Sunday, May 14, 2017

Return to DBA . yep, it's been a while

It has been quite a while since i last played DBA (I haven't played a game since well before DBA3.0 came out. In essence, I went off the the game. However I grabbed the opportunity to try some games at Keith's place the the week. Here are just a few shots from the three games we each played.
I played two games with the Spanish, and one with the Early Mycenaeans.







No drawn out AARs ... just the simple observation that I may have rekindled my enjoyment of these games. More games would seem to be in order if I can carve the time out of my busy work weeks.

Fleshing out the Firefight rules tests.

Another go at Firefight, the skirmish level sci fi game from mantic (and their answer to GW's 40K game). This time we upped the size to 1500 points, and added in a vehicle, some walkers, a flyer, and the use of orders to see how the game played.

Andy took the Marauders, and I took the GCPS. The mission was 'Violent encounter'. VPs are accumulated for each 5% of the enemy's strength destroyed.


The initial set-up, with Marauders on the left, GCPS on the right.

GCPS Marines rushed forward into fortified ruins to claim an objective.

Similarly a unit of Goran auxiliaries did the same

Things evolving on the GCPS left - a unit of Orc commandoes backed up with 2 units of Goblin snipers. Marines backed by autocannon and Striders thinking about being aggressive

The other orc commando unit tried to be a bit sneaky, pushing towards the Marines ensconced in the fortified ruins

Andy pushed his missile armed raptor vehicle around the Marines' right flank

Marines in the centre rained fire down on a unit of snipers, eliminating the entire unit (it had been deployed in the forest area at the top of the photo( .. not a lot of resilience there

Suppressions accumulating all across the battlefield

A unit of Marines try to move forward to take the initiative on their left, backed by the fire support of a unit of autocannons, and two striders

However the defensive fire of the commandoes on the hill, equipped with two flamers, caused devastating casualties
 This unit had been nominated under secondary objectives as a 'meat shield'. This meant that their loss did not give VPs to the enemy.

Air support arrives for the GCPS


And another air strike ...

Only the sergeant survives from the Marines on the left, and the commandoes opposing them have taken serious fire, with quite a few suppressions

The GCPS fire support platoon equipped with laser cannons is eliminated after coming after serious sniper fire

More air strikes...
At this stage we realise that the special ability of each side's commander meant that units within 12" can't be Grounded. However both sides have several units grounded at this stage, unable to shake off sufficient suppressions. This proves to be crippling for both sides. The Marauders however still have a unit of Goran auxiliaries, and several units of Goblin snipers very much intact and able to take the initiative on the battlefield.

Secondary objectives included the Marauders gaining 3 VP if their commander is alive at the end of the game. For the GCPS 1 VP was gained for each time an order was rolled for and the number of successes exceeded the number required.

The Marauders were ahead by 1 VP.. a minor victory, and so GCPS pulled back for the night.

I was surprised at how quickly units became grounded. We tended to stick to the terrain, and so I was also surprised at how little manoeuvre there was as a result. It may of course be because we haven't mastered the nuances of the rules yet.

Looking forward to another game at some stage.

War of the Austrian Succession scenario ..

Adrian and I took the afternoon to play a War of the Austrian Succession game, using his 15mm armies and scenery...   it's too gorgeous ...