Friday, 24 December 2021

Trying out the Airfix Battles game

Only a little bit of painting has occurred since the last post and a couple more Samurai bases were completed, and as I look into the boxes containing the remaining unpainted Samurai it would appear I am now two-thirds of the way complete. I certainly have enough painted now for a small one-hour wargames style game.

On wargaming front I was able to try out scenario 1 from the Airfix Battles game. Rather than use the boxed game and counters I opted to setup the tabletop. The rules are fairly straightforward with most of the information is easily at hand on the unit cards and order cards.

First game using scenario 1 to learn the basic rules

I do like the approach the game has used to activate units with Command cards. You are able to hold a number of Command cards in your hand depending upon your leader's capability. For example, a Captain can hold 4 cards and a Major 5 cards. Your leader's rank also determines how many Command cards you can play during your turn.

The Command cards can be used face down to move a unit or have it fire. The preferred option is to use Command cards face up as they provide a variety of extra movement or combat capabilities for units, while other cards provide the ability to interrupt your opponent's activities to shoot or take cover for example.

At the end of a turn player's draw a number of additional cards to refresh their hands.


For a bit of fun I tried the game using some of my Warhammer 40K figures, and I may well progress this further and create some unit cards specifically for the 40K units. The Command cards should be reusable without modification.

12 comments:

  1. Is the card management a block to solo play?

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    Replies
    1. There is a section in the rules covering solo play which I have yet to try.

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  2. Replies
    1. I enjoyed the card activation mechanism and I hope I can transfer it to a 40K SciFi setting.

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  3. That's a neat idea to use 40K figures and the system obviously looks like it could transport across a variety of periods. Being able to be used solo is useful too.

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    Replies
    1. It is about the right size game with a couple of vehicles and 5 or so units.

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  4. Replies
    1. I now need to get a few more games played.

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  5. Great stuff. I always liked the mechanisms and especially the card play in this one. I must look at it in more detail - especially so as my nephew is looking to get into ww2 wargaming. You've reminded me that this game might be an ideal start for him. Having said that, this is a neat design, and not just an intro to wargaming. There are a lot of subtelties and great design in there.

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    1. I have enjoyed the first couple of games and I am now looking forward to trying the armoured vehicles which use an interesting hit mechanism too.

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  6. Interesting; Hadn't heard of this one, although it is outside of the usual boundaries of my interest by period (WW2), the mechanics seem quite intriguing!

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    1. I am looking forward to playing a few more games, WW2 and seeing if SciFi setting works with some made up unit cards.

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