Some months back, I invested in the Sally 4th Exotic Locations Kickstarter. As a nut for Casablanca, the Rick’s Cafe American doorway was enough to entice me.
Exotic Locations uses Sally 4th’s terra blocks system. When I bought into the Kickstarter, I bought Rick’s Cafe, the Souk, the Museum, and the Egyptian house. These will make nice sets for Pulp games.
Interior of Rick's Cafe American
Part of what made this Kickstarter so attractive was the useful “set dressing” sets that came with the blocks.
In this picture you can see how the cubes can be assembled in many ways to create the set for an exciting pulp adventure with GASLIGHT or other rules.
Shipping crates
When you ordered the Kickstarter you also received customized shipping crates to place on the set to block movement and line of fire.
Welcome to Rick’s!
The assembly instructions were very straightforward. After assembly, we painted all of the blocks with an off-white latex house paint mixed with fine sand. Then we attached the doors, window screens, and other accessories. I think they turned out quite nicely.
The same set with new set dressing becomes a museum of antiquities.
And dressed another way, it becomes an outdoor market.
In these pictures, I have shown no more than half the set dressings that came with these sets. There is a LOT of furniture.
Considering all you get with these sets, I think they are a tremendous value!
Some weeks ago, I started work on this pub from Sally 4th. When I originally ordered it, I ordered the photorealistic sheets for the interior, but not the wooden portions. They arrived a week or two ago, so I spent Saturday completing the building. I named my instance of the pub the Frog and Ferkin.
The rear of the pubThe first floor (Europeans) or second floor (for Americans). Note the details of wallpaper, flooring, and rugs.
I am very pleased with the outcome of this this building.
A view of the ground floor (Europeans) or first floor (Americans)
This kit went together easily. All the parts fit nicely. The instructions were clear. The only part that needed trimming was the order that goes between the two floors to provide a lip on which the top floor fits. If you look closely in the picture below, you will see that I goofed it up a little.
Another view of the ground floor (Europeans) or first floor (Americans). Note the detailed stairwell and fireplace.
Greg is getting excited about Sea Lion scenarios, so I’m sure the Frog and Ferkin pub will soon be a scene of action.
This weekend Chris’ Bones III Kickstarter set arrived. I didn’t order the Kickstarter, but I added these figures to Chris’ order. I got them from him on Friday and worked on them over Fathers’ Day.
I have begun to format the cards for the Japanese South Pacific supplement to Combat Patrol(TM): World War II. The Action Deck is largely the same as the basic rules. The difference will be in the morale section. For the Japanese cards, the morale results are more unit type results and fewer individual results. The graphics look more tropical as well.
The South Pacific set will include three Action Decks. For those who don’t want to buy the South Pacific set of Acton Decks, they can look up the serial number on the bottom of a card and index the result in a table in the South Pacific supplement. Other than the cards, the South Pacific supplement will be a free download, like all the other supplements.
Battle commences in a Caribbean port town during the War of 1812
Several HAWKs (Duncan, Eric, Chris J., Zeb, and I) went to NJ Con (Fire in the East) this weekend to run and play some games. To minimize the amount of terrain we needed to carry up there, we ran a series of scenarios in different historical periods on a the same terrain, with minor changes between games.
War of 1812
Duncan prepares to run with War of 1812 game using the Napoleonic supplement to Combat Patrol.
The first was a War of 1812 game using the free Napoleonic supplement to Combat Patrol(TM). The scenario involved an American force landing in a small, British-held, port town in the Caribbean.
A British unit advances from a small building
The Americans landed in small boats and then advanced inland to destroy the British supplies. While the Americans got to the British supply room and started it on fire a couple of times, the British were able to put it out.
The Americans got to this house and set up before I got there, even though I started closer to it. I charged up the stairs to try to take back the building -- but that didn't work out too well.
The game was a lot of fun, and I think the scenario was pretty balanced, but in the end, the Americans left the table without successfully destroying the supplies.
British defending the supplies, which were stored in the wooden building with canvas roof.American sailors on the beach.
Moros in the Philippines
Our second game on this table was a Moro assault on an American-defended village in the Philippines. For this game, I left the terrain exactly as we had for the War of 1812 game. Where the Americans attacked British from the beach, the Moros attacked from the opposite edge of the table, swarming out of the jungle.
The Moro game is about to begin!
The Moros had to attack out of the jungle, burn the same supply hut, and capture livestock. In the lower right of the picture above, you can see that the Americans had a small field gun, but the crew was asleep in one of the buildings when the attack began. They had to rush to the gun before they could fire it. The gun was able to knock out the Moro gun by the end of the game.
Moros swarmed over the village.
The American force consisted of two squads of infantry, a squad of Moro Constabulary, and a squad of Filipinos. The Moros had 12 teams of infantry and a black-powder improvised gun. The American players felt like the Moros were swarming over them, and there were a number of nail biting moments. While Eric’s Moros got to the supply hut, they were unsuccessful in lighting the supplies on fire.
Pass of the North Moros advance out of the jungle.
The Moros had few rifles, but they were really good in hand-to-hand combat, so the Moro players spent a lot of time trying to close with the Americans. I also gave the Moros and extra +1 in hand-to-hand when they charged with spears. The Moros generally did well in hand-to-hand combat, but there were some upside down moments when two Moros ganged up on a single American but lost the combat anyway.
More Moros?! How many are there?
Wild West
The third game was a wild west shoot-em-up using Zeb Cook’s recently-released Wild West supplement.
Eric and Jeff preparing to begin the carnage.
For this game we added a few more buildings, replaced the palm trees with cacti, and changed up the “set dressings.” I think the town looked convincingly southwestern.
Howard Whitehouse preparing to enter the dynamite, coal oil, and whiskey storage shed!
In Zeb’s town there was apparently a desperado convention being held. The figures standing on the poker chips had a price on their head equal to the value of the chip. There were four teams of bounty hunters competing to collect the most bounties. In addition, each of us had a price on our head, so there was a lot of incentive to shoot each other as well. Wild and wooly mayhem ensured.
Advancing into the Cantina to gun down an outlaw -- and perhaps stop for a whiskey.
I think in these pictures you can see that changing up a few items made the town convincing for different historical periods.
No Western town is complete without a gallows.
Richard Sharpe with Blood and Swash
In addition to our three Combat Patrol(TM) games, Eric ran a Sharpe in the Peninsula game, using Blood and Swash. A memorable moment came when Harper fired his volley gun and killed both Hakeswell and Sharpe.
You can see from these pictures that swapping out the cacti with some deciduous and palm trees and removing much of the wild west set dressing made the town look like the Peninsula.
Join “Hoppy,” California Carlson, and “Lucky” in welcoming the addition of a Wild West supplement for Combat Patrol(TM): World War II. This supplement, written by “Zeb” Cook is available as a free download from the Combat Patrol Web page.
Recent play test game of the Wild West supplement involving bands of desperadoes hunting for the bounties on each others' heads.
With this supplement you can run games involving gangs of desperadoes, ranchers, larger-than-life heroes, stampeding animals, and posses. Like all the other free supplements, the Wild West supplement uses the streamlined and intuitive mechanics of Combat Patrol(TM) but adds optional rules for period flavor.
There will be many Combat Patrol(TM): WWII games at Historicon. Make sure you sign up for one of these games and don’t miss the excitement of playing these terrific skirmish rules.
T-184 Late to the Party Theme
World War II; 3 PM; Length: 4 hrs; Hosted by: Eric Schlegel; Scale: 20mm; Rules: Combat Patrol; No. of Players: 7.
12 June 1940. A month after the German invasion of France, the Italians finally declared war and began sending troops through the mountain passes. On the 12th an advance force supported by light armor encountered a French border force near the village of au Coeur des Tanbres. Players under 13 welcome with a playing adult.
F-186 Slogging Through the Bocage
World War II; 9 AM; Length: 3 hrs; Hosted by: Buck Surdu; Scale: 28mm; Rules: Combat Patrol(TM): World War II; No. of Players: 6.
As part of a battalion attack, a platoon of US infantry slogs its way through rows of bocage and fields. Their mission: seize the farmhouse in the distance and open up the road for the advance of the tanks. What is behind the next hedge? What is that diesel sound? Is it a tank? Could it be one of ours or one of theirs? Combat Patrol(TM) features an intuitive and streamlined, card-based mechanic for resolving combat. Fight the game, not the rules.
F-305 Slogging Through the Bocage, part 2 Theme
World War II; 7 PM; Length: 3 hrs; Hosted by: Buck Surdu; Scale: 28mm; Rules: Combat Patrol(TM): World War II; No. of Players: 6.
As part of a battalion attack, a platoon of US infantry slogs its way through rows of bocage and fields. Their mission: seize the farmhouse in the distance and open up the road for the advance of the tanks. What is behind the next hedge? What is that diesel sound? Is it a tank? Could it be one of ours or one of theirs? Combat Patrol(TM) features an intuitive and streamlined, card-based mechanic for resolving combat. Fight the game, not the rules.
F-169 First Battle of Pomme du Terre – 1918
World War I; 7 PM; Length: 4 hrs; Hosted by: Duncan Adams; Scale: 25mm; Rules: Combat Patrol; No. of Players: 6.
In the waning days of the Great War retreating German troops fight a rear-guard action in a French village against relentless Americans pursuit.
S-306 Action at Pomme du Terre, 1940
World War II; 9 AM; Length: 3 hrs; Hosted by: Buck Surdu; Scale: 28mm; Rules: Combat Patrol(TM): World War II; No. of Players: 6.
The Nazi juggernaut has pushed across the Meuse River. A platoon of French infantry is cut off in the village of Pomme du Terre. Their last orders before the radio cut out were to hold the village and its important crossroad as long as possible. Lightly armed and under strength, the platoon begins to prepare its defenses when they hear the unmistakable sound of diesel engines in the distance. It won’t be long now! Combat Patrol(TM) features an intuitive and streamlined, card-based mechanic for resolving combat. Fight the game, not the rules.
S-307 Action at Pomme du Terre, 1944
World War II; 1 PM; Length: 3 hrs; Hosted by: Buck Surdu; Scale: 28mm; Rules: Combat Patrol(TM): World War II; No. of Players: 6.
The Allies are advancing across central France. An armored infantry platoon from the Big Red One is ordered to seize the village of Pomme du Terre and its important road junction to prepare the way for a lightning advance by their battalion the next morning. The German Lieutenant has been ordered to hold the road junction as long as possible, and he has been reinforced with assets from his parent Kampfgruppe. Will the Americans dig them out of the town or fail in the attempt. Combat Patrol(TM) features an intuitive and streamlined, card-based mechanic for resolving combat. Fight the game, not the rules.
