Topics

46

General Discussion / [POLL] What do you think of Tabletop Simulator?

« on: February 10, 2022, 05:45:34 pm »

Hi all! Landlubber and I have recently been using Tabletop Simulator (TTS) to play a couple of games. You can find recordings of the Halo Fleet Battles game we played using the program in the Space section. We are both really enjoying the experience, which makes me wonder if anyone else here on the forum uses it to play games. I'd love to get another forum campaign going using TTS!

47

MBS Media / MBS Podcast Episode 62

« on: February 07, 2022, 05:49:28 pm »

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2022/02/07/mbs-podcast-episode-62/

Greg and Andy are joined by regular guest Rob for another review. This time, they are taking a look at Tarawa 1943, a solitare game based on the famous WWII battle by Worthington Publishing.

Links discussed on the show:

https://www.worthingtonpublishing.com/collection/idzl1syo43ys6s15dcvgmz0l8jufwa

48

News and Rumors / Littoral Commander: The Indo-Pacific

« on: February 07, 2022, 04:57:15 pm »

A new game is out from designer Sebastian Bae:

https://dietzfoundation.org/product/littoral-commander-the-indo-pacific-copy/

Littoral Commander: Indo-Pacific (LC) is a 2 to 6-player ‘grand tactical’ wargame which explores the future of warfare. The wargame is designed to be accessible to all levels of players, whether civilian or military, and with no experience with games necessary to play (though it is helpful!). Utilizing a dynamic card-oriented game system, LC offers fast-paced, accessible, and flexible gameplay with plenty of player interaction during turns. LC is not about number-crunching or odds-totaling.  The LC series provides a rich and interactive “intellectual sandbox” for inquisitive minds to explore and engage with the daunting challenges of current and future wartime operations.

The game emphasizes the complex nature of future modern warfare involving air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace forces and is already in use for professional military education with military units across the world.

No Dice No Glory also has a prereview up:

https://nodicenoglory.com/2022/02/07/preview-littoral-commander-a-modern-wargame/

Count me in!

49

MBS Media / MBS Podcast Episode 61

« on: January 30, 2022, 06:46:51 pm »

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2022/01/30/mbs-podcast-episode-61/

Greg and Andy are joined by Rob for Episode 61 as they take alook at the new print-on-demand game Bismarck Solitare, by Worthington Publishing!

https://www.worthingtonpublishing.com/bismarck-solitaire

50

Space Naval Games / Halo Fleet Battles TTS Battle Report Video

« on: January 28, 2022, 06:17:55 pm »

Hi all! Landlubber and I are working our way through a 1500 point game of Halo Fleet Battles on Tabletop Simulator. We have a few goals with this game, including getting a chance to play games together again, re-learing HFB, learning how to work TTS, and most importantly, to have some fun!

Here is the first part of the game:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yc-7b3qjSWM

51

MBS Media / MBS Podcast Episode 60

« on: January 20, 2022, 07:25:48 pm »

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2022/01/21/mbs-podcast-episode-60/

Greg and Andy are back with the first episode of the MBS Podcast in the newer, streamlined format. In this episode, they discuss what they have been painting, playing, and watching over the last month. Then, Andy digs into the MBS Community SITREP, and then they finish off with an overview of some exciting new naval wargaming products.

52

Dystopian Wars / ORBAT Overview: Enlightened

« on: December 21, 2021, 09:11:27 am »

My second DW 3.0 ORBAT overview is up! This time, I take a look at the Enlightened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8JFGE4Oq1zU

53

MBS Media / MBS Podcast 59

« on: December 19, 2021, 05:04:25 pm »

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2021/12/19/mbs-podcast-episode-59/

It's the 6th anniversary of the MBS Podcast, and Greg and Andy are back to discuss all that happened in 2021 and what they are looking forward to in 2022!

Links Discussed in the Show:

https://news.usni.org/2021/10/13/sale-of-last-conventional-supercarriers-deals-final-blow-to-museum-hopes

Georgetown Wargaming Society Presentation on War At Sea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtHMc29u15I

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tripleacegames/ironclads-space-battles-in-the-victorian-aether

http://thed6generation.com/d6g-ep-138-firestorm-armada-2nd-edition-review-naval-mulling-mechanics-my-little-pony-ccg

54

Historical Naval Games / USNWC's War At Sea Game

« on: December 18, 2021, 11:26:03 am »

I had the pleasure to sit in on a Zoom conference hosted by the Georgetown University Wargaming Society where a former professor from the US Naval War College (USNWC) presented an overview of an educational wargame they developed called War At Sea. It's a fascinating look at the mechanics of the game itself, how it is used at the USNWC to educate students, and also has some discussions of the challenges that those who would implement educational games in military academics face. The whole thing is up on YouTube if you are interested in watching it!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtHMc29u15I

55

Dystopian Wars / ORBAT Overview: Union

« on: December 15, 2021, 10:47:00 pm »

I've got a new video up that goes over the Union ORBAT, as it currently stands:

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2021/12/16/dw-3-0-orbat-overview-union/

My goal is to eventually cover all the ORBATs in turn.

56

News and Rumors / [Kickstarter] Ironclads: Space Battles in the Victorian Aetehr

« on: December 14, 2021, 04:37:16 pm »

A new naval game is being kickstarted! The basic premise is that its 1890, the major powers all have space battleships, and it's war!

Note, the campaign is entirely digital; the minis are intended to be 3D printed, and the written materials are provided via PDF. The ship designs themselves are interesting. Very stylized designs with some nice nods to historical 19th century warships, I bet they would work just as well for flying battleship games like Castles in the Sky!





https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tripleacegames/ironclads-space-battles-in-the-victorian-aether/

I personally decided to jump into this one, mainly because the mechanics shown in the intro video look interesting and I've been looking to dip into 3D printing (through a friend that has a printer ).

57

General Discussion / What is a Navy for? - Forward Presence vs. Warfighting

« on: December 04, 2021, 04:21:18 pm »

There has been some interesting back and forth in the National Security blog/FB/Twitter world over the course of the past week. It was kicked off by former Secretary of Defense Robert Work's article for the USNI, entitled A Slavish Devotion to Forward Presence Has Nearly Broken the U.S. Navy, where he argues that the high peacetime operational tempo of the US Navy is negatively impacting the service's ability to successfully fight a major war.

In response, CAPT Bryan McGrath, USN(ret) wrote a lengthy rebuttal on his blog, What is a Navy For? that addresses several issues he has with Mr. Worth's arguments.

Both pieces are well worth reading and are very thought provoking. The kernal of the disagreement can be found in this quote from McGrath:

He takes a relatively common-sense approach that the Navy we have is too small for what we ask of it, and I agree with that view. But he would have us ask less of it, and I would have us build more of it.

58

MBS Media / MBS Podcast Episode 58

« on: November 28, 2021, 05:58:33 pm »

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2021/11/28/mbs-podcast-episode-58/

Greg and Andy are back with the latest episode of the MBS podcast! This time around, after catching everyone up on what they've been doing since the last show, Andy walks Greg through a review of FlickFleet by Eurydice Games!

FlickFleet Reveiw: 41 Min

Links Discussed on the Show:

FlickFleet Website: https://www.eurydicegames.co.uk/games/flickfleet/index.html

Neptune's Inferno: https://www.amazon.com/Neptunes-Inferno-U-S-Navy-Guadalcanal/dp/0553385127

59

MBS Media / MBS Podcast Episode 57

« on: November 07, 2021, 12:57:45 pm »

http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2021/11/07/mbs-podcast-episode-57/

A little later than originally planned, Episode 57 of the Man Battlestations Podcast is here! This time, Greg and Andy are joined by Eric "EasyE" Farrington, a game designer with an upcoming naval combat game being published by Osprey. In a wide-ranging interview, Eric shares his insights and thoughts on game design as well as some details on his new game!

Links discussed in the show:

Castles in the Sky Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/Castles-Sky-Wargame-Battleships-Wargames/dp/1472844963/

Eric's Blog: http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/

Wargame Vault page for Eric's Games: https://www.wargamevault.com/browse/pub/11064/Blood-and-Spectacles-Publishing

Delta Vector Blog: http://deltavector.blogspot.com/

60

Space Naval Games / Battle for Narthra: A BFG Photo Battle Report

« on: October 17, 2021, 05:45:31 pm »

Made this on the My Mini Report app, after getting my first game of BFG in years last Friday: