What a Tanker! game day Recap

 A quick recap of our What a Tanker game day yesterday at the Spartanburg (SC) county public library.  If you are a gamer in the South Carolina, North Carolina, or Georgia area please consider joining our IO Group.  There are wargamers everywhere eager for a game!

The facilities were great, we used the conference room on the 2nd floor, lots of windows and natural light and plenty of space.  Here is the table set up and ready to go.  A Cigar Box battle mat, Kallistra (non-Hex) hills underneath, and a mix of resin and 3D printed buildings.  We used my 10mm / 1:150 scale 3d printed tanks.

 A close up of the village, somewhere in Ukraine, 1943-44.

We played 2 games, the first was two T-34/76's against two Panzer IVH's.  Here we see my wife's T-34 burst in to flames after trading point blank shots with a German for 2 turns.

The players seemed to get comfortable with the rules pretty quickly, so for game 2 I mixed it up a little bit.  We shifted the teams and ran a STuG III and a Panther versus a T-34/85 and SU-152.  In retrospect it may not have been fair, the SU-152 having a ridiculous armor and strike value. 

The first game saw the players charge in for a close in knife fight, the second saw both sides being much more cautious and camping out on high ground and shooting it out from afar.  Here are the Soviets parked on their hill.

It ended with the catastrophic explosion of the StuG and eventually the Panther as well, after much backing up behind hills, running up and shooting.

We wrapped after than, each game taking right at 1 hour, with 4 players new to the rules and a referee not much better off.  

Here are the players, thanks to Charlie, Jason, and his daughter Lilly.  But most of all thanks to my lovely and talented wife, Jozi (of whose tin man I am) , who encouraged me to do this, helped set it all up, and pushed some tanks around too.

I am looking to make this a regular thing, maybe monthly or quarterly, so stay tuned. 

My (mostly) 3D Printed "What a Tanker!" layout

I am preparing for the upcoming holiday and decided that What a Tanker! will be my game of choice.  To prepare, I have set up my table and wanted to show off a bit.  This project is entirely 3d printed for the tanks and dashboards and cost me almost nothing, just plastic for the 3D printer I already owned!

I got the tanks from m_bergman's famous set posted for free at Thingiverse HERE.  I wanted ~10mm tanks, as I have limited space, so I printed them at 133% for a scale of 1/150.

I also created a fairly simple to print dashboard that I have posted to Thingiverse along with the Unit cards, it is available HERE along with links to 3 or so other dashboards if you fancy a different design. 

Here is my table set up, not only are the tanks 3d printed, but the trees as well.  Buildings are from Pendraken.  The play area is 56" x 40" so a little smaller than the 6' x 4' recommended, but i decided to leave the ranges alone in the rules, just use the smaller tanks in the slightly smaller area. 

It works well with the smaller scale, the tanks are not to small to handle and the turrets are easy to shift without being too fiddley for me.

Here are examples of my dashboard with unit cards.  I printed the markers in different colored plastic and I am rather happy with the way they turned out.   I set everything up for the Eastern Front 1944

Here is my German motor pool, from left to right:

• Marder III
• STuG III G
• Panzer IVH
• Panther
• Tiger I

The Russians have:

• T-70
• SU-76
• T-34/76
• T-34/85
• SU-85
• SU-152

And here is yet another reason I went with 10mm 3d printed, teh storage is so flipping easy!  Plus I can leverage my existing 10mm buildings and terrain I have for WW1 and the Korean War.

I am rather pleased with this project and it is a great set of rules.  I have roped my wife in a few times and it is a LOT of fun.  With the 3d printing option, I can knock out (thanks to m_berman's hard work) any tanks I want.  If I get the hankering I can easily add Early war, Desert, Western Front, all for minimal cost.

I'll get a battle report or two up over the next few weeks.  Good gaming!

Pico Armor Grab Bag (WW2, Cold War, Modern) for Sale - SOLD

These have SOLD

 Cleaning up after several projects, I am NOT abandoning 1/600 scale, but I have everything painted for my Cold War and WW2 grand tactical gaming.  

Also, I have lost interest in the Stryker Rifle Company, my conclusion is that fighting a decisive action in Eastern Europe with only 1 SBCT and an ABCT is a bad idea against Brigade Tactical Groups without firm air superiority, which I think is not possible.  Plus a LOT of reliance is being placed on Javalin missiles, which are vulnerable to active protection systems, but hey, who knows how well they will work...  

So for $35 plus $15 shipping via USPS Medium Priority Mail all of this can be yours!  Just leave a comment, they are moderated and your email will NEVER be shown. 

OPFOR made up of BTR's and Pico Armor Sci-fi as a generic OPFOR Brigade Tactical Group

US Army SBCT and/or ABCT with M1A2's with TUSK, Bradley's with BUSK, and Strykers.

All the leftovers from my WW2 East Front and 1980's Cold War projects.  Zoom in, who knows what treasures you may find!

Short Solo playtest of Guards Tank Brigade

Still keeping busy, my wife and I are trying to read some fo the classics and are currently halfway through The Picture of Dorian Gray.  Not exactly what I was expecting, the writing is superb.  Quite a bit of ennui sloshing around, though, but there are some deeper themes if you can get past that.  It helps that my wife was an English teacher. 

I am now down to ONE more class before I am done with my Master's degree, and it is my capstone project. I am taking a breather this weekend before diving in again, but I plan on buckling down and getting this thing done.

I did get a very quick playtest of my Guards Tank Brigade rules. They are designed to be a fast play set for conventions (if we ever get to have those again) to be used double-blind, with two identical tables separated by a divider with the players only able to see what their units can see / report.

I won't go into mechanics because they are still so fluid I changed some of the rules while in the middle of the game!  In a nutshell, each hex is ~500 meters across and each unit is company strength or an artillery battalion.  Units can be fresh, spent, or worn (0 ,1, or 2 hits respectively) before becoming combat ineffective aka knocked out.  It is very abstract, focused on being fast for multi-player games with me running between the tables. 

Click photos to enlarge

Here is the table, with some unpainted experimental 3d printed roads and buildings from Forward March Studios.  Lead elements of a Soviet Tank Corps are attacking town at a road junction circa 1944.  Two Tank Brigades are deployed with the general scheme of maneuver being each will attack the flanks in a pincer movement.

Each Tank Brigade has 4 x T-34/76 companies and 2 x SMG companies with 2 field artillery battalions in direct support.  They also have 2 x armored car platoons, for reconnaissance

The defending Kampgruppe from a Panzer division has 2 x companies of Panthers, 2 x Armored Panzer Grenadier companies, 2 x motorized Panzer Grenadier Companies, 1 x PaK-40 AT Company, and 1 battalion of field artillery along with 2 x heavy armored car platoons.

Panthers in hull-down positions await the onslaught

On the Soviet left Recon elements clash.  I am tweaking the recon rules, but in essence, the German armored cars were screening the main defensive positions and prevented them from being sussed out by Ivan.  I am still working on the exact mechanics.

On the Soviet right, the leading tank companies take damage from the Panthers at long range.  Units that are unspotted may not be targeted until they fire or are spotted, otherwise, all combat is considered simultaneous.  So, previous unspotted units firing basically get a free shot and are considered to have a tactical advantage, a catch-all I use to give attackers bonuses.  So, it is very important to use to your recon units to prevent this.

Later on the right, the Panthers are knocking out T-34's but taking damage in return by the weight fo fire coming from the Soviets.

The Panthers on the hill pack it in (combat ineffective), but the field is littered with burning T-34's.  An SMG company of tank riders tries to clear the wood of Germans but it taking damage.  

On the left the Soviets run into the Pak-40's dug in on their flank, and start taking damage on their way to do an end-run and cut off the town.  The rest of the Brigade gets bogged down by more Panzer Grenadiers.

Here is the end game.  The Soviets almost push into the town and the Germans are up against the wall, with effective use of artillery by the Soviets.  But they just don't quite have enough combat power left to finish the job.

I learned quite a lot, and am following the maxim (from Bob Cordery I think) to eliminate any rules you forget to use.  There were a few...  I am going to simplify recon, add simple close assault rules, tweak Infantry overall, and next game try my ideas for some simple logistics rules that allow units to halt an advance or pull back and regroup, 

Until next time, stay safe and good gaming!

Soviet Tank Corps is done!

I have finally finished all of the support troops for my Soviet Tank Corps.  Here it is in all of its glory.

Don't forget I have actually painted TWICE this amount for the double-blind game, one for the Soviet players and an identical set for the German table as units are spotted.  Overkill?  Probably, but that's how I roll...

Here is the Tank Corps with the subunits delineated, click to enlarge.  I am planning for 3 players for the Soviets, one for each Brigade with the Corps assets divided between them or run by a 4th player playing the Corps commander.

The Corps consists of:

• 2 x Tank Brigades consisting of
• 4 x units of T-34's
• 2 units of SMG Tank Riders
• I Motor Rifle Brigade consisting of
• 6 x units of Motor Rifle Infantry
• 1 unit of 45mm Anti-Tank Guns
• Motorcycle battalion consisting of 2 x Lighta nd 2 x heavy recon elements
• Corps attachments
• 1 x SU-76 Assault Gun Regiment
• 1 x SU-85 Anti-Tank Regiment
• 1 x SU-152 Assault Gun Regiment
• Attached Artillery (from Army Level)
• 2 x 76mm Battalions
• 3 x Howitzer Battalions
• 2 x Rocket Battalions
• Logistics units: Trucks to use as counters in the rules

I figure each player will have 6-8 units, which should make them a little more conservative.

Right now, as we speak, I am printing out markers to indicate units that are firing (so when I umpire, I can keep up with that and remove the markers from units that have resolved their fire) and motorized movement markers to indicate motorized infantry units that are not moving tactically.

The rules themselves are still percolating, I will not start playtesting the mechanics until I have both forces painted up.

Next in the painting queue are the two Panzer Grenadier Regiments for the Panzer division.  Stay Tuned!

Here is my Kanban Board progress:

3mm Eastern Front Painting Update, Soviet Motor Rifle Brigade

Despite my distraction with 3d printing and the holidays, I have made more progress.

Every Tank Corps had 1 Motor Rifle Brigade, which I will be representing with 6 x Bases of Infantry and 1 - 2 bases of 45mm Anti-Tank guns.  Infantry is not terribly photogenic, but I believe they will look great en-mass. 

You need a lot of Infantry for a Tank Corps or even a Panzer Division for that matter.  Not as sexy as AFV's, but a critical component of the combined arms team.  As I fiddle with the rules and hopefully start playtesting, I want to make sure that is represented.

Here is a single Brigade:

And both Brigades for the double-blind game:

And my updated Kanban Board, whoohoo!

Good gaming!

Double Blind game Progress, Hills

Slowly working away on the project still and continuing to make progress.  Here is my update Kanban Board!  To hear how it can help you, see this episode of Henry Hyde's Battlechat.

I purchased extra Kallistra hills, and now I have 2 identical sets to use with my Double-Blind game project.

 Here is how they'll look with troops

 And here is how they will stack up and be VERY portable for transport to conventions.

The Soviet Motor Rifle Brigade is about 1/2 way through, I hope to have it wrapped up the end of next week.

Good gaming!

3mm Eastern Front Painting Update, another Tank Brigade Finished!

As usual, real life has interfered with the important things, like gaming, but I have made some progress on painting up my double-blind game project, Guards Tank Brigade.  I have finished the second Tank Brigade for the Tank Corps, which since this is double-blind means I had to paint up TWO Tank Brigades.

Here is everything I have painted so far, Two Tank Brigades x 2.
• 16 Companies of T-34’s (mix of 76mm and 85mm guns), 64 vehicles
• 8 companies of SMG armed infantry (~ 160 figures)
Plus a few armored cars and trucks for logistics markers.
I need better lighting, but I think these are going to look good in mass. (Click to enlarge)

I am keeping my Kanban board updated:

Next up, is the Motor Rifle Brigade of the Tank Corps (X2).  I think I have a good technique down for the infantry, so I hope to have them done and table-ready in 2 weeks.
Until then, good gaming!

New Project putting 6 x 6 challenge on hiatus... 3mm Eastern Front

Now on to my new project…

I am officially putting my 6 x 6 challenge on hold after only two measly games.  Why?  Not because I am losing my enthusiasm for the hobby, but because it has been reinvigorated!  Participating in the double-blind game at Southern Front has inspired me to develop my own game to take to conventions next year.  While Mike’s game was tactical, I plan to do this at a little different level.

In summary:

• Eastern Front, 1942-44
• 1 Base will = 1 maneuver company or artillery battalion
• On a big 80mm x 40mm base because I like the look
• 1 small base = 1 recon platoon
• The rules will be very fast and inspired by 5Core Brigade Commander and Tank on Tank:East Front
• They will play on a hex grid, to facilitate laying out identical terrain and speed up play
• 1 hex = roughly 500 meters, with max 2 units in same he

Command friction will be the focus and will be provided by:

• Multiple players per side (this by itself adds a lot)
• Players will not know where the enemy is until spotted, recon is critical!
• Players will not necessarily know when they have been spotted, so they will not know what the other guy knows about them!
• Players will not know the exact results of their firing on the enemy
• Must play fast, fast, fast
• Some Logistics will be included as in an abstract manner

I have drafted rules and will post them after I have had a chance to do some playtests.

As a double-blind game involves painting twice the number of units you would normally, and I want a grand, sweeping look, I am using:

• 3mm Picoarmor
• Based on 80mm ovals (ovals look more like situation maps!)
• On a 4-inch hex grid

Here are some shots of my first completed units.  I am aiming to give each player 6 - 8 elements to command, so this would be one command.  It is a Tank Brigade, a little understrength, with 2 x T-34 battalions, a motor rifle battalion, an armored car platoon, and a couple of logistics markers plus a duplicate version to use on the German table.

 Close up of 1 Tank Brigade.  3mm is not that photogenic, but at gaming distances, they look like an areal photo.  And the vehicle look more tactically spaced than hub to hub games.

 Motor Rifle Battalion.  SMG's, for rifle companies, I will add Maxim machine guns to distinguish them.

A battalion of T-34's, slightly out of focus so as not to give intelligence to the Fascist invader.


As you can see when I am done, I will have big forces for face to face games as well.  I have gotten a good start, considering I am balancing family, work, and grad school.  Stay tuned and I will do weekly updates and I hope to get the rules exercised next month.

I am tracking my progress via a Kanban Board HERE

Good gaming!

Southern Front Report 2019

We are back from vacation and I finally have time to report on my visit to the Southern Front Wargaming Convention in Raliegh, North Carolina.


First off, I cannot praise the organizers enough.  It is a small but very well run event.  I vastly prefer attending small conventions as compared to my last visit to Historicon a few years ago.  I suspect I am getting cranky in my old age, but crowds and noise are not my favorites anymore!

There were only 8 games running at once, in a single room, but they were all high quality and the ratios of games to players were good.  There were plenty of vendors (I will show off my loot in another post)

Saturday morning, I played in a game that was one of the peak wargaming experiences of my career (tm) and Saturday evening I ran a game of Astounding Tales 2!  Here is a summary:

Random Shots

Here are a few random pics of other games going on, it is NOT representative.  There were some really great looking games.  I missed Saturday afternoon (the missus and I went to lunch), but here are some from the other 2 Saturday slots.

Chain of Command.  There were many games run in various theaters, I wish I had been able to work it in.  Looked great! 

Wings of War, with honking great German Bombers

Little Round Top

A really nice Napoleonics game in 28mm.  I love the ground cloth and I think they were using the Blucher computer moderated rules. 

WW2 Double-Blind Crossfire

I may exaggerate occasionally, but this was one of the peak gaming experiences of my tabletop career!  It was a double-blind game of Crossfire run by Mike Tyson (Thank you Mike, if you read this!) 

He had two identical tables set up next to each other divided by a clever curtain on a PVC pipe frame.

This is all I saw of the opposition...

The scenario was early war Eastern Front, and I draw the Russian straw.  As I was the only player who had and Crossfire experience, I was nominated to be the COmpany commander.  Or else, per the Commisar.

Each side had a company plus some armor support in a meeting engagement.  I cannot give a blow by blow as I was completely engaged in the game, but a few observations:

• The rules worked well.  Mike also had an assistant umpire on each table, which helped greatly.  Crossfire was a great choice of rules as it flowed well, he kept the tables roughly in synch.  The rules are simple enough that they were almost transparent to the experience of "where the heck is he? Should I try to cross that open ground? Where the hell did those guys come from ?!?!?!"  He made some mods to allow continuous fire until you failed, and I have to say they worked well.  We came to a decision in 2 hours and even the guys who had their platoons wiped out enjoyed it.
• We lost, but barely.  each player took a platoon, and I also had the company commander and a T-26's and SU-76. But my master plan of ordering one of the platoon leaders to retreat across an open field to "draw in" the Panzer 38T to the muzzle of my SU-76 ended in lots of dead Russians shot in the back in the above-mentioned field.
• I spent 4 turns firing into what turned out to be an empty wood because I thought Germans might be in there and ammo is cheaper than bodies, even for Russians.  When does that happen in a normal game? 

It really is the best way to wargame, suddenly recon becomes vital as it is in real life and fire and movement really becomes viable and overwatch comes into its own at the tactical level.  The fog of war was heavy too, with a lot of command friction and uncertainty. 

I am so inspired, I am working on my own double-blind game, but on a different scale. Stay tuned for details.

I will leave you with this quote of the game:"Umpire: You just got shot at by a machine gun.  Player: Crap, what machine gun ?!?!?!"

Here are some snaps.

My fellow Soviet players

Movement to contact, Two Russian platoons advance in line at the top, my guys are at the bottom

My Comrade's platoon in the center, getting ready to peek through the hedge...

The endgame, where my SU-76 waited in ambush for a target that never showed up.  I did not know that he had spotted me and knew I was there.  That is an important thing about double-blind, you not only don't know where the other guys are all the time, but you don't know what he knows about you!

Kudos to John Acar, the German player opposite me, who also played it slow and used lots of recon and bounding overwatch.  As a result, he easily avoided my ambush It was good to roll dice with you again.

Astounding Tales 2!

Saturday Evening, I ran my Death Temple of Sarnath game, with a full crew of 8 players! Here is the background information and the last couple of times I ran the game:

• Canadian Heiress Kidnapped!!!!
• Battle report from Southern Front 2017, Game 2
• Battle Report from Siege of Augusta 2018
• Scenario and player aids

I was busy running around GM-ing the game but, fun was had by all!  It ended with the Nazis winning and making off with the Eye of Azathoth, the Gangsters recapturing Shirley Uoff after she had been rescued by the RCMP just before she could get on the plane, and the Zanzibar Slavers deciding the kidnapping Miss Lemon would do and hauling her off for shipment to the slave markets of Istanbul.

Here are a few snaps from the game.

Everyone fully engaged!

Hercule Poirot ponders his next move

Doc Savage prepares to punch out a few robots.  Supreme Subjicator Zenobia of the Radon Zombies of the Ionosphere had also crash-landed in the jungle.

That is all for now, next time I will recap our vacation, which does almost have some wargaming content!