There were several Combat Patrol(TM) games run at Historicon 2017.

French vs. Italians 1940

The first was a Thursday game run by Eric Schlegel set in southern France in 1940.  It involved the Italians attacking the French.  I only managed to get one poor picture of this game.  You can see that the Italians had to advance across open ground to get to the French positions or slog through the woods.  Despite some success on the Italian right flank, the game was judge a French victory.

The Bocage

I then ran two bocage games on Friday.  Don and I set up the bocage table and then ran three games on it.  I ran Combat Patrol(TM) in the morning and evening.  In the afternoon Don used to table to run a game using “brand X” rules (Battleground WWII).  In both of my scenarios the Germans were allowed hidden setup, and the Americans were tasked to clear the road.  Unfortunately I was busy running the game and didn’t remember to take very many pictures.  The ones I have don’t tell a coherent narrative, but you can at least see some eye candy.

After the first scenario, every US vehicle had been knocked out, and the Germans had taken few casualties, so it was a decisive German victory.

The first running of this scenario was a decisive victory for the Germans.  The Americans attacked across a wide front, weren’t very aggressive, and never were able to mass on a decisive point.  The second instance was much closer.  The Americans massed on the German right flank and enjoyed initial success.  Then they got bogged down fighting for the farm house in the center of the table rather than bypassing it.  The game was a marginal German victory.

Action around Pomme du Terre

We then set up a French village, called Pomme du Terre, and ran four games on it to amortize the effort of laying out all the buildings.  We ran three Combat Patrol(TM) games on the terrain and one with “brand X.”

1918

Duncan used the town for Germans vs. Americans in 1918.  I was running one of the bocage games while this game was going on, so I only snapped two quick pictures.  Apparently the American platoon was pretty badly shot up trying to take the town from the Germans.

In these pictures you can see that Duncan uses flat disks from Fantasy Flight Games to mark morale checks.  You can also see that Duncan printed unit cards with colored circles on them.  These circles corresponded to colors on the figures’ bases and made it easier for players to figure out which troops were theirs when the fighting got close.

1940

Saturday morning I ran a German assault to capture Pomme du Terre from the French in 1940.  The French were supported by an AT gun and three FT-17s, only one of which was equipped with a gun rather than a machine-gun.  There Germans were supported by two Pz. II’s

The Germans advanced steadily through the town but then got bogged down trying to clear the town square.  Had they advanced around either flank, rather than right up the middle, they might have gotten to the French AT gun and cleared the road.  The result was a French victory.  All the players seemed to really enjoy themselves.

1944

My second game in Pomme du Terre was an American attack on the town.  It was more of a meeting engagement as the Germans weren’t prepositioned in the town, but the onus remained with the attacker to clear the road.  The Germans had a Panzergrenadier platoon with halftracks, two Pz. IV’s and a Marder.  The Americans had an armored infantry platoon with halftracks, a Sherman, an M-10, and a Stuart.  The Americans had a bazooka as well as several captured Panzerfausts.  The forces were of roughly equal size.

The Germans lost a Pz IV early in the game from a shot from the M-10.  The Marder was knocked out by a long-range bazooka shot.  On the other side of the table, the Germans got THREE shots off at the Sherman but rolled very poorly and didn’t knock it out.  They did damage the main gun, turning it into a mobile machine-gun platform.  The Americans handled their vehicles aggressively.  The combination of the Sherman, M-10, and Stuart kept the remaining German Pz. IV busy but didn’t knock it out by the time the game ended.

Both the American and German infantry advanced into the town and got into close quarters combat in and around the town square.  Despite heavy casualties, neither side managed to get a clear upper hand.

A funny moment came when, after the left-flank Pz. IV was knocked out, an American halftrack dashed around the flank, dodging Panzerfaust shots, and circled behind the Germans.  Big surprise for Herman as their infantry started taking fire from three directions.

Though the Germans didn’t knock out any US vehicles, they did knock out the 75mm gun not he Sherman.  The objective was for the Americans to control the road through town.  They didn’t manage to do this by the time the game ended, so we called it a marginal German victory.

We had one player who struggled to get his head around the card mechanics of Combat Patrol(TM) and another who wanted to argue the ratings of guns and armor for some of the vehicles, but otherwise the weekend was a big success.  Many new players had a chance to try Combat Patrol(TM), and several went down and bought copies from the dealer hall — or at least said they did.   I also had quite a few players who came back from either previous conventions or from previous games this weekend.  Every one of my games was completely full, and I even added a couple of extra players who really wanted to try the rules.

As usual, the Harford Area Weekly Kriegspielsers ran several games focusing on kids at Historicon.  Below is a quick rundown on some of them.

Navies for Kids Giveaway

Buck Surdu ran a game in which a group of kids were given a box full of boats and other materials.  They then chose sales for a stack of patterns and colored them.  Then we helped them hot glue the sails to the masts.  With a set of rules designed for this game, we ran a naval action pitting side A against side B.  When the game was over, the kids took hope their two decorated boats, two more the assemble, rules, dice, measuring sticks, a sea cloth, and everything they would need to run the game at home for their buddies.

Armies for Kids Giveaway

We worked all year through a series of club painting days and other events to build six complete sets of armies (one French and one Prussian) for a 15mm Franco-Prussian War giveaway.  As in previous years, the kids played the game and then each went home with a French Army, a Prussian Army, terrain, dice, tape measures, and a ground cloth.

Chris Johnson’s Award-Winning ACW Kids’ Game

Chris was presented an award from the convention staff for this kids’ game.

Eric Schlegel’s Award-Winning ACW Kid’s Game

Duncan Adams’ Lionheart Game for Kids

Geoff Graff’s Award-Winning Lego Pirate Game for Kids

This has been a perennial favorite in the HAWKs rooms for many years.  Geoff never fails to keep the kids entertained and engaged!

Chris Abbey at Sally 4th just published a very nice battle report on a Sea Lion game he ran with Combat Patrol from the Bolt Action scenario book.  See the details here.

More information about the rules can be found on Sally 4th’s page or the rules’ Web page.

Greg, one of the guys in our gaming group, suggested that I create a set of cards for the units in this starter set.  Warlord released the starter set along with Bolt Action 2.  It appears that a number of Bolt Acton players have been attracted to Combat Patrol.  I created a set of unit cards for the units that come in this set.  You can download them from the Combat Patrol Web page, print them, cut them out, and use them to try Combat Patrol. Scroll down to the free stuff toward the bottom of the page.   Enjoy!

Over the longish weekend, I had a chance to knock out a terrain project that I have wanted to create for some time. After completing some alien bugs using glitter paint, one of my buddies suggested the leftover glitter paint would make cool rock formations.

I began this project by using a foam cutter to carve the bits of foam.  Then I glued them together with Eileen’s Tacky Glue.

Once dry, I gave them a thick coat of Krylon foam primer.  This was one of the reasons I wanted to take on this project — to see if the foam primer works as advertised.  They promise that you can spare this over foam and then use normal spray paint without fear of the paint causing the foam to melt.  It worked!  After spraying the primer on the foam, I then coated the rock formation with Krylon dark brown, camouflage, matte paint.  Without the primer, the rock formation would have been a melted mess.

After the brown base coat dried, I then sprayed most of the formation with the green glitter blast paint.  I thought that the rocks didn’t look right all green, so I sprayed the lower sections and undercuts with Testors Dirt Mugre rock texture paint.  The final result is pretty good, I think.  They will be suitable alien-looking terrain pieces for a science fiction game.

I completed a new demonstration video for Combat Patrol(TM) over the weekend.  This one focuses on how to resolve grenades and high explosive attacks.  It is visible on both the Combat Patrol(TM) Web page and on the Combat Patrol(TM) Facebook page.

I hope you find this page useful and interesting.

Due to a conflict with our venue, we have changed the dates for Barrage 2017.  Please mark your calendars.

Where to get Combat Patrol™: World War II:

Start sets (two Action decks, an Activation deck, and the printed rulebook can be purchases from Sally 4th (http://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/Combat-Patrol) and On Military Matters (http://onmilitarymatters.com/pages/dfindex.php).

See http://www.bucksurdu.com/Buck_Surdu/Combat_Patrol.html for more information about Combat Patrol™: World War II, including demonstration videos and lots of free downloads. 

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.

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.

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.

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.

I am very pleased with the outcome of this this building.

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.

Greg is getting excited about Sea Lion scenarios, so I’m sure the Frog and Ferkin pub will soon be a scene of action.