Fantasy Wargames Newsletter

The latest Fantasy Wargames newsletter is now available at my site.  News and views on Games Workshop, Ebay, 40K and the Ebay auction of the week.  Something for everyone!

All the best

Kerry

Fantasy Wargames is the top site to help you find those Warhammer bargains on Ebay.

War at Sea Scenario: Lions, Tigers, and Bears

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away we discussed a War @ Sea scenario depicting the battle at Guadalcanal. This time we have another official scenario to share with all you Axis & Allies Minis fans. The scenario is titled Lions, Tigers, and Bears: The Battle at the North Cape and was composed by Paul Rohrbaugh. You can find this scenario on the official War at Sea website. But, we thought it’d be fun to discuss it with you and share some links.

Firstly, there are some required equipment that you will need to play this scenario. Take a gander at the list below to make sure you have everything.

  1. Maps. All of the maps from the Starter Box
  2. Scenario Rules. Download them, read them (you need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader), and print them.
  3. Ships and Planes. Allies take 1 HMS Rodney, 1 HMS Ajax, 3 HMS Javelin, and 3 SS Jeremiah O’Brien. Axis roll 1d6 to determine fleet composition. 1-2 is the 1 Bismark, 1 Admiral Graf Spee, and 1 Z 20 Karl Galster. 3-4 is 1 Admiral Graf Spee, 2 U-510, 1 Koln, 2 Z 20 Karl Galster, and 1 FW-200 Kondor. 5-6 is 1 Koln, 3 U-510, 3 Z 20 Karl Galster, 1 FW-200 Kondor, and 1 Ju 87b Stuka.
  4. Dice, tokens, and other standard accouterments.

The scenario takes place in 1942 so there are some changes to units and their rules. All of those are shown on page 3 of the scenario rules but the most notable affects the Kriegsmarine. If your fleet includes Kondors you are not allowed to use their special ability granting a single range 1 bomb attack per game.

Before we get into more of the scenario I’d be remiss if I didn’t share information on fleet composition. I rolled 100 dice to see the probability of getting Force A, Force B, or Force C for the Axis player. Out of 100 dice here is the breakdown. Fifty of the dice were a 1 or 2. Thirty of them were 2’s and 20 of them were 1’s. Thirty of the dice were a 3 or 4. More exactly 20 were 3’s and 10 were 4’s. Lastly, 20 of the dice were a 5 or 6. Ten dice were 5’s and 10 were 6’s.

I was not a math major nor am I a mathematical genius but even I can make some deductions on that test. Firstly, if you’re the Axis player you are most likely to receive a double edged sword. Half of the time you’ll get the Bismark (representing the Tirpitz…at least until Set 2), the Graf Spee (representing the Scheer) and a Karl Galster. That means half of the time you will have a lot of surface firepower but you are also more likely to experience a tougher game. If you have the Bismark you need to accomplish your other goals while ensuring she doesn’t sink. That’s no mean task.

Next, 30% of the time you’ll have what I consider to be a really strong fleet. One battlecruiser, some u-boats, a cruiser, a bomber, and a couple destroyers isn’t a bad deal. The Allies have no air support but their ships do have anti-air batteries. If you’re thinking of taking that Kondor and killing the Rodney easy as pie you may want to think again. Don’t forget it has 7 dice for AA. In fact, all of the ships are decent at anti-air. Each Javelin has 5 AA dice plus their nifty smoke screen special ability. The obvious target for the quick win are those transports. Naturally, the Allied player should protect the transports with some destroyers.

Lastly, 20% of the time the Axis player has everything and the kitchen sink. There will be two air units that you can either stagger on air missions or send together for the knockout blow. The extra u-boat will be helpful but don’t forget that 3 sub hunters will be on the map for the Allies. The major downside of Force C is the exclusion of big ships. The biggest ship available to the Axis player in this force is a cruiser. The Koln is decent, no doubt about that, but can it really handle a range 4 battleship?

As an Axis player I am most excited by Force B with Force A as a close second. Force A has risks involved due to the Bismark’s appearance but it has some serious hitting power. Force B provides a lot of varied units including my beloved u-boats.

As a means of wrapping up this article I’d like to share the optional house rules. There are three of these rules that can impact the game. They are recommended, by WotC, to be used only for increased realism and/or when players of vastly different experience are battling. One alters the damage roll when firing on a ship larger than yourself and it also removes the 6 = 2 hits rule. Another affects secondary batteries whereby they do less damage in addition. The last increases the lifespan of destroyers by giving all destroyers the Chase the Salvoes special ability.

So, you’ve read all this and you want to know how to win the scenario. That is quite simple really. As the Allied player you need to get as many of your transports, the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, off the map through Row A (where the Axis player setup). It is a sliding scale with all 3 = Decisive Victory, 2 = Moderate Victory, and 1 = Marginal Victory. If you also manage to sink the Bismark, aka Tirpitz, you bump your win up a category. That makes a Marginal into a Moderate and a Moderate into a Decisive and a Decisive into Slaughter Victory. For the Axis player to win he or she must prevent the Allies from winning. Kill all the transports and don’t let the Bismark sink.

Impending Changes = WordPress 2.5 Update and Blue Host Webhosting

Hello fellow gamers.  Unlike the ordinary content posted on this blog this article has nothing to do with gaming.  This is to alert you to a couple changes that will happen this month.  As soon as WordPress 2.5 is released the blog will be updated to that new version.  I cannot say when that will happen because WP 2.5 was due out an hour or so ago.  It still hasn’t been released and I see no news on Milestone 2.5.  That is the official tracking for WP 2.5.  I hope it comes out tonight so I can update the blog.   Once it is released the blog will be updated that night.

The second change is good and bad.  Currently, our podcast and blog are both hosted on our own server.  The server is an Intel Pentium 4 2.5+GHz with 1GB of RAM, a primary Seagate 7200RPM 160GB hard drive and a secondary Seagate 7200RPM 80GB hard drive for overflow and backups with a Linux operating system.  It is located in The Planet‘s server farm in Texas.  To keep the server safe and functional Platinum Server Management is our server management company.  Unfortunately this setup, while nice and useful, is very expensive.  To maintain this setup I spend $173 each month.  That covers the server ($144) and PSM ($29).  I can no longer afford that setup because of being out of a job for 6 months and now only working part time.

This is not all doom and gloom!  I did say the change is also good.  After conferring with members of the New England Podcasters, doing research at the official WordPress site, and speaking to customer service I have decided to move to BlueHost webhosting.  They are the #1 endorsed and recommended webhost by WordPress.  Additionally, the New England Podcasters have spoken very highly of the company.  For $6.95 per month, which is unfortunately pre-paid for 24 months, the blog and podcast will be moved to a great setup.

Hosting with BlueHost provides the benefit of integrated tech support, saving me $29 each month.  On top of that there is a lot of room to grow.  All of my domains can be put on a single account (that means BLEE.biz, Wargamingforums.com, and my political website jonreinhart.com will all be hosted there).  They provide 1,500 GB of disk space.  Right now our server has over 200GB of space with roughly 150GB usable for non-adminstrative purposes.  You can do the math but we will gain over 1,200GB of space.  We can also have daily and weekly backups, at no extra charge, which will provide an added layer of security in case something goes awry.

What about transfer?  Right now we have a lot of transfer, which we don’t use.  Over the past couple months we’ve been inching towards 30GB of transfer a month.  That’s nothing to sneeze at but certainly not a lot.  BlueHost will give us 15,00GB per month or roughly 500 times more than what we use right now.  I can go on and on about all the great reasons for the switch.  But, it comes down to the bottom line.  A one time cost of $166.80 will provide safer hosting with less headaches for me along with more space, transfer, and other resources.  Keeping the server for the same duration will cost $4,152.  I am trying to save money for graduate school, a wedding, and a house.  Moving to BlueHost saves me $3,985.20.  That’s nothing to sneeze at.

We will try to make the transfer as seamless as possible.  There will be the inevitable hiccups, especially when the DNS updates for 48 hours after the initial change, but we will try to iron them out as fast as possible.  The planned date for the move is March 21st.  That is 11 days away and we will keep you abreast of any changes.

Rising Phoenix Games Joins CWF Game Cast

We are happy to announce some wonderful news.  CWF Game Cast has long been dedicated to New England gamers and New England gaming stores.  As part of our mission we’ve reached out to area stores inviting them to join our blog where they can share information about their store and all events they run.  We are delighted to say that Lia Klunk, owner of Rising Phoenix Games in Cherry Valley, Ma has accepted the invitation.

You will be able to get the 411 on all things Rising Phoenix direct from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.  Lia is a dedicated store owner who, I know, is more than happy to discuss gaming and virtually immerse us in Rising Phoenix.  Through her articles we will be able to get the scoop on the hottest events, the newest releases, and the kickass games at Rising Phoenix Games.

Please welcome Rising Phoenix Games with a round of applause.  Also, I ask all of you to stop in Rising Phoenix Games when you’re in Cherry Valley.  For more information please go to Rising Phoenix Games official website.  Or, you can call the store at 508-892-5190.

We are hard at work to bring other great local stores to the CWF Game Cast.  Remember that only the CWF Game Cast has tabletop gaming with a New England slant. We are supporting gamers with sneak peeks, reviews, podsafe music, and much much more.  As always “You Play It, We Discuss It!”

Empire Total War Press Release

This is a press release put on the official Total War website. It announces, and advertises, the upcoming Empire Total War game. The Sega team hit it big with Shogun Total War, Rome Total War and Medieval Total War. They reached the stratosphere with Medieval II Total War and hope to replicate that success with Empire. For anyone who has ever loved the Age of Sail you can expect Empire to target you.

Below is the press release, complete with eye candy, for your pleasure.

Empire: Total War will be the greatest and most awe-inspiring Total War experience ever. This is a total revolution of the Total War series, featuring a brand new graphics engine and technology. The new, advanced graphics engine will include staggering real-time seascapes, new advanced landscape and flora systems, dynamic weather and new battle choreography and occupy-able and destructible battlefield buildings.

    Empire Total War British Ship

     

    Empire: Total War will not only be the most visually stunning Total War game, it will also feature a huge array of new features and gameplay. These add rich new layers of grand strategy to the formula and yet, despite this, E: TW will be the most accessible Total War game in the series.

    The game is set in the years 1700 to the early 1800’s, a turbulent age of gunpowder, revolution, discovery and Empire Building. This period has all the ingredients for a great Total War title: fascinating changes in warfare and its technology, a large number of competing factions hungry for power, and gloriously exciting and colourful battles. This is a time when an old world is being swept away at a tremendous rate by the juggernaut of the industrial age. Revolutionary ideas are in the air, and at least one monarch meets a bloody end!

      Empire Total War Deck View

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