Playing "65" by Flying Pig Games

Get '65 for $100!

From Flying Pig Games website [obviously] but it's here: [click] 

One of my gaming pals, Ken, suggested we give this a go.  Played it thrice - the first time he guided me and The Angry Dackel Steve playing it, the next two times he and I played it.  Third time, we tried a new scenario.

This was an interesting game design with lovely production - counters, game board, everything.  I especially loved the big hexes, which were easy to work within.  No complaints there!

This is the first "take the village" scenario.  The mechanics are pretty hard to explain, there are numerous factors that go into deciding victory, but the key part was taking buildings for the Americans.  Unsurprisingly, causing casualties gets you victory points as well.

Below, an Event card results in the Americans taking mortar fire.  Like a stroke of lightning - literally, as I had nothing to do with it - they suffered some shock and reductions.  I set up with an eye towards fire lanes and ranges.  The GIs split forces and approached from two directions, board west and east.  There's more cover to the east, so I sent a squad into the bush to act as a bit of a tripwire and hopefully delay the Yanks. My goal was denying lanes of fire and slowing his advance.  After all, I'm sitting on the win!

The lighting was not conducive to good pics - the board is even nicer to look at in real life, but no doubt you can get plenty of visuals elsewhere, like at BGG.

I'm hoping to get this Sapper team close enough to discomfit the GIs presently under mortar fire.  I think they got hit 2-3 times, fairly quickly, which was just how the cards came up.

The action heated up quickly on board west.  Some US mortar fire landed, resulting in some shock and reductions for my Minh.

Good view of the counters.  Shows how nicely done they are.  However, also shows that you have to track 9 pieces of data symbols for simple rifle team!

Yanks got in hard and fast, took out one of my hooches and the team therein.

Even more problematic is they also obtained some good fields of fire on the rest of the village.

Meanwhile, my east Teams are taking it in the face, also.  Some good card combos are coming up for the 'mericans.

I believe this was a charge of my Team against the advancing US. That was pretty exciting, and was entirely due to the cards that I drew.

This was another plastering of Ken's west US forces.

My sappers were able to get in close and cause some trouble, but they ended up shaken and reduced.

We both have a weakened teams on the spot.  But I can afford to hold him off and lose a team. He has the burden of attacking.

Turn 7, pretty much end of game.  Overall it was very close.

We both took some losses, and he did manage to take some buildings, but if memory serves, it was a narrow Minh victory. We both felt like it was reasonable, and could have gone either way if the cards had been a bit different.

If I had to make a sweeping generalization about '65, it's the "Anti-Squad Leader".  

In that classic Avalon Hill wargame, you have a lot of control of your troops and your plans, what and when you will do things. Very little reduces your all-knowing and all-seeing 1000-foot view.  The main area of luck is combat and morale.  But it is fair to say that you likely have a bit too much control of timing and movement.  

However, once the bullets start flying, you lose control with morale results pretty quickly, and have challenges to much of your plans, as long as the enemy is engaging you.  Overall, I'd rate it high on the "simulates real Army stuff" scale, with some points being deducted for relative ease of planning and execution. It'd be a bit more realistic if movement was a bit randomized and the enemy even less obvious than the "?" markers make them [altho I do like that mechanic].

Overall, '65 is a solid game that emphasizes the "game" half of "war game". It's engaging and fun to play. You try to manage chaos, take opportunities when they arrive, and hope that you get some results when you need them. In short, it reminds me of playing gin with my grandparents.  However...

- The mechanics are intrusive as you constantly have to read and play a hand of cards. There's lots of fine print, and most cards can do 2-3 things, so you have to constantly check on what is in your hand while your opponent is acting, and then again while you are acting... just like 5 Crowns [which is Hollywood Gin]. So, yeah, it feels like a card game.

From the cards [not your tactical capabilities or plans] you then get to make tactical decisions - this includes basic things like Fire and Maneuver. The cards limit your options to what you draw.  Theoretically, your troops might almost never Fire or Maneuver, if the cards don't come up in a way you can use them, OR you have to use them for one of the other options on the cards [like a defensive option].

- Events that in real life are carefully planned in advance, like fire support, are randomized by Event card draw. This would be fine for a solo game against a pre-programmed "bot" opponent, but feels weird in PvP games.  

- The game has  A LOT of rules and special rules.  Each card has a number of capabilities, the rule book has lots of rules and exceptions, and each counter has 8-10 pieces of data in the form of symbols and occasionally numbers. This requires you to learn their symbol system. 

Despite 80-120 years of wargame experience at the table [the three times we've played], there was a lot of consultation with the rule book. While none of the mechanics were novel, there are A LOT of mechanics and A LOT of particulars to them, so expect to have to read the rulebook numerous times and then have to consult it regularly.  It took us 2-3 hours every time, with a very simple scenario, to get through with just a few minor mistakes.  Lots of other games I could have played the same scenario in an hour.

- Both times I've played the first scenario, the game was close, came down to the very end a minor win [for me as US then as Viet Minh]. So the scenario is definitely balanced. 

My problem with the game is that I don't really feel like I won because I played better than my opponent.  Instead, I "did what I could with the hands I drew" and somehow that ended in a win.  That does happen in real Army life, but usually before the operation. During the operation you are attempting to execute a plan in the face of an enemy that 'gets a vote'.  That's the main area of competition.

In essence, troops have no inherent capabilities to do anything.  Sort of like Command and Colors, everything revolves around building a hand best you can and then using it.  You don't give orders, subordinates don't execute orders and plans.  It's a bit like fishing in a rapids.  You try to seize some fleeting opportunities to do something, hopefully before your opponent does.  There are some card draws that make life much easier for you, I think one is called "Command Ops" or something.  The third time I played I drew this a few times and made Ken's life very difficult.

So if you want a fun "GAME" with mediocre historical "feel" that constantly works against you with game mechanics, but still has a great "narrative" then this may be for you.  And if you have $100 to spend for high quality production.

Personally, I prefer games where the mechanics involved enhance the "feel" of being in the role the game has put the player in, whether General, Colonel, Captain or Lieutenant or Sergeant.  While I agree that many wargames make it TOO easy for players to plan and do what they want, games like this emphasize the chaos so much that it feels more like trying to play poker - if you get the hand you want, you might win.  If you don't, you'll likely lose.  But a hand of poker just takes a few minutes, and the skill is in playing hand after hand after hand.

That's fine for cards.  But in real life military operations, training, planning and decisions matter, as well as the unit capabilities - and units sometimes make their own decisions without guidance from a higher authority!  Here, decisions are opportunistic, and you aren't trying to manage the flow of battle and get inside your opponent's OODA loop.  Your troops don't automatically do anything, even return fire, unless you have the cards to do it. So, that's also pretty unrealistic.

Anyway, it is a game that would be more fun with less rules.  It doesn't remind me of Army, it reminds me of playing a card game.  If you like card games that have a military theme, then you may like this if you're OK with the complexity level of the rules.  If you're looking for something quick, down'n dirty, then this is not likely to appeal to you.  And for $100, I just feel like I'd prefer to spend it elsewhere, so it's good that my pal has the game instead!

BBR - Game Day Playtest

It's been a while since I last posted, but summer got busy, so this playtest occurred in mid-June, and I'm just getting it posted now. Very happy with this game, and the figs and terrain, it is everything I want it to be: quick and smooth to play, easy to pick up, and very tactical, full of important decisions that eventually add up to a win for the side that plays better - most of the time!  The opposition gets a vote...

I went to the Springfield Game Day to test "Big Boy Rules" cold on people who had never played - always an enlightening experience! The game day is sponsored by our local HMGS Outreach Coordinator, the illustrious Cliff B [click].

"Big Boy Rules" are for modern combat, basically bolt action rifles + Maxims to the near future, so 1890-2030. It uses an alternating activation system to play smooth and help players plan and make decisions. Players typically field a squad of two teams with perhaps a specialist or two that are important for the scenario.

The table was quick to set up [below] using the perfect mat donated by The Angry Dachshund [click] and my Battle Systems [click] cardboard buildings and scatter terrain.  I fashioned it as a village with two "lanes" of travel that narrowed at each end. In the center was a building and some conex containers. These help provide cover and break up LoS / LoF a bit, otherwise the center just becomes a kill zone, which can make for an interesting game, but "not today, campers".

Above top left, the Goons have a hostage they're hanging onto, with some Guards and a Fire Team in reserve - the Western Contractors will have to rescue him.  At bottom center, there's a large square building. At each corner there's a container that has a "drop" in it from the Creeps local contacts - drugs to turn into cash to further their operations.  Opposing them, the Rangers will be on patrol to gather intel and clear buildings of suspected illicit Contractor Teams.  

A couple of players turned up, one had only played ancients and came to the Games Day just to try out my Moderns game!  He chose the valiant American Rangers and Contractors. The other had a variety of gaming experience, I think both with skirmish games and WWII moderns. He chose the Goons & Creeps, not-Russian Contractors [click] with a locally hired Security Team [click].

"Danger, Ranger... and it's not from the helos this time!"

American split the Rangers [click] into two groups on the center-right [above] and center-left [below] ends of town; they are on a routine patrol, looking to clear buildings, gather intel, and hey, maybe pop a few rounds at the Goons...?

Yes, yes indeed, you should "detour" this quaint little hamlet Mr. Ranger...

The Blue Sky Contractors [click] are chasing down a lead regarding a kidnapping; some local big-wig appears to have been grabbed, and is being held in a building on the far side of town. But there are some furtive movements in the shadows...

"Who's the dude with underwear on his head, man?"

"It's the HOSTAGE, dummy!" [click]

The fight starts off with all Teams off the board. The Russkies win Initiative and immediately Run to the center building, their objective. Securing it will make it a lot easier to not only dominate the board's right side, but also to clear the containers.

It's looking good - they've secured two of the containers, with their SAWs on the left, the Team Leader and an Assault Rifle on the right. The Rangers are uncertain what they are up to...but securing real estate is something they understand.

Fire is exchanged with the Rangers, who are clearing buildings and searching for intel. One Russkie climbs up to get a better Overwatch location.

Next, they push forwards to another container on the right, and Ranger Side, of the building. But this time they are opposed by a motivated SAW MPMG gunner who actions are valiant if indiscrete!   

With the Russkies pushing hard, the Rangers gather all six from their security activities and get them in a mutually supporting line in Cover. As the Fire is most intense to the left [where Russkie SAWs are] they toss Smoke to obscure the lanes of Fire - this will help them move on the Russkies.

They then advance into the smoke even as the Russkies move up to the left container, and onto the roof for overwatch.

The Fire is up close and personal - someone is going down, but WHO??

In a series of aggressive it ill-advised moves, the Rangers manage to take down three of the Russkies and clear the building. This cost them a wounded Ranger who was taken prisoner, however!  That won't go over well in Washington...

The last Russkie SAW gunner ends up wounded after escorting the prisoner to the rear.

Meanwhile, on the American right [Russkie left], the Big Sky Protection contractors divided into two pairs - one provided Fire support from the building, the other advanced down the line of shacks to right, then charged into the building, taking down the guard and grabbing the hostage right in the face of the local Security Team that grabbed him for a little extra cash and some intimidation.

They toss some CS into the building as they EXFIL, but the local TL and a Thug maneuver over to intervene, but are quickly Pinned down against the building.

Somehow, they manage to Rally, and get the drop on the BSP contractors, spraying them with close range Fire. Rolling exceptionally well, the Thugs hit both of the retrieval pair, pushing them to critical. This is aided by the Russkies sending their drone operator and a rifleman to pin the pair that are on Overwatch. 

The finale is that the hostage should be able to run to safety...wherever that is...

This was a great play test!  The new players quickly picked up the rules, even though one of them had never played a skirmish game, much less a modern one.  Overall, the Russkies played well and despite bold efforts on the part of the Rangers they managed to squeak out a win mostly due to the Rangers getting too dispersed to support each other. In Big Boy Rules, you will almost always need your Battle Buddy at some point, so sending out one guy alone will go badly for you.

Overall, am very pleased with how the rules and missions play out.  Very few and small tweaks are needed, and next up is to paint a few figs for different missions, and another team for Blue Sky Protection, which is an interesting security force to play.

Soon, I'll have to write the rules in full, with "pictures and arrows and shiny things" and send them out to volunteers for blind playtesting.  That will be the last test, and after that I'll begin selling them in some format or another - another skill set to learn!

"Big Boy Rules" 2 Plays

With several playtests in a small setting, it was time to take BBR to the ultimate test - a large group of gamers with various levels of experience. No problem! This is what the game is designed for.

The first group playtest was on a weekday, and was well received. There were veteran gamers, including a designer who has published several games, and some who had never played a tabletop miniatures game, only board games - a great playtest group.  It went well and I got some great feedback, resulting in one change to the Overwatch mechanic.  However, I was caught a bit off-guard by 8 players showing up, and just barely managed to accommodate them all by using every Fig I'd brought, including some that weren't completely painted.

More figures needed to get some more paint, so the below team is an additional HBR contractor Fire Team.  Their camo is an urban variation on UCP [Useless Camo Pattern, a heavily used U.S. pattern during the last wars - I have a complete set of field uniforms and TA-50 in it].  The web gear is a modern Russian pattern.

Below, one part of the table. HBR moves through some scatter terrain, ready for action, but one Fig gets pinned. Mission: retrieve scattered drops from a small complex - problem is they don't know exactly where they are.

Below, the firefight in full swing. HBR has a commanding position on the table, having successfully advanced into the center with plenty of Fire support.

Rangers advance to counter and contain them.

In the other half of the board, Blue Sky Contracting advances. 

Mission: rescue a local contact who has been kidnapped - unknown if there will be a ransom involved, or he will be killed in retaliation for aiding the Western forces.

Above, BSC contractor goes down, ambushed.

HBR is looking pretty strong on this part of the table. Their TL is clearly confident of victory, giving the "V for Victory" sign to international press photographing the fight.

Below, BSC is stalked by an HBR Alpha Team amidst the connexes. They pop some smoke and CS gas to suppress the A-Team. To right, a Fire Team continues to work around the corner of a building.

A-Team have gas masks, so advance to the building roof edge and hose a BSC contractor.

Below, the culminating firefight, up close and personal!

BSC brings on their QRF straight into the fight.  The HBR TL drops a frag grenade in their midst, however, as they are bunched up [never send the Air to do a ground job?]. Three go down, two Critically Wounded!

Another frag is dropped, but this one is fumbled and HBR loses a man critical!  Thanks for nothing, buddy!  Still, Alpha is coming around the other corner, and there's no hope for BSC today. They can't even retrieve their casualties!

This playtest saw the choices and dice of the Western Contractors resulting in an embarrassing fiasco. As a playtest, however, it went very well!  The results were caused by player choices and some luck. The game played well both up close at Point Blank Range and as a firefight.

No changes needed - just more figures painted, at this point.

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 combat" occurs" due to mission requirements - most likely just a few squads. It should not be confused with that higher level combat where a long distance firefight resulting in the retreat of the enemy is considered a win - most likely a company level fight.  While the intensity and commitment of the forces varies, "Big Boy Rules" portrays an up close and personal scrap - and all the actors / players know this going into 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 getting slaughtered in a kill zone.

Below, the Battlespace. A cluster of buildings, a few CONEXes, and scatter terrain in an anonymous, third or fourth world sandy hellhole [take your pick... plenty out there].  All the buildings offer Cover, all scatter terrain offers Concealment.  The main difference is that Cover makes you both 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...just like real life!

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

HBR Activation, their Fire Pins the Ranger, then the HBR TL Maneuvers to and 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 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 withdraw.  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!