What's Been Going On!

Well since my last post way back in June, I am pleased to report that I am back to blogging and gaming! First of all, I didn't have to do anything to my hobby work area. I was real fortunate that I had no damage, just some water on my carpet. I have indoor/outdoor so all I had to do was shop vac the water up and turn on the fan to dry things out.

As for gaming, well I managed to game a couple times since my last post. I have been busy with summer activities and work. I will post a battle report written by one of my fellow gamers next. I have managed to get a good portion of my Union fellows I purchased re-mounted and touched up. I still have the Rebs to do, but with summer, I haven't been as active in getting them done. To some extent, I am looking forward to fall and winter. Oh I don't mind summer, but I pretty much had enough at the end of June:)

I had planned on an ACW game this past weekend, but work got in the way so I had to cancel. I figured I would end up working late and true to Murphy's Law, I did.

Well this is it for now. I hope to get another gaming report out soon. Next week is historicon so there will be no gaming for me as a few of the guys are heading out to Pennsylvania.

Till Next Time!

Update

This is another brief update to my gaming activities. In the last week, my city has received about 10" of water and caused some minor damage to my hobby area in my basement. My figs are all fine, but my work area will need to be disassembled and the wall I built torn out to get at the wet insulation. I have every intention of setting up my work area again and am hope full that I will have it up and running so I may continue to re-mount my ACW figs and to continue on with other projects. I thought that maybe I would be more upset, but after seeing the flood damage first hand about my area today, my issue is minor and I am thank full that I did not encounter such massive flooding as my brother had as well as the others in town. Property can be replaced whether it be hobby items or a TVs. People are not replaceable! We had no deaths or significant injuries in my area which is a bonus considering the widespread damage incurred. As soon as I am back up and running, I will make another post. I will continue to post on gaming activities with my friends but I know I will be a bit busy in the very near future.

What's New

Well obviously it has been quite sometime since my last post. So I thought I would type a few lines to say hi and to let you all know what I have been up to.

First of all, I haven't gamed in awhile now. With the weather getting a little nicer finally, I have been doing yard work/house chores etc. A little bit of life has interrupted my general routine. You will have that:)

What I have been doing is starting to re-mount some figs I purchased awhile back from a friend. They are an ACW collection and I needed to re-mount them to match my rules system. I have also been doing some touch up painting on them. I am also putting them onto metal stands that need to be re flocked and units names need to be added. I am working on the Feds right now.

While doing this, I realized this would be a perfect time to add a different unit to the Feds. This would be Wilders Brigade. This was a unit from the Ohio area that were mounted infantry. They would ride to the fight as Cav, but dismount and fight like regular infantry. This saved me from having to re-mount the cav. I just have to add the unit name. I have the infantry available and just need to be mounted etc. Being primarily a Confederate player, this should be a nasty surprise to the others but I like the idea of the unit. It also had an artillery battery that went with them so it will almost resemble a flying column.

I will not be gaming for a few more weeks so I more than likely won't have another post for awhile. If something does arise, I will be sure to get it blogged!

Hi to all in the gaming world. Been a couple weeks and I figured I had better produce another blog:) 2 weeks ago our group did not game as a few of the members went down to Illinois for the gaming convention. I myself did not go this time around but I had gone once before. From what I understood from my buddies, they all had a good time and a real positive experience.

This past weekend, we did a game with 25mm. The period is from the Mexican Revolution and I wished I had brought my camera but I left it at home. The figs are very nice looking and the game is pretty simple from a rules standpoint. I was amazed at how the figs took up so much room on the table. It really shrunk it up and we use an 8'x6' sized table.

Even though there were two groups fighting, the Rebels and the Mexican government, there were some disputes within the various Generals involved. This made it an obvious game within the game. Each General had a some victory conditions assigned to them which is always a nice way to randomize the game.

As one of the Rebel players, we had to attack a Federal garrison that were behind walls, and had reinforcements approaching onto the field outside of the walls. My command and another Rebel player each had poor command. We constituted the left flank on the attack. Needless to say, we didn't move very often:) However, I did manage to reach the walls and in fact get inside with my cavalry. With them, I killed the mayor of the town:) Victory condition for me. My infantry group never made it. Again, poor command. On the right, another Rebel general managed to defeat the reinforcements. The center group held back some, but did use his artillery fire effectively. He did get to the town with some American mercenaries. The government forces did put up a spirited fight until they decided it was in their best interest to loot the town!

In the end, the Rebel faction won the overall battle, but one of the Government players was the winner based on victory conditions. He did some serious looting. I tied for 2nd along with a couple other players.

I liked the game; a very beer and pretzels type. Rules are easy to learn. The shooting isn't very good but that was expected. From what was told to us, the Mexican army/rebels were very poor shots which played out well in the game.

Next game we have, I plan on bringing my camera. Very nice figs including some women Rebels. Something you don't always see in games. Just a small note, the image I used for this blog is from a previous game from the Mexican/American War.

What Has Been Going On

Hi All! Well I haven't gamed in a few weeks now and I don't plan on gaming until at least the 2nd weekend of April. I can also say that I haven't really worked on any projects lately. Mostly because I have been exhausted from the normal grind of life as well as the above normal activity at work. I have always said that if the hobby begins to resemble a job, it is time to quit the hobby. Breaks are good thing because I do enjoy my hobby!

With that said, I have managed to add to my ACW collection. I recently purchased a large amount of troops from a friend of mine. He is clearing out his collection and I was fortunate enough to be on the receiving end of a good deal. I will have increased my collection by a minimum of 400 figs. This includes some cav/artillery and extra command figures. I will have some re-mounting ahead of me, but this recent transaction has giving me new life to get back into the swing of things. I also need to get down stairs and get my brigades back in order from the last game.

One of the things I have planned is to do another large ACW game. I have also purchased some balsa wood to make my own pontoon bridges. I would like to do a river crossing and have at least 3 bridges completed for the game. I have taken a look at some Civil War pontoon bridges and I am confident that I can make a decent replica for my gaming purposes. I am of the opinion that a die roll will determine who the attacker will be, but I don't want to make it to difficult as I want some fighting to emerge from the scenario. One other scenario I was toying with was the Battle of New Orleans from the War of 1812. Yes I know this is not the ACW period, but our group once did a game like this. using a different time period for the battle. These can be very interesting IMO.

I have recently signed up for a RPG via the Internet. It is a bit slow for the moment as I am just getting my character established, but I am very confident that things will pick up for my character. I have played in a number of RPG's and I think I will enjoy this one based on the old west. 1879 is the time frame.

One side note about the picture I have chosen for this article. This man is walking across America. He is walking a mile for each man/women lost in this current conflict. On Friday, I passed him up as I came home from work. I had seen a story about him and quickly hit the net to get some information. He started in Nevada and is headed for Washington D.C. I admire his commitment and determination to finish his mission and I wanted to get his picture and a little of his story out there. This picture is from my local newspaper.

Brett favre

OK I know this is my blog about my gaming experiences etc. As a Green Bay Packers fan I had to blog about the retirement of Brett Favre. I was not too surprised at his announcement. During the season, it looked like he gave it his all in each and every game. It was a great season for him and in my opinion, he went out on top. He guided a team to the NFC championship which by all accounts had no business being there! Yet the team believed and with Brett's play, it was something to behold! This is also a credit to the coaching staff. Brett has no reason to hang his head after the game against the Giants. He may have thrown the INT, but he IMO, Brett was being Brett. The gambler taking his chances to win. This is not to say that I wasn't disappointed, but that is what it meant to be a Brett Favre fan. You have to take the ups with the downs. I saw the still shot floating about the internet like many and saw that he had several options to advance the ball. In his defense, we were not on the field and a decision had to be made and was.

I had the pleasure to watch him in person at Lambeau field on several occasions. The Packers won every one except 2. Those were experiences I can never forget. I had the chance to see a legend play along with the thousands and thousands of other fans. I firmly believe we will never see another QB of his stature. I may sound a bit biased, but if you look at the current QB's, I believe that none of them have ever played with such fervor and respect for the game like Brett did. This doesn't take away their abilities, but there is only one Brett Favre! The man is human which is refreshing. He had his faults like all of us, but he also showed that he can overcome. We can all learn from this. He may have been an NFL star, yet he encountered numerous lifetime problems like any other average person.

The upcoming season will certainly have a different air about it. For 16 seasons, we lived and breathed to watch Favre play. It was a ritual of sorts. But I for one did not shed a tear like so many others. Yes it was an end of an era; Yes Green bay may never be the same; The man retired from a game. He did not die. Life will go on. Brett will be missed because he brought so much to the game.

I for one wish him the best! I for one will still be watching Packers football with Aaron Rogers at the helm. His play in Dallas last season proved to me that he has the ability to continue the Packers legacy. Of course it will not be the same. Not everyone can play 275 games straight!

The last man from the 2nd coming of the glory days has gone. He will not be forgotten. He left an impression on so many people and to some, Brett was the only QB they have ever known for the Packers. I know some people out there are calling for his induction right away into the Hall of Fame, waving the 5yr wait. I believe he would not want such special attention.

The NFL may have lost a great player, but another legend was added to the history of the game!

German Blitzkrieg

Last week we did a WW2 German vs Russia. We again used the Blitzkrieg Commander rules and we used a few more of the options offered in the rules. The Germans had an elite group of tanks and more layered command. The Russians on the other hand, well they were typical Russians in 1941. Militia ratings and poor command and control.

As the German player, we had no air support which would have been nice. A set up die roll was made but failed to make the number to have air support. We were moving so much that in order to use the off board artillery, the FO had to stay stationary. Easily done, but many of the fighting units managed to block his visibility. Which was fine because we were always on the move. I tried the artillery a couple of times only to fail.

The Russians had it a lot harder. They had infantry scattered about to defend a town which was our objective. They also had a a couple of armored columns to move up. One column pretty much sat out the game because the command rolls were hardly ever made. The other column, it managed to move on a regular basis, but was eventually overwhelmed by the German armor. With no support from the stationary column, they had no chance.

The Russian infantry defending the town area, they bugged out once their morale threshold was met. They had set up in the town as well as a nearby cornfield. The infantry in the cornfield were basically overran by German armor. The Russians had an ATG, but opted to set it up on the backside of the cornfield. It would have been better off set up in the front of the cornfield. It would have had a few decent shots that could have hindered the German advance. As it was, it never fired a shot. Some hand to hand fighting was had by my infantry in the town. As the Germans we prevailed due to the numbers and quickly took control of the town.

With the Germans in firm control of the town, the game was called. There was no chance for the Russians to take the town back as they had no more infantry or artillery to use for support.

All in all a good running game. As I have stated before, I do like these rules. Frustrating at times, but fair in every way.