Wargaming Saturdays and Afrika Korps

Bengasi falls to the Axis

     Way back when, in the early 1980s, my friend Keith and I would often spend dreary winter Saturday afternoons playing Avalon Hill war games.  Out favorites for an afternoon of gaming were Squad Leader (owned by me), and Panzer Leader (owned by Keith).  I can't remember how many times we replayed Hill 621, like two generals in a Twilight Zone episode,  damned for eternity to refight the same battle, but it was enough times that we both remember it to this day.
     Back in those days, one of the games that I had that we never actually got to play much was Afrika Korps.  It was one of Avalon Hill's older games, and was quite a bit simpler than most of their later products.  It was designed to simulate the back and forth battles fought across the western desert from 1941 to 1942, and while it has some issues that keep it from being a truly great simulation, it is a fun game.
     Well, this afternoon being wintery, dreary, and reminding me of those far off days, I broke out my copy of Afrika Korps, complete with an excellent set of replacement counters. and set it up just for fun.  Of course once it was set up, I decided to see if I remembered the rules, so I decide to play through the first few turns.  From the start, things went poorly for the Commonwealth forces, who upon losing Bengasi to the Axis, tried to send a blocking force to slow the Axis advance near Gebel El Achdar.  There was a natural choke point there, and success would have seriously impacted the Axis advance.  It was not to be.  As it turned out, I rolled an Exchange on the combat table which eliminated the Commonwealth forces, but cost the Axis 2 Italian Infantry divisions as well.

The Commonwealth troops try to block the Axis advance

This resolution, while weakening the Axis, allowed them to continue their headlong race to Tobruch.  Added to that, the Axis had rolled successfully on its first three supply rolls and was well positioned to continue its attack with the recently arrive 15th panzer division.  Tobruch was in danger!
     Just this short bit of play really took me back to those days long ago, with Keith and I sitting at one of our parent's dining room tables, struggling to see if we could outmaneuver one another and change history.

The Axis forces approach Tobruch

Note:  All place name spellings on the map board are from British Imperial war maps and don't necessarily match the modern spellings.

Happy Birthday Clark Ashton Smith

On what would have been his 123rd birthday.  I came to C.A.S. later than I did his contemporaries like Howard, and Leiber, but his Zothique and Hyperborean cycles are among some of my favorite writing ever.

Weird Adventure Idea Wednesday

Here is the first weird adventure idea for 2016!

On an icy winter evening you are approached by a flatulent drifter along a lonely road.  The drifter beckons to you and tells you a curious tale that 4 weeks journey to the west, across the Boiling Stream of Time, stands the Skull Covered Arena of the Night Witch.  It is believed that in the vaults below the arena is hidden the Ceramic Wand of Pernicious Dreams.  But beware, for the drifter cautions you that the Wounded Pain Maiden of Putrescence is said to make her lair there!

Miniatures Monday

Here is the completed set of adventurers from our current Iron Kingdoms campaign.  From left to right, we have Trayjo the Alchemist, Voldrag the Doomreaver, Lowgear the Steamjack, Kerbok the Gobber Mechanic, and Ellyon/Liness the Warcaster.  Overall I'm pretty happy with how these came out, and it's nice to have a fully painted party on the table.

R.I.P. Angus Scrimm

Fist Lemmy and now the Tall Man...

Actor Angus Scrimm, probably best know for his role as the Tall man in Don Coscarelli's Phantasm series, has died at the age of 89.  :-(
I've always been a big fan of the Phantasm series.  I know that the films don't make whole lot of sense, but I've always found the weird dreamlike sense of the first one to be quite compelling.  I wonder what if any effect with will have on the release of the final film in the series.  I guess I know what I'm watching tonight.

Rob Halford speaking at Lemmy's Funeral

Motörhead did a livecast of Lemmy's memorial service, and it was actually pretty cool.  A fitting sendoff.  

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone!  Our heroes have defeated 2015.  Here's hoping that everyone conquers 2016 as well!

R.I.P. Lemmy

1945 - 2015

Lemmy has finally been killed by Death. :-(

Happy Holidays!

Our fearless duo Long Neck and No Face are having nothing even approaching a silent night!  Maybe they need to go back to the dungeon.  Here's wishing everyone health, happiness, and great gaming in the new year!

Happy Birthday Fritz Leiber!

He would have been 105 years old today.  Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser remain two of my all-time favorite sword and sorcery characters.  December is quite the month for sword and sorcery author birthdays, with Wagner, Moorcock, and Leiber all falling in a 2 week window.  So today, take a moment to remember (and maybe drink a toast to) one of the giants of science fiction and fantasy.

Happy Festivus!

Prepare for the airing of the grievances and the feats of strength!

Star Wars

So, last night my wife and I saw The Force Awakens which I've been looking forward to for a very long time.  I remember quite clearly the melancholy that I felt during the opening crawl of Revenge of the Sith, thinking that it was the last time in my life that I would ever see a new Star Wars movie.  All that I will say is that the new film did not disappoint.  It's not high cinema, it's not Empire (nothing really ever could be), but it's fun and it's Star Wars, and that's quite good enough for me. :-)

It's that time of year again (Dark Tower Time!)

It's the time of year where I find myself reflecting on Christmases long past, and it's also time to break out Dark Tower and give it a play.  No other game from my childhood evokes such fond memories as this little gem from 1981.  That was a good Christmas!  :-)

Happy Birthday Michael Moorcock

Michael Moorcock turns 76 today!  The last of the great Sword and Sorcery writers.  December is quite the month for Sword and Sorcery writer birthdays.  May Arioch grant him many more.

Karl Edward Wagner would have been 70

Karl Edward Wagner, fantasy/horror writer, psychiatrist, and hard drinker would have been 70 years old on December 12th.  I first discovered Wagner in a book shop in florida in 1984, when I picked up a paperback copy of Darkness Weaves.  Attracted by the Frank Frazetta cover, there was no way I could resist.  Darker and grimmer than Howard's Conan, Kane was an antihero in the vein of Moorcock's Elric.  No noble savage, Kane was a Machiavellian swordsman, who also dabbled in sorcery to further his frequent goals of world conquest.  I was hooked, and quickly sought out the rest of Wagner's Kane stories.  The novels are a bit of a mixed bag, but I think it's in the short stories where Wagner's writing really shined.  Sadly, Wagner died at 48.  I should very much liked to see where his writing would have gone.