SaskGames

Well that is it for 2016 Flames of War Events!
-> for next year's (2017) planned events we have - please see the following link:
http://sask.games/index.php?topic=6177.0

Hope you have enjoyed this thread and the past years as well - have a great Xmas & New Years!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> WWI (The Great War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
January 6th - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

January 6th, 2016  FoW Demo: First Wednesday of Every Month
By Lance Mathew

Starting off the first Demo of the year I went with the Great War and with all the demos for the next six to seven months I will be working my way up to possibly World War III (yes, WWIII). The schedule should be Early World War II being next, then Mid World War II, followed by Late World War II, then Vietnam, next is the Arab-Israeli War, and then like I said possibly WWIII!

After this Demo I will now have played WWI twice. I am not sure it will ever be the most popular era for Flames of War but I do like it. I think I would like it more of their were Crazy Canucks with urine soaked rags on their faces fighting the mighty Huns but – maybe Battlefront will contact me to write up such a crazy piece of history and incorporate it into a list!

Meanwhile, Jarrod made another appearance at one of my demos. So, far he only has the LW era from the Open Fire Kit. But, I know he really enjoys the game and with the core rules being the same every game he plays he gets better and better.

Jarrod deployed his British line infantry company in his trenches waiting for my Huns (Germans) to bring the fight to him!  And, bring it I did! I deployed all my troops on his right side and pushed hard. Jarrod's British platoon at first buckled and then finally broke. Have to give him kudos as the odds were two to one against him in that area. As luck would have it Jarrod rolled a reserve Mark IV Male tank in and rambled it up to contest my claiming the objective. However, the Male version is great against other enemy tanks but not so good against infantry.  My infantry made their tank terror test and mugged the poor tank.

The next event is a 1775 Tournament at Tramp's on January 23rd, 2016 in Preparation of the FoW Regina Rifles Regionals that will be a two day event on April 23rd – 24th !

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Tournament: January Preparation
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
@ 9am - 5:30pm
@ January 23rd, 2016
~ 1775 Late War Lists due on or before January 9th
-> send lists to Lance @ cigamnogard@sasktel.net

Results:
Player Name   Army   Position
Tim Miller   Soviets   1
Shana Mathew   Finnish   2
Shawn Morris   German   2
Kip Kyle   German   4
Sean Froc   British   5
David Nelson   German   6
Patrick Kyle   German   6
Michael Yule   British   8
Nathan Rinholm   British   8
Tyler Hutchinson   Soviets   10
Brody Mazurick   German   11
Chris Mueller   German   11
Stephen Beauchamp   USA   11
Dana Madsen   German   14
Don Matwe   British   14
Evan Pinter   German   14
Jarrod Daunheimer   German   14
Sean Kernick   Canadian   14

January Preparation
January 23rd, 2016
By Lance Mathew

The January Preparation tournament has been in the works for months and it is only the precursor for the Regina Rifles Regional Event (weekend on April 23rd & 24th 2016). It has been difficult to get the word out for tournaments as this year Battlefront has not been announcing on their website like they normally do. Instead we have relied on word of mouth, posters, Facebook (Facebook.com/groups/fowreginarifles), websites (http://sask.games/index.php). However, we still had twenty one players signed up but in the end only eighteen showed up (well nineteen including me) to battle it out at Tramp's Comics & Games!

With Eighteen players I did my best to select different tiers. What I mean by this is that I did not want the top players beating the snot out of the new players. From my perspective the veteran either stomps on or spends their entire game educating the new player; either way it can lead to a frustrating experience for one or both. Once I select the tiers slot them into Swiss style red versus blue scenarios. This becomes more and more complicated as the tournament goes on. However, I feel a little (a lot) of stress for the TO (Tournament Organizer) goes a long way to making rewarding experiences for the players.

The first mission selected was Surrounded - a Defensive Battle that allowed everyone to play with all their troops. I do my best to ensure that at least each tournament one of the missions allows the players the opportunity to put everything on the table that they brought. I have attended a few tournaments that half my stuff remained in the bag I travelled 200+ kilometers to play in. 

The second game was Breakthrough – a Mobile Battle. A few players struggled with this one as they had to make hard choices based on terrain of their table as well as the vehicles that they had brought; the mission only allows for a single mobile platoon for the defender.  More than one player was upset that their table and their own list was not in their favor. Sometimes the Company commander is caught between a rock and a hard place.

The last game was Encounter – a Fair Fight Scenario. If the players thought they had it rough with decisions last game now for sure each could only play with half of their toys and would not have a chance to get reinforcements until the third turn.

At the end of the day I think everyone had a good time, Tramp's sold some models, and we promoted this great hobby that is Flames of War!


January Preparation
January 23rd, 2016
By Nathan Rinholm

Thanks for putting on a great event Lance, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I had some great opponents who were quite patient with my ineptitude.

I got lucky in my fist game with my opponent failing a rerollable 2+ motivation test to stick around on the objective after a hard-fought assault wiped out my infantry and took his platoon below half strength. After that happened he was pretty rattled and he didn't make good choices in the remainder of the game. He ran his other infantry platoon straight at my dug-in guns. After a turn of shooting with artillery, 6 6pdrs, 2 hmgs and a load of tank machine guns he extended his hand.

Second game I was the attacker against a fortified German company. I flailed around for a while but my indecisiveness resulted in my defeat. My plans changed from turn to turn and I never really figured out how I was going to win. I did manage to kill a few platoons though so it wasn't a major loss.

Last game was against a German list with 3 king Tigers and a special character in a Jagtiger. He had some conscript infantry and pak40's as well. Early in the game I had one assault against a king tiger that unfortunately didn't work and then he broke off, saving the tank. On the other side I sat dug-in in my first turn when I should have moved at the double to get closer to his objective. Once I did move it was too late as he got his reserves there. If I had moved right from turn 1 I think I would have won. As it was, I managed to hold on almost until time ran out but in my last turn I got impatient and attacked foolishly allowing him to finish off enough platoons to cause a company morale test which I failed as my company commander had died earlier.


January Preparation
January 23rd, 2016
By Don Matwe
I don't have as many details, but thoroughly enjoyed the rather large event. 20 guys is a great turnout and there were a few guys I know that weren't even there. Could have been a 30 man event - which is a great community. Lance is talking about an event to Edmonton and I'm in for that.

My first game was against Lance's son and the dice were horrible for him. I won 5-2. Next was against Lance's wife (she's awesome) and I lost a good fun game. Lastly against Mike Yule, who's a super nice kid that I'll gladly play against any time. His Platoon of Comets absolutely went through my Division like butter - it was actually pretty cool. I eventually put my hand out, which I try not to do, as after awhile we were just wasting time waiting for me to die. Lol

I would suggest anyone to go on facebook and see the ton of pictures of the event. It's cool to be in a room full of tables playing a game everyone is enjoying.

I really enjoy FoW, and there's a bunch of nice guys playing - I would strongly suggest giving it a try if you haven't

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> WWII EW (Early War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
February 3rd- 1815-1915 (615pm to 715pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

AAR:
February 3rd, 2016 
FoW Demo: First Wednesday of Every Month
By Lance Mathew

Starting off the second Demo of the year I went with Early World War II; after the Great War Demo ran last month. The next Demo will be Mid World War II, followed by Late World War II, then Vietnam, next is the Arab-Israeli War.

This Demo marked a low point in my Flames of War Hobby:
•   No one showed up for the Demo – but I won't dwell on that. The Demo program has been highly successful in recruiting new players and I will continue to do my part in contributing to its successes.
•   I have not heard from the Battlefront Rep in three weeks – but I won't dwell on that. One of our latest successful FoW Regina Rifles recruits moved away to B.C. and is looking to run his own Demos there. Meanwhile, other members of our local group have expressed interest in doing so as well here. My speculation is that the Battlefront Rep is also experiencing growth in other areas and is a lot too busy for me.
•   I ran a large tournament in January that I did not get to play in – but I won't dwell on that. It is just disappointing that the community is growing and I don't get to play in it.
•   Still having trouble locating a large enough venue for the FoW Regina Rifles Regional Event rapidly approaching for the weekend of April 23rd – 24th – but I won't dwell on that. I had just better get cracking and get it figured out!
In other words Lance – suck it up and do not dwell on things beyond your control; look at all the good that you have accomplished. Yes, Lance I hear you loud and clear.

On the plus side of last night:
•   I straightened/tidied up the large section of Flames of War at Tramp's Comics and Games.
•   I answered a couple of players' questions on what was in stock at Tramp's. Looks like they will be 'buy ' on Saturday.
•   I was offered a position on the Canadian Flames of War ETC (European Team Championships). Wonder if Cupcake would let me go to Greece...
•   I was not late in picking up Minnie-me from his cooking class.

Preparations are already underway for the Mid War Demo – new FoW Business cards, hopefully a new Demo sign, posters put up around town, and always – > the word of mouth!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Tour of Duty Total War: Tet Offensive
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
@ 10am - 5pm on February 20th
1500 points per player
- lists due February 6th to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=14&aft=572291&afv=topic

Tet Offensive
February, 20th 2016
By Lance Mathew

Another successful mega game known as Total War for Flames of War transpired at Tramp's Comics and Games on February, 20th. This event was entitled the Tet Offensive. Historically, the Tet Offensive was a massive operation launched by the Nationalists against the South Vietnamese and its allies. As per usual whenever the FoW Regina Rifles runs these large Demonstration games we get people coming over to see what is happening; having cool looking helicopters on a large table never fails to impress. We had several people stop by to check out the action; one purchased an Open Fire Kit leaving the store only a single starter set! 

In my honest opinion the Vietnam Flames of War era is a beer and pretzels game.  What I mean by that it is the most laid back and casual game experience: the Nationalists, Việt cộng and PAVN, mostly auto respawn; in slight contrast to the Free World's players who mostly are wounded instead of KIA. Previously, we did a large Vietnam game this past Halloween with two on two – now this time around it was three versus three. Personally, I feel the Vietnam era is more suited for a larger game experience compared to one on one games. Yet, all the missions are set up for one on one – then, after this past weekend when we tweaked the mission to suite our larger player count I firmly believe we should have let the mission stand as RAW (rules as written) and left well enough alone.

Meanwhile, with three 'Nam veterans (Matt, Chris, and I) and three noobies (Brody, Sean, and Shawn) we set to play. With three new players to the Vietnam era it only slowed game play for the first round which took over an hour. However, that being said a lot had happened in that first round. An ambuscade was conducted by each Nationalist player – this is where we tweaked instead of RAW where only a single Nationalist unit conducts an ambuscade. All three were largely ineffective and directly led to massive Nationalist losses – much like the Tet Offensive in real life.

The only real effect of the ambuscade was to pin my ANZAC forces in place but it took two Nationalist companies to do so. And, while my ANZAC could not go forward they stubbornly refused to die or give ground; which was my only/major contribution to the day's event.

After lunch Chris' Chuppas made their presence felt across the entire table. And, while the helicopters hit like two freight-trains they are incredibly fragile and littered the battlefield with their debris.

Shawn, had stepped in to fill the shoes of Stephen's 25th Infantry, was largely playing what I would call a WWII list in 'Nam. It looks good on paper but performs poorly against troops who do not fight fair. Shawn, did all right with them but I could tell both he and Stephen would have been disappointed in how they performed.
Regardless, thanks Shawn for being the ringer.

Sean, who was the Việt cộng player was unable to make his special rules count or even bring in his Đặc Công. As Sean's opponent I was relieved, but as Sean's friend I felt bad as I had spent hours assembling the flame throwers he did not get to use. Meanwhile, his snipers were everywhere sowing confusion and chaos as well as shooting down helicopters!

Matt's Ironclads are always scary and without some lucky rolling on my part he would have rolled over top of my ANZAC. Instead I pinned them in place allowing Shawn's M48 Pattons to come to my aid. Matt also brought in his BTR-50PK to end Chris dominance of the sky. 

Brody's PAVN seemed to be the workhorse of the Nationalist forces - which historically they were. He was involved in every corner of the table and the middle to boot. It was Brody's first game with his own PAVN as normally Jace has borrowed them. But, Jace had begged off as he was in Vegas at a Gymnist event.

We all had fun and we even managed to finish early (well - before Tramp's closed). Thinking another Vietnam event is in store for later this year! Would also like to see another two players; having four per side would make an even amount.

Next demo is March 2nd (1st Wednesday night of every month), next tournament is Mid War March (March 5th), with the next Total War game set up to be AIW's Operation Moked (June 4th). However, do not forget about FoW Regina Rifles Regionals on 23rd-24th!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> WWII MW (Mid War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
March 2nd - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

Missions:
Dust Up
No Retreat
Breakthrough

Results:
1 Tim - German   
2 Lance - German   
3 Jace - Soviet   
3 Shawn M - Soviet   
5 Christopher - German   
6 Matt - Canadian
7 Cody - Soviet   
7 Dana - Finnish   
7 Sean - British
10 Kip - USA
10 Stephen B - USA   
10 Stephen P - Canadian
13 Michael - British   
14 Brody - German
14 Stephane - German

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> WWII MW (Mid War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
March 2nd - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

First Wednesday of Every Month
March 2nd, 2016
By Lance Mathew

Mid War – my favorite era for WWII Flames of War! Mid War March has a certain ring to it and with a demo on the first Wednesday night and then a full scale tournament that weekend – how could I go wrong?

Prior to me leaving for the demo I announced I was on my way. A new name and face appeared in our Facebook page appeared, Stephen, which commented that he would like to come and watch the demo; as he had just purchased the Open Fire starter set. I said – it was a demo and that he should instead play!

So, after setting up - Stephen arrived and we set to playing. I had set the table up with the new petrol terrain tanks. They are very attractive terrain pieces - so much so that when one of our players saw me post pictures of the event he wanted some. Tramp's Comics and Games put them aside and he picked them up at the tournament = win win! Meanwhile, Stephen tried out the panzer IIIs and IVs while I faced him with T34-76s & T34-57s. It was a blood bath – brewed up tanks everywhere. Stephen was hooked!
I also had a great time!

As with most new players I invited him to the next tournament. He asked how he would do. I told him honestly that the first two games would be rough and by the third game he would be starting to come into his own. And, like most new players I lent him an army. And, yes he did lose his first two games but he did win his third!

Meanwhile, the next tournament is a huge event! Flames of War Regina Rifles Regionals weekend of April 23rd – 24th! Admission is $50.00 for swag, t-shirt, Saturday lunch, & Sunday breakfast – with of course three games Saturday and two games on Sunday! Any questions – please e-mail: cigamnogard@sasktel.net

Flames of War Regina Rifles Regionals


Location:
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel & Conference Centre Regina
1975 Broad St  |  Regina, SK S4P1Y2  |  (888)370-0976


Hotel Info   http://m.hilton.com/mt/doubletree3.hilton.com/en/index.html?WT.scrch=1

Room    Single Rate    Double Rate
2 Queens    129.00    129.00
1 King    129.00    129.00

Dates:  Saturday, April 23rd – Sunday, 24th, 2016

Tournament Format:   Late War, 1775 Points, Straight Swiss Format,
5 Round, Random Missions

Tournament Sign-Up & List submission: cigamnogard@sasktel.net
♠ Include T-shirt size & payment of $50.00 (E-transfer or Pay-pal)


List Submission Deadline:     March 31st 2016
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Friday

Pre-Registration 1300 - 2030

Table Set Up 1300 – 1730
Break 1730 – 1830
Table Set Up 1830 – 2030

Saturday

Registration 0800 - 0830
Welcome & Briefing 0830 - 0900

Round 1: Random Mission 0900 - 1100

Lunch Buffet – 1100 to 1200

Round 2: Random Mission 1200 - 1400

Break 1400 – 1430

Round 3: Random Mission 1430 – 1630

Sunday

Saskatchewan Pride Breakfast Buffet – 9am to 1000

Round 4: Random Mission 1000 – 1200

Break 1200 – 1230

Round 3: Random Mission 1230 – 1430

Awards Presentation 1500 – 1530

RULES AND REGULATIONS

•   All armies must be fully base coated. Any miniatures not base coated painted will be pulled from the table prior to starting the tournament.

•   Rounds will be determined by Swiss system come ready to play all armies

•   Missions will be selected randomly immediately before each round, any mission will only be played once in the tournament. Exception to this is Seize and Hold (Found in the Normandy Battles Book). Air Landing lists may Seize and Hold for all 5 missions if they pay for Gliders and Paratrooper and other Glider lists may announce the night before or at Registration that each morning mission they will do a Seize and Hold Mission.

•   Players are responsible for monitoring the time and the judges will announce time intervals throughout the tournament. A true act of sportsmanship is not starting a new turn if both players will not be able to finish that turn. The game should be called if both players cannot finish their turn and the results should be calculated.

•   Slow play is to be actively discouraged, repeated offenses may result in loss of points or forfeited matches.  This is a Regionals competition, if you cannot play a game to completion due to size/compliment or familiarity with your army, you might want to revisit your choice.  Most players should be able to complete their turns within 10-15 minutes.

•   When time is called the game must immediately end regardless of the action taking place in the game. New turns cannot be started even if starting a new turn would award an immediate victory or cause a player to make a company morale check.

•   If two fortified companies face each other then they will play the No Man's Land Mission.

•   Unit histories are not necessary.

•   Army lists must be submitted to cigamnogard@sasktel.net (Third Party army list creation sites (i.e., Easy Army, Army Builder) may be used as well as the generic army list excel spreadsheet located on the Flames of War website.  All lists must include the following information:
o   Player's full name
o   Player's email address
o   Club name (if applicable)
o   Army list being used (For example: Cossack)
o   Book or website reference (For example: Overlord)
o   Type of company (Tank, mechanized, infantry)




TOURNAMENT SCORING
We will be using a simple software spreadsheet and here is the scoring breakdown we will use for the 2016 Regionals:

•   Scoring Breakdown
o   Generalship: 80%
o   Sportsmanship 20%
•   Draw Match-ups Ranking
•   Victory Points then Wins

Awards: Here is a list of the awards that will be presented
•   Overall Winner
•   2nd Place
•   3rd Place
•   Best Sportsman
•   Best Painted

Tiebreakers: In case of a tie all tiebreakers use the following order to determine a winner
1.   Generalship
2.   Number of wins
3.   Sporting
4.   Strength of Schedule
5.   Favorite Opponent votes
6.   HMG teams at ten inches - most kills wins! If you do not have a HMG team a HMG team will be provided.

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> WWII LW (Late War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
April 6th - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles
April 6th, 2016 
FoW Demo: First Wednesday of Every Month & that Saturday!
By Lance Mathew

I arrived early and alone. However, Stephen was supposed to meet with me at around 1900 so I had quite a bit of time to admire the work the Tramp's staff was doing to tidy up and organize the Flames of War section. Looks awesome – just in time for the FoW Regina Rifles Regionals!

Speaking of Regionals Chris came by and paid his fee. And, then he let me know that he had arranged to take the day off and assist with setting up for the big event. Now there would be four of us Brody, Michael, Chris, and myself!

Meanwhile, Chris eyed up the crazy demo I had brought: Late War Recce forces! Luchs, 8-Rads, and SdKfz221,222,&223s opposed the Staghounds, Daimlers, and Dingos – kind of a cat versus dog match up I guess. With the 1420 points this year I expect to see more lists like them.

Finally, Stephen arrived and looked at the forces. I could tell he was keen to play but something was on his mind. He asked if I could give him a hand with list of troops he would bring to Regionals. And, if we could play that list this Saturday?  How could I say no? Especially since the list deadline was the 31st of the previous month!

We built a combined American and British list and gave it a try on the Saturday. I brought a list I had suggested to Stephen – Royal Airborne Engineers with no tank support probably did not seem that interesting.
Attacking at night the Royal Airborne Engineers dealt with two time on target artillery strikes which was nasty but not enough to stop them from capturing their objective. Especially, with two large platoons of Royal Engineers each with their own flamethrowers lighting the night up.
I gave Stephen both lists and I think sent him back to the drawing board.

Meanwhile, another new player named Tristan, an RCMP cadet, contacted me to set up another demo game other than my normally scheduled first Wednesday night of the month. Of course I said - YES!

To set up your own personal demo – please e-mail me at cigamnogard@sasktel.net or contact me through Facebook!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Regional Tournament
Title: FoW Regina Rifles Regionals
@ Double Tree (1975 Broad Street)
April 23rd - 830am to 1630pm
April 24th 9am to 1530
$50.00 entry fee {includes admission, swag bag,& T-shirt}
1,775 point LW armies ~ lists and entry fee due March 31st

Tournament Name   Date (mm/dd/yyyy)   Num Rounds
Regina Rifles Regionals   4/23/2016   5
Player Name   Army   Position
Bradford Stretton   Soviet   1
Danny Heikkinen   Soviet   1
Stephen Beauchamp   Hungarain   3
Dana Madsen   German   4
Tim Miller   German   5
Lance Mathew   German   6
Shawn Morris   German   7
Scott Miller   German   8
Bryan Koches   US   9
Geoff Cameron   British   10
Al Stretton   British   11
Kip Kyle    Canadian   12
Don Matwe   British   13
Igor Pavlovskii   German   14
Chris Mueller   German   15
Stephen Peters   US   16
Brody Mazurick   German   17
Carson Gallant    German   18
Tyler Hutchinson   Soviet   19
Nathan Rinholm   British   20
Stephane Verreault   German   20
Rob Duchene   Soviet   22
Torey Agarand   German   23
Howard Nason   German   24
Doug Amelia   US   25
Jarrod Daunheimer   German   25
Chris Good   German   25
Kyle Stevens   US   25
Michael Yule   British   25
Matt Valgardson   Canadian   30

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> Tour of Duty (Vietnam)
May 4th - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

May 4th, 2016 
FoW Demo: First Wednesday night of Every Month
By Lance Mathew

I arrived nearly on time to the demo – Tramp's was hot and humid the temperature was thirty-two degrees Celsius! The heat made for the right setting/mood for a Flames of War Vietnam Demo – also known as Tour of Duty!

The more I play Tour of Duty the more I like it. To me it seems a really laid back version of Flames of War. And, my personal favorite way to play Tour of Duty is with Total War with a bunch of other guys around a large table instead of mano a mano. However, our next big Total War is Operation Moked – the 6 Day War with the IDF versus their neighbors.

I had thought we would have a few extra guys show up so I asked Sean to bring his Địa Phương Quân (Local Forces) army.  In the end it was just Sean and I as Michael and Chris could not make it. We are trying to get Michael into another era. Sean is sold and Sean wanted a rematch or at least a way to stop my ANZAC infantry; so we set up and rolled CONTACT!CONTACT!CONTACT! I like the mission but have played it more than any other Tour of Duty Scenario and would like to try a few of the others. However, Sean and I both knew it so it was easy to set up and play.

Sean picked his table edge to defend and I rolled up the Elephant Grass – a one! Oh-oh no cover! Bad for both of us! Normally, there is some cover over the entire table but not this time. Sean had a hard time rolling in his Guerrilla reserves and I was able to blast his sappers apart.

Eventually, Sean rolled in a Địa Phương Quân platoon/company in and I sent my chuck chuck (spotting helicopter) to get him before he had a chance to dig in on the objectives. Unfortunately, my chuck chuck thought they looked like farmers and I was unable to range in my artillery. Luckily my Light Fire team were not fooled and opened up with rockets and machine guns galore!

Sean popped his sniper which had previously killed one of my ANZAC infantry teams and almost killed my chuck chuck with him! Snipers are really dangerous in Flames of War and in my opinion even more so in Vietnam!

As the game wore on and my ANZAC took more WIA and KIA teams as I got closer and closer to the objective it was no longer clear if the Free World would win and might even result in a Nationalists' victory we decided to call the game. Plus I was already past the demo time and now late to pick up Cupcake!

Until next time!

Quote from: Lance on May 12, 2016, 03:55:17 PM
May 4th, 2016 
FoW Demo: First Wednesday night of Every Month
By Lance Mathew

Until next time!

FYI:
http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=5201

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> Team Yankee
@PGX - Core Ritchie Centre
May 28th - 9am to 9pm
100 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

Demo -> Jace Demo#1
@Tramp's Comics & Games
May 29th - 1300 - 1500
Late War 1000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

Kyle's event ended a little early @ 3pm so I was unable to get a game in as a new TY player. But, I had made concrete plans with Jace after his demo:
I faced off against Jace with his UAR list (CC) so that he could see how well it performs versus CV IDF (I borrowed Brody's).
We rolled up Encounter (probably the worst mission for Brody's IDF = he has 4 platoons) but probably one of the best for Jace's UAR. Jace rolled up as the attacker and placed his 18 stand artillery of 155s down across the back of the table. I responded with a platoon of halftracked infantry on to his objective on my side of the table - my objective on my side I deployed some IShermans nearby. He left my objective on his side open - daring me to take it while the artillery had his locked tightly up.
Being down first I had first turn - lovely -> reduced shots, no jets, & I will be facing his artillery on turn 1. With no way I can barrel my way through a platoon of 8 IS3s or 11 T34-85s and with reduced shots facing a massive steel wall I wasn't going to be able to shoot through it either. I used my IShermans to target the nearby artillery (32" away) managing to hit and kill two (love Breakthrough guns) with my IShermans. Meanwhile, my IC & 2IC blasted away at the company of T34-85s killing one and bailing another. The IDF just doesn't put out enough shots.
Jace advanced with both his T34-84s and his slower IS3s. His Mig17 was unable to range in because of my IShermans were hiding in the trees. Whew!
Turn two brought my plane in needing to neutralize his artillery I sent it over to napalm the 155s. Meanwhile, I blasted away at his T34-85s with my British semi-indirect fire training killing another two and bailing one. Back to the plane I had my doubts on napalm usage (needing 6's to hit but with two plane dice I did get 3 jets in = rerolls misses). I scored a total of four hits out of ten possible - I will take it. Jace had taken a flamethrower/plane bomb hit! Yes! For turn two Jace did not roll for motivation and again advanced with his T34-84s but since I had failed my Few Against Many (Stormtrooper) he paused with his IS3s scoring three hits (2 kills and a bail) for which I promptly failed my platoon morale check. The objective now lay open. He again repeat bombarded my 1IC & 2IC with several infantry. Luckily no hits were scored. Darn Conscripts!
Turn three and at half strength I needed reinforcements! Luckily I rolled in my Sho'ts; with stabilizers and AT18 they completely finished off the T34's which the 1IC and 2IC IShermans had been working on. Turn 3 for Jace had no reinforcements, no motivation check, and again saw the continued bombardment of my position. This time he blasted my 2IC and one of my Sho'ts!
Turn four had no love for me - no reinforcements and no jets. I had to move my lonely Sho't (armour:12/8/2) closer to the objective figuring it would at least be able to make a save versus my lonely 1IC ISherman (armour:7/5/1). Turn four for Jace brought in a tank platoon of more T34-85s and his Mig17. His IS3s and Mig17 went after my Sho't and with that much firepower I eventually flubbed one of my rolls resulting in the loss of my Sho't platoon.
Turn five brought in my Magach 2s which were ineffective against the IS3s and my single jet which was pretty ineffective against the shiny new T34-85s. Turn five for Jace moved his IS3s up and his new T3485s up even closer. I think about this time Jace noticed the one objective on my side was still in the open and clear of my forces.
Turn six I began to move my Magach 2s over to cover the far objective - I would need to make two Few Against many rolls or the game would be over - not to mention also avoiding IS3 firepower! Jace was just getting a platoon in no matter what now but still rolled and still got his single infantry platoon/company in. Luckily he only pinged me a couple times with his AT15 IS3s' guns which I luckily saved away.
Turn seven allowed me to get my Magach 2s over to contest the objective and get some cover from a fiels and a burning Sho't. Turn seven also brought Jace's T34-85s in to contest the objective. Now it was just amount of time and sheer volume of fire.
The UAR emerged victorious and the IDF left as a smoking smear on the field of battle.

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> AIW (Arab Israeli War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
June 1st - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,100 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

First Wednesday of Every Month
June, 1st 2016
By Lance Mathew

AIW (Arab Israeli Wars) is in my opinion the quickest and most lethal era for Flames of War – although I still have yet to try TY Team Yankee aka WWIII). The equipment is post WWII or almost modern making things very quick and deadly!

Both Jace and Kyle showed up for the demo. Jace and I had played a couple days before and now Kyle wanted to try out his list. So, with no new players to try to recruit - Kyle and I had a tank duel! We rolled up Pincer and Kyle was all in while I had reserves and was half off and half off with my forces. Kyle charged forth in the open with Isreali halftracks – a perfect shot for my ambushing recoilless rifle jeeps! The game was pretty much Kyle's to win but halfway he stopped to sho't me up instead of pressing his attack – allowing my pincer to arrive. Once I started getting my reserves it was only a matter of time. And, we called it a Jordanian victory!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demonstration Game / Total War -> AIW (Arab Israeli War)
Title: Operation Moked [Focus]
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
June 4th - 10am to 1630 (am to 430pm)
2,000 point armies
* send lists 2 weeks prior to game day to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=14&aft=572293&afv=topic

Operation Moked
June 4, 2016
By Lance Mathew

Another successful mega game known as Total War for Flames of War transpired at Tramp's Comics and Games on June 4th, 2016. This event was entitled Operation Moked [Hebrew for Focus]. Historically, Operation Moked was actually the massive air operation launched by the IDF (Isreali Defense Force) against the UAR (United Arab Republic) and its allies. We were more concerned with the land operations (Red Sheet) but the planes played a huge part in every turn we played.

Prior to the game I reviewed the Total War Rules (found in the Normandy Battles book) and I discovered years ago we had made alternations to the scenario. In the mission it calls for a total of six objectives; two on either end and two in the middle – we play with minimum of nine; three on either side and three in the middle. Also, the scenario states that it uses both reserves (you deploy half your force) and you deploy your entire force – we almost always use reserves. We also use team captains to organize and make overall plans.   

With the IDF as the attacker Matt (UAR), Jace (UAR), and myself (Jordanians) deployed half on the table. Each of us had brought artillery and it was our first choice to put down. Matt put down his twelve 155 heavy gun battery (double wide template rerolling misses), Jace took even more time placing his eighteen 155 heavy gun battery (devastating template rerolling misses), and I quickly put down my three pop-gun 25 pounders. Matt placed his impressive nine IS-3 tank company down, Jace also placed his eight IS-3s on the table, and I put down three Centurions.  More units were added to the fray but looking at my Arab allies I was surely outmatched in terms of quantity. And, I knew the IDF team would be even more outnumbered.

Now the IDF deployed seeing where the defending Arab nation's troops were. Brody (IDF IShermans) choose to oppose Jace, Chris (IDF Jeeps) as the team captain opposed Matt (our team captain) in the middle, and Kyle (IDF Magach 3) opposed me. Now at this point things began to falter. Brody suggested a night attack. Now, in hindsight I am not sure this was or was not a good idea. The fact was it allowed troops to move into their positions unopposed changed the course of the game and in my honest opinion increased the time of the entire game. Now, that being said the IDF was able to escape three turns of Matt's and Jace's large artillery templates but they were also unable to take advantage of their 40" tank gun ranges. Also, in my opinion the planes (jets) were a wash as both the IDF and UAR had planes; although Kyle had a Mirage which is rated as supersonic and could not be intercepted by the slower MIG-17.

The game flowed back and forth as large games due with multitudes of loses - most of them being the conscript Arabs. However, whenever a tactical error occurred the Arab nations capitalized on it.  One of Kyle three Magachs became bogged down right in front of my infantry , I proceeded to offer covering fire bailing the other two and charged in with the afore mentioned infantry! Three tanks gone on one turn was a bitter pill to swallow for the IDF. Also, Kyle choose to attack with his paratroopers into Jace's infantry; personally and historically they would have been better served going after Jace's large gun park. Jace scored some lucky hits and was able to break off with most of his infantry; which pulled Kyle in after them. The nearby objective was never in any danger. Speaking of tactics of mistake and objectives – Brody had failed to leave any troops near hos objective and thus not a single point was scored for two turns on his table for the IDF. This lead would allow the Arab nations to pull ahead and was never recovered. Chris was hard pressed in the centre by Matt but the UAR was not without its own tactics of mistake when Matt doubled his IS-3s forward! Chris with his platoon of four Sho'ts (up-gunned Centurions) gave no mercy - cracked the whip and broke Matt's IS-3 tank company.

Quite the game and day – have already set the plans in motion for next year's Operation Red Sheet! Think we will need even more table space plus of course - more players! Our next event is Michael's Vietnam Demo on June 16th!  And, our next tournament is D.G.A.T. (David's Going Away Tournament) on July 23rd! Come down and check out the action or better yet – join in!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> Michael's 'Nam Demo
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
June 16th @ 1800-2030
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

Michael's Tour of Duty Demo
June 16th, 2016
By Lance Mathew

Michael, while on his trip to Japan, contacted me that when he got back he wanted to get into the Vietnam era of Flames of War. Michael and I set up a night and let Tramp's know that we would be invading the store for that evening. I contacted our local group of 'Nam to bring 1,000 points lists for the evening. Everyone was excited to head back in the jungle!

Michael chose the Assault Boats from the Brown Water Navy Book, Chris brought his Chuppas, and I assembled my ANZAC. Meanwhile, Matt was unable to attend as he was doing his radio show, Sean showed up with his VC and Jace filled in with PAVN [since the Nationalists were down a player Jace also had a 2k list].

We tried the Upriver Mission for the first time – it is very similar to Search and Destroy. I screwed up using too small of river and streams that I had brought for terrain – things worked out okay but... also thinking I am going to need taller bridges. Another issue was Chris rolled for Elephant Grass and came up with a one – very little cover! All those trees and brush now became even more important especially with all the local resistance half in boats and half on the ground reporting the Free Worlds' troop movements. I knew we were going to be hit by a lot of artillery from nearby Laos!

For deployment we had Chris flying high, Michael occupying the centre of the river, and my ANZAC were hunkered down in da bush near an objective. The Upriver Mission has the Nationalists having the first turn. Jace was able to roll in a single PAVN company while Sean was not able bring any of his VC forces to the table.  Jace used his local resistance to spot for all his off board artillery parks. Michael was pretty much a sitting duck and one of his targeted boats was near my ANZAC platoon! Jace ranged in several times bailing my koala (nickname given to the Centurion Main Battle tank by the ANZAC infantry) and wounding two teams, Michael's boat was also hit but he made his saves. On the Free Worlds' turn - Michael sent his boats both up and down the river as well as his SEALs sprang into action, Chris dropped a HueyCobra and Loach out of the sky, and I moved my troops cautiously towards a nearby objective (as a point of note: the objective cannot be taken or searched until turn two). Michael, flamed a few PAVN RPG teams and MG'd a pile more. Chris swooped in and caught the other side of that PAVN company. Even though the crossfire was extreme Jace motivated the remains (have to love Fearless forces). I was unable to fire a shot, however my medic team was unable to save one of my wounded so my force lost a team.

Turn two for the Nationalists saw no large infantry companies arrive but several snipers and an Anti-Aircraft platoon popped out like jackrabbits! The AA platoon knocked Chris helos out of the sky and the snipers with no ANZAC to shoot at snapped off a couple of shots at the newly arrived SEALs – killing one team! Again more artillery hit Michael's boats but only managed to damage one. Turn two for the Free Worlds' brought the revenge of the helos with more helicopters! Chris blasted Jace's AA platoon, Michael kept chewing at the remains of Jace's company, and I successfully searched the nearby objective.

With a late start and so many players we figured two turns was our limit. Looking at two downed helos and only one objective my assumption was that it was a Nationalist victory – but again I would be in error. Searching an objective is worth two points and killing two helos is only one point (total) – a narrow Free Worlds' Propaganda victory! 

A quick short game with lots of smiling faces was a good sign. Even better was Michael suggesting we should play a big 'Nam game at his garage and make it a BBQ event. And, like I always have said, '"Nam is the FoW beer and pretzel game" – now just have to get me some pretzels!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> Jace Demo #2
@Tramp's Comics & Games
June 26th - 1300 - 1500
Late War 850 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

800 Points Late War Open Fire Demo
June 26th, 2016
Jace Pippin
   Today I again met with Jason and Alex to do another Flames of War demo. Today I had brought the starter box Open Fire to teach Jason and Alex about the uses of infantry in the game and how assaults work. Since Alex is building an American army I thought that he would choose to use the British tank force but he surprised me and decided to switch it up and use the German Grenadier Company. The first bit of the game was uneventful as all of their exchanged fire missed but Jason was steadily moving the British up the board.
   At about turn 3 was when the action started, one of Jason's Sherman platoons managed to knock out a PaK40 gun team and his tanks on the other side of the table took down 2 stands of infantry. When Alex returned fire he was able to destroy the platoon across from his infantry and knock Jason's paratroopers down to just above half strength. At this point Jason dug in his paratroopers and moved his remaining tanks into an assaulting position onto the side of the one remaining PaK40. Since this was the first time either of them had used assaults we slowed down and walked them through it, which ended with a dead PaK40 platoon. Alex taking revenge uses a panzerfaust from his 2iC to take out Jason's company commander and with his StuG's takes out the platoon command tank of the platoon that assaulted his guns. His infantry also leave their foxholes and starts to make their way towards the dug in paratroops. Jason knocks out Alex's StuG's with fire from his Sherman V's but Alex takes down the paratroopers in an assault and destroys Jason's 2iC with a tank assault from his other infantry platoon breaking Jason's company.
   Jason and Alex caught on pretty good to the way assaults work in this game, especially considering this was their first time playing with them. They had used infantry once before but today really helped them understand the basic and slightly more complex mechanics of how they work. Unfortunately they are away for the next two months but we will do another demo in September which I think we will add in some artillery or maybe planes.

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> WWI (the Great War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
July 6th - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

First Wednesday of Every Month
July 6th, 2016
By Lance Mathew

I arrived early, really early, for the Great War Demo. Mini-me was out of town with his mother and Cupcake was hard at work; all on a 29 degree day that was threatening to rain. Not a good sign for foot traffic. Needless to say no one showed up for a demo. However, I was able to preview the new Team Yankee (WWIII) book which has the sexy Leopard tank on the cover. Moreover, I was able to reflect on WWI and the lack of Canadians in the Battlefront range for the Great War (and even Team Yankee for that matter).

Now, being a Canuck I started to think of the special rules that the Canadian Forces should have to reflect their status/abilities of the Great War:

Piss & Vinegar (aka Enjoy the War):
April 1915, the Canadians, were introduced to chlorine gas by the Germans; employed to create a hole in the French (Algerians) lines near the Canadian Expeditionary Force (CEF).  The Canadians stood their ground by wearing urine soaked rags on their faces (note gas masks had not yet been issued to the Allied soldiers in WWI) and repulsed the Germans attack! One out of every fourth CEF was a casualty.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/battle-of-ypres/

Birth of a Nation (aka Mission Tactics):
April 1917, the Canadians, commanded by British Lieutenant-General Byng. The troops were shown replicas and aerial maps, providing precise information on the enemy - their orders: "Follow your commanding officer and if he goes down, follow the next in rank in descending order."
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vimy-ridge-and-the-birth-of-a-nation/

Creeping Barrage (aka Spearhead):
April 1917 the Canadian Corps in the midst of sleet, wind, & snow the CEF advanced behind a rolling artillery barrage intended to keep the Germans cowed in their bunkers and away from their lethal machine guns for as long as possible.
http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/vimy-ridge/

Well, those were my first thoughts at least. Thinking I should submit my ideas and lists to Battlefront and see what happens from there. Meanwhile here is another site that might interest followers of Canadian history:
http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/first-world-war/first-world-war-1914-1918-cef/Pages/canadian-expeditionary-force.aspx
Note – the next Tournament is July 23rd – come check out the action at Tramp's!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Tournament - David's Going Away
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
July 23rd
♣ $5.00 entry fee
♦ 2000 point LW armies
♠ lists due on or before July 9th; please send to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
• http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=14&aft=573630&afv=topic

Missions:
Free For All
Fighting Withdrawal
Counter Attack


Results:
1 Dana (German)
1 David (German)
1 Lance (British)
4 Tim (German)
5 Stephen (Hungarian)
6 Matt (German)
7 Doug (USA)
7 Jace (German)
7 Stephen (USA)
10 Brody (German)
10 Lorne (German)
10 Sean (New Zealand)

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Flames of War Early War Demo
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
- Wednesday Evening,  August 3rd 2016
from 18:15 - 2015 (615pm-815pm)
1,000 Early War Armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

First Wednesday of Every Month
August 3rd, 2016
By Lance Mathew

I arrived about fifteen minutes early – what I call "bang" on time for the Early World War II Demo. Mini-me was out of town again with his mother and Cupcake was again hard at work; all on a 28 degree day that was threatening to storm. Not a good sign for foot traffic. Needless to say no one showed up for a demo - again. Cupcake has been chatting up the demos that I do at her work, I have continued to share the demos on every local game website, and yet I think the banner that I paid for a few years ago does the best recruitment - however these last two months even it has let me down. Meanwhile, I was able to continue my inventory work that I had begun a couple days earlier.

FoW Regina Rifles is also doing a painting contest for an airplane model this month – running July 31st to August 31st. We have prize support from Tramp's so it is pretty exciting a few of the guys have sent me sneak peeks of their models – looking great so far! If you are interested the airplane model it may be from any era for Flames of War and we require a before and after picture posted to our Facebook page (FoW Regina Rifles) – Good luck!

Also, the next tournament for Flames of War is August 20th – August Anvil an Early World War II 1500 point event; lists are due August 6th, 2016! Hope to see you there as a player or maybe even as a spectator! Good hunting!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
August Anvil Tournament
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
@ 9am to 1730 on Saturday August 20th 2016
♥ $5.00 entry fee
♣ 1500 Early War Armies
♠ lists are due on or before August 6th; please send to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
♦ http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=14&aft=573631&afv=topic

Results:
August Anvil   Player Name   Army   Position
Sean Froc   British   1
Tim Miller   Soviet   2
Lorne Sveinbjornson   Italian   3
Shaun Webster   German   4
Dana Madsen   Finnish   5
Shawn Morris   French   6
Chris Mueller   French   7
Wayne Gardner   Soviet   8
Matt Valgardson German   9
Jace Pippin          French   9
Doug    Indian (British)   9
Stephane Verreault    German   12
Lance Mathew   Greek   13

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> MWWII (Mid War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
September 7th
From 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

September 7th, 2016
FoW Demo: Mid War
By Lance Mathew

Another quiet demo – let us call it a phony war demo. Again, I arrived early and again waited patiently to show anyone how to play this fantastic game. But, all for naught - every first Wednesday of the month rain, cold, sickness, and even other commitments I have been at Tramp's to demonstrate Flames of War.

I am on multiple websites, write for a Saskgames Newsletter, have oodles of black and pink business cards, have a huge black and pink banner, Cupcake talks me up and hands out cards, but the last few months I have struck out at having anyone to demo with. I used to have pretty good results.

Wondering what I could be doing wrong? Someone much wiser than me once said insanity is where you do the same thing over and over again expecting different results. So, I need to change things up.

•   I have gotten Tramp's to have a sign-up sheet near the Flames of War section.
•    I have personally invited a few onlookers and given them FoW business cards when they were checking things out at the last tournament.
•   I have signed up on a few new websites and Facebook groups.

Hopefully, things change with the weather turning colder and people begin to look more indoors for hobbies to play. Meanwhile, if you ae looking to try out Flames of War – I am at Tramp's every first Wednesday of the Month but I would be happy to demo anytime – please e-mail me at cigamnogard@sasktel.net

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Beer, BBQ, & 'Nam
@ Michael's Place
September 10th
From 1000-1700
2,000 point NVA armies
1,500 point Free World's armies

Beer, BBQ, & 'Nam
September, 10th 2016
By Lance Mathew

In my honest opinion the Vietnam Flames of War era is a beer and pretzels game – well it's a theory.  What I mean by that it is the most laid back and casual game experience: the Nationalists, Việt cộng and PAVN, mostly auto respawn; in slight contrast to the Free World's players who mostly are wounded instead of KIA. Personally, I feel the Vietnam era is more suited for a larger game experience compared to one on one games. And, to test my theory my fellow Tour of Duty players invaded Michael's garage – by invitation of course!

Michael is the newest member of our 'Nam group – his list is comprised of Brown Water Navy boats of which he is still getting a feel for. Jace has also now switched teams and is running an ANZAC Cavalry list of interesting M113s. Chris is still flying high with his 'Merikan Chuppas also known as Sky Soldiers.  And, I am still slogging in da bush with my ANZAC infantry. Since we outnumbered the Nationalists we each had a 1,500 point list. Not to be outdone each of the three Nationalists had a 2,000 point lists to defeat the Capitalist dogs with. Matt rumbled forth with his Ironclad NVA list. Sean had his black pajama wearing Việt cộng  and regular forces Sappers somewhere near our wire. And, Brody assembled two full PAVN companies with as much artillery as possible. 

Michael laid out two 4 x 6 tables side by side with a two parallel tributaries connecting a main river junction which broke up the dense jungle terrain. Two small villages were located - one on the north side and the other opposite on the south side of the table. As the attackers in the scenario the Free Worlders deployed on the table moving up to search the objectives.  As par for the course the Guerrilla Forces of the NVA sprang out of ambush to cause mayhem and destruction. Matt's Ironclad K-2s appeared along the river, Sean sprang his Việt cộng behind Jace and off Michael's starboard side and Brody bushwhacked my ANZAC by dominating the woods in front of me. Brody also did his best to range in his batteries on to Michael's boats and cause as much fire and confusion as possible. 

For the most part the Free World's Players were able to weather the storm of fire but Jace had lost a Koala (aka Centurion MBT) and a few M113s – his Tour of Duty 'luck' had continued to follow him. The Free World's counter attack was mostly ineffective except for Sean's Việt cộng which took a pounding from Jace and Michael. Matt had nothing to fear from my Koala who seemed to have problems figuring out which tank to shoot at on the far bank and whiffed most of his/my rolls all day.

Michael's Seal teams faced Sean's Sapper patrol for control of the centre of the board. The odds were heavily in Sean's favor in that fight so Chris and my Chuppas raced to offer support. Blasting away Chris and I thinned down the patrol and pinned the enemy down. However, Brody dropped multiple munitions on to our helos and Matt even .50 caled down a chuppa or three. The Free World's airpower was strewn across the battlefield and a Hog was even at the bottom of a tributary.

The NVA were rapidly gaining the upper hand and continued to pour fire on their outnumbered opponents; turn after turn the NVA seemed to heading for their first win. Then disaster struck – the fickle dice gods betrayed Matt – most of Matt's intact but simply bailed out BTR-50PKs failed their Fearless motivation check and fled leaving the North side of the table in the Free World's hands. It was a stunning reversal of fortune and decidedly gave the Free World's players a narrow win.

It had been a great day – awesome food, great conversation, plenty of fun dice rolling, and an awesome group of guys to hang out with! The theory had proved plausible; pretty sure we will have to test its mettle a few more times before we can mark it off as confirmed!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Tournament -> September Seconds MWWII (Mid War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
-September 24th
-9am till 1730
♠1,250 point armies with 150 points shared (1100 & 1400)
♠ Axis versus Allies (no red & blue teams)
♥$5.00 entry fee per player
•please submit lists no later than September 10th to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
♦http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&afv=topic&aff=14&aft=573795

Results (already submitted to WWPD Rankings Canada):
September Seconds   9/24/2016   3
Player Name   Army   Position
Tim Miller           Soviet   1
Shawn Morris   Soviet   1
Jace Pippin      Romanian   1
Lance Mathew   Italian   1
Sean Froc          British   5
Stephen B     USA      5
Brody Mazurick   German   7
Kip Kyle          German   7
Chris Mueller   German   9
Michael Yule   German   9
Brandon W    Canadian   9
Tyler H         Canadian   9

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demonstration Game / Total War -> Early War Invasion of France
Title: Case Yellow
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
October 1st - 1030am to 1630 (1030am to 430pm)
1,450 point armies {Germans limited to Tank & Mechanized / British & French no limit to lists}
* please send lists 2 weeks prior to game day to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
♣ http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&afv=topic&aff=14&aft=573791

Case Yellow
October 1st, 2016
By Lance Mathew

Another successful mega game known as Total War for Flames of War transpired at Tramp's Comics and Games on October 1st, 2016. This event was entitled the Case Yellow.  Historically, Case Yellow was a massive operation launched by Nazi Germany against France and its Allies.  As per usual whenever the FoW Regina Rifles runs these large Demonstration games we get people coming over to see what is happening; having cute looking tanks on a large table never fails to impress.  We had several people stop by to check out the action; three of them took my business cards and will hopefully set up a demo game in the future. 

Lorne and Sean both played British Guards and each had similar list; with minor support differences.  Not to be out done Matt and I both played Panzergrenadier lists – again very similar.  Only a single platoon of French tanks was used and they were one of the last platoons to hit the table – what can I say -> historically accurate? Well...maybe.

Matt and I rolled higher and took the table side we wanted as well as the first turn. Both of us charged our respective 251s down our respective roads.  Meanwhile, my 2IC (second in command) sped off towards a nearby objective which my reserves would double behind him. Our first turn went splendidly and not much happened from the Phony side of the Allied table on their first turn as they did not get any reserves however they were successful in killing my HMG (Heavy Machine Gun) team and pinning my doubling platoon.

Matt and my second turn saw Matt getting reserves but nothing for me. Sean had moved up his Matilda tanks towards Matt's middle objective but Lorne had failed to do move forward. Both Matt and I sent in our planes to take advantage of Lorne's concentration of forces, but were mostly ineffective. On the Allies turn the pivotal part of the game occurred – Sean rolled in his Recce Universal Carrier troop. He machine gunned away at my artillery guarding my back objective and charged in! His assault was highly effective killing two gun teams and contesting the objective. That single point would make all the difference.

Now, how could a single point make a difference? In Total War the game is scored by points you receive from holding an objective. There are six objectives on the table; two in each of the deployment zones and two in the centre. By losing or better yet not gaining a point for two turns will and did cost Matt and me the game. That being said we managed to break for lunch – which was not rushed and we were all able to enjoy a sit down and a chance to chat about our lives and of course – Flames of War.

After lunch we resumed the game but that two points was kept and held by the Allies and the Axis were never able to catch up and by the end of the battle the lead had even increased to three points! Ah well – a great time was had by all. I was able to hand out a bunch of black and pink business cards. Thanks again to all the players and if you are interested in a game -> please e-mail me at cigamnogard@sasktel.net

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> LWWII (Late War World War II)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
October 5th - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

First Wednesday of Every Month
October 5th, 2016
By Lance Mathew

I arrived exactly on time – well I had been about fifteen minutes early but I went and grabbed a warm drink as it was snowing like crazy! Yes, the first week in October with snow on the ground – loud audible sigh. Meanwhile, I was prepped and ready to go for the Late World War II Demo.  However, with the nasty weather I settled down to expect another wasted night of not demoing Flames of War. Which was very disappointing as Late World War II is the most popular.

As I was walking in with my French Vanilla Latte I saw Brad killing time. I have tried to recruit Brad before both for Flames of War and Battletech. He has always seemed interested but the stars have never aligned to allow it happen. 

I am happy to say today the stars planets and moons unleashed the Kraken! Brad went with the Soviet Peredovye Otryad (Forward Detachment) which has the Always Attack rule while I went with German Sperrverband. Brad at first was unsure which objective he should smash so almost went with every beginner's first instinct – smash both! I looked at him and shook my head saying, "please heed my advice - concentrate your forces on one and use the terrain to your advantage. This is not a shooting game but a tactical game."

So, Brad listened to my advice blasting my 8.8s with his M3 Lees and then sent in his infantry to crash into my pioneers. My small line of gray infantry stood no chance against his red horde!

We both had a great time and Brad shared with me stories of him playing around on a real tank and how his grandfather had told him to work the hatches. I found the stories extremely interesting and hope to hear more!

Our next event is Tanksgiving on October 22nd at Tramp's Comics & Games – come on out and check it out! Hope to see you there!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Tanksgiving!
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
- October 22nd
- 1030am-1630
♠1,555 point Late War tank armies

Tanksgiving
October 22nd, 2016
By Lance Mathew

Another successful mega game known as Tanksgiving, very similar to Total War, for Flames of War transpired at Tramp's Comics and Games on October  22nd, 2016. This event was entitled Tanksgiving. As you may have guessed it the forces brought must be at their core a tank company. This was the second annual Tansgiving for the Flames of War Regina Rifles. We had such a good time mixing red (Axis) and blue (Allied) versus blue and red last year that we decided to it again this year. This year Alex, Brody, Doug, and Jason made up one team while Matt, Michael, and myself made up the opposing team.

Last year the Big Cats dominated the field destroying everything in sight. This year there was only a single JagTiger list, brought by Brody, and another that had a mix of mark IVs and mark Vs (aka Panthers), brought by Jason, and a mix of Tiger 1Ps Elephants, brought by Michael, and the rest were almost all medium tanks lists. The most dangerous medium list I thought was Alex's Pershings, Easy 8's, and Jumbos. However, I had underestimated Doug's Chafee list which zipped across the board and seemed to lead a charmed life. I firmly expected Matt's S.A.R (South Albertan Regiment) to dominate but facing four players he was stopped cold. And, for my list – it was the exact opposite I had brought mostly EW (early war) tanks to a LW (late war) fight; now, that being I had brought enough artillery to give me a devastating bombardment template of AT5 2+ Firepower.

Outnumbered Matt, Michael, and myself were the defenders facing a hard charging force. Brody was their team captain and he pushed his troops hard, mayhap a little too hard for a fun game. But, in the end they dominated the game killing more platoons and getting more objectives than we did. At one point in the game it was 22 to 14! Hard to argue with results and everyone had a good time. Michael was able to delay their horde coming down the middle with his interlocking 40" fields of fire but the lack of AA was our downfall as their planes steaked in slowly knocking out our tanks one by one. My large template eventually had to be split up to cover all the avenues of approach and became very ineffective.

What can I say it was a good day! We had two new players – Alex and his dad Jason meet up with our group and play out a fun game. We gave out some prize support that Matthew our Battlefront rep had sent us. And Doug also got to finally play in his mega game.

Of course we also handed out Flames of War Regina Rifles business cards and let a bunch of onlookers/spectators know about the game – always a win win! And, if you are reading this and interested in a demo let me know by e-mailing cigamnogard@sasktel.net or by showing up at Tramp's Comics and Games when we do a demo like we do the first Wednesday night of every month! Hope to see you there!

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> November 'Nam
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
November 2nd - 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,000 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles
♣ http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=14&aft=573792&afv=topic

First Wednesday of Every Month
November 2nd, 2016
By Lance Mathew

I arrived exactly on time – well I was early – about fifteen minutes early. I looked around it was a very quiet at Tramp's but it was supper time so began to set up. I went looking for the sign-up sheet unfortunately I could not find it anywhere. I put out all the ANZAC with their chuppas and the PAVN; which is what I have for the Tour of Duty also known as Flames of War Vietnam.

I waited patiently for anyone to show up. I had even posted on the Sask Games Forum that I would bring any other era – so I had brought my Late War tank heavy demo kit as well. No one showed and other than the Wednesday D & D crowd downstairs it was pretty quiet.

With the foot traffic quiet I began to think about the family vacation to Edmonton. We were of course all participating in Danny's annual Remembrance Weekend tournament. And, when I say we I mean –> Cupcake and her Finnish, –>Levi, my son, with his Red Banner Soviets, –> Brody, my younger son with his German StuGs, –> and me with my German Panzergrenadier Lehr. Of course we had shopping and West Ed trips planned as well. Wish us luck!

No one did show up. I picked up a couple of blisters to quickly assemble for the Edmonton tournament and said good night to the Tramp's staff.

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demo -> AIW (Arab Israeli War)
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
December 7th
1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm)
1,100 point armies provided by FoW Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo - First Wednesday of Every Month
December 7th, 2016
By Lance Mathew

With the weather at -31˚C; it was cold and the temperature did not instill in me that anyone would be showing up for the AIW (Arab-Israeli Wars) Demo. I was wrong – sometimes I like being wrong – both, Kyle and Michael had braved the bitter cold to come and try out the most lethal era of Flames of War. While I consider Vietnam a Beer and Pretzels type of Flames of War I firmly believe that AIW is the most unforgiving and lethal era for Flames of War – of course I love it!

Coincidently Michael only had about ten to fifteen minutes – I said that's all you need for AIW. He seemed a little doubtful but was completely convinced by turn two when six out of his eight IDF (Israeli Defense Force) tanks were brewed up on the table. Kyle who normally plays IDF faced off against him with my Jordanians. Kyle has been on the receiving end of my Jordanians a few times and was eager to try them out. Kyle wasted no time in showing off what he had learned – to Michael's dismay.

After Michael had gone Kyle and I discussed the Turan tank. Kyle is very interested in making an AIW list of them but so far Battlefront has yet to move on from the 6 Day War to the Yom Kippur/October War. The Turan tanks were captured T55 that were up-gunned by the IDF. Kyle has already purchased the T55s and has gotten some extra up-gunned barrels from my parts bits cache. We also discussed Mid War moving into Flames of War Version Four and are curious to see where it is going.

Finally it was running late so I headed home to Cupcake and Minnie-me. Cupcake had been crocheting and Minnie-me had been constructing Hind helicopters.

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Tournament->December Duels
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
@ 9am to 1730 on Saturday December 10th 2016
♠ 1500 EW armies
♣lists are due on or before November 25th; please send to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
♥$5.00 entry fee
♦ http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&afv=topic&aff=14&aft=573794

Results are in and submitted to WWPD:

December Duels   12/10/2016   3
Player Name   Army   Position
Shawn Webster   German   1
Jace Pippin   Italian   2
Shawn Morris   French   3
Brody Mazurick   Soviet   4
Lorne Sveinbjornson   Italian   5
Brendon MacLeod   Japanese   6
Justin Scherban   German   7
Alex Berkan   French   8
Lance Mathew   Greek   9
       

Quote from: Lance on December 11, 2015, 08:26:24 AM
Demonstration Game / Total War ->Tour of Duty
Title: Khe Sanh
@ Tramp's Comics & Games
December 17th - 1030am to 1630 (1030am to 430pm)
♣1,650 point armies (no restrictions on lists)
* please send lists 2 weeks prior to game day to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
♠ http://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&afv=topic&aff=14&aft=573793

Khe Sanh
December 17th, 2016
By Lance Mathew

I have said it before – and I am sure that I will say it again - the Vietnam Flames of War era is a beer and pretzels game.  What I mean by that it is the most laid back and casual game experience: the Nationalists, Việt cộng and PAVN, mostly auto respawn; in slight contrast to the Free World's players who mostly are wounded instead of KIA. Personally, I feel the Vietnam era is more suited for a larger game experience compared to one on one games. And, on the coldest day of the year @ -30 degrees we assembled at Tramp's Comics and Games!

Both of our American players, Michael and Chris, were unable to attend because of family commitments – probably had something to do with the date of the event (silly organizer).  Brody (aka Mini-me) was in Saskatoon visiting his mother; however I had arranged a substitute for Brody – Alex.  Yet, I was not able to arrange any American substitute (I got close but his dog blew her stitches = ouch!).  So three 1650 Nationalist lists from Sean, Matt, and Alex versus two ANZAC lists (Jace & mine) had me just bump up the Free World's points up to even.

We were a little crammed into Tramp's as there was an eighteen man 40K Elimination Tournament going on so were delegated to the Front of the store – if not for the cold would have been a perfect spot to show off the Vietnam Era for Flames of War. With a fully prepared Firebase on the centre table and chuppas  flying high it attracted everyone's eyes as they came into the store.   

"Charlie's on the wire!" took on the appropriate meaning as the Đặc Công (PAVN Special Tasks Force) blew most of the 'southern' barbwire on their first turn. Of course this was my sector to defend and I saw it coming when both Matt and Sean rolled their Guerrilla reserves for their Đặc Công on to my quarter of the table. Sean's Đặc Công successfully assaulted into a beehive artillery piece and a few other nasties and was succeeded in killing two guns but was pinned from a counter assault. That pin would continue for the next two turns and would in the end, in my opinion, cost the Nationalists the game.

Elsewhere, Alex and Matt were overly cautious in their deployment and attacks. In Alex's defense it was his first game of Vietnam Flames of War and he had deployed a little too far back to contribute with both the Darkness and tall Elephant grass rules nullifying his horde advantage.  Meanwhile, Matt ran into an issue of where to put all of his stuff. Allowing the ANZAC to concentrate their fire on his higher tech 'advantage' as Matt plays the Ironclad list (T55s and other mechanized assets).

Every turn Jace and I hammered and blasted away with everything we could. Our reserves were an entire table away and could not hope to arrive in time to participate in the battle – we had taken a look at the lay of the land and changed from delayed reserves to reserves. Meanwhile, chuppas and off board artillery rained fire upon everything they see. The Nationalists made the average number of infantry saves and a high number of tank and SP AA saves leaving the Free Worlds in an undesirable position. But, eventually the Nationalists were contained – if only Sean's mostly intact Đặc Công would rush the closest objective and claim it.

But it was not to be - it had been a great day - we managed to have a lunch break across at Beer Brothers and roll a tonne of dice! Thanks again for everyone who braved the cold and played the last Flames of War Event for 2016. We will see you all next year! The next event is Total War (team Game) Stalingrad on January 7th 2017!



For what actually happened at the battle - please see the below link:

http://www.history.com/topics/vietnam-war/battle-of-khe-sanh