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Subject: Fort Worth Gamers: gaming session 11/04/17
From: Michael Ward <mward258@gmail.com>
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Saturday, 11/04/17 2 to 8 PM at Y2Komics, in southwest Fort Worth, TX.

This was another of our irregularly scheduled weekend sessions. We had two gamers at one table this afternoon.

First up, Duane's Memoir '44.

Scenario #13 Arnhem Bridge (Sept. 17-19, 1944)
Game #1 - Duane took the attacking German forces, while I commanded the defending British paratroops holding the city. The two main features of this battle are the three span bridge across the Rhine river and the woods in the German rear lines. Both of which severely restrict German movement, forcing them to attack in small packets. Also adding to the German's headache is the fact their force is armor heavy (the 9th SS Panzer Division). A poor choice to attack infantry hiding in town hexes. So my experience playing this scenario in
the past is... the German always lose horribly. Today was no different.

My Red Devils pretty much sat and waited for the Nazis to cross the bridge. When they did, in irregular intervals, in 1's and 2's, I cut them to pieces. Duane's Germans did inflict some damage. But it was easily shrugged off.

Scores: Michael W / British 5, Duane / Germans 1. Duration: 35 minutes.


Game #2 - The same scenario, after turning the board around. On turn one Duane used the Air Power card and decimated four of my units on the board edge with no retreat path. Even so, I pressed forward and soon began shoving units across
the Arnhem bridge. Duane's Brits either retreated them back across the bridge or cut them up. For by the time I'd moved 3-4 units across the bridge Duane had
massed his paratroops in the center and destroyed almost my whole attack force.

Scores: Duane / British 6, Michael W / Germans 2. Duration: 39 minutes.


Scenario #16 Saverne Gap, Vosges (Sept. 19-21, 1944)
Game #3 - The main feature of the battlefield was two sets of impassable hills.
These basically cut the battlefield into three separate areas (left, center, and right) that can't support each other. The scenario has a sudden death victory condition that may end things early; if two Allied units take two of the three hexes of the town of Severne on the German's baseline.

My initial hand of cards was left flank heavy. So my initial thrust was there, with three armor, very weakly supported by three infantry. Soon my infantry was
left far behind as my lead tanks outpaced them. As there were only two German units on that flank I quickly drew adjacent to them with my tanks' superior mobility and destroyed them, using armored overrun. Then I headed towards Severne. Luckily my left flank cards ran out about the same time my tanks crossed into the center section of the board. The attack I was most proud of was eliminating both Duane's artillery pieces in his lone battery by rolling two dice and them both coming up "grenade". I think there's only a 1/12 chance of doing that.

The action then heated up on my right flank. I pushed three armor and one infantry forward there and killed two German infantry. Game over. I never bothered to assault the German barbed wire in the center, in front of the bulk of my infantry.

Scores: Michael W / Free French & US 5, Duane / Germans 2. Duration: 22 minutes.


Game #4 - The same scenario, after turning the board around. Now Duane commanded the attacking Free French and US forces. His infantry did a "hey diddle-diddle, straight up the middle" play. Once they were ensnared in my three barbed wire obstacles I poured fire down on them with a panzer unit, my artillery battery, and two infantry. By the time the Allies had cleared the wire the units doing so had been cut to pieces.

The action then shifted to the flanks for a while. On my left the Allies moved forward meekly. I took pot shots at them with one infantry they couldn't seem to dislodge from a town and/or get past. On my right I used my lone panzer unit
(that began on my base line) to move *far* forward and brazenly attack three Free French tank units. My tankers must have eaten their Wheaties that morning,
as I used that one unit to destroy all three Allied armored units, often via Armored Overrun. I then polished off one more enemy infantry in the center to end the battle.

Scores: Michael W / Germans 5, Duane / Free French & US 1. Duration: 17 minutes.


Scenario #12 Montelimar (August 25, 1944)
Game #5- This scenario also had some impassible hills on one flank. There were two one-hex towns the Germans could claim for a VP each. The Americans could gain one VP for getting a unit adjacent to the Rhone river. The German attack force had some very good units (panzer grenadiers) but the rest of their infantry were weak/brittle (only three figurines each). They did have four panzer units. We each had an artillery battery.

Duane ran the attacking German side, while I commanded the defending Americans.
I'm sure this was due to being dealt poor cards, but Duane's attacks were piecemeal the whole game. While I had several good cards. This allowed me to concentrate on his scattered units and finish them off, as opposed to merely damaging them. The other thing that occurred in most of the games today, my dice were hot about 75% of the time. I aggressively moved my center units forward and chopped up the Germans in that sector. Duane took the VP town on my
left, but I took it back the next turn. Yet how I did it was quite annoying to
Duane. He'd reduced my lone infantry unit guarding the town to one figurine.
attacked with it, rolled a retreat flag, pushing the German infantry out of the town, then my lone figurine "took ground" reoccupying the town. And that lone figurine managed to stay there the rest of the game, despite a panzer firing at him now and then.

Duane's forces approached the other VP town, but never drew adjacent. For when they got close I rushed forward in the center and got a unit adjacent to the Rhone for one more VP. Game over. I never lost a whole unit!

Scores: Michael W / Americans 6, Duane / Germans 0. Duration: 20 minutes.


Game #6 - The same scenario, after turning the board around. Now Duane commanded the Americans, and I the Germans. Due to the cards I began with, plus
most of the ones I got later, I spent 90% of my efforts in the center. The battle raged for a long while in the center five hill complex. I took some losses, but Duane's were twice as heavy. I never bothered to approach either VP
town on the flanks. I just kept hammering the Americans in the center.. This game took twice as long as the last one, as our dice rolling had gone cold mid-game. Yet near the end mine heated up and I prevailed. Duane never got a unit anywhere near the Rhone.

Scores: Michael W / Germans 7, Duane / Americans 4. Duration: 42 minutes.



Scenario #2 Sainte Mere-Eglise (June 6, 1944)
Game # 7 - Duane commanded the sleepy Germans roused from their billets when American paratroopers landed nearby. Their initial set up was a group of 4-5 units on each rear flank, and a lone infantry unit in the town of Sainte Mere-Eglise in the center of the board. This scenario is unique, as it calls for a paradrop. So I held four infantry figurines mid-board, about 12" above the board, and let them fall. Luckily all four landed safely (one right in the town!). So they were fleshed out with enough figurines to make them whole units. As to my other units already on the board, most began moving towards the
town. Meanwhile Duane's two flank forces also moved towards Sainte Mere-Eglise.

Our forces both drew near the town at about the same time. By this time I'd invested two of my infantry in nearby hedgerow/bocage terrain. Duane's attacks were well thought out, but the dice failed him more times than average.. Conversely, my dice were on fire. Soon I had occupied all three hexes of Saint Mere-Eglise, and awaited the German onslaught. It came on piecemeal and I cut it to pieces.

Scores: Michael W / Americans 4, Duane / Germans 1. Duration: 29 minutes.


Game #8 - The same scenario, after turning the board around. Now Duane commanded the Americans, and I the Germans. During his paradrop one figurine landed in a hex with another unit and was removed. So only three of his four bonus units landed safely. Duane was very aggressive with his paratroops. He captured all of Sainte Mere-Eglise quicker than I had. That was the good part. But then he sort of ran out of gas after that. This allowed me to nickel and dime him to death on the flanks. I slowly crept forward, using woods and small towns for cover. I never did come adjacent to Saint Mere-Eglise (nor did I want
to, it was too strong!). So I kept nibbling on his other units not in the town. Eventually I killed enough to win. This was mainly due to too many Americans sitting out in the open and/or being too aggressive.. Then there was my dice mojo. On the penultimate turn I played a card that allowed me to add one die to my attacks. I had my lone panzer unit throw four dice at a full strength American paratroop unit three hexes away. And.... killed all four figurines. Damn! Duane exclaimed.

Scores: Michael W / Germans 4, Duane / Americans 2. Duration: 30 minutes.



Next up my Mancala.
Game #1 - We used the standard rules.
Scores: Michael W 24, Duane 22. Duration: 8 minutes.

Game #2 - Using the Egyptian rules.
Scores: Michael W 24, Duane 24. A tie. Duration: 8 minutes.

Game #3 - Using the Egyptian rules.
Scores: Michael W 29, Duane 19. Duration: 5 minutes.




See BoardgameGeek http://www.boardgamegeek.com/ for more information on the games mentioned above. And if you're in the area on a Tuesday night feel
free to join us for a game.

--
Michael Ward
Fort Worth Gamers
And check out our MeetUp page http://www.meetup.com/FortWorthGamers/ .
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