SaskGames

Well that's another exciting year for Flames of War!
Hope you enjoyed the action:
If you are curious about the game (there are eras from WWI through till WWIII) or are interested in a demo please follow us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/groups/fowreginarifles
Alternatively please e-mail me directly at:
cigamnogard@sasktel.net


Previous year:
http://sask.games/index.php?topic=5328.0

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demo: Team Yankee (WWIII)
♠ January 4th @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 80 point World War III armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – Team Yankee!
January 4th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

With the weather at -40˚C something; it was unbelievably cold and I expected all those who told me that they were interested in WWIII (yes, World War Three – you read that correctly) would not be there. Again, I was wrong – two months in a row now – everyone showed up Alex, Brett, Chris, James, Jason, Justin, Kyle, and Michael. They had all braved the extreme cold to come and try out the Cold War at its hottest!

Everyone was keen to try out the game. However, everyone wanted the newest players to give it a go while the veterans stood back and observed. So, Alex stepped up and wore the Warsaw Pact hat while Brett gave the NATO's West Germans a shot. Alex and Brett rolled up Counter Attack with Alex defending with half of his troops.

Brett was quickly confused but Justin stepped in to assist while I gave simple suggestions to Alex. Alex began to bash Brett and Justin's West Germans with all his support platoons. First went the NATO AA (anti-aircraft) clearing the way for a reserve platoon of Hinds to eventually arrive a few turns later (which raked the Leopard IIs and broke the platoon). Next, went three quarters of the Luchs on the table to Shilka direct fire. Justin and Brett remained on the defensive and eventually broke when Alex finally deployed his ambushing T72s.

Thanks again for Justin in loaning his gorgeously painted West Germans. I hope when the DDR (Deutsche Demokratische Republik / East German / Volksarmee) is out they can face off in a terrific struggle! This coincidently is what the Warsaw Pact troops are painted in the pictures. I am anxiously waiting for the release of the Volksarmee book (expect it at Tramp's any day) to finish building the army – expect the next Team Yankee Demo to include the DDR!

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demonstration Team Game - Stalingrad (MWWII)
♠ January 7th @ 10:30am
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1500 Mid War point World War II  per player
Total War Stalingrad Game   
  Multi Part Team Game:   
  Large Cauldron Table   
- Any Axis lists from Eastern Front Book except Finns
- no restrictions on Soviet lists from Eastern Front Book
  Secondary Tables (attempting to link up/relieve Cauldron)   
- German mechanized & tank lists only from Eastern Front Book 
- no restrictions on Soviet lists from Eastern Front Book

Stalingrad – Flames of War Total War
January, 7th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Huge turnout for one of the most epic battles in history; we (the Flames of War Regina Rifles) had a total of twelve players – six Soviets and six Axis! We certainly had done our best to 'represent' the two plus million personnel involved in the five month long battle of history. Massive close quarter assaults, devastating bombardments,  multiple areal dogfights and air strikes – we had it all. With such a large turnout we occupied the back half of Tramp's Comics and Games main floor. For the main event three tables were set up in a "v" engaged the main battle forces and for the side event we had two other tables lengthwise for the relief column. 

Team Kaptain Kip of the Axis forces deployed on the left "v" table, Chris deployed in the centre, and Jace deployed on the right part of the "v". To oppose Kip Team Comrade капита́н Jace sent Sean and Tyler to double team his adversary. Matt with his Mixed Tankovy slammed into Chris on the centre and Jace himself took on Jarrod. At centre stage the main battle played itself out mostly like it did in history with massive casualties and broken companies!

Along those lines the side stage battle of the relief column also went the same as history. However, this is where I learned that I had set up the relief column in a poor position. With two 4' x 6' tables lengthwise = it was twelve feet of 'too far' to make it on to the "v" table and relieve Stalingrad proper. In other words I had set myself up to fail with no way to change history and forcing five players to mostly sit on their laurels as the action took place elsewhere – once again my apologies Brody, Justin, Stephen, and Tim.

However, we were observed in our natural habitat by quite a few people who stopped by to gander at the massive game, the hordes of troops, and the groans and cheers of miniature battle! Also, with a bit of time to kill Tim took the time to check out the AIW (Arab-Israeli era) book – which he later purchased.

Thanks again for everyone who attended and made such an event a great time! And, once again thanks to Tramp's for letting us hold these large scale battles! Our next event is a Late War Tournament on February 25th! Also, our next large scale event is a WWI Event entitled Vimy Ridge on April 8th. I will also remind the reader that every first Wednesday night of the month at Tramp's we do a Flames of War Demo from 1815-2015 (615pm to 815pm). February is the Great War (WWI).

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demo: Great War (WWI)
♠ February 1st @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point World War I armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – The Great War!
February 1st, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Flames of War WWI seems to be the least popular choice – at least here in Saskatchewan – which is a shame as it is a very quick fun game that is perfect for demos! The table size is 4' x 4' with the terrain playing a pivotal role in the setup of each scenario. And, when I say terrain I mean exactly what you envision – trenches. Trench warfare is the signature of the Great War or also known as World War I.

Brody and Kyle were on hand – we waited a bit for another player to show up but I am guessing the return of the cold aka -30˚C had something to do with. Also, Brody had his Drama class to attend so in the end it was just Kyle and I who faced off against one another. I selected the mission: Through the Mud and Blood. It is one I have always wanted to try and looked very quick and fun.

Through the Mud and Blood has the attacker starting in on two different flanks; one flank (half of the attacking force) is through the trench lines [centre] and the other (the other half) is through the far

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Tournament: February Fate (LWWII)
♠ February 25th @ 9am - 1700
* Version 3 rules
$5.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1625 Late War point World War II armies  - please e-mail list no later than February 11th (cigamnogard@sasktel.net)

Results:
February Fate   2/25/2017   3
Player Name   Army   Position
Jace Ryan   German   1
Lance Mathew   British   2
Shawn Morris   Soviet   3
Tim Miller   German   4
Brody Mazurick   German   5
Jason Berkan   German   6
Alex Berkan   USA   7
Nathan Rinholm   British   8
Scott Miller   Japanese   9
Dana Madsen   German   10
Doug Amelia   USA   11
Don Matwe   Soviet   12
Sean Froc   British   13
Sean Kernick   Canadian   14

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM

Demo: EWWII (Early World War II)
♠ March 1st @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
* Version 3 rules
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point World War I armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – Midwar (by mistake) Demo!
March 1st, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Reviewing my notes as I write up this AAR (After Action Report) I was to have done an Early War Demo instead of the Midwar one I did...whoops! Well, in my defense the last Version 3 MW (Mid War) tournament is on the 25th of this March month so I can kind of see where I went off the rails...maybe...but I digress. If you looking to check out the action please come see the tournament – Last Kick of the Katyusha. Or, when we launch the new Version 4 at Tramp's on the 18th! Going to be a busy month!

Meanwhile, Cupcake arranged my demo attendees this time; well pointed them in the 'right' direction. Cupcake is their hair stylist and I am sure in the course of their hairs being cut she has discovered these young gentlemen are interested in both history and table top play – hence her pointing Christopher and Nicholas in the direction of Flames of War.

Christopher had let me know he was coming but had not mentioned that he was dragging along his brother Nicholas.  Although I do not think any dragging transpired as when I asked if Nicholas wanted to some Soviet tanks play he immediately replied in the affirmative. Previously, Christopher had mentioned his interest in trying out the Finnish.

Christopher and Nicholas randomly rolled the mobile battle mission – Breakthrough. With only two tank platoons Nicholas was the attacker with half his tanks in delayed reserves and Christopher was in the same boat with half his stuff also off in reserves but only in regular reserves.

Nicholas as the attacker went first and attempted to get his tanks well away from his brother's Pak40s (antitank guns{AT}) but meanwhile shooting at the infantry in front of him. Unfortunately, in Version 3 Nicholas was unable to roll 8s on his 6 sided dice and therefore could not hit/shoot the Finn Infantry. Christopher's first turn was a tricky one of decisions:
–   Should he move his infantry away from the safety of their foxholes to move towards the objectives?
–   Should he move his AT guns away from the objectives to hit more tanks or split them up leaving one in position to fire while the rest head towards the objectives?
Christopher like most commanders choose to head for the objectives as that would be where the game would be won or lost. Christopher's lone Pak40 blasted into the Lend Lease Lee tanks brewing up two.

Nicholas unperturbed at losing two of his seven tanks caught the Finnish infantry in the open and machined gunned them down scoring hit after hit. Christopher's save rolling was abysmal and saw half the infantry wiped out. The next few turns was much the same with more tanks being brewed up by the Pak40s but also more infantry mowed down until when Nicholas finally got his reserve T34 tank company/platoon on - they simply moved up to the open objective and claimed it for the Motherland.

Everyone had fun and the boys were very pleased how balanced the game was and how quick and easy it went. Hope to see them again soon!

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Tournament: Last Kick at the Katyusha (MWWII)
♠ March 25th @ 9am - 1700
* Version 3 rules
$5.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1715 Mid War point World War II armies  - please e-mail list no later than March 11th (cigamnogard@sasktel.net)

Cancelled

Demonstration Team Game - Vimy Ridge (WWI)
♠ April 8th @ 10am - 16:30
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1900 Great War points per player
100th Anniversary of Vimy Ridge


Vimy Ridge
Total War WWI Stlye
by Lance Mathew

On April 9th exactly one hundred year ago four divisions of Canadians faced off against three German Divisions during the Battle of Vimy Ridge.  Unfortunately, Battlefront has yet to create a Canadian list/army so our Allied players were forced to play a combined British and a French Force. Kyle played the British while Jace looked after the French. Meanwhile, I was stuck playing the black hatted Huns aka the Germans.  Both Doug and Shawn who also own WWI Germans were busy this past weekend. However, Brody my son tagged along at the last minute and offered to play my A7Vs (German tanks).
So, there we were at Tramp's at high noon on a Sunday playing for a ridge that had been won a hundred years ago. We decided to play a combination of Total War and The Big Push from the Great War book – this was a mistake we should have just stuck with The Big Push Mission. The mistake was mine alone. In my opinion it would have allowed the Allies to storm the hill with their tanks a lot easier however, in contrast Brody's tanks would have emerged from Reserves unscathed from the first round of shooting). Also, there would have been less antitank guns on the board to blast away.
Here are copies of the armies we used:
Great War Rifle Company HQ (Line)   
2 Cmd Pistol team

Combat Platoons

Rifle Platoon (Line) 
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Rifle team
2 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Rifle Platoon (Line)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Rifle team
2 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Machine-gun Platoon (Line)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Vickers HMG

Heavy Tank Platoon (Line)
2 Mark IV female
2 Mark IV male

Medium Tank Platoon (Line) 
1 Mark A Whippet

Royal Artillery Detachment (Line)   
2 OQF 18 pdr gun

Companie de Fusiliers HQ (Colonial)   
2 Cmd Pistol team
2 Flame-thrower team
2 37mm mle 1916 gun
1 Sniper team

Fusiliers Platoon (Colonial)   
1 Cmd Rifle team
4 Rifle team
2 VB team
2 MG team

Fusiliers Platoon (Colonial)   
1 Cmd Rifle team
4 Rifle team
2 VB team
2 MG team

Fusiliers Machine-gun Platoon (Colonial)   
1 Cmd Rifle team
4 Hotchkiss mle 1914 HMG

Trench Mortar Platoon (Colonial) 
2 58mm Type 2 mortar

Char d'Assault Platoon   
1 Schneider CA.1

Char d'Assault Platoon   
1 Char Saint Chamond

And the Germans:
Infanteriekompanie HQ (Infantry) 
2 Cmd SMG team
3 Anti-tank Rifle team
3 Flame-thrower team
2 Granatenwerfer mortar

Combat Platoons
Infanterie Platoon (Infantry) 
1 Cmd SMG team
5 Rifle team
1 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Combat Platoons
Infanterie Platoon (Infantry) 
1 Cmd SMG team
5 Rifle team
1 Rifle Grenade team
2 MG team

Infanterie Machine-gun Platoon (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Maxim HMG

Infanterie Machine-gun Platoon (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 Maxim HMG
Infanterie Machine-gun Platoon (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
3 Maxim HMG

Minenwerfer Platoon (Infantry)     
2 7.6cm Minenwerfer mortar

Panzer Platoon   
2 A7V

Infantry Gun Platoon (Infantry)     
2 7.62cm Krupp IG gun

Artillery Battery (Infantry)   
1 Cmd Pistol team
4 7.7cm FK96 n.A.

The first turn for the Allies allowed them to move up from half way (as per The Big Push) and in some cases get right to the wire (literally). Jace used his flame throwers to burn out a German infantry team in each one of my Infantry platoons. Kyle was lucky enough to destroy one of Brody's tanks and heavily damager the other. Also, as per The Big Push every single German platoon began the game pinned down – which if I had had reserves would have to be rolled on but would not have been pinned down. But, if you know any of my other AAR (after action report) you know I cannot roll reserves in to save my life. However, that was it. Meanwhile, my first turn was devastating with all of my infantry, artillery, and MG platoons unpinning allowing me to cut down the valiant British and French infantry and tank teams. Jace lost all of his beautifully painted French tanks and Kyle suffered half of his tanks to bail outs. The infantry losses resulted in both French platoons losing half their number. Things had already begun to look grim.
Turn two for Kyle and Jace was unbelievably bad shooting and even worse firepower rolls resulting in a German anti tank gun and a single MG platoon command team loss. My second turn saw both of Jace's French infantry break and both of Kyle's infantry were broken. Meanwhile, more British tanks also now joined the French ones burning in front of the barb wire. Brody continued to duel with British tanks in range but the landship rule stymied him.
Turn three saw Jace doubling up to outside the HMG range and his shooting removed an entire MG platoon. Finally, things were beginning to swing in favor of the allies. However, again Lance began to concentrate his fire on single platoons until they ended up on boot hill. By, the end of turn three Kyle was ready to break and Jace wasn't far behind. The Germans while battered were still in amazingly good shape. In the end Jace had lost four of his two infantry platoons and Kyle both of his two (they 'respawn' as per the Overwhelming Force rule from The Big Push).
In hindsight I should have gone every rule for the Big Push instead of the Big Push and Total War. However, even with reserves I would have had most of what I had on the table except for the two antitank guns, the two tanks, and the two mortars. In hindsight I think the allies should have concentrated on one side and pushed through it yes, they would have tripped over themselves but they would have overwhelmed one side and broken through.
If only the Canadians would have been there I am sure they would have smashed through – if only! However, it is fitting that the British and the French failed in their attack as they did so historically – guess we for sure need those Canucks! Also, I have also included the following by Tim Cook from the Canadian War Museum:

The Battle of Vimy Ridge, 9-12 APRIL 1917
Tim Cook
Many historians and writers consider the Canadian victory at Vimy a defining moment for Canada, when the country emerged from under the shadow of Britain and felt capable of greatness. Canadian troops also earned a reputation as formidable, effective troops because of the stunning success. But it was a victory at a terrible cost, with more than 10,000 killed and wounded.
The Canadian Corps was ordered to seize Vimy Ridge in April 1917. Situated in northern France, the heavily-fortified seven-kilometre ridge held a commanding view over the Allied lines. The Canadians would be assaulting over an open graveyard since previous French attacks had failed with over 100,000 casualties.
To capture this difficult position, the Canadians would carefully plan and rehearse their attack. To provide greater flexibility and firepower in battle, the infantry were given specialist roles as machine-gunners, rifle-men and grenade-throwers. These same soldiers underwent weeks of training behind the lines using models to represent the battlefield, and new maps crafted from aerial photographs to guide their way. To bring men forward safely for the assault, engineers dug deep tunnels from the rear to the front. Despite this training and preparation, the key to victory would be a devastating artillery barrage that would not only isolate enemy trenches, but provide a moving wall of high explosives and shrapnel to force the Germans to stay in their deep dugouts and away from their machine-guns. "Chaps, you shall go over exactly like a railroad train, on time, or you shall be annihilated," warned Canadian Corps commander Sir Julian Byng.
In the week leading up to the battle, Canadian and British artillery pounded the enemy positions on the ridge, killing and tormenting defenders. New artillery tactics allowed the gunners to first target, then destroy enemy positions. A nearly limitless supply of artillery shells and the new 106 fuse, which allowed shells to explode on contact, as opposed to burying themselves in ground, facilitated the destruction of hardened defences and barbed wire. The Canadian infantry would be well supported when it went into battle with over 1,000 artillery pieces laying down withering, supportive fire.

Attacking together for the first time, the four Canadian divisions stormed the ridge at 5:30am on 9 April 1917. More than 15,000 Canadian infantry overran the Germans all along the front. Incredible bravery and discipline allowed the infantry to continue moving forward under heavy fire, even when their officers were killed. There were countless acts of sacrifice, as Canadians single-handedly charged machine-gun nests or forced the surrender of Germans in protective dugouts. Hill 145, the highest and most important feature of the Ridge, and where the Vimy monument now stands, was captured in a frontal bayonet charge against machine-gun positions. Three more days of costly battle delivered final victory. The Canadian operation was an important success, even if the larger British and French offensive, of which it had been a part, had failed. But it was victory at a heavy cost: 3,598 Canadians were killed and another 7,000 wounded.
The capture of Vimy was more than just an important battlefield victory. For the first time all four Canadian divisions attacked together: men from all regions of Canada were present at the battle. Brigadier-General A.E. Ross declared after the war, "in those few minutes I witnessed the birth of a nation." 
Vimy became a symbol for the sacrifice of the young Dominion. In 1922, the French government ceded to Canada in perpetuity Vimy Ridge, and the land surrounding it. The gleaming white marble and haunting sculptures of the Vimy Memorial, unveiled in 1936, stand as a terrible and poignant reminder of the 11,285 Canadian soldiers killed in France who have no known graves.

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Regionals Tournament (LWWII)
♠ April 22nd & 23rd @ 9am - 1700
* Version 3 rules
$50.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & Games
♥ 1625 Late War point World War II armies  - please e-mail list no later than March 31st (cigamnogard@sasktel.net)

Results:
Player Name   Army   Position
Tim Miller   Soviet   1
Rob Duchene   Soviet   2
Scott Miller   USA   3
Dana Madsen   German   4
Jace Pippin   Gurkha   5
Wayne Gardner   Soviet   6
David Nelson   German   7
Brody Mazurick   German   8
Derek Young   German   9
Lorne Sveinbjornson   German   10
Hugh O'Donnell   Canadian   11
Matt Valgardson   German   12
Lance Mathew   British   13

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demo: V4 LWWII (Late World War II)
♠ May 3rd @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point Late World War II armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles[/color]

Flames of War Demo – Fourth Version – Late War!
May 3rd, 2017
By Lance Mathew

After work I dropped Cupcake off at the gym, then Minnie-me at his Minecraft management class, which left me early for the V4 Flames of War demo at Tramp's Comics and Games. With it being the first V4 Demo, the weather gorgeous at 17˚C, plus the demo was the popular era of Late War = I brought a total of four armies:
a Schwere Panzerjägerkompanie
a Canadian Armoured Squadron
a Hermann Göring Panzerkompaniem
and a Tankovy Batalon
I had everything all laid out when a couple of gentlemen showed up - Michael and Marc.

Michael is a V3 veteran but Mark is/was completely new to Flames of War. We all introduced ourselves and got right down to the demo. Michael offered first pick to Marc who found the Schwere Panzerjägerkompanie to his liking (how can you resist Jagdpanthers?).  Michael went with the Crazy Canucks and the battle was on! The mission rolled up was Dust Up and with a quick set up even at sixty percent on the table it would be hard to cover both objectives.  Michael gambled big with his Stuarts spearhead flanking forward at an impressive cross country dash leaving his objectives wide open and undefended. Marc responded by placing his StuGs in the middle of his two objectives. Not quite going all in with his gambling Michael placed his Armoured platoon behind a hill within a tactical move of both objectives. Marc placed his company commander near the front objective to both guard and put pressure on Michael.

The two gentlemen rolled off and again Michael rolled higher to get the first turn. Michael blitzed both his platoons and then moved them tactically as well. His sneaky Stuarts were able to emerge from behind Marc's StuGs and the Armoured platoon attained gunslinger status by sauntering into view for a lone shot by the Firefly. The Stuarts only managed a single hit which Marc was able to deflect however, the Firefly also managed a hit which Marc was not able to stop and his untested Jagdpanther went up in flames! Marc later commented that the game was very lethal but both Michael and I replied that it was a lucky shot and then an unlucky save. Marc's return fire from the StuGs succeeded in a single hit which instantly brewed up a Stuart. Marc followed up with a scoot and shoot that prevented more rear shots from the Stuarts in Michael's next turn.

Michael's second turn saw the sneaky Stuarts park themselves on the back objective and the Armoured platoon slid in to shoot at the StuGs. However, Michael was not as lucky as his first turn and he whiffed with all his shots. Now, Marc was threatened by the Stuarts on the back objective and the Shermans knocking on the forward one. I advised he blitz to blast at the Stuarts and then scoot and shoot back into position. Unfortunately, Marc failed his blitz move and had to tactically move and shoot at the Stuarts with a +1 to hit. So, Marc doing his best spread out his StuGs to blast at both platoons. His firing was at least partially successful in hitting and brewing up one of the two remaining Stuarts – forcing a last tank standing test for Michael!

The Stuart – all alone on the objective, facing a zug of StuGs defiantly made its check and Michael won the game! It had been quick and nasty game full of tactical brilliance and lucky/unlucky die rolls – welcome to version 4 Flames of War!

Flames of War Demo – Fourth Version – Late War!
May 13th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

So, I threw down the gauntlet the other day and challenged the Flames of War gaming group! V4 (Version Four) is still new and quite a few of the guys are still skeptical. I had quite a few replies – especially from those that had been skeptics that they were busy on the Ides of May. I heard all sorts of excuses from eye surgery, to I am out of town at a National Gymnastics meet – you know the usual. Moreover, I had a few interested and one confirmed challenger – Matt. During the course of the day we had quite a few 'interruptions' of people interested in the game. Maybe, I will have to start doing more demos on Saturdays...

Meanwhile, Matt and I faced off. He had brought Late WWII Canadians from Road to Rome however; I was unfazed as I had brought Late WWII Canadians from Market Garden! So, literally and figuratively we were doing a training mission. In V4 there is only one dice roll by one player to determine the mission – Matt rolled it up as Counter Attack! Then, Matt and I rolled off to be the attacker as both of us had equal infantry amounts. After several ties I emerged as the attacker; I was actually hoping to be the defender with a platoon of six 6 pounders I wanted to put into ambush. Alas, I instead watched Matt put his two 17 pounders into ambush. Matt as the defender with reserves was able to put 60% of his force on the table against my 100% (well almost – later I realized to my horror I had left my M10Cs at home; what's 20%?).

Matt deployed two units of 25 pounders, two units of infantry, and one unit of 17 pounders which he kept in ambush; everything else was in placed in reserve. Almost all in, I had my Infantry buttoned up in my Kangaroos, my Sherman Crabs ready to walk sideways, my land mattresses ready to cloud the issue, and my six 6 pounders protecting my artillery. As the attacker I dashed both my Roo'd infantry towards the far objective, and blitzed my Breaching group around a hill to semi-indirect at the spotter before moving up next turn (as well as possibly flush the ambush). Matt rolled his tank troop on with a blitz and brewed up one of my Kangaroos, Matt also took the bait and blasted into my Crabs brewing one up and bailing another with his ambush.

The game went back and forth and by the end I had secured the far objective but at a lengthy time frame of which a normal tournament game would have given the win to Matt. So, it was a great game in which I was able to see how great an artist Matt was with his bombshells on the nose of his Spitfires as well as letting us see how the V4 game has evolved from V3. Thanks Matt – I had a great game!

If you would like a demo game or to challenge -> please e-mail cigamnogard@sasktel.net
I am willing to play any era – just name a time and place!

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Tournament Mayday MAYDAY Mayday (WWIII)
♠ May 27th @ 9am - 1700
* Team Yankee Rules
$5.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & games
♥ 100 points World War III armies - please e-mail list to cigamnogard@sasktel.net

Results:
Tournament Name   
Mayday MAYDAY Mayday   
5/27/2017         
Player Name   Army   Position         
Michael Yule   British   1         
Kyle Stevens   American   2         
Matt Valgardson   Soviet   3         
Justin Scherban   West German   4         
James Milli   Soviet   5         
Chris Mueller   West German   6         
Brody Mazurick   East German/DDR   6         
Cody Youle   British   8         
Lance Mathew   Soviet   9      

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demonstration Team Game - Operation Red Sheet (AIW)
♠ June 3rd @ Noon - 16:30
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 2000 Arab-Israeli points per player
50th Anniversary of 6 Day War

Flames of War Demo – Operation Red Sheet!
June 3rd, 2017
By Lance Mathew

After the Team Yankee Tournament I turned to the AIW (Arab – Israeli War) group of us and said, "See you next weekend!" To which they replied, "Ummm – why?" At which point I got a little worried as that was not quite the answer I expected. I replied in kind, "Operation Red Sheet – the big game that was planned out almost a year ago – that one?" "Oh...ummm --> I have work, I have to man a charity booth, and I have to spend time with the girlfriend." Now, life is like that from time to time so I considered cancelling the event but I figured the FoW Regina Rifles are a pretty big group and I asked to borrow the guys AIW armies to provide the necessary fodder for the event; to which everyone agreed. So after a couple of days I secured Alex and finally almost at the eleventh hour Sean F. also volunteered for the war in the desert!

Jace and I arrived early on Saturday and set the table up in a "T" shape which I figured would be different from the norm. We also sprinkled oasis and desert terrain throughout the table giving it an interesting feel compared to most other Flames of War games. By, the time Alex and Sean showed up Jace and I had already broken for lunch and returned to Tramp's ready for the big game.

Alex new to AIW selected the IDF (Israeli Defense Force) that my son usually plays. Seemed pretty straight forward to him as he normally plays Americans against his dad who plays Germans – the Israelis have both rules sets. Sean, also new to AIW selected my Jordanians who are akin to the British Sean normally plays (the Jordanians were trained by the British and have several rulesets that make them similar). Jace retained his massive UAR (United Arab Republic) list and I used a loaned IDF list from Kyle. 

The game was a rough one from the start as the IDF had to remain within 4" of objectives to get a point and with small amount of platoons they were at a huge disadvantage to go forward and get any more points. Nevertheless, Alex and I sent out our Mechanized infantry to capture the middle objectives. I was able to lock one down but Alex was rebuffed by Sean who had doubled his Mechanized platoon. Alex, Sean, and Jace began to duel for that middle objective and with so many tanks and infantry Alex was at a huge disadvantage so it was no real surprise when he crumbled and his relief forces also were scattered to the desert wind. I had even sent in a platoon of Sho'ts (up gunned Centurions) to offer support but they were also brewed up. My forces were able to maintain company morale but only because my platoons were only two tank teams strong which is not very effective for sallying forth. In the end Alex's Company was completely decimated and we called it. However, it had been a close game with the Arabs only winning by a few points (platoon kills).

If you would like a demo game or to challenge -> please e-mail cigamnogard@sasktel.net
I am willing to play any era – just name a time and place!

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demo: 'Nam/Tour of Duty (Vietnam)
♠ June 7th @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point World War I armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – Tour of Duty/'Nam!
June 7th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

After the two back to back weekends of a tournament and then a big team game - of course it is time for a Flames of War Demo as it is the first Wednesday night of the month. Brody, my son, got the lists/armies ready as we would be in a time crunch with his class at 1730 (5:30pm) and the demo at 1815 (6:15pm) when I get off work at 1630 (4:30ish-5pm). Thanks again Brody!

So, after I dropped Brody off - I was quite early; so I set up the table and paraded the two armies. And, I waited. And, I waited. I took a few pictures and waited some more.

Eventually the waiting resulted in Chris B, an old player who has been working and traveling across North America, walked in the front door and shook my hand. He had owned a Hummel (rag tag of refit) list of Tiger IEs and some infantry that had 'vanished' in a move in British Columbia. Now he asked for some help assembling a Berlin list. Of course I said yes.

No sooner had Chris B left and I had sat down again when Mark from a previous demo walked in. Unfortunately, it had gotten a little late and I would soon have to pack up to go pick up Brody. I managed to discuss the pros of Tour of Duty/'Nam Era with Mark. He felt bad for arriving so late but I told him no problem as I can set up a demo any time. He said he would for sure be back for the AIW (Arab-Israeli War) Demo next month. I encouraged him that I could make myself available for any era all he had to do was let me know.

Meanwhile, you as the reader - if you would like a demo game or to challenge -> please e-mail cigamnogard@sasktel.net or show up on the evening of the first Wednesday of the month at Tramp's Comics & Games. Also, we have a large Facebook group: FoW Regina Rifles

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demo: AIW (Arab-Israeli Wars)
♠ July 5th @ 1815 (615pm) - 2015 (815pm)
• Tramp's Comics & Games (1828 Scarth Street)
♥ 1,000 point World War I armies will be provided by the Flames of War Regina Rifles

Flames of War Demo – AIW (Arab/Israeli Wars)!
July 5th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

On the first Wednesday of July we had a dry heat of 36˚ a perfect for an AIW Demo! The 'word' on the FoW (Flames of War) forums is that the AIW era will be transitioning to the TY (Team Yankee/WWIII) rule set. So, with an IDF (Israeli Defense Force) and a Jordanian army I set off to Tramp's with a large slurpee to do a TY/AIW Demo.

I waited for a bit before I posted some pictures on the FoW Regina Rifles Facebook page; hoping to draw attention to the demo. I saw from the Facebook page that there were quite a few interested and last month at the demo Mark had arrived late but said he would be there/here for this demo.  After a bit – Jason (Alex's dad) said he had a free evening so would be down to give the AIW era a test run. When he arrived he let me know that Alex was keen on getting an IDF list as soon as his Americans were complete – which was only a few models away. Alex had been so impressed with the AIW era that his final school report of the year –' teach the teacher' – was on the Six Day War!

In version three I think the IDF is slightly over pointed so giving them the normal German and British special rules I think they are now bang on allowing them to do two movement orders if successful on the first.  Jason went with the Jordanian force and I went with the 'modified' IDF. However, my dice rolling was abysmal while Jason's was average to very good. In the opening turns of the game I lost an entire platoon of IShermans plus my company commander with only one destroyed and two bailed out. It was pretty much game right there with Jason already having the numerical advantage prior to my losses. But, we played it out and Jason got to experience the TY rule set while giving me a good thrashing – a win win for him!

And directed at you, the reader, – if you would like a demo game or to challenge when a time is good for you –> please e-mail cigamnogard@sasktel.net or show up on the evening of the first Wednesday of the month at Tramp's Comics & Games. Also, we have a large Facebook group: FoW Regina Rifles please check us out there!

Post script – our next tournament is an Early World War II style – entitled 'Rumble in July' on July 22nd at Tramp's Comics and Games – come on down and see all the action.

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Tournament Rumble in July (EWWII)
♠ July 22nd @ 9am - 1700
* V4 Rules (1st one)
$5.00 entry fee
• Tramp's Comics & games
♥ 1650 points Early War World War II armies - please e-mail list to cigamnogard@sasktel.net no later than July 8th

Results:
Rumble in July
Player Name Army Position
Lorne Sveinbjornson Soviet  1
Lance Mathew Italian   1
Matt Valgardson Indian   3
Shaun Webster German        4
Tim Miler Soviet           4
Brody Mazurick Soviet   6
Jason Berkan German        7
Alex Berkan Soviet   8

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM

Tournament September Seconds (LWWII)
♠ September 23rd @ 10am - 1730
* Version #4
$10.00 entry fee per player
• Highland Curling Club
♥ 1250 Late War per player [Doubles tournament]:
-> however 250 may be swapped (ie one player at 1500 and the other at 1000
-> also, if a brand new player (never having played in a FoW Tournament before +100 points =ie one player may have 1600 and another 1100)
~ please e-mail list(s) to cigamnogard@sasktel.net no later than September 9th

Tournament Name   
September Doubles   
Player Name   Army   Position
Lorne Sveinbjornson   German   1
Jeff Stehr   German   1
Tim Miller   Soviet    1
Rob Duchene    Soviet   1
Shawn Morris   German   1
Lance Mathew   German   1
Jason Berkan   German   7
Jace Pippin   German   7
Christopher Mueller    German   9
Michael Yule   German   9
Kyle Stevens   German   9
Tyler Hutchinson    Soviet   9

Regina Rifles After Action Report:
Version 4 (V4): Late War Doubles Tournament
September 23rd, 2017
By Lance Mathew

With the demise of Tramp's, our local game store and playground, we set up a tournament at the Regina Highland Curling Club. The Manager – Dave Loos – has been great to deal with and the facility is fantastic. We were able to come in the night before and set up tables – again my thanks to the FoW Regina Rifles for their assistance in both setting up and taking down; and, of course many tanks to Dave and the Highland Curling Club. And, last but not least thanks again to Battlefront for sending the prize support!

We had six teams for a total of twelve players. My partner Shawn and I had brought Late War Germans. He brought his well painted Volksgrenadier while I brought my tried and true Lehr Gepanzerte Panzergrenadierkompanie. We planned on defending but in Flames of War, especially V4, plans do not always go the way you want them to. I had done a 'custom' modification to the roll off with our mission selection; I had placed a "0" modifier with imnfantry, a "+1" with mechanized, and a "+2" with tank armies. Everyone seemed to like the V4 'hack' and off we went.

For our first match Shawn and I faced off against the top two players in Canada for our first match – Tim and Rob.  We all expected a draw going into the game as it was Fair Fight scenario and none of us were surprised when it happened. It was a great game and we all learned quite a bit about the rules for V4 – yes, even the top players can still be taught a few tricks. However, all the other games had not ended in a draw but victories and in V4 that is a huge point's difference. On the positive note our next two games had us doing much better and the other teams not doing as well resulted in a three way tie for first place!

If you are curious how the tournament standings are please follow the link below:
http://www.rankings.wwpd.net/ranking/region=5&game=3&season=0
If you are curious about the game or are interested in a demo please follow us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/groups/fowreginarifles
Alternatively please e-mail me directly at:
cigamnogard@sasktel.net

       

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Demonstration Team Game: October War AIW (Arab-Israeli Wars)
♠ October 14th @ 11am to 1700 (5pm)
• Beer Brothers (1821 Scarth Street)
♥ 2,000 point AIW armies + 100/side
~ Team Yankee Rules

Flames of War Regina Rifles After Action Report:
Version 4 (V4) & Team Yankee (TY): October War – Total War Event
October 14th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

Still looking for places to hold events we invaded Beer Brothers Gastropub. The Manager – Matt Braun – has been very easy to deal with and the location was almost like home; especially since most of our large games like these we have previously had our lunches there.
We set up in a side room and decided on a diagonal table set up from the Normandy Battles book. It gave a different feel to a very fast and fun era of Flames of War.

Currently, Battlefront, the makers of Flames of War have just come out with a Version 4 and have not yet had a chance to update the Arab-Israeli-Wars (AIW) era. So, we did our best to update the rules ourselves using the V4 and TY ruleset:
•   V4 movement and movement orders were added in; with the Israelis getting the German Stormtrooper rules that they have in WWII. An exception to the V4 movement we used TY bogging checks.
•   Artillery and gun teams had the reduction in crews and bombardment antitank; with smoke being treated the same as in both V4 and TY.
•   Morale was done using the TY system.
•   Aircraft: down to one dice had the Israelis fly in on a 3+ while the UAR plane was a 4+ to arrive.

We had six players: three IDF (Israeli Defense Force) against three Arab nations – two Jordanian and one UAR (United Arab Rebublic):
Alex – IDF         Jace – UAR
Brody – IDF      Lance-Jordanian
Kyle – IDF         Sean – Jordanian

Just as in the October War in history so too had the Arab nations learned their lessons. With four smoke templates the first two turns allowed the Arab nations to move under the cover of smoke and advance safely in the open towards the middle objectives. Normally, they would have suffered enormous casualties and broken. Instead they arrived intact and held the objectives while the IDF seemed to be powerless to stop them. The game from the Arab perspective was never in any doubt and even with the staggering loses of twenty T34-85s was just a means to the end. From the IDF perspective they maybe should have deployed better or possibly kept some units in reserve for a counterattack. Also, a key IDF infantry unit was pinned in the early stages of the game and never unpinned. Alternatively, the IDF units only had a single smoke unit which was brewed up by a MiG in the first turn.

The venue and food were great and lots of people stopped by to check out the table/event. Meanwhile, if you are curious about the game or are interested in a demo please follow us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/groups/fowreginarifles
Alternatively please e-mail me directly at:
cigamnogard@sasktel.net

Quote from: Lance on August 09, 2016, 09:38:08 AM
Tournament Remember the 25th of November (WWIII)
♠ November 25th@ 10am - 1730
* Team Yankee Rules
$5.00 entry fee
• Highland Curling Club
♥ 100 points World War III armies - please e-mail list to cigamnogard@sasktel.net
https://www.flamesofwar.com/Default.aspx?tabid=126&aff=14&aft=579090&afv=topic

Flames of War Regina Rifles After Action Report:
WWIII/TY(Team Yankee) Tournament: Remember the 25th of November
November 25th, 2017
By Lance Mathew

For our second tournament at the Highland Curling Club we had a decent turnout for our Cold War era tournament also known as TY (Team Yankee). It is really great to see all the MBT (Main Battle tanks) roaming around the different tables as the players battled for dominance. The 'back hat' armies included both current Warsaw Pact countries the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and the Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR/East Germany). The 'white hat armies' also had all three of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Our tournament roster:
Brody – DDR (Warsaw Pact)      Chris – West German (NATO)
James – USSR (Warsaw Pact)      Lance – United States (NATO)
Kyle – USSR (Warsaw Pact)      Michael – United Kingdom (NATO
Matt – USSR (Warsaw Pact)   
Tim – DDR (Warsaw Pact)   
There are a quite a few more WWIII players but all were unable to get off of work or maybe had forgotten the 25th? Also, there are rumors of more Nations arriving on the Cold War battlefield. The United States will soon see an updated book called Stars and Stripes (similar to the Red Thunder update for the USSR. Personally, I would like to see the Poland or the Czech Republic but only time will tell what new Nations will be blasting away at a table near you!

As for the tournament it was a very competitive/close as the first game left pretty much everyone with either a three or a four for a score. Leaving no one was really in the lead after game one. The second game actually resulted with Michael and me pulling ahead but both Chris and Brody were not far behind. Game three saw Michael and I knock ourselves bloody only to have Chris soundly beat Brody and win the tournament!

The venue was great, the food was good, and lots of people stopped by to check out the event. Meanwhile, if you are curious about the game (there are eras from WWI through till WWIII) or are interested in a demo please follow us on Facebook:
Facebook.com/groups/fowreginarifles
Alternatively please e-mail me directly at:
cigamnogard@sasktel.net