A Glorious Evening for the USSR! - Flames of War Mass Tank Battle

We had a 3 table Late War FoW game as one of the Christmas games at the club. The scenario was based around 3 adjoining and interconnected 6x4 tables, with 3 players per side fielding 100 points each. Soviets versus Germans. There were certain restrictions on army composition, namely no infantry, no artillery and limited A/T guns - providing a proper mass tank battle.

All three Russian players opted for T34/85 battalions with support from SU100s, SU85s and some IS2s. The German players fielded a mix of PzIVs, Panthers, Hetzers and Marders. both sides had air support in the form of Shturmoviks and Stukas.

The Soviets went on an all out frontal assault, aggressively forgoing the opportunity to fire in the first turn in order to close in with the enemy. This worked well on the wings, less well in the centre. In the next few turns, the Russian T34s got the better of the tank-on-tank action, and collected significantly more objective points, to earn a well deserved victory.

By and large, FoW Soviets have been unpopular of late as they can seem expensive in points and lack lots of the 'fancy tools' that the western armies have. Therefore, it was great to see them win a game using fairly historically accurate tactics!

Christmas Napoleonics

In the club it is traditional to have a large Napoleonics game the week before Christmas. This year, with illness taking out some of the players, the game was smaller, but no less keenly fought. 

A British and allied force blunted a determined French attack. One of the highlights being a regiment of British hussars holding their own against elite, heavy French cuirassier. 

Seven Years War

A fun encounter between Prussians and French, trying to fight their way through a narrow valley, using Osprey’s “Rebels and Patriots”. 

The French managed to get the better of the Prussians by pushing light troops down the wooded flanks, silencing an enemy gun, and bringing more fire to bear against the Prussian line.

Deadzone - Sci Fi Skirmish

We had an inaugural game of Mantic Games’ “Deadzone” and had a lot of fun with it. A crack team of GCPS Marines went in to eradicate some Mauraders (Orcs) that had taken up residence of a section of the Deadzone. Led by Lieutenant 'Holden McGroin' and backed up by the living legend, Sergeant 'Anita Humping', the Marines showed ruthless efficiency in banking victory points whilst clearing the sector of the deadly, pestilent Orcs.

The starter box for Deadzone represents great value. I bought in some extra terrain, but essentially you get most of what you need for £75 or so. I'm no expert in sci fi skirmish games, but out of the other ones that I've tried - including Stargrave and Kill Team - I would prefer Deadzone. The game play is really straightforward, but the scenarios/missions/objectives etc. are actually quite sophisticated. The miniatures are great. In this game we had to use Games Workshop Orcs, as I hadn't managed to get the Mantic Veer-Myn (space rodents) painted up in time. Also, the Mantic terrain is excellent, easy to make and can be used for all manner of other sci fi wargames.