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We had ten gaming fools Tuesday night for card and war gaming.
Dan Dolan came down from the mountains with his Dinant Bridgehead map for ASL. He matched up with Stefan ze Basque to playtest a small 1940 French/German night scenario set in the village of Saint Médard, on the plateau above the town of Dinant itself. This was an all-infantry affair, with both sides seeking to control the village's stone buildings. Both sides may set up in Saint Médard, secretly recording unit locations before play begins. At that point the setups are revealed and co-located enemies begin the game in melee.:strip_icc()/pic1978651.jpg)
The latest from Dolan Labs
The game opened with three close combats, setting the tone for the rest of the scenario. Neither side used many fire attacks, preferring to retain concealment and rely on bayonets and hand grenades instead. Cagey play kept Stefan in the game but Dan's Germans prevailed in the end. Dan will probably add another leader to the French and see how that goes. So far he has several 1940 scenarios covering the two-day battle for the bridgehead, plus a 1944 US/German scenario set during the Bulge. No word yet on a HASL campaign but the potential is there.:strip_icc()/pic1978655.jpg)
Night-fighting above the Meuse
Michael Hershey was in town from Tennessee, so Dr. Rob, Dave, Steve, and I humored his desire for a game of Pax Porfiriana. This was a game of too much good stuff and not enough bad stuff. We were all rolling in cash, but Rob and Dave were richest of all. Michael and I engineered a Depression but it didn't last long enough to have much effect. A Command topple sank without a ripple and with prestige in every suit distributed around the board, it looked like we were headed for a money win. However, I was light in Revolution points so I fomented an uprising on one of Rob's cards. This flipped us into anarchy, but it removed four points of income from Rob and helped shore up our collective defense against a Red topple. Lo and behold, Rob has a Revolution card in hand and a stack of cash. He bought the Catholic Church, played the Red card from his hand, and grabbed the topple for a nicely played Rev win. I thought I was okay because I had the Chee Kung Tong card on the board as insurance, but Rob's double-red play got the job done.:strip_icc()/pic1978657.jpg)
Dr. Rob sees red
Ollie made the trip in as well, with A Game of Thrones: The Card Game in hand. He pulled House Baratheon, while Natus and Sean joined as Targaryen and Stark respectively. Players deploy their forces and personalities in the form of cards to their tableau, and then launch military, political, and intrigue attacks on their neighbors. Successful attacks can 'tap' enemy cards, knock them out of play, reduce hand size, and/or score victory tokens.:strip_icc()/pic1978649.jpg)
A pleading Khaleesi
Sean won the first game pulling away, and was playing well in the second when he had to withdraw due to Valyrian Steel poisoning. Dave took his seat and held his own, though they were unable to finish the second game. The game looks flavorful with each house's deck a good thematic match for its character in the books. It plays long but that may be a necessary trade-off to allow players to develop and operate various military and political engines. I've yet to try it myself but hope to give it a shot next time Oliver makes it in.:strip_icc()/pic1978650.jpg)
Poor Ned Stark is avenged
Next week, more Bobby Lee!
JR
Fun City Gaming
This is a weekly report of our Tuesday night gaming sessions in Chelsea (Manhattan).
AAR 1 April 2014 - Advanced Squad Leader, A Game of Thrones: The Card Game, Pax Porfiriana
04
Apr
2014
- [+] Dice rolls
