Rematch of the Battle of the Tombs (Dōmyōji - 1615)

This battle report covers my second game of the Battle of the Tombs (Dōmyōji - 1615) remotely hosted by Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal. In our first game from a few weeks ago (battle report found here) I commanded the Tokugawa forces, who were the historical victors. This time, we were switching sides and I would be leading the Osaka army.

If you've been following Jon's blog, you will know he has hosted this game several times with different wargamers. With the exception of one recent game, the Tokugawa army has been victorious every time. They do begin with the advantage of having an extra cavalry unit, and cavalry can be particularly powerful in these rules.

The game's objective is to reduce your opponent's army resolve, which can be achieved by:

• Destroying enemy units.
• Successfully pursuing after combat.
• Killing enemy leaders.

Additional resolve points can also be gained at the end of the game by controlling the tombs, making them potentially decisive in a closely fought battle.

The Rules

The game uses Jon's Samurai adaptation of the Basic Impetus rules. A few key features of the rules are worth noting:

• Successful charges, followed by pursuit, can wreak havoc on an army's battle line.
• Manoeuvring units is difficult and slow unless they are advancing or falling back (and disorganised units cannot fall back)
• The first activation is determined by a dice roll, while subsequent clan activations are decided by drawing coloured dice from a bag. Winning the initial activation can provide valuable attacking opportunities.
• Even when defending, you need to be prepared to counterattack and make full use of a unit's impetus bonus when charging.

The Plan

With these rule features in mind, my plan for the Osaka army was to refuse my right flank, withdrawing it slightly while repositioning my lone cavalry unit towards the centre, where it could hopefully launch a decisive counterattack. On the left flank, I intended to attack quickly in an attempt to disrupt the Tokugawa centre.

The starting positions with my planned opening moves in solid red arrows, and counter attacks in dotted red arrows. The original photo is from Jon's briefing pack. 

So, did the plan work?

Battle Report

Following a general advance by Jon's Tokugawa forces, I stuck to my plan and launched an attack with the Osaka left flank. The results were mixed. A Samurai unit was driven back after a bloody clash, but this opened the way for an Ashigaru unit to charge forward. They destroyed an enemy unit and successfully pursued twice before becoming isolated behind the enemy line, at which point they were swiftly cut down by the Tokugawa cavalry. 

Meanwhile, on my right flank, my lone cavalry unit continued its slow redeployment towards the centre.

The Tokugawa army advances and Osaka launches an attack from its left flank.

A unit of Teppo near the right-hand tombs inflicted damage on its Tokugawa counterpart, only to be charged and destroyed by Jon's second cavalry unit.

The Tokugawa army mops up the Osaka attacks.

After the initial charges on my left flank, Jon successfully reorganised his army and resumed an ordered advance. In the centre, I formed a defensive line. While Tokugawa's cavalry completed their destruction of my Samurai on the left flank. From that point on, my only real option there was to harass nearby enemy units with my archers positioned near the left-hand tomb.

A controlled retirement by Osaka units while archers harassed the enemy on the left flank. 

I was feeling a little bit apprehensive at this point in the game with my left flank all but lost. Although my right flank was still intact and my cavalry were yet to be committed.

Having initially fallen back, my right flank finally saw an opportunity to launch a counterattack (my only opportunity to attack). A unit of foot Samurai charged and destroyed one enemy unit and then drove back an Ashigaru unit. Unfortunately they were unable to follow up and finish the job. In the centre the Tokugawa continued to advance forcing back some of my units.

Tokugawa forces push forward in the centre and on their right flank with their cavalry.

My centre was now the focus and after initially giving ground they charged, lead by the cavalry, they forced back the Tokugawa line. Although one of my Ashigaru units was forced to retreat during the fighting. On the right, the foot Samurai charged again, this time destroying the remaining Tokugawa unit on that flank. 

The Tokugawa cavalry, having pursued so aggressively after destroying my Samurai, found themselves isolated and unable to influence the battle while they regrouped and turned back towards the fighting.

Tokugawa cavalry continue their pursuit, while the Osaka centre and right flank attack.

Sensing an opportunity, my centre attacked once more. This second assault destroyed another Ashigaru unit and drove back the remaining Tokugawa cavalry. These accumulated losses were enough to break the Tokugawa army's resolve, handing victory to the Osaka forces.

A final charge by the remaining Osaka units breaks the Tokugawa army resolve.

After game thoughts...

As much as I would like to say that everything went to plan, fortune certainly played its part in Osaka's victory. I won the initiative more often than Jon, allowing me to launch several timely counterattacks. Just as importantly, there were at least three occasions during the game when I rolled exceptionally well, resulting in Tokugawa units being either destroyed or badly mauled. By contrast, I cannot recall Jon enjoying the same run of good fortune. While the plan gave me opportunities, fate and the dice undoubtedly smiled on the Osaka army this time.

Here is a short poem of the battle. I did seek assistance from ChatGPT to help write this...

Beside the silent ancient tombs,

Where honour is echoed in the bones,

Banners met in clash and cry,

As arrows and smoke darkened the sky.

The battle swayed from hope to fear,

Each charge drew victory ever near.

The Tokugawa's strength gave way,

As Osaka seized the closing day.

The tombs looked on, unmoved by fame,

They cared not who would win the game.

For dust returns to dust once more—

Yet honour lives through battle's lore.

Next…

My next post will be a battle report from my Battle of Britain campaign. I opted to write about this game first as I have more notes on the Battle of Britain game to help me recall the events.

Remote game report and some board game fun

A few face-to-face board games and a remote wargame over the past week has meant I done very well on the gaming side of the hobby.

I will start with the remote game against Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal. The scenario was the Battle of Domyoji, 1615, focusing on the fighting among the tombs between the Osaka and Tokugawa armies. I chose to command the Tokugawa army for no particular reason other than the tabletop photograph in Jon's briefing notes was taken from the Tokugawa side of the table, making it much easier to orient myself.

A photograph from Jon's briefing notes. The layout is based upon a scenario from Samurai Battles game.

For the game we used Jon's modified version of the Basic Impetus rules, which have been adapted for the Sengoku period and played on a hex grid. I had played these rules with Jon a couple of years ago and remembered two key things about the rules:

1. Turning (or pivoting) units is a very slow business and also causes unit disruption.
2. Charges can have dramatic consequences. A defeated unit that retires can be pursued, and if it is forced to retreat two hexes (representing a rout), it turns to face away from the victorious unit, leaving it in a very vulnerable position (especially with point 1).

Victory points would be awarded for controlling a tomb area without enemy units nearby, while each army also had an army break point—12 for Osaka and 15 for Tokugawa. Points were lost for any destroyed units, killed leaders, and successful enemy pursuits. In addition, after Turn 8 the Osaka army could score victory points by exiting units from its own table edge. This meant the Tokugawa army had little choice but to close with the enemy quickly and prevent Osaka from slipping away.

Battle Report

With the need to engage the Osaka army quickly, the Tokugawa line pushed forward on both flanks during the opening turn, advancing around both tombs in an attempt to bring the enemy to battle early before they could begin withdrawing.

Turn 1 - The Tokugawa army advances.

The second turn began exceptionally well for the Tokugawa army. On the left flank, Masamune led a determined assault that, with his cavalry, routed the opposing units through a series of successful combats and pursuits. In the process, the Osaka commander Kitigawa was killed. This all dealt a significant blow to the enemy resolve. Off the back of this success, the Tokugawa cavalry moved around the tombs and woodland to threaten the rear of the Osaka army.

Elsewhere, however, the battle proved far more problematic. The centre and right continued their advance but made little headway. The Osaka forces responded with a series of well-timed counter-attacks that left many of the Tokugawa centre and right flank units scattered as they were forced to retire.

Turn 2 - The Tokugawa centre and right flank are under pressure.

By the third turn, the victorious left flank was regrouping and manoeuvring into position for a flank attack. Meanwhile, the situation in the centre and on the right had become increasingly desperate as more units retired or fled. As the units attempted to rally, Tadamasa led his samurai cavalry in a charge to slow the Osaka advance. The attack inflicted some welcome damage on the enemy, but the cavalry were soon met and checked by the Osaka samurai cavalry.

Turn 3 - Cavalry to the rescue.

Turn four proved decisive. The Tokugawa left flank continued its advance, increasing the threat on the Osaka flank. When an Osaka cavalry charge was repulsed, Tadamasa immediately launched a successful pursuit. The cumulative losses finally pushed the Osaka army beyond its break point, shattering its resolve and bringing the battle to a close and a Tokugawa victory.

Turn 4 - A decisive pursuit cause the Osaka army to break.

Game Summary

The game took around two hours to finish and was most enjoyable to play. Even though the game only had four turns, the turns are broken up by drawing different coloured dice to randomly determine the order of activation of the battle groups (Sonae).

Victory points were awarded for controlling the tomb hexes. In the end, each side held one tomb, so these points effectively cancelled each other out, leaving the result to be decided by losses inflicted on the opposing army.

The cavalry proved to be the decisive throughout the battle. The Tokugawa horse dominated the left flank early on, creating the opportunity to threaten the Osaka rear. Later, Tadamasa's timely charges in the centre helped stabilise a collapsing centre and right flank. Without Tadamasa's successful attacks, Jon's counter-attack could easily have routed several more Tokugawa units and swung the battle in Osaka's favour.

Thank you to Jon for hosting a fun and exciting game. We hope to play this battle again, this time switching sides.

Board Games

A week earlier, my daughter visited for a day of gaming, and we managed to fit in three different board games. We started with the co-operative game Zombicide, where, despite being chased by the undead, our entire team managed to get all their objectives and escape alive.

Setting up Zombicide game.

I have painted up all the figures that come with the game.

Our second game was another co-operative game called The Captain is Dead. This is becoming one of our favourites. In the game you play as the crew of a spaceship under attack by aliens. The objective is to repair the ship's critical systems and get the ship's drive back online before being overwhelmed by aliens and failing systems. We played two games, with one victory and one defeat.

This game was a Christmas Present.

There is quite a lot to set up in the game.

We finished the day with a game of Space Hulk. I was commanding the Space Marines and I  unfortunately failed to complete the mission. I really should get around to painting the miniatures that come with the game.

Space Hulk game in progress.

A wonderful day spent with my daughter. My next post will cover my painting progress on the Zulu and British infantry units.

Painting Zulus and a remote Air Wargame

Painting-wise, it has been all about painting the Zulus. Last week I was able to complete 60 figures, and I currently have another 60 sitting halfway done on my painting desk. All the Zulus are plastic HaT 20mm miniatures. I am hoping to keep the momentum going for as long as possible by painting steadily until I hit that inevitable point of not wanting to paint another Zulu. When that happens, as it inevitably will, I will switch to something different for a change, then hopefully return to painting the Zulus refreshed.

In terms of basing, I have settled on 4 x 3 inch bases and have 12 figures per base. This gives a nice dense look to the unit, while still leaving enough space around the figures so I can apply glue and flocking without too much difficulty.

The first batch of Zulus completed.

The Zulus are mounted on 4x3 inch bases. 12 figures per base.

On the gaming front, I have returned to air wargaming using the Blood Red Skies rules by Warlord Games. This was a project I started earlier this year with Airfix’s Battle of Britain set which came with the basic Blood Red Skies rules. The boxed set came with 2 Messerschmitts and Spitfires in 1:72 scale and I have added some additional models to add variety, Hurricanes and German Bombers (see here). They are all mounted on telescopic rods so I can vary heights to show when aircraft are Advantaged, Neutral, or Disadvantaged as per the rules.

Yesterday I played a remote game with Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal. To make remote play easier I have adapted the rules to use a hex grid, as free movement and the associated measuring and shooting angles can be problematic when gaming remotely.

The setup for remote gaming.

My remote gaming setup is fairly simple, a mobile phone mounted on a tripod using Google Meet. For this game I added a backdrop sheet to prevent the models from getting visually lost against my wall of shelves with their clutter of boxes and containers.

As Jon was new to the rules, and it had only been a few weeks since my last game, we started with a small action with one aircraft each. Jon opted for the Messerschmitt and I had a Spitfire. There is no action report this time, partly due to me not taking nearly enough photos during the game, but also because an air combat game is really difficult to describe. Unlike land battles, where you can write about and take photos of flanking manoeuvres and centres holding firm, it is difficult to describe dogfights that have the aircraft zooming around the tabletop shooting at any enemy targets that end up in your aircraft sights. I will have to think more about how best to describe the games as I am planning a small air campaign.

A dogfight in progress as viewed from the mounted mobile phone.

Early on in the game Jon managed to get his Messerschmitt into more advantageous positions to line up more shots overall, but luck was not on his side with his dice rolls letting him down. On those occasions when he did roll well and landed a possible hit, my pilot proved elusive and successfully dodged incoming fire. With both our aircraft struggling to land any decisive hits, we introduced additional aircraft to escalate the engagement. Jon had a second Messerschmitt, while I added a Boulton Paul Defiant (a recent purchase I that I could not resist getting on to the tabletop) with its distinctive turret guns.

The extra aircraft came with veteran pilots and soon increased the intensity of the game, creating more firing opportunities. It was not long before Jon managed to get on the tail of my Spitfire, and this time, his shooting found its mark and I was unable to dodge. My Spitfire went down in flames and that was the game.

A Spitfire getting shot down.

Thank you to Jon for a most enjoyable game. By the end of the game we had both got to grips with the rules and many of its nuances and our aircraft rule traits. Hopefully I will be able to remember the game's nuances the next time I play! 

Currently reading.

I am planning to setup a short air campaign over the next couple of weeks, and I hope to post the campaign rules in my next blog post. With any luck, my current reading "The Most Dangerous Enemy" by Stephen Bungay will provide plenty of inspiration and ideas.

Remote Napoleonic Naval Wargame

Since returning from holiday a coupe of days ago, my wargaming has been limited to a remote Napoleonic Naval game session with Jon from the Palouse Wargaming Journal blog which I hosted. We were testing a set of home-brew rules that uses a hex grid and playing cards (see here). The system plays quickly and we were able to play three games in about ninety minutes.

The first game involved two patrolling ships crossing paths, a straightforward engagement to familiarise ourselves with the rules. 

A photo of the first game as the patrolling ships exchange broadsides.

The second game was a three-to-one situation, with a lone ship attempting to breakthrough a blockade. This game proved to be rather one-sided, with the blockade runner quickly being contained and forced to strike its colours.

The blockade runner is contained and forced to strike its colours. All the ships are made from MDF and card, and any detail painted on.

The final game saw Jon and I each commanding a squadron of three ships, both seeking battle. This game proved to be quite a tussle with Jon eventually delivering a British victory.

The British squadron in line opens fire.

First blood to the British, but the French are about to even things up.

The British squadron maintains their formation and prepare to reengage.

The British gunnery eventually wins. 

Well done to Jon who was the overall winner with two out of three victories. Afterward, we chatted about the rules, particularly the “in irons” mechanic, which had previously required drawing a red suit to be able to turn, and also the wind-direction rule, where spades or clubs would alter the wind one point counter-clockwise or clockwise respectively. This made the wind far too changeable. 

This has resulted in the revision of both rules:

• Ships “in irons” can now always turn.
• Wind direction: If a spade is drawn, the wind shifts one point. Then draw a second card to determine direction:
• Spades or Clubs: wind shifts one point clockwise
• Hearts or Diamonds: wind shifts one point counter-clockwise

The next day, Jon emailed some suggestions for changes to the initiative that would better reflect the advantage of a player securing the "weather gauge" and positioning their fleet upwind of the enemy. I have not incorporated this change into the rules yet, but I intend to test the initiative mechanism in the coming days. 

The proposed rule change would have a card drawn to determine initiative. If the card's suit matches a player’s chosen colour (red or black), that player becomes Player A, and the other Player B. Movement then proceeds in this order:

1. Player A moves any ships “in irons”
2. Player B moves any ships “in irons”
3. Player A moves any “close-hauled” ships
4. Player B moves any “close-hauled” ships
5. Player A moves ships “running with the wind”
6. Player B moves ships “running with the wind”

Note - with simultaneous shooting the advantage generally favours the player moving second (Player B).

All ships must make one action in their movement phase unless they are “in irons”, where they can choose to remain stationary.

More information on the making of the ships can be found here.

Battle of Quistello 1734 - a remote game and some quick map making

This past week I played a most enjoyable remote wargame hosted by Jon of the Palouse Wargaming Journal. The scenario was the Battle of Quistello, 1734, set during the War of the Polish Succession. In the battle, Austrian forces carry out a night march, crossing the Secchia River, and launch a surprise attack on the Franco-Sardinian positions. 

While the battle is very one-sided, as the Austrians catch the French-Piedmontese force by surprise, the scenario has various victory conditions to make it an interesting game.

A photograph from the game (provided by Jon)

Jon provided an excellent briefing document that included the battle’s background, a summary of the battle, full orders of battle, photographs of the tabletop and initial deployments, as well as the scenario victory conditions.

A photograph of the tabletop from the briefing document.

A photograph of the initial deployment from the briefing document.

Jon has run this game several times in recent weeks with other bloggers, and there have already been a number of battle reports posted. So I decided to approach this game report a little differently, mainly because I took very few screenshots during the game as I was so engaged in the game I simply forgot. So after the game, I set about drawing a map and creating counters to represent the forces, so I could show the flow of the battle as it unfolded using the map.

The battlefield map.

The map measures 5 by 4 inches and was based on a photo of the tabletop. I first sketched in the roads, rivers, and canal, then added a few trees and the French encampments. Once drawn, I lightly rubbed a mid-brown pastel across the surface and smudged it to give the map some texture and make it look less stark.

Starting positions.

The map with the counters above, shows the Austrian positions as they prepare to launch their attack after an overnight march. The counters were first drawn, coloured in with pens, then pasted onto card, and finally cut out once the glue had dried.

Game Report…

In the opening moves, the Austrian infantry bypass Quistello and its garrison, cross the Secchia River, and attack the first unsuspecting French encampment.

The Austrians pressed their advantage against the surprised French, while their cavalry moved against the isolated French garrison in Quistello.

The first French encampment is overrun, and its troops fall back. Austrian forces begin to take up positions along the canal, while further to the rear the Quistello garrison is routed. Eventually, the French do manage to reorganise and advance their cavalry from the second encampment.

Finally, the French-Piedmontese forces positioned near the Po River engage the advancing Austrians along the canal, while cavalry clashes occur on the flank near the village of Mirasole.

The Piedmontese infantry launch a counterattack, while Austrian cavalry continue their melee on the right flank. On the left, the French are steadily giving ground.

On the right the Austrian cavalry turn the French-Piedmontese flank and an Austrian victory is assured.

End of Game…

The game was called on turn 7, around the point when the Austrians had broken three of the French-Piedmontese brigades and had also turned their flank near the Po River. While the account may seem one-sided, the Austrians had still suffered casualties, one brigade was broken, and a second was on the verge of collapse. The Austrians gained significant momentum in the opening turns, catching the French completely by surprise, and preferred to take casualties to maintain that early momentum. It was not until mid-game that the Piedmontese infantry began to engage fully, that the Austrian momentum began to slow down.

Next Game…

I was thinking after using the map and counters to describe the game, whether it would be possible to scale down the game to a more compact One-Hour Wargaming style scenario using around 9 units per side. The remote game was played using 26 Austrian units and 23 French-Piedmontese units, and I am unable to field that many units. For the game I will be using my paper soldiers from the War of the Spanish Succession which are currently set up on the tabletop.

War of the Spanish Succession paper soldiers from the book by Peter Dennis. These figures were enlarged when printing and stand 42mm tall.

Using Jon’s briefing notes as a guide, I set up the tabletop. The Blue force is defending and begins with two infantry units and one artillery unit already deployed. All of Red force’s units enters on turn 1 along the table edge, but must divide into two groups, with half appearing on either side of the road (see point C in the photograph below).

The tabletop set up for the scenario

Order of Battle

Blue Force (Defending)

• 3 Cavalry units
• 1 Dragoon unit
• 1 Artillery unit
• 4 Infantry units

Red Force (Attacking)

• 3 Cavalry units
• 2 Dragoon unit
• 4 Infantry units

Reinforcements

• On turn 3 two blue cavalry units arrive at point A.
• On turn 4 two blue cavalry units arrive at point B.
• On turn 5 two blue infantry units arrive at point B.

Victory Conditions

The objective is to occupy the farm and the two villages. Controlling all three counts as a major victory, while holding two is a minor victory.

I plan to play this game solo a few times, which may result in some changes to my scaled-down scenario. I will do a battle report of the last game along with any changes in my next post. 

Preparing for a remote ECW siege game

This week I am preparing for a remote siege game with Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal. Something I am very much looking forward to after spending most of last week incapacitated due to a bad back that left me floored, quite literally. We will be using the “Siege Works” rules by Solo Wargames, available on WargameVault. They are a paper and pen game that I have adapted for use on the tabletop where the besieging player gradually constructs parallels and trenches, and positions batteries. While having various disruptions, such as sorties and disease among the troops, slowing them down.

An example of the tabletop.

The game is essentially a resource-management challenge. Where the besieger must allocate their scarce, and sometimes dwindling, resources to quickly build their parallels, trenches, and gun batteries so they can breach the walls and launch an assault on the fortified town before a relief force arrives.

The besieged have prepared the fortified town.

The original rules are set in the Napoleonic era, but I will use them for an English Civil War siege of a fortified town. In preparation for the game, I laid out the all the trenches on the tabletop and measured them to get the starting position of the first parallel. 

The parallels and trenches are built using six-inch segments with some restrictions. For example, the first parallel must be 30 inches long before the attacker can advance the zig-zag trenches and begin the second parallel which must be 24 inches long and starts 12 inches closer to the fort. Each gun battery will require 12 inches (two lengths) of parallel to be constructed before they can be established. 

There will be room on the tabletop for an artillery park.

The zig-zag trenches are brown felt cut into strips and the parallels are made from wooded dowel with a fly-wire repair kit wrapped around them for a wicker effect.

A close up view of the parallel lengths.

While I have tried to get as many siege activities as possible onto the tabletop. Tracking of resources off-table is still necessary, especially for remote play where not everything on the tabletop is easily seen. To help handle this a simple resource tracker was drawn up. Nothing fancy, just a series of boxes for placing dice as markers, with a few printed siege drawings pasted on to make it look less boring.

The resource tracker.

So everything is now ready for the remote game.

A remote Star War game

Today I hosted a remote Star Wars game with Jon of Palouse Wargaming Journal using the Squad Hammer Core rules from Nordic Weasel Games. The rules were adapted for use with a 6-inch square grid, which makes gameplay much easier for remote games. 

These skirmish games are relatively quick to play, so we managed to fit in two games, giving each of us the chance to be both attacker and defender.

74-Z Speeder Bikes crash and burn after being surprised by a Rebel unit.

Scenario Background

On the desolate frontier world of Kholaris situated on the outer-rim, lies the mining settlement of Dusthaven. Built around the richest vein of Virelium Crystals in the sector, they are used for stabilizing and extending hyperdrive jumps.

But the people of Dusthaven have had enough of the empire. Overworked, underpaid, and brutalized by the mining corporations, the miners have staged an open revolt. A force of Rebels has joined their cause led by Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, Chewbacca, R2-D2, and C-3PO.

The Empire has responded with force. Darth Vader has been dispatched by the Emperor to crush the rebellion and ensure the crystal mines return to full production. 

Will the spirit of rebellion ignite across Kholaris or be crushed under the heel of the Empire?

Map

The game is played on a tabletop using a 6-inch square grid. While the mat includes dots to mark the corners of each square, these are not easily visible to the remote player. To assist with unit positioning and overall setup, a gridded map was provided, and terrain features such as vegetation and rocks were carefully placed at square corners to make the grid more apparent for the remote player.

A map with the grid was provided to help with positioning of units.

A regimented layout of rocks and vegetation helps to define the squares. 

Built-up and rocky squares provide cover to any units occupying them, while units on hill squares are able to extend shooting ranges. Up to two units may be "stacked" in a single square. 

All movement and shooting ranges can be measured diagonally.

Order of Battle

Rebels

All Rebel units begin the game positioned on the tabletop. They must be positioned in a building or hill squares.

• Han Solo and Chewbacca (Hero unit)
• Luke Skywalker, R2-D2 and C-3PO (Hero unit)
• Swoop Bikers
• 1.4 FD Laser Cannon Team
• 2 x Rebel Troopers
• Rebel Sleeper Cell

Empire

All Empire units begin the game along the southernmost row of squares on the tabletop.

• 2 x Stormtroopers
• Dewback Rider
• AT-RT walker
• 74-Z Speeder Bikes
• Riot Control Squad
• Darth Vader (Villain unit)

I also had provided a list of all units and their stats for movement, combat, and shooting to help keep things running smoothly.

Victory conditions

Reducing the opposition to 2 or less units.

Game Reports

These games tend to move along at a quick pace, and between hosting and the fast gameplay, I did not manage to take many photos. So instead, I have written up a report of the game and included any photos that were available after the report.

Game 1 - Peter as the Empire and Jon as the Rebels

As the first Imperial units appeared on the southern approaches to Dushaven,  the Rebels had already taken up strong positions. A squad equipped with a Z-6 rotary blaster manned the high ground west of the town, while the 1.4 FD laser cannon team was dug in on the eastern ridge. The remaining Rebel troops were scattered in prepared positions behind makeshift barricades throughout Dusthaven.

Imperial forces opened fire from a distance. An AT-RT walker and a pair of 74-Z speeder bikes strafed the hills in an attempt to dislodge the Rebel positions. But the Rebels held firm, both well-prepared and well-positioned. The walker was destroyed by some precise shooting from the FD laser cannon, and the speeder bikes took minor damage from the Z-6 rotary blaster before disengaging.

Rather than wasting time on the flanks, the Imperials pushed directly towards Dusthaven. Under cover of suppressive fire, Stormtroopers advanced and eliminated the Rebel sleeper cell. However, the Rebels quickly responded and brought down the speeder bikes, which crashed in a fiery explosion.

The Imperial assault intensified. Darth Vader, supported by a riot control squad of Stormtroopers, charged the barricades. But the defenders were ready. Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Chewbacca emerged to meet the attack head-on. The clash was fierce, blaster shots flew and lightsabers clashed. Long-range fire from the hills continued to pour in and Darth Vader fell wounded, forced to withdraw from the battlefield. The riot troopers were not so lucky, they were cut down in a storm of blaster fire.

In a final desperate effort, a Dewback rider crashed through the barricades, scattering Han, Chewbacca, and a Rebel squad deeper into the town. But Luke stood firm. Supported again by covering fire from the hills, he confronted the beast and brought it down in close combat.

With their commander gone and losses mounting, the last two Stormtrooper squads pulled back from the ruins of Dusthaven.

A Rebel victory!

The first assault on Dusthaven.

The speeder bikes are destroyed as the Rebels respond.

The final assault by the Dewback rider just before it was cutdown by Luke.

Game 2 - Jon as the Empire and Peter as the Rebels

After their earlier victory, the Rebels knew it was only a matter of time before the Empire returned.

Darth Vader, recovered from his wounds and determined to crush the uprising, led a renewed assault on the mining town of Dushaven. This time the Empire would not underestimate the Rebels again.

Anticipating the attack, the Rebels maintained their defensive positions. A squad armed with a Z-6 rotary blaster held the high ground west of the town, while the 1.4 FD laser cannon team was once again deployed on the eastern ridge.

The Empire struck first, concentrating their initial attack on the eastern ridge. The 1.4 FD laser cannon and its crew were swiftly eliminated with some precise shooting, clearing a key threat to the Empire advance. With the eastern flank neutralized, Stormtroopers unleashed suppressive fire across the town’s defenses.

Then came the main assault led by Darth Vader himself, supported by the Riot Control squad and the Dewback, The defenders at the barricades fought hard, but the assaults were unrelenting. One by one, the Rebels were pushed back from the barricades.

The AT-RT walker, now occupying the eastern ridge, provided steady covering fire that continued to sap the defenders' strength. In the chaos of battle, Han Solo and Chewbacca were cut down in a withering hail of blaster fire, vanishing into smoke and flame. Only Luke Skywalker remained.

With the barricades breached, Luke stood alone against the Empire's attack. Lightsaber in hand, he fought valiantly to hold the line. But with the last supporting unit eliminated he was forced to retire, and with that the defence of Dusthaven collapsed.

Victory to the Empire!

Setup for the second game.

The AT-RT destroys the laser cannon in the initial strike by the Empire.

The assaults begin on the town.

Wrap Up

Well done to Jon on securing two victories, the Force was definitely with him! Overall, the rules worked well converted to a square grid. However, one area that did not seem to flow as smoothly compared to games using free movement was close combat. When a unit attacks a square occupied by two enemy units. If the attacker wins, they are unable to advance if the square still contains another enemy unit. I will have look into seeing if there is a better way of dealing with assaults.