- This topic is empty.
-
Posts
-
We had seven players, including a new guy, for our 3rd Saturday Game Day at Paper Heros in Sherman Oaks. We also had a cameo by Dave Rosner late in the afternoon. BTW: I'm aware that the plural of Hero is Heroes. But for whatever reason, that's not how the store spells it. Hence “Heros”, not “Heroes”.
Our new guy is Christopher Watson-Wood, a recent arrival from the U.K. He and Dave Nicholas paired up for “Hammer to the Teeth”. Chris' Germans and Nick's Americans fought to a draw, but had a lot of fun.
Larry Reinking's Americans defeated Sal Pelaez' Germans in the classic scenario “Rocket's Red Glare”. And because they finished early, they set up “Patton's Prayers”. In this one, Larry's Germans and Sal's Americans fought to a draw when they ran out of time.
And Peter Strand and Dan Plachta took the Russians against my attacking Germans in the updated version of “Fire on the Volga” from Red Factories. This scenario takes place in October of '42, in the southeast quarter of the RB map. The Germans have to push through the Russians and get 17 FP of MG's up into 2nd level building locations in LOS and normal range of the eastern board edge. Alternately, any MG's that exit on the east edge after turn 5 can count toward this total. The Russians get a company of infantry, some MG's, a heavy mortar, an INF Gun, and some mines. On turn 4 a couple more platoons enter from the east edge. The Russians, however, are very short of leaders.
The Germans get two companies of good quality, well-led infantry, supported by an 80 OBA module. They are required to set up south of Gum Factory Gully, just to the west of housing estates. They have lots of time, but they also have a long way to go. In my mind, the Germans have two choices: 1) attack north, through Workshop 6E, and then turn east, into the space between Gum Factory Gully and Two Finger Gully, targeting either GG35 or the Kindergarten. Or 2) hammer their way straight through the housing estates, crush the on-coming Russian reinforcements, and then exit 17 FP for the immediate win. Both strategies have advantages and disadvantages. Option 1 is the much longer way to go and forces the Germans to cross more open ground. But there are many more options to make the OBA useful, and the German FP advantage can be brought to bear more effectively. Option 2 allows for a more covered approach, and is more difficult for the Russians to reinforce. But it's basically a knife fight in a phone booth; there's not a lot of room to maneuver.
I decided fast and violent was the way to go, and chose option 2. Plus, the Russians looked a little weak in the housing estates. Facing battle-hardened veterans like Dan and Peter, I should have known better. I sent one platoon across the Gully to clear out Workshop 6E, and then turn south and capture building Y37, where they could interdict Russian squads trying to reinforce the housing estates from the north. I lined up my remaining 19 squads and 9 MG's in 6 hexes in front of the housing estates. On seeing my set-up, Nick remarked “Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?”. I dunno, if I go in, I like to go in big.
The first two turns pretty much went perfectly for me. My flank platoon cleared out the factory, and then turned and grabbed Y37, where they would prove to be very effective. My main attack swarmed into the housing estates, with HS scouts in the lead. Dan was in charge of this flank, and rolled badly for the first couple of turns. On turn 3 my attack pounded forward, straight into Dan's MLR, just as his dice improved. He had 4 hexes of mines on his southern flank, with his 9-2 position in the middle, backed by the 75* Inf Gun. Peter's units to the north hammered my left fank, where, as I predicted, I had little room to maneuver. But by turn 4, the weight of FP prevailed. I had crushed the MLR and pushed as far forward as possible. But the Russian reinforcements were coming on, and the Germans had suffered about a platoon of losses. With time running out, and 4 turns to go, we knew this was still anyone's game, and called it a draw. This scenario felt pretty balanced, and we had a lot of fun. I'd like to try it again.
This was our first time at Paper Heros and, if anything, it exceeded our high expectations. Tables, lighting and chairs are all great, and the staff was very friendly and welcoming. Plus there are no stairs and no fee to play. What's not to like? We had lunch at Nat's, the diner next door. That proved quite adequate, not to mention convenient. The survivors enjoyed a nice dinner at Corkey's, another diner nearby. All in all, it was another great day of ASL.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.