tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4381538658259721352024-03-05T22:13:51.400-08:00A Gamer's LifeA miniatures gamer thoughts and ramblings in print.Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17677119886300963237noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438153865825972135.post-60830723272578234042014-02-16T13:22:00.006-08:002014-02-16T13:23:36.718-08:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
SAGA – or how we
learned to read funky dice<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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This game this week was learning
the basics of SAGA from <a href="http://www.grippingbeast.com/shop.php?CatID=2396">Gripping Beast</a> in
England, or from <a href="http://www.architectsofwar.com/pre-ordersagarulebook.aspx">Architects of
War</a> in the US. 3 of the group that
made it Monday night had played before so that helped a lot learning the
basics. Of the 7 members who were there,
6 brought figures for the game. I was the lone “don’t have any” guy. Gary and Steve brought buildings, we used
Steve’s for some terrain, but they were just for show. I was very impressed by Gary’s buildings from
<a href="http://www.4ground.co.uk/">4 Ground</a> also from the UK. Not too bad
a price for them pre-assembled either. <o:p></o:p></div>
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SAGA uses a unique method of
activation. You get X number of dice to roll per turn, this amount is
determined by the type and amount of troops you have on the table. Roll the
dice and place them on the battle board that is for you troop faction. Each
faction has unique traits. It gives a better feel for the different
factions much like the traits in Bolt Action rules, only better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]-->Steve warming up the dice before he
stomped Keith and I. Murphy was coaching the game.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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The key seems to be good planning
and good dice rolling. That is a bit
obvious but hard to do on the first game when you are learning the system. Step one figure out how many dice you can
roll. If I remember correctly, 2 for the
warlord and one for the other unit except the levy troops. Then subtract the ones that might be left on
the battle board from previous turns. Then comes the challenge of planning.
Matching up what you want your troops to do and match that up to what your dice
will let you do on the battle board. <o:p></o:p></div>
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About the dice, SAGA uses custom D6
(very expensive) with symbols from the different faction’s written language (I
think). We used battle boards that had been translated into normal D6 numbers,
thank goodness. Different rolls can do
different things. For example any roll that is 1 to 6 can be used to activate
your warlord (general) or elite troops. A roll of 1 to 3 and 6 can activate
your warriors, where 4 to 6 can activate the levies. Then you get to the
different traits. Some are faction only but many are the same on all the
boards. One I tried at the end of the game with the
Vikings was Valhalla. Put the correctly rolled die in the box. Activate a unit,
move it into combat (this takes an activation die first) then play the Valhalla
box (remove the die from that box). The box says something like “Remove 3
figures and get 3 dice for each one in attack”.
That unit of warriors went from 8 to 5 figures and I got roll 14 attack
dice in that roll. Alas Steve rolled his
8+2 dice ( his bonuses of the his board) for his elite troops and got 8 hits, I
was able to get 4 saves but one man units run away. I only rolled one 6 on my
attack and my entire unit was lost in that combat. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in;">Bruce, Michael and Gary the other
SAGA game.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
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Bruce was comparing it to DBA with
the different flavors of things each faction can do. I think he has a very good
point that you should play only one or 2 different armies at first instead of
trying them all. SAGA will be back, there are more than enough figures and the
players seem to enjoy it. <o:p></o:p></div>
Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17677119886300963237noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438153865825972135.post-91698435626023875722014-02-08T18:00:00.000-08:002014-02-08T18:00:00.630-08:00Fields of Fire rules <div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
This last week I brought out a new
set of rules “Fields of Fire” by Larry A Yeager, published by Proving Ground
Games. Miniatures rules for Modern
Combat 1975-Present is the subtitle. I ran across these on Facebook, from a
post from Game Craft Miniatures back in December. I downloaded the <a href="http://provinggroundgames.com/fieldsoffirenews/71-an-introduction-to-fields-of-fire">armor
only version </a> that is on their
website and tried them last month. That
play test worked pretty well, so I attempted to understand the full basic game
and got out my 30 year old 1/285 armor. <o:p></o:p></div>
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For the USSR I have a battalion of
both T72’s and BMP1. Out they came on the table, a small recon unit and 3 off
board batteries of 152mm. The Americans got a company of M60A3 and Mech
Infantry in M113 with mortars and M150 TOW launchers. Off board one battery of
155mm artillery. So there was only about a 2 to 1 force ratio, not really
enough but you play with what you have. I did cycle back in Russian armor that
had been destroyed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">Setting up for the
game, L to R Chris, Michael, Scott and Bruce.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Since there was only one bridge, I
made the river was fordable as to not make it too much of a choke point. The
Soviets never did make the far side. But then we only went through 1 and ½ turns
in about 2 ½ hours. Too much mini
goodness on the table for a leaning game (a fault I keep repeating). The
sequence of play is a bit confusing and I will be checking on the Proving
Ground forums for some clarity. There
are 2 identical phases in the middle of a turn when move and fire happens. <o:p></o:p></div>
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From the quick reference cards </div>
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<o:p> </o:p><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The middle of the 2</span><sup style="text-indent: 0.5in;">nd</sup><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">
turn with the Soviets advancing as fast as possible.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="text-indent: 0.5in;">The game uses a decimal system for
artillery deviation so there were some big misses. I know I forgot to account
for the forward observer bonus that would have reduced the dice by 25%. The Soviets killed a couple of their own with friendly fire and a 2 US tracks. But that was it. </span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
Tank fire is pretty deadly if you
can hit the target. While we did not use the snap shot rules, fire against non-hull
down US tanks was pretty deadly. Hull down halved the chance of hitting as well
as moving fire. This dropped the odds of the advancing USSR armor to 10 to 20%.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I made some big mistakes as far as
learning the rules….. I wasn’t well versed it them as I should have been and
that messed the game up. The group liked the game and is willing to try it
again. I will be planning another test using much smaller forces. That should
keep things manageable while we get the flow down<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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Lucky for me the group will play
most anything as long as someone provides the figures.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As far as tactics went the Soviet
players put 2 companies on the south (top of picture) side of the board as a feint,
they were dead at the end of turn one. The main push was to the north towards
the bridge. The US used every bit of terrain to hide in that they could. For
the next game they will get a couple of sets of emplacements to shoot and
scoot. The units in the woods were wiped
out. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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I have more infantry on order for both sides to be able to deploy them from the infantry carriers. Not that
they were used much. The US were shot up as they fired Dragons and the Soviets
dismounted a company so they would still be alive after the BMP’s were blown
up. No close assaults so far. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
If you have any suggestions for improving the look and functionality of this blog please let me know.<br />
Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17677119886300963237noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-438153865825972135.post-12977068273667703882014-02-07T10:31:00.001-08:002014-02-07T10:31:15.554-08:00New beginnings . <span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Hello fellow gamers
and those others who unfortunately found their way here. My name is Dale and I
am a miniatures gamer. I decided to start a blog about gaming, so if it is
connected to gaming and interesting to me I plan on commenting about it. You have
been warned. </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Let’s
start off with some background. I live in the Pacific Northwest, currently in
Tacoma WA. I have been playing with model and toy soldiers for as long as
I can remember. I discovered organized gaming in the 90's and started a local
group about 5 years ago. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">When I was still living in Olympia a bunch
of us started to get together on Tuesday nights for gaming. We have moved the
game north a bit and changed days to Monday. We have a Yahoo group,</span> <a href="https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/Olympiagaming/info"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Olympiagaming</span></a><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">. If you can make a game we would love you have you join us.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> I
also have a wide range interests that I game (or would like to game :) ). Some of the periods that I collect –
Ancients, Napoleonics, American Civil War, WWI Biplanes WWII, Modern, and
Science Fiction. The rules are as varied as the eras a few of them are, De
Bellis Antiquitatis, The Sword and the Flame, Wings of Glory, Tomorrows War,
Fubar, Full Thrust, and Fields of Fire. The scale of the figures varies as
well- 25-28mm, 15mm, 10mm, 1/285, 1/2400, and fleet scale. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> And those are just
my interests. The other members have their own interests that they bring out to
play as well. Eras like English Civil War, Star Wars X Wing, WWII in 28mm, some
Interwar, and even Pulp games. We play
test new rules sets, and bring back old ones that we liked. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">The whole purpose is to get together with
some good friends, roll some dice and have a great time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Next time – A report on last Monday’s game
of Cold War micro armor. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Dalehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17677119886300963237noreply@blogger.com2Pierce County, WA, USA47.245678021018726 -122.459106445312546.900702521018729 -123.1045534453125 47.590653521018723 -121.8136594453125