05:00DWVA X-CamI'm concentrating more of my online activity on the ManBattlestations site, and Ruckdog just posted a blog post describing the series of games we just played of Dystopian Wars for a local X-Campaign<a href="http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2012/11/14/kicking-off-the-x-cam/#more-533" target="_blank"> here.</a><br />
<br />
More details can be found on the forum side of the website: <a href="http://manbattlestations.com/" target="_blank">http://manbattlestations.com</a>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-19793606767181699232012-10-28T21:04:00.000-04:002012-10-28T21:04:25.927-04:00Dystopian Wars Virginia Team TournamentWe had several players cancel at the last minute to prepare for the oncoming storm, but we had 7 players show up--Zach played his first game during round 2 and I teamed up with Kyle in the final round so everyone could play.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTDE_GQafe6VvXvcHFgQNoX3XoaYOUvb43i4zsu3tYdwRkGKUs_UyY2Iy4lSCkgrUAW-6IdLLHSyoBqbuvFVM_wSJTbCwYIr1HuCQVUuLQ98k9nfCCBQdN76TvPCu9JgF5FprV1RRW7U/s1600/Lone+FSA+Frigate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjTDE_GQafe6VvXvcHFgQNoX3XoaYOUvb43i4zsu3tYdwRkGKUs_UyY2Iy4lSCkgrUAW-6IdLLHSyoBqbuvFVM_wSJTbCwYIr1HuCQVUuLQ98k9nfCCBQdN76TvPCu9JgF5FprV1RRW7U/s400/Lone+FSA+Frigate.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is my favorite situation captured during a game between FSA and French naval fleets; a French Battleship and Carrier loom above a lone surviving frigate--broken, 1 HP remaining, and it has already activated.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-90169613497359980372012-10-15T16:33:00.002-04:002012-10-15T16:40:49.035-04:00Dystopian Wars Tournament<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
AUTUMN EVENT
2012 TEAM TOURNAMENT<br />
<br />
TIME:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Sunday
October 28th, 2012 </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Registration
starts at 10am, Dice at 11am</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
LOCATION: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Game
Vault</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
6328 Five
Mile Centre Park, Suite 414<br />
Fredericksburg, VA 22407<br />
540-785-GAME (4263)<br />
<br />
COST:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
$5 per
player; winning team earns total registration to split 50/50 in store credit.<br />
<br />
FORMAT:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
We have
linked scenarios to create a mini-campaign for the tournament.<br />
Players will form teams of 2 players.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>1<sup>st</sup>
round will involve randomly matched players.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>2<sup>nd</sup> round will provide choices for teams, according to score
rankings from 1<sup>st</sup> round. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3<sup>rd</sup>
round will feature the winning teams on big tables battling for key locations
to win the campaign and the overall event.<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
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FORCE
COMPOSITIONS:</div>
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750 points,
Naval and Armored Core Forces.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Teams may
have multiple force lists and choose which force to use at the start of each
round.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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STAR CARDS:</div>
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No standard
STAR cards will be used.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Special cards
will be provided for teams to use during the event which provide special
effects.</div>
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<br /></div>
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RULES:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>DW 1.1 rules.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Scoring by Campaign Points as described in the Hurricane Season Campaign
Book.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
SCHEDULE:<br />
10am – 11am: Sign in and set up (Dice roll promptly at 11am)<br />
11am - 12:30pm: Round 1<br />
12:30pm – 1:15: Lunch and Secret Ballot Painting Contest<br />
1:15pm – 2:45pm Round 2<br />
3 pm -5:30pm Round 3<br />
5:45pm – 6 pm Awards and Raffle<br />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
PAINTING: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Models must
feature at least 2 different colors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Prime ships and then dry-brush or ink—it takes only an hour or two to
make your fleet look good on the table. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
HOW TO REGISTER:<br />
Post your registration on the Game Vault forum or on ManBattlestations.com or
send a PM to “maddrb”.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br />
NEED A TEAMMATE?<br />
Check the “looking for teammates” thread on the ManBattlestations.com:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=175.0" target="_blank">http://manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=175.0</a></div>
Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-22498580425250167522012-10-06T18:22:00.000-04:002012-10-07T11:05:59.657-04:00DW Flag Decals for Registering PlayersOne more day left to register for the DWVA Autumn Event at the Game Vault on Sunday, October 28th and get one of these DW flag decals.<br />
<br />
Players registering with me by Sunday, October 7th can pick up a free 5x8 inch flag decal the morning of the event.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_FeJa-62CwxyiCMdiPyvdEtbQWmQd-kaaBKrGPhGlzzHgZgTgdz6b4VscD_YgVN-kmZDOMzCuHqxezpDZoJMckExwsUrLwbAWQ94kw2Z7l_5xEwsQJSrxMAI51wou5Wo3tycq_MFQL8/s1600/FlagsPromo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="327" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy_FeJa-62CwxyiCMdiPyvdEtbQWmQd-kaaBKrGPhGlzzHgZgTgdz6b4VscD_YgVN-kmZDOMzCuHqxezpDZoJMckExwsUrLwbAWQ94kw2Z7l_5xEwsQJSrxMAI51wou5Wo3tycq_MFQL8/s640/FlagsPromo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Deadline for registration is October 21st or 16 players, whichever comes first. Contact me on the Spartan Games forum or at ManBattleStations.com to register, or leave a comment below!Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-53865934851825468852012-10-06T18:16:00.000-04:002012-10-06T18:17:58.966-04:00More Weekend Cat BloggingInspired by another gaming blog, I'm posting a picture of my first cat, a longtime companion for more than 10 years--this photo was taken shortly before he died a year ago now.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DJG80hvscZ8OWgT-zpLrcKVCbgN-DCFdBUqqI6z58HBLfSZgseV1zrj84eEIKFfIcl5MaOEwa_hmkguF1nm2rmrv6K0l-lg-NzffEf_fKVHlUwA2SYTG-nLXJFKFP_Jee_GAMTbjT5I/s1600/jones1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DJG80hvscZ8OWgT-zpLrcKVCbgN-DCFdBUqqI6z58HBLfSZgseV1zrj84eEIKFfIcl5MaOEwa_hmkguF1nm2rmrv6K0l-lg-NzffEf_fKVHlUwA2SYTG-nLXJFKFP_Jee_GAMTbjT5I/s640/jones1.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a><br /><br />
His name was Mr. Jones because he was an abandoned cat found by one of my gaming friends; Dave had taken him in and named him Mr. Jones (the English equivalent of the anonymous Mr. Smith, Anglophile that Dave has always been). But Dave and his wife already had two cats, and although Mr. Jones had clearly been "fixed" they couldn't commit to a third cat with a human baby soon to be added to the household. So it was up to me to adopt Mr. Jones... "Or he is going to the shelter--no pressure or anything," Dave told me, but I took the cat and never regretted it. He accompanied me when I moved to the Midwest and was a most faithful companion during cold winters, then when I married he adopted my wife as much as she adopted him and moved with us out to the East Coast. He now lies peacefully under an oak tree among the rolling hills of Virginia.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-48501507662634211792012-09-23T21:45:00.002-04:002012-09-23T21:49:08.673-04:00Registering for Next DWVA Event<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlS44SFsHS3i9XNC4JpT-PwzrFkyht2EA2SJV_aC7WM74J24Yna36J1QfnBMwf0xqFGEuHYisOQIUKdQYDCTP7xvOlQKEX3pRwQW9TveDQMXXtdFKSJw9TOHKvOvBQBsJ7x2nepDT-bk/s1600/TEAMEVENT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqlS44SFsHS3i9XNC4JpT-PwzrFkyht2EA2SJV_aC7WM74J24Yna36J1QfnBMwf0xqFGEuHYisOQIUKdQYDCTP7xvOlQKEX3pRwQW9TveDQMXXtdFKSJw9TOHKvOvBQBsJ7x2nepDT-bk/s400/TEAMEVENT.jpg" width="321" /></a></div>
<br />
WHAT: A special team-based event. Players must register as a 2-player team or individually registered players will be matched with other individually registered players. The rounds will be linked in a mini-campaign with victory declared for the leading team at the end of the event.<br />
WHEN: Sunday, October 28th, starting at 10:30 am.<br />
WHERE: The Game Vault, Fredericksburg, VA<br />
FORCES: 750 point force compositions; at least 1 force per team is Naval Core and 1 force per team is Armored Core. Players may bring multiple force compositions as long as the 2 basic requirements are met.<br />
COST: $5 per registered player.<br />
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(Format details follow)<br />
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GENERAL DESCRIPTION<br />
This event incorporates elements of tournament and campaign events previously organized at the Game Vault for Dystopian Wars. Some snacks will be provided (probably sandwiches like we had available at the Glorious 3rd of June event). The Game Vault has restrooms available, drinks and snacks for sale, and food & drink is allowed in the store. We will have a 30-minute lunch break between the first & second rounds which will also feature a secret ballot vote for best painted fleet. Prizes will be awarded for a variety of achievements.<br />
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FORMAT<br />
Each team will be composed of two players. Teams will be organized into an Alliance. Players will participate in 3 rounds of games, scoring Campaign Points for each game played, and each player in each round will deploy a 750-point force. Round 1 will feature “1 vs 1” player games with unique scenario objectives and conditions, determined randomly. Round 2 will feature a different set of scenarios for “1 vs 1” games, determined by teams according to scoring from Round 1. Round 3 will feature “2 vs 2” games of combined operations (50% land & 50% sea on 4x8 foot tables) with top scoring teams from different Alliances. The team of two players with the highest total Campaign Points after the end of the 3rd round will be declared the winning team and each player in that team will be awarded 50% of the collected registration fees as store credit at the Game Vault. Other prizes will be awarded for players achieving other specific conditions.<br />
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REQUIREMENTS<br />
Registration: Players must register by Sunday, October 21st before the event to be guaranteed a position. Registration only requires a Private Message sent to “maddrb” on the Spartan Community forum or a post on the ManBattlestations.com forum (registration on each respective forum required to post) or signing up in person at the Game Vault in Fredericksburg, VA. Players may choose to register as teams with a bonus for allied factions, or will be matched with another individually registered player by the Event Organizer. Registration cost is not required until the morning of the event. <br />
Force Compositions: One player in the team must have a Naval Core Force of 750 points, and one player in a team must have Armored Core force of 750 points. All tournament rules for force compositions apply. There is no limit to the number of different force compositions players bring to the event, and a force composition must only be chosen and presented to any opponents or the Event Organizer immediately before the start of each Round.<br />
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SPECIAL CONDITIONS<br />
Special Team Advantages: Any team of Major Alliance start the event with additional Campaign Action Cards and may freely exchange cards between team players during the course of the rounds. Any team of Minor Alliance nations may exchange cards between team players as above. Neutral Allies may only exchange Campaign Action Cards before or after rounds. Teams of nations "At War" may be allowed if approved by the Event Organizer before the event, but these teams will gain no special advantages (there could be a rogue faction of Blazing Sun ships, for example, working with a FSA fleet, but their communication will be limited). CoA players may form a team with any other nation, but CoA/non-CoA teams will not receive any bonus during the event concerning Campaign Action Cards.<br />
Cards: Star cards will not be used during any rounds of this event. Campaign Action Cards, as used in previous DWVA events, will be provided for teams before the event begins.<br />
Tiny Flyers: The 10 free Tiny Flyers may be available for some scenarios but not all, according to unique scenario objectives and conditions.<br />
Prizes: Faction decals (5x8 inch) will be awarded according to player’s favorite faction for special achievements; 50% of the total registration fees will be awarded to each player of the top scoring Team in store credit; a special certification will be awarded for the Garbage Scow Captain (we’ll see if anyone can take that title away from Jack); and a “to be determined” prize will be awarded to the player receiving the most votes for “best painted fleet” while we may reprise the “Best Admiral” award as well.<br />
<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-67929470364440139282012-08-31T10:49:00.001-04:002012-08-31T10:50:23.051-04:00Firestorm ArmadaLast week I took a 90-minute drive to a game store where I'm planning to run a DW tournament soon, mostly to see the store, make sure I could find it, etc. I also met some of the local players and introduced myself to a guy running demo games of Firestorm Armada. After asking him how it differed from the other Spartan Games, I decided, while driving home (and taking a route which went past my FLGS), that if the lone 1st edition FA rule book which had been sitting on the shelf for at least a year now was still in the store... (a likely possibility) then I would buy it and complete my Spartan Games collection.<br />
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I also picked up a deck of STAR cards!<br />
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I've been interested in the game and the fleets for some time now, and some of the newer models released have caught my attention, but I've been putting all of my attention into Uncharted Seas and Dystopian Wars. Well, now I'm starting a Sorylian fleet, and I'm thinking about a second fleet so I can run demo games of this one; although this might be a Spartan Game I only play since there seems to be a good group already playing to the south of where I live.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-59714404130363379922012-08-25T15:59:00.001-04:002012-08-25T16:11:23.447-04:00Historicon AfterthoughtsI attended Historicon the other week and it was the first gaming convention I had ever attended. In fact, it was the first convention of anything I had ever attended since I accompanied my father to the Cow Palace in San Francisco Bay Area a few decades ago for a gun show.<br />
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I can't really put the experience into words. Except that I distinctly remember many hours spent in my grandfather's basement when I was a young boy and paging through model railroading magazines, picturing in my mind what it might look like with scale equivalent model soldiers marching across the train tracks featured in all those magazine photos. And at Historicon I saw those faded childhood fantasies brought to life on several score of tables.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I grew up in a small town in Northern California. So small that my family drove us, my younger sisters and I, more than 30 miles to the county public library. Once a month. The public library was an amazing place for me between the ages of six and thirteen. I don't remember exactly when my mother signed the release form so that I could acquire an "adult" library card, but after that day I was allowed to go beyond the children's section and borrow books about World War II, books about the American Civil War, books about guns, tanks, planes, and ships. I'm not sure why these things appealed to me as an 8 or 9 year old boy, but I couldn't get enough books about military history. Roman Legionaries: Check! Buffalo Soldiers: Check! Machine Guns & Trench Warfare: Check! How to build 10 historical forts in wood and clay: Check! By the time I was in third grade I was leading marching and rifle drills on the school yard. At some point, however, many of my classmates decided running around spraying imaginary bullets from infinite magazines in Tommy guns while throwing dirt clod grenades was more exciting than completely understanding the several steps of loading a flintlock musket and then marching in parade formation.<br />
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By the time I was in high school, I had abandoned my boyhood games of playing French Rangers in the forest behind my home or Vietnam Sniper (I watched a lot of Vietnam movies like Hamburger Hill, Platoon, and I was an avid fan of the TV series Tour of Duty, so I spent a good deal of my weekends packing PBJ sandwiches in my genuine Korean <br />
War surplus pack through apple orchards and mountain wilderness to pretend scouting missions against enemy depots at which I would call in air strikes and sneak away before the napalm rained down; yes, I was a very strange little boy, but I had learned the basics of gun safety from my father at an early age, and I understood the difference between sneaking around in the woods with a wooden stick pretending to be a rifle and an actual rifle at the gun club range with one of my father's REAL firearms). I started playing historical wargames, beginning with some of the classic Avalon Hill titles as well as some from West End Games, and then, through the years, enjoying games from GMT and others.<br />
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But when I moved to Virginia four years ago, I felt uprooted and ready to try something different. So I tried a miniature tabletop game where, instead of using cardboard counters on a hex map, I started using little plastic toy soldiers to play games. Now I'm feeling enthusiastic to try new games and paint new figures, starting with a relatively new set of rules for the French & Indian War and a range of figures in 1/72 scale.<br />
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-37614849097729302682012-08-19T07:06:00.001-04:002012-08-19T07:06:43.300-04:00Next DWVA Event<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-69184993283984823382012-08-17T18:16:00.002-04:002012-08-18T15:34:36.824-04:00Dystopian Legions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Big news today about a new scale of Dystopian Wars. I didn't even know anything about it until I was paging through some photos taken at Gencon and posted on FB. At one picture I stopped and looked more closely... those looked like DW tanks!<br />
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I checked out the Spartan website, and it looks like they have indeed announced a new line of models and a new system for 28mm scale models (including infantry).<br />
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But I'm especially excited at the prospect of painting my favorite tiny tank models in a larger size.</div>
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-86917192115810943822012-07-22T15:58:00.001-04:002012-07-22T22:01:28.567-04:00Historicon 2012<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I had never attended a gaming convention before this weekend's Historicon 2012. I almost attended last year, but with the new venue only 30 miles from where I live this year I had no reason not to attend. I decided to try to experience the full range of the event, from participating in games to hosting a demo event for Dystopian Wars. With loaned models and help from local DW players we provided a basic run through of the game for 2 sets of 4 players, and plenty of others stopped by Saturday morning just to see what was going on and pick up some flyers.</div>
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Later that day I spotted some familiar models incorporated into a scratchbuilt model of an airship for a Victorian Martian scenario. Great stuff all around.<br />
<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-51055256683059748572012-06-15T11:22:00.000-04:002012-06-15T11:24:17.667-04:00Perfect Camouflage<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was impressed by the match between the paint scheme on my Uusual Opponent's CoA ships and the Dreadfleet play sheet we like to use as the table surface for our Dystopian Wars naval games. This was not intentional, but the perfect camouflage was evident when my Opponent, during turn 2, actually lost track of where he had positioned his frigates.<br />
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Anyway, I've been thinking about camouflage paint schemes on DW model ships, especially since a player in our group just finished his Prussian ships with a great camo scheme but then pointed out that their red emblazoned stacks probably call attention to themselves as targets from distant ranges.<br />
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Most of the ships on the tables at our last tournament event featured some sort of dazzle camo patterns on ships, and it strikes me that, although the technology of the Dystopian Wars alternate universe is quite advanced when compared to our historical world 1870 equivalent, all this technology is still quite new--the concept of having a dreadnought on station outside a harbor, in a Victorian naval commander's perspective, should be about making its presence and power known to the world rather than hidden from view.<br />
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As the Covenant of Antarctica is concerned, they might need to keep their ships veiled from view as much as possible, but for factions like Prussia, Britannia, and the Empire, paint schemes which call attention to the majesty and strength of their warships would be a part of the ongoing battleship arms race between the great nations of the world. At the turn of the 20th century, in our own historical world, dummy smokestacks were added to ships to make their profiles stand out, suggesting they had more engines and greater speed than they actually could muster. It really wasn't until the proliferation of U-Boats during the First World War that painting ships, especially cargo ships, to confuse enemy periscopes became an advantage which required camouflage.Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-13641048972577761112012-06-12T16:57:00.001-04:002012-06-13T16:48:54.531-04:00Assault on Green Island Airfield<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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BATTLE REPORT<br />
Assault on Green Island Airfield<br />
Imperial vs. FSA vs. Covenant<br />
1000 MFV each force, naval, air, and armored<br />
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The set-up for this scenario was a bit lopsided: I had 1000 points to set up on the island in the center of the board, including a bunker and airfield; my two opponents each had 1000 points on opposite sides of each other. The objective was to assault and hold the airfield with AP. Clearly my force was going to be the nut in the vise.<br />
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I put some land units on the island for defense, some medium flyers above the island, and some ships to either side, everything prepared to move in any direction. My plan was to keep forces close to the island and respond to threats as they advanced, from either side.<br />
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The FSA side advanced first. The FSA player had put all of his 1000 points into a core naval force with some air support. The CoA player tried a combined arms force, including a time dilation orb and a pair of armored bombards. <br />
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Each player had a chance to place terrain before starting the game, and
the FSA declined to place any terrain while the CoA player put as much
terrain as he could on his half of the table--he was thinking it would
provide him plenty of land to maneuver his armored units, but then his
core force was still naval and his ships started the game bottled up in
the narrow sea passage so that none of them could fully deploy until the
second turn.<br />
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By the end of the first turn my Imperial ships turned to meet the advancing FSA fleet while the Covenant ships carefully maneuvered through the narrow straight, most of their ordanance line-of-sight blocked by friendly ships already activated for the turn.<br />
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I decided to concentrate all Imperial resources against the FSA fleet. But before my squadron of air scout gyros activated the lead vessal had already suffered a critical hit to steering and drifted off toward the Covenant forces--a nominal defense against the inevitable attack from the Southerners.<br />
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A pair of Tanuki gunships headed straight for the FSA flagship, and a squadron of frigates shot planes from the air with their ack-ack. I thought a combined boarding attempt with both gunships might even capture the FSA flagship.<br />
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The FSA commodore attempted a hard turn to starboard, but it wasn't hard enough and the dreadnought plowed into the leading Japanese gunship. The collision sank one and combined gunfire sank the other.<br />
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But I got my revenge with the 3 remaining frigates in my Uwatsu squadron. Linked fire against a FSA gunship which had powered up kinetic generators and steamed up alongside the airstrip on the island allowed my frigates to score a double critical hit on an armored medium class ship! Of course, it helped that my dice rolled sixes, but rolling a combined hand of 14 dice at range band 1 was a good place to start.<br />
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Meanwhile, on the landward side of the table, the Covenant finally powered up the time dilation orb and the giant crab materialized within rocket marine range of the bunker. The CoA crab refrained from launching a boarding action so soon, but the guns just couldn't do much more than scratch the paint on the bunker.<br />
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I placed all of my pieces lost to the FSA assault on the respective side of my token & destroyed model mat, and by the end of turn 2 all of my destroyed models had been at the hands of the FSA while the Covenant ships still maneuvered and the giant crab shook its claws in frustration.<br />
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As dark stormclouds approached from the south and all players agreed to conclude the battle at the end of the third turn, I activated the Ika to surface, ram through a frigate (sinking it, of course) and firing all forward guns against the "Lame Duck" FSA landship which had been slowely waddling through the water at something like 3" per turn. My most effective units this game proved to be the frigates which had taken out three-quarters of a FSA corvette squadron before shooting down some planes and then inflicting a double critical hit against a heavy FSA gunship. The Ika played its part as well, taking out one FSA frigate before diving, then surfacing again on the second turn to ram and sink a second frigate, and then firing to score a critical hit on the FSA landship. If we had played a 4th turn I felt confident the frigates could score one more hit and sink the gunship while the Ika moved to board the painfully slow moving landship.<br />
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Back at the island, the crab probably would have continued to pound at the bunker, but I still had a pair of undamaged bombards and a pair of small tanks which could have moved to board the crab. I was clearly overpowered by two opposing fleets, but I still took out almost as many opposing models as I lost. And we all enjoyed trying an untested 3-player scenario.<br />
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-10432422930317544102012-06-04T18:27:00.001-04:002012-06-07T18:24:51.794-04:00Glorious 3rd of June DW<br />
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Thirteen players arrived and registered to participate in the Glorious 3rd of June Dystopian Wars Virginia event at the Game Vault in Fredericksburg. We also had two standby players still new to the game but willing to even the matches so all players could play a game in each of the three rounds. We started at noon. I brought sandwiches and fixings set up on a side table for those who had driven as far as 50 miles to be there; these served well since we didn't take a break until the event finished at 6:30 pm.<br />
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I
didn't take many pictures of the players, but I almost never see battle
report pictures show many players even though these sort of events are
mostly for and about the players. We had the back room reserved for our
event, but with more players than I had expected we set up 3 tables in
the main room of the store. We had a total of 13 registered players and
2 stand-by players that helped round out the matches so we had 7 games
going on during each of the 3 rounds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r57IIEdpUEoa4JXwDali7aIoEIbm48S-R5GFvIinDxvmqSX8Dr6RyqhVVNC3XwTKPTjIe97euoKwaNnesThenXg_PJqkBg7_HYk6Hg3V1VLvcNS57HOA_W-6BwzTunnuSx0TirJDj9A/s1600/3JuneMess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7r57IIEdpUEoa4JXwDali7aIoEIbm48S-R5GFvIinDxvmqSX8Dr6RyqhVVNC3XwTKPTjIe97euoKwaNnesThenXg_PJqkBg7_HYk6Hg3V1VLvcNS57HOA_W-6BwzTunnuSx0TirJDj9A/s640/3JuneMess.jpg" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some DW players bring plenty of accessories.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
I really should have taken a
picture of myself wearing the USS MONITOR cap I had bought during a
recent weekend in Hampton Roads and Norfolk as I was the silliest DW fan
in the store.<br />
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I split the group into 2 factions; we had 4 CoA
players that I matched with the 2 FSA and 1 KoB players against 2
Prussian, 2 French, and 2 Imperial players. Registration cards were
shuffled into two decks according to faction alliances, and I drew 1
card from each deck to match players from the first round.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/1stround.jpg" height="640" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/1stround.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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The
scenario objective in the first round was to park as many surface naval models in contact
with the mysterious disc floating on the surface of an unmapped portion
of the ocean. In the game between a Blazing Sun player and a FSA
player, the Imperial commodore managed to send a sky fortress to
investigate the disc; subsequent boarding actions made both the sky
fortress and the FSA battleship derelict, and both players effectively
tied the game and advanced to the next round.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/3JDSC02203.jpg" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/3JDSC02203.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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A
clash of titans during the second round as forces moved to score
objective points for having active models on the opposite side of a
river. The terrain was simple but clear, using the pea green table
surfaces to represent ocean in the first round of games and a grassy
plain in the second round. We're planning some terrain building
sessions at the store in the future.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/3JDSC02208.jpg" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/3JDSC02208.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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A squadron of Prussian small airships lead an attack against CoA ground forces in the 2nd round. Both of these players effectively tied and advanced to the third round as well. We started with 13 registered players, but due to draws (the lead player didn't have more than 110% of the opponent in VP scored) we had 7 players in the final round.<br />
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The
Prussians mobilize in the 3rd round. Both Prussian players advanced to
the 3rd round as opposed to all 4 Covenant players and 1 FSA
player. At this point I abandoned any idea of faction rivalries and I
put everyone's registration cards into one stack to draw for
matches--two of the Covenant players were matched against each other,
one of those winning the event.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/DSC02239.jpg" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/DSC02239.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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The game during the 3rd round which decided our 2nd place player.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/DSC02228.jpg" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/DSC02228.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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3rd round game between CoA and FSA; the FSA just managed to earn a victory for 3rd place.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/3JDSC02212.jpg" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/3JDSC02212.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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This one is my favorite overall because it shows the detail highlighted by a great paint job on this Metzger.<br />
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<img data-cke-saved-src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/DSC02233.jpg" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Glorious%203rd%20of%20June/DSC02233.jpg" width="640" /><br />
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-15775182114242766502012-06-02T23:49:00.003-04:002012-06-02T23:50:45.328-04:00DW Destroyers"Ruckdog" has written another entry in his series comparing the ship classes and technologies of Dystopian Wars with the history of late 19th and early 20th century navies. Read the full article on the Man Battlestations blog: <a href="http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2012/06/02/dystopian-wars-vs-real-life-pt-3-destroyers/" target="_blank">DW vs. Real Life Pt. 3</a><br />
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<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-27685517820259125682012-06-02T00:39:00.003-04:002012-06-02T00:54:10.862-04:00The Glorious First of June!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Ever since I started calling the new Dystopian Wars event "The Glorious 3rd of June" I have been thinking I should actually post a blog entry commemorating the original (and, indeed, historical) naval battle known as the Glorious 1st of June.<br />
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I remember first reading about this battle as referenced by characters in the Horatio Hornblower series of historical novels which I consumed when I was younger, and then, again, the battle was referenced by characters in the Patrick O'Brien novels which I read when I was a bit older (less swashbuckling action than Horatio performed but more explanation of nautical lore to the brilliant but not so nautical Maturin). But, of course, in the era of the Grand Napoleonic Wars, the age of Nelson and the Battle of Trafalgar, the battle known and referenced as the Glorious 1st of June is hardly more than a footnote of history in these books.<br />
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And when it comes to gaming, I certainly tried to recreate the battle of Trafalgar with Wooden Ships & Iron Men, and again with Flying Colors (both attempts were played solitaire, as I could not recruit another gamer passionate (i.e. "crazy") enough to spend an entire weekend cooped up in a room pushing small cardboard counters around on a hexmap and consulting charts with every roll of the dice), but I never set up and played the scenario for the Glorious 1st of June.<br />
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And when it comes to famous naval quotes (those have been bandied about on the Man Battlestations forum lately), everyone knows Nelson's message just before the battle of Trafalgar commenced, but who even remembers which British admiral commanded at the Glorious 1st of June? (Lord Howe commanded at the battle in the Atlantic against the French in 1794, and he was a hero to the young Nelson, but overshadowed by the latter in the Battle at the Nile, etc.)<br />
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Of course, at the time, the Glorious 1st of June was the largest naval battle between the English and the French. It was possibly because of subsequent battles between the English and French which were even larger that the former battle was lost in history. Also, the battle was something of a practice run, in the opinion of this armchair historian, for what was to come, providing opportunities to improve discipline and tactics (at least in the British Royal Navy). In the end, it was remembered as a great victory by the British (even though the results of the battle were not as conclusive as others like the defeat of the Spanish Armada or Trafalgar...) and it seemed to serve as a touchstone event in developing the organization and technology in the Royal Navy which led it to prove superior over the French and expanding a British Empire across the globe for a century to come.<br />
<br />Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-7191865043006422152012-05-31T17:32:00.000-04:002012-05-31T17:33:41.201-04:00Cauldron of Silence<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After a month of regular battle reports from the Cauldron of Silence campaign for Uncharted Seas, the final battle between two massive fleets was reported today on the Spartan Games <a href="http://www.spartangames.co.uk/battle-report-once-more">BLOG.</a><br />
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Pictures of the ships from several different factions all looked great, and the entire campaign came together through the efforts of a motivated group of gamers. More pictures of the fleets are posted on the Spartan <a href="http://community.spartangames.co.uk/" target="_blank">FORUM</a> and details about the new printing of the Uncharted Seas rulebook in hardcover is on the main Spartan Games <a href="http://www.spartangames.co.uk/" target="_blank">website.</a>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-86346274901940219832012-05-29T10:38:00.000-04:002012-05-29T10:38:01.341-04:00The NEW Uncharted Seas Templates<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The hardcover rule book for Uncharted Seas is available for pre-order from the Spartan Games website, and these special orders will include a set of the limited edition clear acrylic templates.<br />
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I'm going to wait until the rulebook is on shelves here in the States. I can't bring myself to order the special deal and then pay the additional shipping costs, but I'm thinking about putting together some templates myself from wood. There are some acrylic templates available from gaming supply companies here in the states, but I have my heart set on something a bit more organic, especially for a fantasy naval game.<br />
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But, in the meantime, I'm putting together the final props for the Dystopian Wars tournament coming up in a few days....Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-84305258944252072752012-05-24T19:24:00.001-04:002012-05-24T19:26:00.710-04:00Now that's a Battle Report!Craig from the D6G has been writing some fun narrative battle reports on the blog over on the Spartan Games website, part of a tsunami of new material for Uncharted Seas, including some new options for Captains of Renown and featuring some awesome pictures of ships on the tabletop. Here is a link for the most recent report:<br />
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<a href="http://www.spartangames.co.uk/battle-report-deep-within">http://www.spartangames.co.uk/battle-report-deep-within</a><br />
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I especially enjoy the conflict between my two favorite factions in the Uncharted Seas, something I have never witnessed because I'm always playing either one or the other but usually against Orcs or Dwarves.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttOmuawFYBzAqsfMDlrWycsS2Sep6lY_Ru7LuR7Q2IEybV7Gd6liRXRRSNbxPuUjCLDngdLaArrlxZWhbJ5qezzfLDOf4u0Yo4gutQeuX77dpyzABj5EqxFgdhdoZ2ncJRk670mpZ6oI/s1600/br3-fig-5b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjttOmuawFYBzAqsfMDlrWycsS2Sep6lY_Ru7LuR7Q2IEybV7Gd6liRXRRSNbxPuUjCLDngdLaArrlxZWhbJ5qezzfLDOf4u0Yo4gutQeuX77dpyzABj5EqxFgdhdoZ2ncJRk670mpZ6oI/s1600/br3-fig-5b.jpg" /></a></div>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-90043130787798092062012-05-22T11:02:00.001-04:002012-05-22T11:10:11.859-04:00Game with GregFSA fleet stationed off the coast of Ecuador was dispatched to investige reports of an Imperial force operating in the region. The Blazing Sun battle group centered around the Kiyohime carrier <em>Noto</em> with a Tsukuyomi War Gyro in support along with escorts & frigates. (Naval Core Forces with approximately 820 points in each.)<br />
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Under clear skies the two forces spotted each other near some small islands and immediately closed the range. The FSA fleet, centered around the Dreadnought <em>FSS Enterprise</em>, also included a Saratoga class carrier and several squadrons of surface craft including destroyers, escorts, corvettes, and a pair of gunships. The Americans opened fire first with ranging shots and the Imperial War Gyro turned to starboard to bring both turrets and the full port broadside of rockets to bear on the Enterprise. Unfortunately, at least for the "Unfortunate" Dragon War Gyro, several rockets which struck the sides of the Dreadnought failed to explode. A certain Japanese rocket battery lieutenant may or may not have checked to make sure the rocket warheads were armed.<br />
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Around the east side of the islands, however, an Imperial gunship squadron moved into flanking position. They may have managed to move in close to the FSA fleet undetected if not for the pair of Inari Scout Gyros following and launching rockets which attracted attention from the American gunships.<br />
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A squadron of Imperial torpedo bombers made a full-throttle advance and dropped torpedoes on a direct vector to the Enterprise, but several of the torpedoes which struck the side of the American Dreadnought failed to explode. As the torpedo bomber squadron returned to the carrier <em>Noto</em>, a suspicious fleet admiral on the bridge of the Imperial carrier, removing his pair of battle goggles, scribbled a note in his log to make formal investigations of his ordnance offices at first opportunity after this engagement.<br />
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The torpedo bombers landed, rearmed, and launched for a second attack while the Imperial ships concentrated their fire on the American Dreadnought, with no discernible effect. A squadron of Imperial frigates easily dispatched the American corvettes, and the Kaigun Shosho considered some frigate captains in line for promotion. On the port side, the Ika which had been lurking alongside the carrier moved swiftly toward the American carrier, surfaced to attack, and then dived again to maneuver for a second attack.<br />
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(Note: the yellow dice were used to indicate activated squadrons, the number for the order during the turn in which they activated.)<br />
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But then something terrible happened. The Tsukuyomi War Gyro was struck in several places by shells fired from the main turrets of the FSA Dreadnought, and one shell in particular set off a chain reaction of explosions which enveloped the entire flying warship in a blaze of fire. The burning airship fell from the sky, crashing onto the aft deck of the <em>Noto</em> and everything from the bridge of the carrier was a flash of light and fire for several moments.<br />
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When the smoke cleared, amid the din of alarm klaxons, the surviving Imperial officers on the bridge of the carrier Noto surveyed the scene to find half of the fleet burning in the water. Those frigates were gone, the torpedo bombers gone, and the Tsukuyomi War Gyro absolutely gone. The executive officer reported severe damage to the <em>Noto</em>, particularly to the engines which could not be repaired (it seemed the engine crews were dead as orders to repair were not acknowledged). But the Japanese would not give up the fight. There was still a squadron of gunships coming around the flank, and the Kaigun Shosho decided to continue the fight and draw the attention of the Americans so that a flank attack may prove successful.<br />
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But the Imperial gunships had been intercepted by the American gunships, and there was small chance they would be able to move fast enough to assist the crippled carrier against the American Dreadnought.<br />
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By the end of turn 4 the FSA player had destroyed or damaged more than 70% of the Imperial battle group, winning the game which had started with more than 800 points per side by a margin of more than 30%. As the carrier <em>Noto</em> sank into the waters, and the Ika (which had suffered engine damage and lost more than half original Hull Points from an attack by American torpedo bombers) submerged and attempted to escape, only the pair of Blazing Sun gunships and a single Scout Gyro remained in any condition to fight and turned to escape to the open sea.<br />
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<a href="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Aaron%20vs%20Greg/May2012050.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h438/maddrb/DW%20BatReps/Aaron%20vs%20Greg/May2012050.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-86072719283969555382012-05-17T22:29:00.001-04:002012-05-18T10:17:34.660-04:00June 3rd Scenarios<div>
Scenario Details for June 3rd Tournament: </div>
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<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1337175157205253" style="font-size: large;"><a name='more'></a></span><br />
<span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1337175157205253" style="font-size: large;">***</span><br />
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1st Round: Naval Engagement ~ 600 MFV Naval Core Force ~ 75 Minutes/3 turns</div>
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36"x48" play space, a 5" disc/vortex is placed at the center of the play space. Players deploy along width of short table edges and as far as 12" from table edge. Any <em>active</em> surface naval model touching the disc when time is called scores VP equal to the cost of the model, regardless of damage to the model. VP is also scored for destroyed, damaged, and captured models, as usual. STAR cards included, 1 deck shared between both players; 10 Free Tiny Flyers NOT included in force.</div>
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***</div>
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2nd Round: Armored Engagement ~ 600 MFV Armored Core Force ~ 75 Minutes/3 turns</div>
<div id="yui_3_2_0_1_1337175157205256">
36"x48" play space, 4" wide river bisects table center between players, 2 bridge cross the river which is shallow and may be forded by large class landships and some robots. Players deploy along width of short table edge and as far as 12" from table edge. At the time limit, any <em>active</em> armored model on the opponent's side of the river scores VP equal to the cost of the model. VP is also scored, as usual, for destroyed, damaged, and captured models. STAR cards included, 1 deck split between both players; 10 Free Tiny Flyers NOT included in force.</div>
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***</div>
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3rd Round: Combined Arms ~ 900 MFV ~ 100 Minutes/4 turns</div>
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48"x48" play space, one 8"x22" land terrain piece is placed at the center of the play space, lengthwise between player edges; alternating by random die roll, each player places two land terrain pieces each measuring 8" by 11" and placed entirely within 16" of the player's starting table edge. Each player then alternates placing a total of 3 energy portals at ground level; 1 portal on each terrain piece the player placed and 1 on the center terrain piece (the center piece will have 2 energy portals). Although energy portal placement is not according to the DW rule book, activation and use by armored models is according to page 37. Players deploy along width and up to 8" from table edge, alternating deployment. The player scoring the most VP overall for damaged, destroyed, and captured enemy models at the end of the round will be declared winner of the tournament. STAR cards included, 1 deck shared between both players; 10 Free Tiny Flyer tokens are included as part of each player's force.</div>
</span>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1809334936903017726.post-32345384975161138232012-05-07T16:23:00.001-04:002012-05-12T20:23:26.693-04:00The Glorious 3rd of June!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">Sunday, June 3rd, at The Game Vault in Fredericksburg, VA</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">1st Round: 600 Point Naval Core Force</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">2nd Round: 600 Point Armored Core Force</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">3rd Round: 900 Point Force--Land, Sea, & Air!</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Players matched by random draw. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">STAR cards in play for all rounds. </span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">Force organization for <em>Tournament Game</em> according to pg. 42 DW rules.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a>Event opens for registration with $10 fee at 10 am on Sunday at the Game Vault.<br />
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6328 Five Mile Centre Park, Suite
414<br />
Fredericksburg, VA 22407</div>
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<a href="http://www.thegamevault.net/">http://www.thegamevault.net/</a></div>
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First Round commences at noon; awards ceremony at 5:30 pm.<br />
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No meal breaks are scheduled, so stop for lunch on your way to the Game Vault. Snacks and drinks are allowed and available for sale in the store. Restrooms are also available.<br />
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Players are encouraged to pre-register by posting a response to the registration thread on the GV forum at <a href="http://forums.thegamevault.net/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=253">http://forums.thegamevault.net/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=253</a> or the Man Battlestations forum at <a href="http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=116.msg344#new">http://www.manbattlestations.com/forum/index.php?topic=116.msg344#new</a> email the Event Manager directly at <a href="mailto:maddrb@yahoo.com">maddrb@yahoo.com</a> Pre-registered players will receive a custom name badge when they sign in and pay the registration fee at the GV the day of the event.<br />
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Prizes awarded in store credit for First Place (First Commodore) and Second Place (Rear Admiral) along with the player scoring highest in opponent ratings for painting & sportsmanship (High Admiral), and a new set of dice to the player with the least accumulated VP (Garbage Scow Captain).</div>Aaronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08303315226017747181noreply@blogger.com