Classic Squad Leader Day 2: November

CPL ____, tasked as Unit Morale, Welfare & Recreation officer...

...comes through looking good - barely!

This month, we had four show, with three interested that didn't due to family priorities popping.  But, we were prepared for any number of players, with three sets of CSL available! We had one new player, Jeff B, and two returning players, Bill T and Walt.  Walt and Bill squared off with the original Germans v. Russkies scenario.

I took Jeff on with my variation of Training Scenario #1, Forced March [HERE] as the Germans trying to exit against Jeff's Yanks in what must surely be The Pocket at Falaise [CLICK].

Jeff and I worked on the scenarios core principles, maneuver speed and firepower. I snatched one quick win with the Germans - Jeff kept his squads out of my line of sight, including Road hex S3 [the Shellholes] - the only hex where I could use firepower to interdict his advance. The long-range rifle shots were only on the 2 or 4 table, but with the -2 for Moving in the open, were a real threat.  But by taking the slower, safer route, Jeff was unable to get his Yanks in place to stop my exiting the board with 8 squads.

We set up again at the same point, and this time my Germans missed both shots at the hex rolling a '9' and '11' and Jeff was able to race two squads with CPL Medrow towards Death Meadow for the final fight.  At this exciting point, Bill and Walt had played a few games so we switched seats immediately, and Walt took the role of CPL Uhl, pushing to get his men to safety from the American noose: "Mach Shnell, mach schnell! Die Amerikaner kommen!" He shouted from the road.

I've made some - partially informed - statements about Scenario #1, but am happy to be proven wrong or learn something new.  So I was eager for a challenging and informative Alpha-0 [no support weapons] game with Bill as the German player.  Will Bill pull some clever tactical ploys out of his coal-scuttle helmet? And perhaps some rules I have missed? Let's see!

I started with a likely successful opening gambit - running a stack of 3 Squads to G4, where they could evade severe consequences with a move to G3 next Turn.  Bill positioned a couple squads with a 9-1 just outside my Range, but within his. Fortunately for me, his long-range Advance Fire - then his Defensive Fire on my Player Turn - was weak and he rolled average, missing. This allowed me to get three squads to J0 Turn 2, with a mob of Russkies behind them, and the Germans not quite fast enough to stop us.  Russians won with 6 of 5 Squads needed to exit.

We had time to play the Alpha 1 version, which gives the Germans support weapons [with Penetrating Fire] and the Russkies 6 more Squads and a 9-1 Leader.

On Russkie PT2, I successfully established a fire base at The Manor.  In his defensive Fire, Bill KIA'd one stack.  I Advanced another stack into the same hex of The Manor as it would tangle with the German base of fire in the house at T3.  In his Prep Fire for PT2, Bill KIA'd that stack also!

Oh, the tragedy, our good comrades piled up under little prep fire explosions...

This did not set me up for success at the exit point, as Bill's base of fire was able to threaten and interdict the "line of death" along the 3-4 hex line with his HMG and MMG and a 9-2 Leader.  I arrived there too slow despite using J4 as a threat point against Bill's units in Death Meadow.  Bill then occupied J0 himself, which would require a lot of Russians to assault!

With my limited resources, I did put pressure on the German stack, including breaking most of it at one point.  But I didn't have anyone to really close assault it.


With all that was left, one squad, with one more supporting from the woods, Russian Player Turn 5 ended without them able to exit two more squads off the board.  Stymied, they were!

A few lucky die rolls can definitely change the course of a small fight like this one in any Squad Leader game.  Had Bill not wiped out 6 squads and a Leader [a 9-1 no less] I would have been able to at least negate his fire base, while fighting just one stack of Germans I would have outnumbered 2-1.

Overall, I still feel like I pursued the best COA, but it didn't work - this time.

Bill's observations on the scenario:

The scenario seems close but to me will come down to combat and morale die rolls. Particularly the last one with my die rolls out of the machine gun nest, but really good or really bad die rolls are maybe magnified by the necessary fast pace of the scenario. Each side has to be constantly on task. That being said, I got four plays in today at about an hour each, that is a fairly short game (in a little more time than a single play through of the guards counterattack), which maybe makes it a little easier for it to seem repetitive. 

Jeff, our new player, said:

Walt and I played once, but it was more a discussion of possibilities/alternate moves and actions each turn. The GIs (me) broke easily and recovered quickly and had some lucky DRs; I don't recall if the Germans got enough units off or not, Walt might remember. The discussions with you and with Walt were great and much appreciated!

Overall, I'd say this was another successful CSL event. 7-8 games were played, and we all definitely learned the rules a bit better.  Our ability to use small scenarios to welcome new or returning players will stand us in good stead in the future, I think.

Looking forward to the next CSL meetup!

Classic Squad Leader Training #1: "Forced March" Alpha revisited

This training is a revision of previous training...

In my previous post on this simple, quick-playing scenario, I said that I found it difficult for the Germans to win [assuming average die-rolling all around].  I should qualify that by saying that:

1) die rolls can be a large factor in this small scenario.  With only 5 German and 11 Commie squads on the table, it is easy for a lucky die roll to significantly impact winning this tight scenario, e.g. wipe out half a Side.

2) one or two player errors, especially with Line of Sight, can have a big impact, also.  If one player thinks that a hex is out of LoS of the opponent's troops, and turns out it isn't, then suddenly a maneuver I thought was completely safe turns out to be a table 12 at -3 and I lose a stack [or two] of troops. This may mean the game, c.f. point (1) above.

I therefore decided to re-visit the Alpha version to see if I could find any additional ways for the Germans to win about half the games [with average rolling all around].

One approach that gets the Germans into play as fast as possible is for them to advance at full speed to hexes P3 / Q4. This allows them to interdict - with very modest Fire, it should be noted - the most direct path to exit the board, the road along G-H-I rows.

I tried a couple of playtests of this, and it does seem like it *could* work for either side, but probably the most competitive for both sides is to use the option to have the Germans move first.  

I did a playtest as-is, with the Russians moving first, taking the long route and staying completely out of German range [12 with the plain squads and no support weapons]. They pretty much mobbed the exit point and easily held off the Germans since they were there first.

Remember, whoever is able to to Fire first - the defense if the attacker has to move into LoS - has a considerable advantage. While it is possible to whiff a roll or two, it is more likely to inflict an M or 1 result, weakening the interdiction force as it advances into position. 

Also, without any support weapons, the Germans have no Penetration, and can only separate the Fire of their squads to hit more than one hex.

The below is a complete play-thru of Alpha-0. With the Sovs moving first, they were able to dash a significant part of their force to the exit area and "Death Meadow".

The Germans raced to get interdicting forces into play at M1-2, L0.  They missed shots along the I3 - D4 line of fire.  These weren't strong shots but should have caused a Morale check on a stack, maybe two.

German Turn 2, they got some forces into play, but the Sovs were tough as they were in place at the I1-I2 wall [+2 Fire penalty across it].  They broke a German stack which Routed to M1.

Sov Player Turn 3, the Germans recovered a squad.  Sovs took K2 and began exiting at J0. With 9 squads near the exit point J0, occupying K2 put a base of fire in the German's face.

In the Advance Phase, the Sovs spread out in the face of some Broken Germans in M2, putting a lot of pressure on them [Fire doubled at 1 hex Range].

German Player Turn 3, they were only able to advance one measly squad to hold off the Eastern Hordes.

On Sov Player Turn 4, the Germans rallied a Leader and a squad. The Sovs blased away in the Prep Fire Phase.  They then exited enough off the board to win, 6 squads needing only 5.  Likely to get off another 3 at least.

Altho this particular play-thru didn't work out well for the Germans, they could easily have broken or eliminated up to 6 squads with long-range Fire, but failed to do so.  That would certainly have changed the end game.

Overall, I feel like there are a few German strategies that may contest the scenario better, but they are certainly dependent on at least average to good rolls at the right time.  The scenario - if Russkies get first Player Turn, I think are likely to win.  

If the Germans get Player Turn 1, they are able to interdict the initial Sov advance to the road, and will likely knock out 2-4 squads.  The leader then has to choose to rally them or stick with a stack to get it off the board, then fight hard to get the last 2-3 squads off.

My final word - for know, with the expertise of a 2nd Lieutenant... whoever gets to the Death Meadow first is likely to win.

A scenario that definitely has a lot of replay value in it!

Playing "Big Boy Rules"

It's time to play with "Big Boy Rules"!

"Dude, what's the name of this place again...?"

It's time to unveil the latest 6d6 Games game, "Big Boy Rules", a skirmish set for modern combat. After two years of development, they have progressed nicely to meet the design objectives:

1. Engaging, fast-play action,
2. Realistic challenges and decisions,
3. Intuitive, common mechanics,
4. mission-driven,
5. easy to learn and teach others,
6. minimal cost in time and money. 

The hardest part has been figuring out what to leave out...but it has been done.

These rules suit any historical situation where firepower is the most important aspect of combat. Firepower is mostly suppressing, cover and concealment are key to survival - and maneuver - in the battlespace. Think bolt action rifles and maxim machine guns, and subsequent technical advances. 

Note that as firepower technology is unevenly available and it takes time to change doctrine and then train it, "historical situation" is a better way to think about it than a fixed time period.

In today's permutation of BBR, the scope of the game is defined as "that space in which close quarters combat occurs" due to mission requirements. It should not be confused with higher level combat where a long distance firefight - resulting in the retreat of the enemy - is considered a win.  While the intensity and commitment of the forces varies, the game portrays an up close and personal scrap.  And all the actors / players know this going in to the fight.

This being said, today's battlespace is 2x2' [could easily be 3x3']. That is 50-75m a side in game scale. So everyone is within "Range" and committed to the cut'n thrust of a situation driven by high-priority mission objectives. It is dense in Cover and Concealment - no one's mission is to run around in a kill zone.

Below, the Battlespace. A cluster of buildings, a few CONEXes, and scatter terrain.  All the buildings offer Cover, all terrain offers Concealment.  The main difference is that Cover both makes you harder to hit and improves "armor" while Concealment just makes you harder to hit.

The terrain up close.  A bunch of shanties in a battered slum.  Broken furniture, makeshift barricades, dumpsters and debris.  Who would bother to fight in this??

Cardboard terrain by Battle Systems, UK [click] I got mine on sale at Noble Knight 

The Ranger Regiment and some Deniable Eastern European Contractors, that's who! Top, contractors of Hanna Barbara-Rus with their distinct red caps and knock-off East German camo. Bottom, the 75th Ranger Regiment.

HBR Contractors. Mission:  retrieve four hidden drops of contraband left by their contacts around the center building. Two are worth more Victory Points than the other two.

Ranger Regiment foot patrol. Mission: to clear buildings in the village and Gather Intelligence on insurgent actors, both criminal and contractors.

Important note: in a typical BBR game, either or both Sides may be unaware what the other Sides victory conditions are.

A BBR Game Turn consists of a series of Action impulses alternating by Side. An Initiative roll determines which Side first rolls for then uses 1-3 Actions. Then the other Side does the same. This continues until both Sides have Activated all their Figures [Figs]. Actions can be used to Activate individual or Groups of Figs. This provides some flexibility with left / right limits, forcing players to prioritize how best to use the Actions available to accomplish their mission.

Game Turn 1. Rangers win INitiative and rolls high for Actions.  The Team Leader sends in his SAW and its Assistant Gunner, putting them on Overwatch atop a building...

He then advances the Team Leader [TL] and his battle buddy to a building on the left, both going on Overwatch.

The HBR roll two Actions, and bring on the Team Leader and a SAW - this is Pinned by Overwatch Fire from the RR SAW. The HBR SAW operator Hides behind a dumpster and the building corner.

The Rangers have activated all four of their Figs, so the HBR continue to bring on theirs. Their second SAW Maneuvers into the battlespace and takes up position at a building corner.  The RR SAW again Overwatch Fires, but misses this time.

Fire is resolved using opposed dice rolls. A few significant factors change the number of dice for Firer and Target. The single highest dice value rolled wins, determining if the Firer Hit or missed. Most Fire is sequential [I Fire, U Fire] but occasionally it is resolved simultaneously, gun-slinger style, if both are on Overwatch.

HBR continues to bring on Figs from their Team.  Their counter Fire at the RR SAW is ineffective, and the Ranger manages to Pin two Figs total. At top, a SAW and an Assault Rifle [AR]. Center is the Team Leader [TL].  Bottom is a SAW, an AR, and the Drone pilot, who is armed with a Sub-Machine Gun [SMG].

Both Sides having Activated all their Figs, Game Turn 1 ends.

RR keep IN on Game Turn 2. They Fire the SAW stacked with an AR Pin the AR Fig but miss the - more important - kneeling SAW Fig.

The TL enters and Clears the building for a Victory Point.

The green chip marks Hidden; yellow is Pinned; blue is Fig Activated. The adjacent Fig Runs around the building and re-positions himself with better Fire lanes.

On the right, a Ranger Maneuvers to a corner, the SAW Fires and misses.

The HBR GT2 goal is to Pin enough Rangers that they can Maneuver into the center and pick up their drops in Turn 2 or 3. They try to achieve fire superiority and Rally the Pinned SAW, but fail. 

Game Turn 3, the HBR win IN. Figs Fire and manage to Wound the RR SAW, which - obviously - takes it off Overwatch status.  A great start to GT2!

In the RR Activation, the SAW operator successfully performs Self-Aid and removes his wound - he is still Pinned, however.

Rangers Maneuver their man forward into a position with a good field of fire and put him on Overwatch.

HBR Activation, their Fire Pins the Ranger, and the TL Maneuvers to then retrieves a drop from the hardbox at the center building corner - it is worth 2VP. 

The Rangers respond by Running their TL forward.

GT3 continues with HBR Running an AR forwards to a drop point - the dumpster - covered by a SAW.

The Rangers clear a building and Fire the SAW.

HBR drone pilot drops a grenade onto the Ranger SAW, but it is ineffective.

GT 4, RR win INitiative. They exchange Fire with an HBR SAW operator, and he goes down, Critical.

The RR TL then Wounds the AR behind the SAW, giving the RR a significant advantage in this part of the Battlespace.

In response, HBR starts their first GT4 Activation with the TL successfully tossing a grenade at the RR TL and Pinned AR Figs. The Pinned Fig ends up Pinned [so no change] but the TL is Wounded!  

At the other corner, the AR man retrieves a drop from the dumpster worth 2 VPs.

In the next RR action impulse, their SAW Fires on with the HBR AR man, Wounding him.

HBR finishes up with a lot of Fire on the two Rangers that are Active.

Game Turn 5, the Rangers win IN. The Pinned Fig Rallies, the Wounded TL successfully performs Self-Aid and is now only Pinned.

HBR responds by their TL tossing another grenade, again successfully, and this time both the RR AR and TL go down Wounded!

The Critical HBR SAW operator Dies, while his Assistant ends up Pinned.

Game Turn 6. HBR win IN, the TL Maneuvers forwards and hoses down the Wounded Rangers at Point Blank Range. He also rolls well, Kills the TL and Critically Wounds the other.

With half their Team down, and outnumbered 5-2, the remaining two Rangers will have to concede.  The HBR are going to be able to control the center while exchanging Fire with them, and the Rangers won't be able to Maneuver successfully to accomplish their Mission Objectives.

This was a tense game!  After the Rangers successfully advanced their TL and an AR to the center and beat down the HBR Fire team by the dumpster, I thought they would overwhelm the HBR TL and control the center building, which would prevent HBR from achieving their objectives. Unfortunately, the HBR TL rolled *very* well with his grenades, and was able to subsequently take them both out.

This was the first time the Rangers had met with a decisive loss - all the other playtests have had them narrowly win.  Interestingly, in the next playtest I played the HBR against that Grognard of Gaming, Reg W, and was decisively crushed, losing both the fire fight by Overwatch Figs, and the close-in fight with my Maneuvering Figs.

Above, the game is starting well for HBR. The drone pilot and two Overwatching Figs are providing support to the maneuvering HBR Figs in the center. But the RR continuously won most of the Fire actions, and the HBR suffered significant casualties, with three Dead and two Wounded.

 

And I had no complaints with how the game played out.  If it involves dice, any game can turn on you.  BBR uses mechanics that allow for a wide variety of outcomes, aka "Chaos", which is suitable for this type of low-level skirmish.  Yes, usually the Side that plays better achieves a win, a narrow win if the opponent plays about as skillfully as the other. But occasionally, a couple of bad decisions and the Enemy Vote can leave you fighting for a draw or even trying to figure out how to recover your casualties and leave the table.

More to come - post any questions about the game and its mechanics below!