Warfare 2016 - Drop Zone Commander and other things

Back in November a number of us took the trip to Reading in Berkshire for the annual two day wargaming convention Warfare. Ed, Mike, Joe and myself had entered the two day five game DZC tournament (Dan stayed behind to house sit OB Towers). Last year the Drop Zone tournament was held in the hurley burley of the main hall, this time around, we were housed in the relative solitude of a squash court.

Above: Round one underway.

One Day Infinity N3 Tourney

Rob from the Totally Crit podcast asked if I would like to come over to Tunbridge Wells for a one day ITS tournament. Currently on my Infinity pilgrimage how could I decline. 

Above: Looks can be deceiving. This tournament is not taking place in an underground bomb shelter.

Learning Infinity N3 - The ZX81 approach

Infinity, or (to avoid you googling some children's cartoon thing, or a Broadband dodad), Infinity N3, has held my attention a lot these recent weeks. A number of tournaments and pick-up games have given me the opportunity to indulge in my favourite game. The Infinity interest at the club is fairly small (Nathan, Ed and occasionally Ziggy and David E-S). So it was a great pleasure when both James (a 40K player) and Orbital Bombardment's very own Dan and Mike, all asked separately for me to give them a beginners game and teach them about some of the concepts.

Above: 'Now class please pay attention. James put your phone away, and Dan, are you eating chips?'

Totally Crit 8 - Tourney Report

To Royal Tunbridge Wells I travel for Totally Crit's intense two day, six game, Infinity N3 tournament, this time, run by Chris P. I have begun to play Infinity much more recently in an attempt to become at least partially proficient (if you throw knowledge at me for long enough eventually some of it will stick). This particular event will be a real struggle for victories; two days and six games, is the sort of tournament that attracts seasoned players. 

Above: A scout hut fun of expectation.

Octoberfest 2016 - 40K Tournament - Part Two

With a hearty lunch of sandwiches and soup to energise us for the next three games, the competitors prepared themselves for the afternoon's combat.

Above: The usual picture of a room full of expected gamers.

Octoberfest 2016 - 40K Tournament - Part One

October is here and so is the bi-annual 40K tournament at the club. Five rounds of 1000 point goodness for the 18 participants to enjoy. Back in May, at the previous event, I had done reasonably well with my Iron Hands (2 wins, 3 losses). This time I decided to air my Plague Marines, with one of these new fangled formations which seem to very popular at the moment. (My three Hellbrutes could deepstrike as one, but roam the table individually. They always suffered from the Crazed rule, but gained It Will Not Die).Victory points were similar to usual tournaments, but, you scored an extra point for every objective secured by a troop choice. 

Above: 1000 points of Nurgle foulness. 

The October Ibuywargames Infinity N3 ITS tourney

The tournaments have come thick and fast recently (the reason for not getting this post out as soon as I would like). I'm off to merry Woking in Surrey where Ian runs Ibuywargames and Keith is hosting a one day three game Infinity ITS event. I hoped that this would at least give me some much needed playing time before the much bigger and scarier Totally Crit 8 event at the end of the month. 10 competitors took to the stage over three rounds. Of those taking part I knew three, brothers Alex and Nick Grey, (usually to be seen playing Drop Zone), and Ziggy, (an occasional N3 player at the club).

Above: I believe that the things hanging from the ceiling are to do with the card game Magic. I can confirm that the one on the left was not as big as it appears. 

I arrived at Woking with my very inexperience vanilla Nomad army. I brought two lists, but ended up using the same one for all three games, which was:

Group One

- Spekter, Combi Rifle

- Moran, Combi Rifle, Forward Observer, (2 Crazy Koalas)

- Moran, Light Shotgun, Forward Observer, (2 Crazy Koalas)

- Tomcat, Engineer

- Tomcat, Doctor

- Interventor, Lieutenant

- Alguacil, HMG

- Alguacil, Combi Rifle

- Alguacil, Combi Rifle

- Alguacil, Combi Rifle

Group Two

- Meteor Zond

- Reaktion Zond

- Reaction Zond

- Lunokod (2 Crazy Koalas)

- Salyut

Yes, six crazy koalas, but, I was still coming to terms on how they worked, so I used them poorly during the day by either placing them wrongly or having their handlers killed before activating to the wait mode. 

Drop Zone Batrep - UCM vs Scourge - A Perfect Storm

Club night and the Coastal Assault Champion Tim and myself were pitched against each other for a relaxing evening's Drop Zone game. We had no particular mission in mind, so we chose Defence Line. Tim brought along his 'work in progress' UCM army with things he 'threw together'. The one notable thing about it, the two Ferrums (naughty boy Timothy). I took my Invasion list, but with a tweak; three Hunters out, a Screamer and Raider in.

Above: All is good in the world. Mike, Stephen and Tim settle down for some Zoning.

40K Kill Team - Small things mean a lot

Last week's space hulk kill team game was the club's evolution for mass participation small games, but I have never played a 'traditional' kill team game with GW sanctioned rules. Until now. Armed with a copy of GW's newly released rules and a few models, Dave G. (Inquisitorial Henchmen) and myself (Iron Hand Scouts) gave it a go.

Above: [No caption required]

Kill Team - Space Hulk - Tables for fourteen please.

Here we go again. Popular demand requires that Dave G and myself run another Kill Team game for the 40k masses. As always, I wanted to introduce a new element to keep the game as fresh as a daisy. Previously, we have included robots, relics, zombies and special rooms, of which the latter, granted special rules and abilities. This time, I have decided to have two playing areas with access between each granted by teleport pads only. Let the confusion reign.

Above: Are we really going to try and get 14 people around a three foot by three foot table?

Invasion - DZC Tourney - Day Two

Day two of Invasion and I had two wins and a loss so far. With two games too play I still had an opportunity to do well....or totally muck it up. Time would tell. Some of the players had helped Hawk Louie celebrated his birthday on the Saturday evening but there was still a room full of expectant gamers ready first thing Sunday morning. 

Above: Dan, are you ready for day two? 

Invasion - Sept. '16 DZC Tourney - Day One

How quickly we are here again. Do remember the excitement at the beginning of the year  regarding all the new models? The pictures on the walls and models in the cabinet. Well ladies and gentlemen all those models are now in our grubby little hands and hordes (not hoards) of gamers are ready to rock and roll at the UK's biggest DZC tournament. Whoop. Whoop.

Above: Let the fun commence.

Drop Zone Commander - The Re-roll Rule.

Ideally when writing an army list you aim for the maximum points available. For some games and armies this is easier than others (many times a GW Space Marine Sergeant has unexpectedly found 5 point Melta Bombs in his Christmas stocking). For Drop Zone players things are not that easy, army composition is quite prescriptive on what is allowed and how many you can take. Its tricky to find much that is worth ten points or less. What to do? Here is an idea. 

Above: The guys enjoying club night. From left to right, Joe, Ed, Dan, Stephen and Tim.

Coastal Assault - Back into the jelly mould

Excited by the release of the new Drop Zone Commander book, and especially, all the new toys introduced for the Scourge, I returned to Hawk's favourite squishy alien life form for the Drop Zone tournament, Coastal Assault, being held at the Dice Saloon, Brighton.

Above: Tournament in full swing.

Question: Terrain Junkie or Terrain Snob?

I have been rightly accused of having too much terrain. I cannot deny that I get a great deal of pleasure from building and designing a table with bucket loads of character. 

Above: Nice.

Time Matters - Trying to please all of the players all of the time

Recent tournaments have raised an issue that is never far from a topic of conversation at such events; how do you ensure every player gets a fair and equal amount of time to play their game?

Above: Timed Guild Ball games, from left to right, Matt, Dan, Joe and Mike.

Drop Zone Battle Report

The working week was greatly improved by an invitation to Mike's new pad for an evening's Drop Zoning. After the recent debacle at the Critical Engagement tourney, I needed to get my DZC mojo back. 

Above: The game in full flow.

One Day Guild Ball Tournament - Dark Sphere

Mike, Joe, Nathan and myself went down to Dark Sphere for a Guild Ball tournament run by our club's own Guild Ball rep, Matt. 

Five games, limited to 35 minutes per player with an additional ten one minute activations, made for a very challenging day. I had never played GB 'under the clock before', so Mike and I took the opportunity on a day off from work, to give it a go. It really makes a great leveller. The analogy I used was a premier league football team playing a FA Cup tie at a non league ground on a wet and windy Tuesday night. 

Neither of us clocked out in our first game. But then both of us kids then got cocky, and both overran in game two. By game four it seemed entirely natural to be playing with a time limit. And weirdly, after the tournament, I now want the clock in every game I play.

Above: Dark Sphere ready for the kick-off.

Space Hulk - The Little Big Game Continues - I robot!

David G and myself yet again decided to throw ourselves at the mercy of expectant gamers and run another multi-player 40K game themed around the exploration of a derelict space hulk. The Zombies have taken a break, but we have added a command robot, sentry robots and crates to collect for everyone's amusement.

Above: Our eight intrepid commanders unaware what is in store.

Constance in Peril - 40K Campaign - Part 3

I welcomed David R. back to the war room with his lovely Ultra Marine 40k army and we had the opportunity to play the last battle in our three game narrative campaign. (Parts one and two can be found on my posts of 25/12/15 and 1/1/16). Having struggled to capture the moon on Motspire, the Imperials had made a better job of securing landfall on the planet of Constance. Their job, in this final instalment, was to finally rid the system of the Nurgle infestation, led by its overlord, Typhus. (In part two I had mentioned the planetary governor and his underground HQ. I decided however, if this was to be the final part I had to involve the main protagonists). Typhus had been tracked down to a medical lab in an industrial complex. The lab walls were impregnable. The force field doors, could however, be turned off by destroying six power nodes scattered around the complex. Only Marneus Calgar and his Ultra Marines could attempt such a mission.

Above: Typhus has been tracked down.

Critical Engagement - DZC Tourney Report

The much heralded OB DZC tournament is finally here. Apart from Sergeant Slaughter (aka Pete) all of the OB crew are taking part. Joe, Ed and myself competing, Dan (the 'odd' Man), and Mike acting as TO.

Above: The tournament in fun swing

Furious Geoff aka Geoff-Wing

Mike didn't like the name Furious Geoff. 'It isn't literation,' he complained. He wanted Angry Andy instead. Dan proposed an alternate; Geoff-Wing, (due to the X-wing widgets). I imagine that the game will have a number of different names before settling down to a mutually agreeable title (Car Wars 2016 has been proposed by a reader (thank you Newtoncain). We shall see what the future holds and which name sticks. For this current post, we shall stick with Furious Geoff. 

Above: my modelling area with appropriate inspirational movie entertainment

Furious Geoff - A journey into post-apocalyptic vehicular combat

The internet now means that it is very difficult not to find a set of miniature rules that covers your chosen era, scale or even your imagination. Back in day, rule sets were rare and wonderful thing, usually in black and white and with the occasional picture or diagram. Writing your own from scratch, or based on an established set, was not uncommon. 

Above: A pile of inspiration

Games Expo 2016 - Day Three - A tournament that never ends.

You join me for the third, and final, part of my GamesExpo 2016 report.

Above: An excellent start to Expo day three.

Games Expo 2016 - Day Two - Three vampires worth of a painting trophy

Part two of the GamesExpo 2016 report - Saturday

Day two at the Expo, and onto the main event, a three game Drop Zone Commander tournament.

Above: Mike and Joe during game one.

Games Expo 2016 - Day One - Dashboard champion.

Part one of the GamesExpo 2016 report.

It is difficult to believe that a whole year has gone by since we last went up to Birmingham for our first experience of the Games Expo. But indeed a year has passed. Ed, Joe and Mike went up on the Thursday evening, and Dan and I joined them on the following morning. Unfortunately Pete, (Sgt. Slaughter), was not able to attend this time around. Oddly Dan and I played our first game at the service station on the M40. In a game of Dashboard Gladiators, my wind up chameleon, Chuck Chuckleson (below), was all conquering over Dan's wind up, hand standing, Panda, Pendleton. For an instant replay of that battle, please visit the Orbital Bombardment Twitter entry for the 3rd June @OBDZC. 

Above: Chuck, my dashboard champion and new Facebook picture.

GamesExpo 2016 preparation

Ed, Mike, Joe Dan and myself are going up to the Birmingham NEC for this year's GamesExpo. Three days of board and miniature gaming goodness. I have entered two tournaments; Drop Zone Commander on the Saturday and Infinity N3 on the Sunday. Others in the group have also chosen some different events, Bushido and Guild Ball amongst them. If you can, please come and say hello to me (Alex Randall), and the guys.

Above: Some purchases for the weekend. Cleanliness is next to......winning wargames? 

Recent GB Games - Enjoyment comes in many forms. Thankfully.

When I started this blog I knew that it was probably a dangerous enterprise; in that, I lose the majority of the games I play, and I am prone to the odd silly error or two (dozen), and would need to write about them, reliving my mistakes and looking like a twit. Fortunately, you, my readers have so far been very kind. Only on one occasion, in comments made on another site, someone said I made a silly mistake. (On this occasion for not using a command token to reduce an opponent's order pool in a game of Infinity N3). 

I am not going to disagree. That kind of mistake is daft. And I will not deny that I don't tell you about all my games, especially those where I am so lame brained that I feel as sick as a parrot afterwards. 

An example of this was a recent Guild Ball league game between Mike's Engineers and my Fishermen. Mike won the initiative and chose to receive. He collected the ball and gave it to Velocity. I activated Kraken and decided to attempt a harpoon attack on the ball carrier. But stupidly I had forgotten about another player's abilities. Fangtooth was stood next to Velocity, and once Kraken approached within 6 inches of the big guy, he, being within 4 inches of Mike's goal, got a free charge. Kraken was knocked down, lost all of his remaining influence, and from this prone and isolated position received two turns of Mike's attention. And despite having 20 health points and tough hide he was taken out of the game in turn two. I never recovered from this, and I went onto lose the game 14 to 4. (Shoulders sag. Alex wears 'that' face).

Above: Mike enjoying his pre-match meal.

Above: Kraken forward of the rest of the team, knocked down, and rightly concerned about his exposed position.

Nomads - Beginning a New Infinity Army

As long as I have been aware of Infinity I have used Ariadna as my faction of choice. For a long time I stuck with the contents of their starter box. I enjoyed using Scouts, Tank Hunters and the odd Dog Warrior. Recently, I have enjoyed the link team novelty of the USAriadna. But now I have decided to change out of combat fatigues into something more colourful and close fitting; What is that I see travelling towards me? Bring forth the Nomads.

Above: Wherever I lay my armour four hat is my home (Mobile Brigadas). Painting is still ongoing, but I have chosen a dark red as a base for all the models.

When All Else Fails Put Some Pictures Up

Just some pictures this week.

Above: A teaser for the next Space Hulk multi-player game at the club. Who can get to the control panels first?

Above: A Jabberslythe. One of my favourite GW monsters.

Above: Space Marine Captain.

Above: 'Why so scared Grot?'

Above: Now I understand.

Happy gaming to you all.

Mayhem 2016 40K Tournament

With other games taking my attention recently I haven't played a game of 40K in some time. A one day 40K tournament at the club gave me the opportunity to see what the latest meta soup of the day is at the GW restaurant.

Above: The room begins to fill with expectant gamers.

April Space Hulk - The daughter of Mr and Mrs Space Hulk

Another massed participation 40K Space Hulk game at the club, with the possibility of walkers and if we were lucky, a Dreadnought or two.

Above: Zombies, thousands of 'em. Err, no, 45 actually.

Salute 2016 - Show Report

I can sum up my experience at Salute as follows; A lot of things to see. A lot of things to buy. A lot of people. 

DZC Tournament - The Dice Saloon

Seems quite a while since our last Drop Zone Tournament, but April arrives and OB are off down to Sussex to take part in the one-dayer, Costal Assault, in Brighton. Mike B, Dan, Ed and myself, were joined by Nathan from the club.

Guildball Game Report - Fishermen vs Engineers

A very welcome invite lead to a mid-week game of Guildball around at Mike's. And for the Sky Sports fans out there, the Fishermen (looking to put the ball in the net) were pitted against the Engineers (looking to turn the screw)....or something like that.

Above: Manager Mike managing. (None of us currently have a proper Guildball pitch. Mike uses sheets of foam board, I use foot square kitchen floor tiles, with the lines marked out in string. Classy). 

Mike's Engineers:

Pin Vice - Captain

Mainspring - Mascot

Hoist

Velocity

Compound - Goalkeeper

Decimate

My Fishermen team:

Shark - Captain

Salt - Mascot

Greyscales

Kraken

Angel

Sakana 

Unable to Resist the Resistance

One wargamer's struggle of trying to avoid the inevitable and investing in the Drop Zone Commander's favourite low tech faction.

Above: A Lifthawk and it's charges.

Guildball - First Impressions

The Orbital Bombardment crew obviously live and breath DZC, but we are known to occasionally diversify; Bushido is a prime example. But recently we have also been bitten by the Guild Ball bug.

Above: My Fisherman team.

How to win Wargames* - my bravest post yet

I would be the first to shed doubt on a claim that I could advise anyone on how to win a wargame. However, I always find it easier to give advice than follow it. Perhaps the purpose of this post is attempt to better organise my own thoughts for the next game? The trick; to practice what I preach. However, I do appreciate that for some of you, and to partially quote Basil Fawlty, "Next contestant - Epitude Rusk from Epsom. Special subject - the bleedin' obvious".

Above: Joe planning his next move

Infinity N3 - Ibuywargames Tournament

Ibuywargames in Woking, Surrey, ran their first Infinity N3 ITS tournament and I jumped at the opportunity to go an event taking place near me.

Above: My 300 point USAriadna army

Drop Zone Commander - Escalation Month 2

First Friday of the month, and it was time for the club's second DZC escalation league night.

Above: Amit, Bryan, Stephen and Tim prepare for battle.

Infernal - Tortured Souls and Participation Game

With the Dagger Team models built and painted, my attention turned to the Tortured Souls (TS). As part of the Kickstarter I had opted for Dr Goodall/Black Death, Miss Neith/Spiderbitch and two Husk models. There are additional TS models and I may try and pick up the Kilburn Kraken, at April's Salute. 

The Big Little Game Feb 2016 - The Geeky Dozen

Last year Dave G and myself began playing Kill Team (Combat Patrol) in 40K for a bit of a giggle. Then Kannan joined us, and before we knew it, we had eight like minded players having a mass brawl. And as we ran more games they grew in size and participants, which lead to our biggest game yet in January; a six by six table, 12 players and two organisers. 

Infernal Dagger Teams - Model Review

The Kickstarter for these model was back in June. I shall be totally transparent and declare that I had been involved in some play testing for the game, and early on I had scratch built some proxy models for the play testers to use. However, we are now in the happy position to play with real models. 

Dagger Team and Support Weapons

DZC - Escalation League - Month One

Can't get enough of a good thing? As soon as we had recovered from Invasion, the club were Drop Zoning again.

Invasion 2016 - DZC Tournament

Croydon beckoned, and Drop Zoners from around Europe answered the call.