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.

Final Report: Battle of Somewaresville

Last weekend we completed the Battle of Somewarsville. It was a Confederate victory with high casualties on the Union side. It was a 2:1 loss ration in favor of the Confederates.

As the game continued, the Confederate left flank had pretty much fought to a standstill. The Union center was demolished! When the game ended, the Union center was being basically held by 2 artillery batteries and a general. On the right, which was where I was commanding, I had managed to rout a couple of Union brigade's and was able to take up a defensive posture. I also had my final division arrive on board which was a relief for me. The Union lads also had a final division appear. They should have appeared sooner, but were mistakenly overlooked. Could they have made a difference? They had arrived in the center but were too late to be effective by games end. However, if they had arrived as scheduled, it could have changed my deployments. I may have not focused so much on my flank by moving more of my units to the center. I knew I had a reserve arriving that would have been more than a match for any Union units they would have faced.

In the end, it was roughly 100+ stands lost on the Union side to less than 50 stands for the Confederates. The artillery losses were 5 for the Confederates and 4 for the Union. Cavalry losses were in favor of the Union forces. Losses were in the form of actual kills and routed units.

Some rules changes are going to be made. I am thinking of making ammo allotments for the artillery. This could prevent some of the arguing over what is a good shot and what isn't. Less shots may be taken knowing that if the die roll doesn't go their way, the player losses that round of ammo. I am also looking at using the artillery arc from Fire and Fury. I am going to make the Corps commanders more important by designating points to them, that could be allotted to Division commanders. This would help more units to move along and be useful if a unit needs to do something important. As it was, I had the Corps commanders basically as figure heads that would replace a Division commander if they were knocked off.

All in all I was happy with the game. It was the largest game I had ever set up and I am looking forward to setting up another with the rules changes. The rules I have are simple and basic and I wish to keep them that way. This will allow me to continue to put on larger games and keep it relatively realistic.

More Re-enactment Pics

The Union and Confederate lines engaged.



To the right of the cannon, you can see Old Abe the eagle from the 8th Wisconsin Regiment on his standard.

Awaiting the order to fire.



Fire!



Got lucky enough to catch the smoke ring.

Re-enactment Pictures

We didn't game last night as we didn't have enough people show. So I thought I would take the time to post a few pictures from the re-enactment I went to the past September.These were taken at the Wade House here in Wisconsin. They have put on a show for quite sometime now and I have managed to make it to most of them.

ACW Pics: Day 1 Battle of Somewarsville

In these pictures, you can see the various stages of the troops moving onto the field. The first two pictures are of Union troops moving on board. The 3rd pic is of two columns of Rebels approaching. The 4th pic is of the Rebs that held off the yanks in the woods from the initial contact. The picture is of one of the Yankee brigades routing. The 5th pic is of more Yankees arriving and the 6th is an overall view.