"For many are called but few are chosen (or rather, turn up!)"
Last night at the end of my first working week (boo, hiss, shame...!), John, Julian and I had a re-introductory game of Nuts by THW. Several others had been invited but for various reasons, were unable to attend. For those who don't know them, here is a brief rundown on the rules from Boardgame Geek:
The core mechanic of this game is the THW Reaction System. It makes the game feel very realistic. The other pro to the Reaction System is that you only need to learn one set of rules to play every other game that THW offers.
Imagine you're outside of a building ready to enter through the door. When you open the door, you then find two enemy soldiers staring back at you. In most games, when it's your turn you would open the door and shoot at the enemy who is just standing still awaiting a hail of bullets to fly in their direction. With this game, many of the times the enemy just doesn't stand still waiting for you to make a move.
Imagine instead that you open the door and find those very same two enemy soldiers. Here's what could happen and I say could because it all depends on the die rolls:
1) You could fire at the enemy (like most games).
2) You could charge into melee.
3) You could duck back into safety.
4) The enemy could fire at you!!!
5) The enemy could charge into melee and attack you.
6) The enemy could duck back into safety and run away from you!
There are other factors that may pop up from time to time, but as you can see this changes war gaming entirely. Just because it's your turn doesn't mean you get to shoot first.
The main factor in determining whether your side or the enemy side will win "initiative" (for lack of better words) and shoot first also depends on how skilled, or how much of Reputation the solider has. A models Reputation is based on a scale of 3 to 5. A Rep 3 solider is akin to a newly trained troop just out of basic training where a Rep 5 soldier would be a combat hardened veteran.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj94Ew_Sa3sZaI8OBrQnh2TQhemKd_t2tqiFJkHvWL4wlw223bT2tEfYi5USo52UXYAixXHwEs1OPTN01jWTlanbPCdAMKEarrKspZbgttZRXk8KG4RVoia2wCWFgnyFwfZQ6h80TmYVWlzhNsOmM-KR3FcRb67Vjbym4NuG6MJVKw5NgZnAQz1jSBOEQ/s320/Nuts.jpg)
We played the game as a cooperative contest of we three players, each with 5 or 6 US paratroopers, versus the game AI, the Germans. It really is a great system, particularly if you wish to all play on the same side against the "baddies" (Julian and I used their Chan Reaction Three (TR3) rules a few years back to play "War on Terror" games where we were both coalition forces).
The playing area - US forces started in top right, mid right and bottom left of the table - we had to RV at the farmhouse mid right, then see what developed in the way of "PEF"'s (Possible Enemy Forces)
ALL terrain and figures used were provided by Julian - the figures being from the excellent AB Figures 20mm range.
My squad of five - the NCO was Rep 5, the other four Rep 4 - one of the Rep 4 had a BAR. The other two US squads were similar, and the enemy were all Rep 4, including any leaders.
Julian had a 6-man team including a guy with a bazooka!
The white mist represents a PEF. When rolling for initiative, if a double is rolled, a PEF is generated - you then roll a single D6 for where it appears. In the enemy "turn", 2 D6 are rolled to determine movement - 2 successes = move 8" towards nearest enemy, 1 success = stay put, 0 success = move 8" away from nearest enemy. (A success is a roll equal to or less than the Rep of the relevant figure/squad)
My team approaching the RV
Julian's team hugging cover as they also head to the RV
Covering the arcs
Having all met up at the designated RV, we immediately broke up again and headed towards one of the several PEF's that were now on the table (Julian rolled A LOT of doubles!)
Julian moves towards two PEF's in the far woods - this would prove to be a bad tactical decision! (But it was "a learning game"!)
Johns team hunkered down behind the bocage
The first PEF to become an "actual" enemy was on John's front - a D6 roll determined it was a single scout armed with an MP40
He is behind the hedge, corporal!
Next PEF was in front of my unit - a somewhat more substantial enemy!
"Enemy front guys!"
"Scheisse, Amerikanisher Fallschirmjaeger!"
And then there were two! Another PEF transforms into a German squad in the lane adjacent to the woods I was contesting with the first enemy unit to appear.
A successful exchange of fire, one Kraut out of the game and two others have "ducked back" (duck back is the most common outcome of gunfire, which seems pretty realistic)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH5QJK4uPXBzjW5svTrIvEQqJYVc3CYXtnmMm-D0YE4it6s0TRRif64M4xvl_LIcZZvKlqtRa0T1tABSIgEIR9m_lVzOeisEBD6s1o-nH1TTVlVgS_cdBWPxL1AzP04gv3yX37gYMJ_7kuFnJ7pn3ZRLtS0EdaxfNtnyS2qR8M49dtAfT6tNBChoOmsA/s320/20230113_223734.jpg)
I mentioned Julian had made a costly tactical error....this is the result! The PEF in the woods to his front moved towards the enemy (him) and the test revealed an NCO with MP40 and 5 infantrymen with KAR98 rifles. The Germans won the "in sight" test and fired first. Being Grade 4 but with the US troops having moved, they required 3 or less to hit - you roll 2 D6 - no success = no effect (rather obviously) 1 success usually = duck back but not always, 2 successes, you add the die scores together, add it to the rep of the firer, and consult a table - anything less than 10 is a duck back of some type, 10 or more, the target is Out of the Game. I rolled for the Germans on this occasion - we took turns to roll for the enemy, so Julian rolled for "my" Germans, I rolled for his etc. I managed to roll a double 3 TWICE in one round of fire, 3+3+Rep 4 =.... you guessed it, the squad leader and bazooka guy were out of the game - OUCH!
The deadly German squad
Julian's casualties
My guys engaged in a firefight with around ten enemy plus a MG team - I was able to hold my own though...the markers are "Duck Backs"
The second German squad in my sector
John had a second PEF resolve into actual troops too - NCO with SMG, MG team and a rifleman.
Take cover!
A one point, to try out the rule, Johns entire squad pelted the enemy with grenades - resulting in - a bucket load of duck backs, but no hits!
Did none of you guys ever play baseball?!
The table as it looked when we called a halt around 1045pm - it took quite a long time to get used to the mechanics and work out how everything worked again - but I think we got there in the end.
Great fun and nice to get back into these rules - coincidentally, I had just discovered a blog called Atomic Floozie where a lady wargamer has (amongst other things) a few posts of Minairons 20mm SCW - and SHE had used Nuts to play a small SCW patrol scenario - hence when Julian suggested giving these a rerun, I jumped at the chance! Now I have been reminded how it all works, I might try a small solo game of SCW myself :)
Thanks for the visit and please leave a short comment if you enjoyed this episode of Bydand!
Really interesting, Keith. We played Nuts when it first game out many years ago. May have seen it first played at Enfilade near Seattle in the mid-2000s when Ed attended the con with his THW offerings. I do not remember the concept of PELs and playing cooperatively at all. I do recall that we only played the rules a couple of times before dismissing them. Why? I forget but we never returned to them. The concepts sound intriguing. Perhaps it deserves another look? Thanks for the refresher. Some neat ideas in there.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jon - the rules are on iteration IV I think, so it may be a different experience from the initial system? To me, although the blurb claims it can be used for multi-player games with actual people on both sides, it works better the way we played it - and I am sure will work very well for small solo skirmishes. The reactions, in sight tests, duck backs etc would make it a pain if you had too many figures involved in the action though - well, in my opinion, anyway!
DeleteThat's a nice game there Keith and seems pretty realistic to me. I've heard lots of good things about these rules, but small scale skirmishes are no longer my thing. Never say never though!
ReplyDeleteCheers Steve, funny how things change isn't it? I find myself drawn more and more to smaller scale actions....I think the rot first set in with Western Gunfighters, then it was Chain Reaction and Nuts, followed by CoC and Sharpes Practice, plus Frostgrave and the Border Reivers project! Not saying I don't still enjoy the traditional "big battle" but sometimes, taking the pics and writing the AAR are more fun than the actual game, which isn't right!
DeleteI think this is largely down to my games being solo and so for me, skirmishes just don't seem to work as well as a game, compared to say a Battalion level WWII game of 3 Brigades in a SYW one. Were they do work is at the FtF level, with more than one player per side. This sort of game I miss but maybe one day my friends and I might be able to get together to give it a go again.
DeleteAnd my solo gaming is all small scale skirmishing, as that's all I have room for at home! I certainly hope you manage to get a few more FtF games with other people in this coming year, Steve!
DeleteVery cool looking game, Keith. I could never wrap my head around Nuts but I read through it and "Morale Napoleon" a few times. I always thought the idea of cooperative play on the table was neat and somewhat novel but alas other projects took me away from ever really focusing on the rules long enough to learn them .
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve! Julian and I played a couple of games of Nuts maybe five years ago....we did a few more of CR3, which basically the same mechanisms with 21st century weapons and protagonists. I have always quite liked the way they work, but I can imagine the lack of decisive results (deaths) from most exchanges of fire might irritate some....
DeleteI like the big skirmish game - and glad you can adapt the rules for your SCW in future. Great to get out with Friends for a game- guess Covid has abated there sufficiently for Friends to visit each other. Cheers. KEV.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kev. We have moved to a stage of " living with Covid" here in NZ. There was quite a surge in cases in the weeks before Christmas....two work colleagues who had never had it, succumbed during that time, but in general, life has been "normal" for most of 2022, and continues that way now. We even have tourists back in significant numbers for the first time since February 2020!
DeleteIt seems an interesting set of rules. May have to give them a try one day
ReplyDeleteThey are quite different from most sets Scotty.
DeleteYou have some very nicely posed figures there, making the close-up photography come to life.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm, the close ups are courtesy of fellow gamer John!
DeleteNice game. The co-operative portion of the rules is intriguing, and yet another set of rules that I need to think about!
ReplyDeleteThanks Greg. We have played a couple of other games where all players are on the same side....the most obvious example being Pony Wars, where the Indians are auto generated and directed by a system of dice rolls.
DeleteGreat looking game Keith, they look and sound like a great set of rules.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray! One great advantage of gaming with Julian is we get to try A LOT of different rule sets! These ones are a bit different from most.
DeleteKeith, sounds like a good game, will have to see about trying it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe, will look out for your own AAR on your blog soon!
DeleteGreat looking game sir!
ReplyDeleteWarm regards
Thank you Michal, it was long but very enjoyable!
DeleteEnjoyed the intro to the system and your report Keith. Sounds like it would be ideal for solo games.
ReplyDeleteThank Richard and yes, that's certainly my feeling too.
DeleteThat looks like fun and I always enjoy a cooperative game as a nice change of pace. I have had that version of Nuts on my shelf for a few years now and started reading them, and quite liked what I saw. Unfortunately I could never get a game off the ground with either of my gaming groups.
ReplyDeleteCheers Lawrence...you could always give the rules a try out solo and let us all know how you get on?
DeleteThe problem is lack of table space at home, in spite of having two spare bedrooms. Hopefully when one of the remaining two children move out I'll be able to expand.
DeleteLol....totally understand that problem mate, hence the the $20 second hand 3 X 3 card table squeezed into our garage! Maybe my keeness for small scale skirmish games is more needs driven than I realized!
DeleteLooked like fun. I have the THW game called swordplay that I’ve been meaning to try out. It’s around here somewhere.
ReplyDeleteHmmmm..... I would be interested in feedback on that game Stew, so please locate, read, play....then report back, by CoB Friday 27 Jan, 2023 ... thank you!
DeleteVery interesting and different style of game. 👍
ReplyDeleteI am glad you thought so, Matt. I quite enjoy all the humans being on one side and the common enemy being driven by a simple mechanism....and of course, it's perfect for solo play too. Coincidentally, I have just dragged my copy of the rules out of storage for a read through.....watch this space!
DeleteGreat looking game Keith. Thanks for the run through of the rules they look very interesting. The duck back result sounds quite realistic.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ben, I certainly enjoyed it and am sure it would work very well for small scale encounters such as a trench raid or no mans land patrol etc.....
DeleteA great sounding and looking game Keith…
ReplyDeleteI do like cooperative games… I suppose it comes from all the years I used to play D&D…
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly, yes, they are basically RPG's in a historical setting. I would not want to play them exclusively but variety is the spice of life and all that!
DeleteThat looks a very interesting system indeed. Nice models.
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris...it's good for low level actions...not so sure how it works in Napoleonic, for example, even though they have rules for most eras and say the basic mechanism is the same...
DeleteSounds like a nice game set and good looking close ups, looking forward to your SCW version!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain...John always does a nice close up, thanks to his flash iPhone and professional acting training!
Delete