Gold Cup Playtest

Got together with a few friends to walk through a Thunderboats! modification to play the 1965 Gold Cup race. I'm pretty thrilled with the results. Dave Schueler and I agreed to violate the rules guidelines that essentially let players create their own boats. In this case, players choose boats and drivers from each heat. Boats and drivers are rated, so all are not equal.

The racers run their boats three laps, and choose boats for the next heat in the reverse order of finish. So there is always a little handicap for after each heat.

Dave also created a set up special cards for the race, that drivers receive at the beginning of each heat. These are in addition to the regular event cards. Generally the input was favorable, so I'm anxious for the real deal.

Why April is slow, and my life is better for it.

It's been a slow month. I've played a couple of games, but I haven't gotten much painted. I've completed exactly five hydroplanes and nothing else. Started on some Spanish Civil War vehicles, but I don't know if I'll finish them by the 30th. I actually polished off a few Pz Is, but the trucks and command vehicle are up in the air.

I don't really feel badly about all this. It's been a month. The long awaited JagWire trial is over. I spent six hours on the witness stand, and many more hours in trial prep. I also spent tons of stressed out evenings. What makes my life better is that the trial is over, the verdict is in, and found the paper, myself and the district were not guilty of invasion of privacy and negligence. It is a relief, and I am so much better for it.

I even bought figures this month. They haven't arrive yet, but I ordered 88 SCW figures from Brookhurst. I did follow through on my promise not to order figures until I was ready. I was out of figures, and I ordered enough to paint up two more battalions of Carlists, and two more battalions of regular infantry. They both formed the mainstays of their army, and my troop mix was pretty deficient. I'll wrap them up by the end of June, and then be ready for more. I've set out my perfect counter mix for SCW and then the project will be done.

The Seven Years War Campaign

I've been playing in Wes Rogers' Seven Years War campaign since September. It's interesting, played on a fictional continent. Our armies have been wandering around for a good long time now, without many encounters. My country is based on Spain and have happily been marching about grabbing land from whomever we can pilfer it.

However, in the last build year, the Russian based country intercepted one of my field armies at sea, after doing nothing to the Russians, destroyed my small fleet and captured an entire army. I was not a happy camper, and launched one of my field armies at the Russians, and attacked his cities in the south. I didn't do a lot of maneuver with the defending forces. No two steps. I went right at one of his main cities, and used it as a base to attack the Russian capital.

At the end of the turn, with my army facing the capital, I discovered the Russian strength-about half my own, with more troops sent to reinforce the defenders. I marched my cavalry off to intercept the all-foot army in the hopes I could defeat the relief force while preparing for what was likely to be a bloody storming of the city.

It could not have worked out any better. With about half of the relief force composed of militia, the cavalry had its way with the unsteady troops. Three units were driven back into the surrounding villages with loss, leaving the line troops to fend for themselves. The Royal Cuirassiers combined with a dragoon unit to break one square while the rest of the troops made their way into the city at a full rout. Another action broke out between my large infantry column and three Russian battalions. They only held me up for a turn as artillery and infantry fire drove them back into the city with loss.

A subsequent storming of the city was bloody but resulted in the loss of the Russian capital and the complete destruction of the Russian army. We reached terms favorable to both sides and things are looking up

Pictures were taken with my iPhone. Something different. The first shows Joe Waddington marching Russians worsted by cavalry being driven back into the villages outside the capital. The second picture shows Joe's troops marching out of the capital. The last pic is of the isolated square being overwhelmed by the brave Spanish cavalry.