Drumbeat

Yesterday was the annual Drumbeat gathering held in Seattle each January.  This year it was in a new location, the Lake City Community Center, and a little later in the month which attracted a few more bodies. I really liked the new space and saw lots of friends I don't normally get to see except at Enfilade.

28mm Napoleonics using the Black Powder rules.

Dave Schueler and I hosted our Airwar C21 game.  It was just our second playing of the game, and I gotta say I just liked it more. We didn't have a ton of players, just Dale, Larry and Denny.  I helped run the Taiwanese, and Dave ran the Taiwanese frigate. Four RoC planes and ship vs. six PLAF bombers and six PLAF fighters.  We upgraded the the Chinese J-8's to include radar guided missiles, and that paid off.  One of Denny's RoC Chin Kuo's was shot down outright and one had to be abandoned by its pilot.  Nevertheless, all of the PLAF Fantans were shot down before they reached the frigate.

Larry and Dale plot their attack on the RoC frigate in a game of Airwar C21

A look at the advancing PLAF from my Taiwanese Mirage 2000.  Each of my planes shot down an adversary and excaped unscathed. (There's a first time for everything.)

A pair of Larry's J-8's overflies Denny's burning Chin-Kuo

I think what impressed me most about the game is that there is the potential of considerable maneuver in the missile age.  We were all launching left and right, but they didn't all hit or even lock on.  The ease of play made the game a very good time.  David Manley et al should be congratulated for writing a fun, very playable set of rules.  I've got an idea percolating for a Cuba 1962 scenario.

In the afternoon I ran my Lewis and Clark game.  It was my first game running a Brother against Brother game. I was really inspired to try this by Lawrence Bateman's Northwest Indian War game at Enfilade last year.  I thought it was really great and was perfect for the size of my scenario.

 How did my game go?  Well, it wasn't god awful, but let's just say Lewis and Clark didn't make it to the Pacific.  The Americans had problems with die rolls.  Shooting, moving, you name it, the Americans didn't have much luck moving back to the keelboats, or not far enough ahead of the Spanish.  On the other hand, the Spanish rolled extremely well, shooting, moving, you name it. Hmm, sounds like a pattern.

Spanish troops crossing the Missouri River bank before they attack the Corps of Discovery's boats.

Bruce Meyer, a Brother against Brother veteran had some great suggestions for future scenarios, and I'll have to give them a try.  They were excellent.