On the night that we later learned was officially the wettest ever recorded in Auckland, John and I ignored instructions for essential travel only (to be fair, they were not in force when we were travelling) to make our way to Julians for another game of Nuts.
Julian had decided we would try a campaign from the Nuts scenario books, the first game starting with us controlling one single figure each. There was a German quad 20mm AA gun in the middle of a field, and a couple of PEF (Possible Enemy Forces) markers. and the three of us. The aim was to explore the table, looking for any other lost allied servicemen, and lead them off the table by one of two exit points. The PEF's in this scenario could resolve into either (on the roll of a D6) 1 - an equipment cannister 2,3 or 4 - Allied servicemen or 5 and 6 German enemies.
The scenario took place during the hours of darkness and anything over twelve inches away was invisible.
Here are some images and a brief rundown on the action.
But first, a special picture for Stew at Enormous Loss of Lead and Wealth, who likes details on any snacks - these are plain old Ready Salted chips for the pre-game munch!
I succeeded in getting one of my own 20mm Valiant figures on the table - even though he isn't a para (as per the scenario) or an American!
This bugger could cause us some problems....
.... but, not if the first PEF resolution test leads to a US officer appearing right next to it, winning the Insight Test and peppering it with grenades
Supported by SMG fire from the adjacent hedge line!
The results were devastating for the Germans! That Flak gun never even fired a round.
Julian was again a demon for rolling doubles at activation time. leading to a new PEF appearing at one of six entry points, or a score of 7, which meant a reinforcement for either the Germans or Americans
Initially, a couple of PEF's/reinforcements appeared as more US troops.
John's figure leads the new additions towards the ERV point.
Meanwhile, Julian took command of another small group and lead them up one of the Bocage lined lanes.
Another PEF resolved itself into a German LMG team in the lane ahead of Julian's band - we managed to generate about three or four of these throughout the game!
Two more PEF's appear at the far end of the table.
American paratroopers moving towards the ERV.
"Hey guys, I think I can hear something."
Enemy forces coming the other way.
This was one of the Allied reinforcements, a lone NCO!
Another bloody LMG team - this one took out two of the three-man group Julian lead down the quiet country lane....!
The new batch of Americans reach the field with the Flak gun.
And yet ANOTHER German LMG team is revealed!
Allied troops close in from all sides.
But the plucky Bosche win the In Sight test and take out a few of our guys, including my character figure, who is forced to duck back behind the nearest cover where, rolling 2 x 6 for his morale test, (TOTAL FAIL in these rules!) he was reduced to a quivering wreck, cowering on the floor!
Tail end Charlie throws a grenade at another LMG team in the adjacent lane.
The combined group of Allied troops exiting the table at the designated point.
Various groups of pursuing Germans - we got our Band of Brothers out of Dodge just in time - even though we had to abandon one cowering American to his fate (it would have been suicidal to attempt to go back and motivate him to come with us, even though John REALLY wanted to do that!)
We lost 3 or 4 killed or Out of the Fight, but fortunately, none of our character figures, although I came pretty close!
The merry band exits, stage left - hopefully to rendezvous with more dispersed Allied troops in the next exciting installment - stay tuned!
Another enjoyable game of Nuts. Apparently, the guys at Little Wars TV have done a review of the rules, if you are interested in taking a look.
Thanks for your visit and I hope you have time to leave a few words of comment.
Great looking scenario with beautiful minis and terrains!
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot Michal, I cannot take credit for either....it is all Julian's kit!
DeleteLovely poses and good photography really help tell the story. As for crisps, my Fretting would kick in and I would have to declare that ‘you either eat the crisps or you touch my figures ….. you can’t do both!’ :-)
ReplyDeleteWe ate all the crips/chips well before any figure touching commenced Norm 😊
DeleteThank goodness, I can stop playing with my stress ball now :-)
DeleteFor sure! I would politely suggest players wash hands after eating chips before touching the figures. Non-salty snacks are OK at the game table.
DeleteDitto
DeleteYa’ll are a bunch of worry warts. That’s what matte varnish is for. 😀
DeleteThe only thing forbidden is cheesy chips.
Wow, I didn't realise the bowl of chips would be so controversial .... It's garnered more comments than my first two years worth of posts combined!
DeleteObviously you need to start each post with a shot of chips to get the comments going. 😁
DeleteSuperb game and interesting scenario
ReplyDeleteCheers Scotty
DeleteInteresting game and nice figures. The rules make havoc with plans from your AAR, I take it. Definitely more random than a Bolt Action event.
ReplyDeleteThanks Joe. The PEF generation is quite random....with average dice rolling, you could easily get right through a game with no doubles at all for the activation roll, although in the two recent games I have been involved in, Julian has managed to roll many more doubles that one might xpect!
DeleteA fine game on all levels there Keith:). The weather even made the news here, with the flooded airport terminal a bit mad to say the least. Mark says it's going to be closed for 48 hours, presumably to allow for clean up and checks etc. Let's hope the next weather fronts aren't quite as bad...
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve.....yes, a couple of friends from thr UK and my sister in Florida got in touch to make sure we were OK...which obviously we were! West Auckland, where Mark lives, got the worst of it I think. It was quite an event though, three people at least very sadly died, which is pretty rare for flooding events in this country. The airport was open yesterday (Saturday) for domestic flights and I think international were scheduled to restart early today.
DeleteA smashing looking and sounding game…
ReplyDeleteI think I may have to pick a copy of these rules up…
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly...I guess it really depends if you want to be a sergeant or a field marshal! I can imagine it might be TOO small scale for some people and I doubt many woukd ever get to a stage where they intuitively knew what to do in every situation, as there are about eight pages of charts in the "quick" reference section! They are very good for very small scale actions but as the guys in Little Wars TV say, although the writer claims you could play with a platoon, I think that would get a bit tiresome and take FOREVER to get to the end of the game, which is ironic, given the producer is called Two Hour Wargames!
DeleteInteresting to see these rules in action. I have one of the earlier iterations of it but have never really put it through it’s paces. Looks like it gives a great game!
ReplyDeleteFrom a lot of the AAR's I have read on your blog, JBM, I think these rules would work well for the type of games you play....give 'em a try!
DeleteLooks like a fun exploratory for you and John. Does Julian run the Germans while you and John play cooperatively? I was surprised to see that American infantry were generated randomly too. As Norm mentions, nice photos.
ReplyDeleteGreat sounding and looking game, haven't been able to prime my lancers yet it's been a bit cold, remember it's our winter and your summer although with the weather you've had recently I'd understand you getting mixed up!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks Iain, it kept us entertained and distracted us from the dreadful weather outside! Yes, our summer hasn't been so great this year, so far.
DeleteSuper report. I like the feel of the rules from what you've written. I don't really do WW2, but may well have to get a copy anyway.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard, they would work for very small scale encounters in most eras, with a bit of tweaking, although the writers have already done the tweaking, as they have rules with similar mechanisms for most periods.
DeleteOne miniature each? But I have a hundred WWII figures!
ReplyDeleteGood luck not getting killed. 😀
Lol....so do I Stew, they were collected to use CoC ...which we did for a few games...we also played Nuts once or twice...and then they have languished in their cardboard barracks unused for about three or four years!
DeleteHmm. Did another of my comments get binned into SPAM or did it not pass the censors?
ReplyDeleteNot sure Jon, what as it about??
DeleteAnother fun game of Nuts. Seems like it was worth braving the floods and storms for. I like your Valiant figure too Keith.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence....we just had some rather dramatic "after shocks" of the violent weather....as I said to my son about twenty minutes ago, " That Russian artillery is getting a bit close for comfort!" The dog is following my wife around with his ears flat on his head....not a fan of thunder and lightning !
DeleteGreat looking game Keith and sounds like you all had lots of fun.
ReplyDeleteI hope the weather clears up for you all over there. It has been a very wet summer over here as well.
Thanks Ben, yes, this flooding is much more familiar to us on your side of the Tazzy!
DeleteA nice looking little encounter 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt....they would work quite well for your Seelowe campaign too, but with maybe even smaller scale actions that what you have been doing!
DeleteThat was a fun scenario to follow and looked fun to play too! Might go check that Littlewars video out in a bit.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dai, yes we certainly had fun, although John felt bad about leaving that one guy behind for the Germans to capture!
DeleteHe was the "rear guard". Rarely expected to make it, but everyone's thankful that soldiers like him were voluntold to remain behind so that the majority could escape. Poor ol' Joe.
DeleteLol...nice narrative!
Delete