Hysterical Wargamer Battle Reports
10 August 2006 – American Revolution: Battle of Gilford Court House, North
Carolina.
In anticipation of playing two Thursday-night game scenario of the Battle of Brandywine, the group held a play-test session for the rules system, by playing a Rev. War scenario. Yours truly has to apologize to the readers, but he can’t remember anything about the game. In fact, he’s not so certain the scenario was Gilford or Cowpens. What yours truly does vaguely recall is that he was Cornwalis and the British lost. I think the “Woodmeister”; is losing his mind. The other thing I do remember; the rules system work fairly well.
17 August 2006: Gladiators (or How I learned to Die Like a Dog and Return as a
Lion).
On this Thursday evening, John, the Cox man, ran a gladiatorial game with six characters, Chris, Bill, his two daughters, Pete, and myself. Chris’s character was fighting buck --- naked, and did fairly well. I was Marcus Aurlius with a shield, arm and shin guards, but I ended up early losing an arm and a leg before expiring. However, I came back as a lion. Bridget, she held out longer that I did, but when she was killed off, she came back as a rhinoceros. (Was that imposoros? No.)
The game ran smooth, after the players got the hang of the rules and the game sequence.
Good game, John.
19 August 2006 – Capture of Lac-aNu Ki’s Ancient Treasure,
The time: about 1920. The scene: a spot on the east bank of the upper Nile near the Al-ge-Bra mosque, a short distance from the tomb of the hardly-ever-known High Priestess Lac-aNu Ki’s burial chamber. The British archaeological team of the Professor and his daughter, Mary, backed up by two British and one Egyptian unit were attempting to move aNu Ki’s sarcophagus to the Nile to the African Queen to ship it to the British museum. However, German professor, Baron Von Wupski with German troops comprised of sailors, black Afrikaners and one line unit tyied to seal the treasure from the Brits. To complicated the game. The Arabs, led by Sultan Hassen ben Sobar, tried to retrieve the sarcophagus and place it back in the tomb.
During the three-hour free-for-all, the British were doing fairly well, running a gauntlet between the Afrikaners in a small oasis village and some Arabs with a machine gun on a high cliff. The Arabs with the Sultan occupied the mosque next to the river, which caused the Germans in a gun boat a lot of pain. The Afrikaners had a difficult time (commanded by yours truly). They could not maneuver to well, because they mistakenly got to close to a brothel at the Oasis. Nearly half the unit ended up involved in some extra-curricular activities. (Is this any way to run an operation? You bet it is!).
Though the Arabs disabled the halftrack the Brits were using to transport a’Nu Ki’s sarcophagus, the Brits were doing effective work taking out the Arabs on the cliff. Twice the Brits almost killed themselves by attempting to throw dynamite up to take out the Arabs. The sarcophagus, however, remained in the half-track, a tantalizing lure for all sides. By the time the game was called, the Germans were all but out of the game, while the Brits were steadily moving towards the Nile. However, the African Queen was blow up by the Arabs early in the game. For the Brits to be successful, they neaed to engage a swarm of Arabs and the German’s at the dock by their guinboat. Figures controlled by the game master -- lions, a crocodile and a sand storm, had very little effect. Though the crock did enjoy some fresh French meat.
This was the scenario of a game mastered by our good friend, wargame member John Cox.
… Well, that brings me up to date. I have no reports for 24 or 31 August, for in the former case he was at a Bruce Hornsby concert at Wolf Trap in Vienna, VA (most excellent), and the latter case, I’m on vacation on the South Jersey shore at Surf City. Not very good beach weather – the stationary front and Tropical Storm Ernesto gave us only one and a half days of any sun.
I will continue my reports in September in a timelier manner.
The Woodmeister.