Upcoming Flames of War Events in Regina Area: 2016

[Lance]

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!

[Lance]

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 !

[Lance]

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

[Lance]

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!

[Lance]

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!

[Lance]

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

[Lance]

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

[Lance]

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.

[Lance]

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!

[Lance]

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