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Topics - Easy E

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1
Space Naval Games / Hostile Space - Space Mecha Combat Thread
« on: April 23, 2024, 02:55:35 pm »
I figured I would make thread as I will probably have a few games of Hostile Space over the next few months. 



The following is a battle report for my latest game, Hostile Space:

The trading contract for the Freehold of New Arcadia will expire and come up for re-negotiation in the next rotations.  Traditionally, these contracts have been held by corporate interests aligned with the New Olympians, and New Arcadia was considered within the New Olympians sphere of interests.  However, the free hold is located in the Asteroid Belt, which the Earth Alliance views at its territory.   

With the contract set to expire, elements of the Earth Alliance have begun aggressively courting New Arcadia.  They have offered lucrative incentives, and coupled them with veiled threats.  In fact, some smaller trading and prospecting vessels from New Arcadia have gone missing in the region.  The Earth Alliance has cited this as a prime reason to change contracts, as the New Olympians have failed to properly protect and enforce the expiring contract.

The powers that be on NeOlympus have deemed it necessary to reinforce their alliance on New Arcadia.  To this end, they have deployed a patrol ship and a compliment of suits to New Arcadia space.  A Carrier arrived and dropped off just such a ship before continuing on its route.  The New Olympian commander on the scene has pledged to find the cause of the missing prospecting vessels.   

Investigating the last know location of one of these New Arcadian Prospecting ships, the New Olympians had unusual activity on their scopes. The New Olympians engaged the hostiles and drove them off.  Post-battle analysis allowed the New Olympians to identify that the suits engaged were of Earth Alliance design.  However, the Earth Alliance is well known for selling their tech to anyone with the currency to buy it.  Identifying their suits would not be enough to link them to the loss of the Prospecting Ships from New Arcadia. 

Therefore, the Patrol Craft tracked their potential telemetry to a nearby Asteroid that could house a forward operating base.  En route, unknown suits were identified attempting to transit from the area.  Again, a vicious dogfight ensued, but the apparent lead suit escaped while the new Olympians lost one of their heavier suits in the fighting.   

With their leads running dry, the Captain set course for Liberty Pointe.  The Pointe was a well known haven for freebooters, criminals and smugglers, just the type of place where pirates would try to off load their ill-gotten gains.  The New Olympians hoped to pick up the trail there. 

After travelling through open space for several weeks, the Patrol Ship finally was able to contact Liberty Pointe.  Technically, Liberty Pointe was under the protection and aligned with the Outsider Confederation.  However, they graciously allowed a single New Olympian transport escorted by a few suits to enter dock at their Free Hold and pursue the investigation. 

Members of the New Olympian Diplomatic Corp as well as a criminal investigation team boarded the shuttle with their honor guard of marines.  The transport left the dock, and her escort of Ares suits soon joined her on the transit to the Pointe. 

As they approached, the traffic from other ships in Docking Orbit and their transports also increased.  When they were outside of the protection of the Patrol Ships guns, but before they were in close orbit to the Pointe calamity struck.  A Cold-Void Storage Container en route to the Pointe burst open and unknown Suits swarmed out of it and towards the Transport.  Someone didn't want this investigation to continue!  The New Olympian Escorts scrambled to engage the enemy suits.


Forces:

New Olympians

3 Ares Space Combat Suits

- 1 Upgraded with #1 - Heavy beam Cannon

3 Hephaestus Lander

Red Knights

1 Shepherd Suit

- Upgrade- Combat Shield

4 Bulldog Suits

- 1 Upgrade- Rocket Tube   

We will be using Mission 5- Escorts found in the main rule book.  In this scenario, the Attacking Unknowns earn extra VP for destroying the transport.  Meanwhile, the New Olympians will gain extra VP if the Transport escapes the opposite board edge, or avoids getting destroyed.

Set-up

This time, we are playing on a 72 x 48 MU board.  That means 1 MU is 1 inch in today's battle. I have placed large "shadows" on the board that represent other freighters, cargo containers, and other craft.  They all cover a single altitude that was randomly determined.  Each has a dice next to them for Height.  The large frieghters cover all the altitudes for this battle.  If a Suit or transport enters the area of a shadow and is at the same altitude, it is considered destroyed.

The New Olympians deploy on a short board edge with the transport in the middle at Beta and speed 4 about 4 MU in.  The rest of the suits form a triangle around the Transport at various altitudes all at speed 4.



The Unknowns are on the opposite side of the boards.  They are at various altitudes and speed 6 and all deployed 6 MU from their edge.



You can read the full battle report on the Blood and Spectacles blog here:
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2024/04/battle-report-hostile-space-escort-to.html

2
Space Naval Games / A Space Mat
« on: March 18, 2024, 04:38:26 pm »
I have been toying with Space Combat games for a while, but never had a great mat for it.  Thanks for Cigar Box Battles, I finally fixed that!  This mat is just over 6x4 and is made of fleece.  Therefore, it is really easy to fold up, store, and carry-around.  It also covers my table with a bit of extra around the edges.     

I took some pictures of my Space Mecha on my new Cigar Box Battles game mat.  More to come soon I think! 



and....



and.....



Hopefully I can get some space games in to fill the forum here!   

3
General Discussion / Andy on Warcradle IG
« on: December 01, 2023, 01:42:33 pm »
Greetings!

Just wanted to congratulate Andy Rucker on being featured on Instagram with his painted fleet.  Warcradle posted it up and showed it off. 

Good work Andy!


4
Misc. Naval Games / Aquanautica Imperialis- Raid on Ork Air Bases
« on: October 04, 2023, 12:21:43 pm »
A game of Aquanautica Imperialis- Wet Navy 40K homebrew rules.



The Ammoriss Naval PDF tries to destroy Ork coastal air bases during Operation: Hemlock. 

My opponent and I quickly find out that we are a little rusty with these rules! 

You can read all about the battle and Operation: Hemlock on the Blood and Spectacles blog:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/10/battle-report-aquanautica-imperialis.html

5
Historical Naval Games / Poseidon's Warriors- Battle of Lade
« on: September 27, 2023, 10:16:02 am »


This is the continuing recreation of the Ionian Revolt.  The Ionian Revolt was a revolt against the Persian Empire by the Ionian Greeks and their allies prior to the Greco-Persian War.  It took place from 499 to 493 BCE.  It was a land and sea affair, so I am using a combination of Poseidon's Warriors and Men of Bronze to re-create the campaign.  Both are from the Osprey Wargaming Series.  In addition, Men of Bronze has a specific supplement for the conflict called The Ionian Revolt.



By the sixth year of the Ionian Revolt, the Persians had successfully counter-attacked and recaptured much of the lost cities.  However, the Ionian Greeks still held out with Miletus being the originator of the revolt still resisting.  The Persians reformed into a single army, supported by naval forces and marched on Miletus to end the Revolt once and for all. The accomplished Persian general Datis took command of this unified Persian force.

Upon hearing of the approaching enemy, the Greeks decided to challenge them at sea rather than on land.  The Greeks assembled a large fleet from many of their member cities.  They made for the island of Lade in order to stem the Persian attack on the city. 

The Persian force was composed of a multi-national fleet as well.  It had Phoenicians, Egyptians, and even the newly re-conquered Cypriots.  They were likely led by Datis himself.  The Persians sent the former tyrants of each rebel city with the offer to surrender.  This strained the Ionian coalition. In addition, the Greek general Dionysius trained them hard in tactics and fighting.  This did not sit well with all the Greeks. 


Today, we are going to be fighting the Naval engagement that occurred off the island Lade.  Supposedly, some of the Ionians retreated from the battle, persuaded by the Persians offers of peace.  This allowed the Persians to overwhelm the remaining Greeks forces and defeat them. 

Once we get the results of the sea battle, we will also be playing the land battle using the scenario in The Ionian Revolt supplement for Men of Bronze.   

Forces:

Persians
1 Slow Trireme unit with admiral and elite troops
4 Slow Trireme units     

Ionians
1 Fast Trireme with Admiral and
1 Fast Trireme
3 Slow Triremes

Set-up:
This battle will take place on a 6x4 table.  The fleets are spread from West to East.  The coast of Lade is on the short edge to the East. The two fleets are facing off.  The Persians are to the North and the Ionians to the South.



Both fleets have deployed for a standard engagement, with the Ionians having their Fast Triremes on the left edge furthest out to sea.  The two sides spread out across the ocean by Squadron.



Mission:
This will be a straight up battle, with both sides looking to sink the opposing fleet.  The basic scenario is found in the main rulebook.

The turn after the first combat, each Ionian squadron will start the turn with a simple 4+ morale test.  If failed, they will abandon the fight.  They are removed from the table as they signal their desire to fleet and escape to the Persian ships.  They are no longer relevant to the battle.  Once two Squadrons have fled, no additional Morale tests are needed.

Instead of my normal turn-by-turn breakdown, I am going to try to break the game down into the Maneuver Phase, the Battle Phase, and the End Game section.  Something a bit different to ease the load of book keeping, and to avoid me taking too much time typing during the actual game!


As we begin the final stages of the campaign, you can read the results for the battle of Lade on the Blood and Spectacles blog here:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/09/battle-report-poseidons-warriors-battle.html

6
General Discussion / Interview on the 20Sided_Gamified_Podcast
« on: August 25, 2023, 02:34:53 pm »
Greetings all,

I am pleased to report that I was interviewed on the 20Sided_Gamified_Podcast hosted by Jared Fishman of the HMGS_NextGen_inc fame. It was great to chat with Jared and a really fun experience. I have been a fan of Jared's work promoting wargaming as an educational and recreational activity and promoting the hobby to young folks.

Check out the episode here:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-14-rule-writing-with-eric-farrington-the/id1675149554?i=1000625695835

Jared has interviewed some luminaries in the field of Wargaming and I have no idea how I made the cut!

Of course, for a double feature, you can hear my interview on Man Battlestations here:
http://www.manbattlestations.com/blog/2023/04/07/mbs-podcast-episode-79-eric-farrington-interview/

The first one is more about Wars of the Republic and the second is more about Castles in the Sky

7
General Discussion / Thinking about Naval and Space Games
« on: August 17, 2023, 03:20:53 pm »


Most of you folks know that my first game ever was a wet-Navy game set in the Warhammer 40 universe called Aquanautica Imperialis.  Therefore, Naval and even Space combat games have a place close to my heart.  However, I also find the genre challenging to design miniature wargames for. 

This post explores why and some potential approaches to getting around it.  It is a little rambling, think piece, and I hope it sparks some discussion. 

You can find it here:

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/06/wargame-design-thinking-about-naval-and.html 

Here are some of the key thoughts:

Challenges for Designing Naval/Space Games
1. Where are all the battles at?
2. Re-fighting WWII
3. Few Naval Powers
4. Problem of Scale

Some ideas to "Fix" these issues?
1. You don't have to lean into Historical battles
2. Re-fight WWII but with FOCUS!
3. Look at someplace else rather than WWII!  D'uh!
4. Simulation is not the only approach to a game
5. Scale is what you make it

The audience here seems to have a lot of thoughts and ideas in this area.  Hopefully, you can help spark some creative juices for me.

8
General Discussion / Black Seas Demo
« on: August 15, 2023, 10:09:25 am »
I actually played a demo game of Warlord Games Black Seas



The hosts ships were beautiful, but I was not going to paint, base, and rig the ships for myself.  I am too lazy for that.

If interested, I have some more pictures and thoughts on Black Seas at the bottom of the blog post:

https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/06/wargame-design-thinking-about-naval-and.html

9
General Discussion / Mid-Year Review
« on: July 06, 2023, 11:24:51 am »
So, we are half-way through 2023.  What have you got done or started? 

For me, I have managed to do some Naval and Aircraft wargaming this year.  Nothing ground breaking, but more than some other years have been. 

1. I have managed a couple games of Poseidon's Warriors for my Ionian Revolt campaign with my skumgrod.
 - Both fleets were 3D printed and painted over the course of the last year. 



2. A game of Aeronautica Imperialis V1
- Mostly homemade aircraft for this one, and a few Spartan minis too.



3. 3D Printed some Subs for a 40K-inspired Naval game



In progress, I have a Castles in the Sky game in order to wrap up our Indo-China campaign.  However, real life keeps getting in the way of finishing the campaign! 

There is other stuff going on too, but it is not Naval related:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/07/random-mid-year-through-2023.html


However, I want to hear and be inspired by you!  What Naval related gaming have you done, ships printed and painted, etc.  This thread demands pictures! 

10


This is a game using the Forgeworld Version of the Aeronautica Imperialis rules.

Warboss Skarbash looked across the crude map of Da' Deff Islands, and he did not like what he saw.  The Imperium was closing in on the last island he possessed.  More and more of his materials were being cut-off, more of his boyz were not coming back, and the Oomiez kept getting more loot to keep fighting. 

He had managed to break out of the bubble and regain some control of the Approaches.  This gave him and his Nobz some breathing room.  It was a long way from pushing the Oomiez out of the way though.  His submersible fleet had mostly been sunk, his wet navy was thwarted.  The only thing keeping the Oomiez from attacking him now was his Air Boyz. 

He had to put a stranglehold on Imperial logistics.  That was where the Oomiez were winning.  The only way he could strike at them was air power.  He had all ready started attacking the Oomie shipping with his fighters, now he needed to neutralize their air re-supply.

The Orks are trying to intercept and destroy incoming Imperial supplies by interdicting them in the air.  As a result, the air craft have been placed into a convoy system where Imperial interceptors could act as their protectors.
 

Forces:

Ammoriss Air PDF
4 Thunderhead Airships
3 Arvus Landers
2 Sentry
+ Skystrike Missiles
1 Sentry Eyes

Ork Air Waaaagh!
3 Ork Fightaz
1 Fighta- Bomma
1 Dakka Jet

Mission:
This is a Convoy Raid mission per the rules found in the Airspace Compilation. The Defender earns VP for every transport that manages to escape the board edge. 

Set-Up:
The game is played on a 6x4 board.  The Convoy is set-up in the center of the board.  The Arvus are in front, followed by the Thunderheads in a diamond pattern.  They are flanked by Sentry's and the Eyes is tailing.  They are at low-altitude around 2 to 3 and speed 3.  The Sentry's are flying top cover at Alt 5.   

The Orks can come in from any board edge.  They choose to clump up the fightas and Dakkajet one of the long edges, coming in fast, at mid-altitude 3 and 4.  The Fighta-Bomma is coming head on from the escaping short edge at slow speed and mid-altitude 2.   



You can read the full report and the results on the blog if you are so inclined:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/06/battle-report-aeronautica-imperialis.html

11
Historical Naval Games / Poseidon's Warriors- Battle off Cyprus
« on: May 30, 2023, 10:33:59 am »


This is the continuing recreation of the Ionian Revolt.  The Ionian Revolt was a revolt against the Persian Empire by the Ionian Greeks and their allies prior to the Greco-Persian War.  It took place from 499 to 493 BCE.  It was a land and sea affair, so I am using a combination of Poseidon's Warriors and Men of Bronze to re-create the campaign.  Both are from the Osprey Wargaming Series.  In addition, Men of Bronze has a specific supplement for the conflict called The Ionian Revolt.



The Ionians were assisted by the Greek cities of Athens and Eretria, who sent 20 Triremes to aid them.  Together, the Greeks managed to attack the Persian provincial capital at Sardis.  They were initially successful, and pushed the Persian Garrison into the Citadel.  However, they were unable to take the city.  Eventually, the lower city caught fire and the Greeks had to withdraw with their booty.

In the attack, a nearby shrine to Cybele was destroyed.  This incensed the local people against the Greeks.  When the Persian Garrison emerged, the local populace flocked to their banner against the Greeks.  The Persians pursued the Greeks and caught up to them outside Ephesus.  The Greeks were brought to battle there, and defeated.

Despite the loss, the Ionian Revolt spread.  The Ionians managed to gain the support of the Carians, and many other cities in the region.  They all rose up against the Persians.  The island of Cyprus also decided to rise up.  All the cities except for one decided to rebel.  The other cities laid siege to the lone loyalist city.  However, the Persians sent aid tot he island, supported by a Phoenician fleet.  The rebels reached out to the Ionians for help.  They also responded with a fleet and an army. 


Today, we are going to be fighting the Naval engagement that occurred off the coast of Cyprus.  Supposedly, this Naval battle was fought at the same time as a land battle against the Persian army.  The Greeks won at Sea, but lost on land.  This battle took place in 497 BCE, and we only know the outcome from Herodotus.

Once we get the results of the sea battle, we will also be playing the land battle using the scenario in The Ionian Revolt supplement for Men of Bronze.   

Forces:

Persians
1 Slow Trireme unit with admiral and elite troops
4 Slow Trireme units     

Ionians
1 Fast Trireme with Admiral and
1 Fast Trireme
3 Slow Triremes

Set-up:
This battle will take place on a 6x4 table.  The Western short edge will be the coast off of Salamis.  The Persians will be coming from the South with the Ionians coming from the North. 



Both fleets have deployed for a standard engagement, with the Ionians having their Fast Triremes on the left edge furthest out to sea.  The two sides spread out across the ocean by Squadron.



Mission:
This will be a straight up battle, with both sides looking to sink the opposing fleet.  The basic scenario is found in the main rulebook.

Instead of my normal turn-by-turn breakdown, I am going to try to break the game down into the Maneuver Phase, the Battle Phase, and the End Game section.  Something a bit different to ease the load of book keeping, and to avoid me taking too much time typing during the actual game!

You can read all the details on the Blood and Spectacles blog here if you are so inclined:
http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2023/05/battle-report-poseidons-warriors-battle.html

12
The Shipyard / Finally, some Imperial Submarines
« on: May 22, 2023, 11:56:03 am »
Greetings,

About a decade ago, I created a game called Aquanautic Imperialis: Battle for the Depths.  The game was about submarines battles in the Warhammer 40K universe.  I made some MS Paint template for the game and used those to play a bit. 



http://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2019/09/battle-report-aquanautica-imperialis.html

I had intended to sculpt up some submarines from Sculpey, as this was pre-3D printing became a thing.  I only got as far as the Ork subs in Sculpey.  Finally, on Thingiverse I found a Nemo Nautilus submarine I though had the right feel to look like Imperial ships.  After a few sizing attempts and prints I finally got it to what I wanted.  I then painted them up with speed paints and this is the result. 



Here are the Imperial Subs versus some Ork subs. 

13
General Discussion / China's Aircraft Carrier
« on: April 13, 2023, 12:11:04 pm »
There was some news about Chinese operations around Taiwan lately.  During these exercises, the Chinese were using their aircraft carriers and new naval aircraft.  A new photo of it was released that maybe of interest to folks here:



The story is here:
www.cnn.com/2023/04/10/asia/china-taiwan-military-drills-aircraft-carrier-strike-intl-hnk/index.html

14
News and Rumors / Dystopian Wars New Releases
« on: April 07, 2023, 03:00:39 pm »
Here is is for April:



Quote
This box contains:

1x Hachiman Assault Carrier (may also be built as Akita or Matsumoto Class)

3x Cruisers (may be built as Osaka, Kanagawa, Honshu, Hokkaido, Miyagi, Okinawa, Yamaguchi or Ishikawa Class)

12x Chita Automata

3x Submersibles (may be built as Koromodako, Kensai, Ryujin, Mizuchi, Umibozu or Kagutsuchi Class)

6x Kyoto Frigates

3x Chubu Submarines

3x Sakata Destroyers

3x Rin Exosub Tokens

3x SRS Tokens



Quote
This box contains:

1x Gloriana Dread-Naught (may also be built as either a Camelot or Adventurer)

2x Prydain War Rotors

2x Tintagel Battle Rotors

4x Cruisers (may be built as either Albion or Bedivere Class)

8x Caliburn Frigates

4x Saxon Scout Rotors

1x Quickstart Booklet



Quote
This box contains:

2x Airships (may be built as Nuremberg or Kriegsturm)

4x Aerial Destroyers (may be built as either Jaeger or Munich)

4x Pflicht Escorts

2x SRS tokens

And then some Italians!



Quote
This box contains:

2x Cruisers (may be built as either Gladius, Spatha, Auxillia or Pilum Class)

4x Cestus Zebeks

4x Escorts

https://blog.warcradle.com/blog/april-releases-exosubs-inbound-as-the-hachiman-is-here


Those Imperial Airships look pretty Diesel Punk to me.  They would look really cool with Hydra's War Rocket game too.

15
News and Rumors / Nimitz by Sam Mustafa
« on: March 21, 2023, 01:48:38 pm »
I have enjoyed Sam Mustafa's other games in the past, but did not realize he had released a Naval wargame.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi53tTW_f49tWzCKBG6ik0LAea8yUCStG3gUhlAnlbgYomIPzNX99qbEkItpn88MCTSa5Bu9E79Z_aJJ9rkFGJyfxib_aUhMLtcjfhi9wtSzJNHJG_jAh_47emZnqBNbM8G6AOEBWLLCC6fhhB9KmPhF95_PD75DNx9PM1UQYosTJ5dVNTBWcVvS-qr/w400-h223/IMG_3126.HEIC



I really liked Blucher, and the campaign system that came with was great.  If it is as good as that, I think I might have my new WWII Naval wargame!

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