In an attempt to try something new I set up an informal historical gaming gathering at Battleground Games Plainville for today. A few people popped in but sadly most were unable to attend. There is a small number of people interested in historical gaming. Most had other commitments such as reenacting, two do AWI, vacations, or being with their families.

What was lacking in numbers was made up for in enthusiasm. My buddy Drew McCarthy of The Gate Stormers, stopped in asking for me to “show him one of [my] history games.” I knew WoTC’s War at Sea to be perfect! It is a casual, yet historical, beer & pretzel game with pre-painted miniatures. The rules are easy to pick up and the game provides lots of blow ‘em up action.

To save myself from devising balanced fleet lists I used the units from the 2010 starter. We played two games. For the first game Drew fielded the American/Australian force. With the American power I thought he’d have the best chance of doing well. Plus, that force provides a good cruiser, two good destroyers, and a nice torpedo bomber that has a Special Ability allowing a dive bomb attack. I fielded the Japanese force, which focuses on long-lance torpedoes.

Drew’s Fleet Game 1

• USS Montpelier
• USS Taylor
• HMAS Nizam
• TBF-1 Avenger

Jonathan’s Fleet Game 1

• Haguro
• Teretsuki
• I-25
• G4M1 “Betty”

With the USS Montpelier’s Flagship 1 bonus Drew won almost every single initiative roll of the game, which lasted eight turns. In the first turn he destroyed the I-25 with depth charges from his Avenger. Subsequent turns saw heavy damage inflicted on both sides with both the USS Montpelier and USS Taylor destroyed in Turn 2. The HMAS Nizam was crippled in that very turn. The “Betty” was shot down and the Teretsuki sunk. The game progressed with the Haguro racing for objective markers as the Avengers spent alternating turns failing to sink her. The game ended when the Haguro captured the final objective marker.

For the second game we swapped sides. This gave Drew a chance to experience the awesomeness of the long-lance torpedo.

Drew’s Fleet Game 2

• Haguro
• Teretsuki
• I-25
• G4M1 “Betty”

Jonathan’s Fleet Game 2

• USS Montpelier
• USS Taylor
• HMAS Nizam
• TBF-1 Avenger

Game 2 ended very quickly. In turn 1 the Avengers went after the I-25 and failed to inflict any damage on the submarine. The HMAS Nizam forgot to lay it’s smoke screen and the “Betty” spent the turn uneventfully. Turn 2 saw a successful smoke screen and the USS Montpelier missing the Haguro with its main guns. So much for making use of it’s extended range. In a subsequent turn all of the Allied surface ships were sunk. Some damage was inflicted onto the Japanese strike force but not enough. Game 2 went to Drew.

Afterwards Cort. N showed up with his daughter. He brought a ton of 6mm WWII Micro Armor and his completed 25mm Old Glory AWI figures. He’s fielding British for our AWI battles and will be adding French to his collection. This will provide the opportunity to play whatever is needed. You may be asking why he is collecting 25mm when the rest of us are collecting 28mm. The answer is cost. He can get a lot more of 25mm Old Glory than he can get of 28mm Perry Miniatures. We’re unsure how we will mix his 25mm and our 28mm figures in the same battle but believe them to be close enough that the Black Powder rules will not need to be adjusted. If he was using 20mm or 15mm then that would need to be taken into account.

His models look amazing! I took pictures of them (see below) to share with everyone. He told me which unit his Brits are but all I can remember is 30 something of Foot. 33rd perhaps? The Old Glory figures are very nice sculpts with plenty of detail. If I didn’t start with 28mm I would be tempted to go with the 25mm Old Glory.

Afterwards he showed off a board game by Simmons Games named Napoleon’s Triumph. It looks stunning! This Napoleonic era board game portrays the Battle of Austerlitz. We didn’t play this but intend to. With a quick glance the rules look interesting. According to the game there are two scenarios to play. The first is December 1st at 7am. It features “Historical Allied advance. More lines of play, longer playing time. Two Allied corps start in play. All others enter as reinforcements.” This scenario has a 3 hour playing time. The second option is December 2nd 7am. This features “Historical day of battle. This is the game’s main scenario. All Allied pieces are in play at start.” Playing time runs to two hours for this scenario. The game costs $59.95, which seems like a fair price for all of the components. After we play this I will have feedback.

That ended the day. It was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing it again. Some talk was had about doing another next Saturday. I have to put the kibosh on that because my father and I will be touring the USS Salem (CA-139). I got a Groupon for that and it will be a good time exploring the vessel.