"Most Fun You've Had Wargaming? Most memorable game event?" Topic

Whether historical or sci-fi we gamers can get so wrapped around the axle when it comes to historical accuracy, detail, realism, etc. that sometimes the hobby looks more like work and less like fun. Doesn't matter if we're hung up on armor penetration vs a Mk III Panzer's lower hull or the tourney implications of the latest GW codex.

So here's the question and it's sort of the opposite of the "pet peeves" thread on the game design board.

What specific game session, rule system, convention, or gaming activity was absolutely, positively the most fun you've ever had? And what was the most memorable event of a wargame you played?

Most Fun Sessions:
For me it was probably my first few games of Rogue Trader/40K (hardcover) back in the very early 90s. They were small games of only a squad or so per side with a dreadnought or two in support. We didn't use army lists, my friend's (well painted!) marines wore pink armor. If we didn't understand or remember a rule when just forged ahead with the narrative of the game and "made it up as we went along". It was a pure focus on the "story".

A close second would be some pirate-era games I ran at HMGS East conventions. The "rules" were just a few notes about how far figures could move and shoot, etc. But the background stories were intricate with multiple factions in play: British marines, French garrison troops, island governor and his daughter, rebellious town folk, cannibals, pirates, and even wild animals escaped from a ship wreck!

Memorable Event:
During one of these pirate games the pirates were about to escape with the gov's daughter. A boy (age 9 or 10) was playing the British marines and declared he would fire a volley to stop the pirates. We decided to randomize the hits between pirates and daughter. In an amazing stroke of luck his volley managed to drop every pirate surrounding the daughter leaving her without a scratch!!! The players' cheering drew much attention from other convention goers!

MB

Thankfully, too many to mention.

Scott of Pictor's (and a few other worthies) were running an Iliad game ad either Cold Wars or Historicon, using WAB.
I had the rather puny Agamemnon. Seeing as how the Greeks could not get Achilles until a major Greek hero ate the dust (that phrae comes from the Iliad, by the way…), I threw myself and my Bodyguard on the Trojan horde. I lost two chariots in the melee, and my three surviving ones blasted through a gap in the Trojan lines to find myself in their rear. The only thing I could do was assault Troy itself. The gates were conveniently open…
Scoring the best possible score on every roll, I routed the garrison, wounded Artemis, captured Helen, and retreated South with just myself left.

I ran a game of the Wyoming Massacre using The Sword and the Flame, totally by the book, with no mods for the AWI whatsoever. I chose the time to start the game at the moment when the settlers' line was flanked, and Dennison (or was it Butler?) refused his left to counter it. Explain THAT to simple farmers… That was the setup. I gave each Patriot player the option to take a free turn to run away, or to stand in line and fight. To my delight, each alternating player chose to run away. I could not have set up a Massacre better. There was lots of heroism on the part of the settlers, but none that would ever make the history books.

I was Himself in a Shoot Down Yamamoto Cy6 game in which I made every save to my Betty. Except the last one.

One of my most fun was played a week ago. We had five Peninsular war French couriers trying to get through British and Guerrilla lines to deliver a message to Napoleon. Along the way we had to collect boasting points. The eventually winner was beat up by British Dragoons but left for dead, got himself to a farmhouse where the farmer's daughter nursed him back to health, then was later captured by guerrillas, buried up to his neck and abandoned to die, and then escaped from that. Still later he came across a maiden in a forest but she lured him into a bandit ambush but at the last minute his life was spared and then escaped from them. When another messenger finally got to the Emperor with a message, the winner was once agian in the clutches of guerrillas and about to be put on a roasting spit.
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Thirty years ago we were using Chainmail to play out scenarios where Sherwood's bandits were chasing down Norman Tax collectors.

In between then and now we played a Napoleonic campaign with a dozen enthusiastic players that culminated in a massive battle.
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There have been too many great games to count or even recall.

The Hordes of the Things competitions at Berkeley, Burton and Glorygeeks in the South East. Excellent game played in the right spirit with like minded folk. What it should all be about!

I would have to say it was Bob Wiltrout's "SOCCER" game this past Saturday at Historicon.

It played like soccer – even to going into the last minutes before scoring, it felt like soccer – even to watching your own team outplay the opposition and still lose.

And I couldn't tear myself away from game table 'til the match was concluded.

Well done, Bob!

Malcom and John,

Your stories made me LOL!!! Well told AND quite telling in that they are so very colorful with respect to character-driven events and span skirmish to mass battles.

MB

One of the best was last years Millennium Con where a player was playing Captain America and was tasked with rescuing a captured OSS agent from the evil clutches of the Red Skull. During the battle the player had Cap commandeer a Puma AC and fixed the steering to drive straight into the building where the agent was being held. This think took ungodly amounts of fire from small arms, panzerfaust and a quad 20mm flak gun but as it hit the building, Cap lept from the turret's hatch onto a second story balcony where in the same action he smashed down the door to only realize he was in the actual room where the interrogation was taking place. All the Nazis rushed Cap including a super soldier Valkyrie. The ensuring combat was bloody and brutal and as the bodies hit the floor and the dust cleared the good old Red, White and Blue as standing tall.

The table broke out in a cheer and we all laughed at the imagination of the player who though of such a feat.

Most of my most rememberable games have all been within the Weird WWII genera where players really think outside of the box and can really generate some great gaming.

Brian
whattheminiatures.com

One of the best games I've ever played was 2nd edition 40K. It was the first game of it we played and we didn't really know what we were doing.

It came down to one terminator vs. about a dozen orks and a dreadnought. The terminator killed all of them but one but was set on fire during the fight.

The last one decided to run for it and as the terminator was chasing him down the fire finally got through his armour and killed him.

The last ork jumped up and down on the battle field that was now his.

Running the Trojan War game that second night was pretty up there too.

A guy at the club miniaturized an old hex game (Operation Barbarossa, I think) on a sculpted 4x6 board with 1:300 miniatures instead of counters. Then we played teams, with a CnC and subordinates on each side.

Each side had 5 minutes to carry out their maneuver and fighting and then it was the other side's turn (and we went away to plan our next move). In eight hours we did all of the eastern front--it really gave us a different impression of how the war went and the effect of things like insubordinate and careless commanders, personality conflicts, limited resources, the vastness of Russia, etc. A great experience.

A huge fantasy battle fought on three linked tables using beer and pretzel rules. Three players to a side I was commanding the forces of evil in the center. I advance to the center of the table only to realize the other two guys on my side were timid and failed to advance with me. The forces of good counter attacked and I managed to recreate Custer's Last Stand. We lost but I had a really good time.

ahhhhh GW Space Marine, my Imperial Guard command stand was sat in some ruins and a squad of terminators teleported into hand to hand combat with them.
Several turns later all the terminators were dead, the god dice was shining on me and scowling at my opponent.

The next game I promoted him, and painted him in neat super trooper colours, my opponent asked who this colourful man was, "Commander Badox I explained, you know the one that killed your terminators last time."
He sent in all manner of men, his dice rolls sucked and mine were as legendary as Rimmer playing risk!

He survived that game and was promoted, he was inside a Leman Russ tank next time.
So determined to kill commander Badox was he that he ignored my other troops that wiped him out.
Commander Badox survived yet another game.

It was not until the 4th game when a Titan was dispatched to destroy him did his super rolls dry up.
I still maintain that he lives on.

That is how the legend of commander Badox was born, never seen luck like that since and probably never will, so many sixes.

sigh.

Michael.
angelbarracks.co.uk

Most memorable game for me was back in the day, early 90's, when, inconcievably, the ships company of my ship HMS Nottingham, had about 5 keen wargamers and a couple of willing learners, all out of a crew of about 180. Amazing.

Anyway, we were visiting Hull and were invited to play a huge Napoleonic Multiplayer game at the Hull Wargames club. The game was great anyway, but one of our tyros, a young sailor called Chris Button, whose first game it was, managed to beat off Soult's Corps, which was lead by a convention winning champ! Also it was one of those rare games when everybody was free to get ed in a pub afterwards and spin ever taller 'warstories'. A great game and evening, and a great club up there.

Years ago. Watching a 3rd (4th?) edition WRG Ancients Game. A sort of Maiden Castle scenario. The British player used half a unit to set fire to the palisade and then realised it was no use doing that so for the rest of the move the other half of the unit put it out.

Most memorable was ages ago when I gave a cheater just deserts. We were playing a very large game with dozens of players. It was Omaha beach and we were the Allies. We were having our private conference and discussing where we would send our landing craft and what our basic strategy was going to be. One of the features of the game was hidden anti-landing craft traps which the enemy could place. We realized that not knowing where we were going to land they would have to spread them out in hopes of catching us. So why not bunch up on one sector of the beach and spread out from there?

There was a guy playing on the other side that I had caught cheating in other games. He just can't help himself. Thing was – he was smart enough that he didn't need to do that – it was just a character flaw. I don't think a lot of people really understood that about him.

So anyway while the GM was with us discussing our invasion plan in creeps the cheater and and says "Sorry to interrupt!" and then asks a stupid question. So I'm thinking he was there for quite a while and listening in so after he leaves I plead that we alter the plan. I explain why and the boys in the room berate me for suggesting his character was anything but pure. I suggest that we arbitrarily decided which beach section to bunch up on so it wouldn't hurt our plan. There was grudging approval of the change and we informed the GM (also a defender of the guy).

So we set up our forces, they set up their traps (Belgian gates, hedgehogs, log ramps, etc.) and lo and behold 90% of them are in the sector we were originally going to ground into…

He never downplayed the suspicion that followed for years.

Most fun and most memorable was an ACW game using some sort of home-grown brigade-level rules in 15mm many years ago. I really didn't know the system, but had a fair idea of what I was doing tactically (for a change!). I was playing a Confederate division commander. I advanced onto the field. My one lone green brigade take one lone round of cannon fire. No casualties. Totally blows a morale check (first fire received, IIRC). Routs right off the table. I then proceeded to take my now-reduced division and handily capture my assigned objectives, utterly detroying two Union divisions in the process. Huge fun, and a level of success that I've never repeated.

For the 50th anniversary of Pearl Harbor we played a huge "what-if" game, using the Seekrieg rules, where the Americans sortied and caught the Japanese at sea. In addition, the three American carriers were in the game (although they weren't together, or with the battle line). The Japanese battle line was expanded as well.
I was commanding the USS Lexington and her battle group. About three turns into the game, the commander of the Japanese battle cruisers (Kongo, Kirishima, Haruna and Hiei) realized that I was closer to him than the American BB's and he went looking for some easy kills.
The Lexinton's 8" batteries had not been removed, yet, so we ended up about 3' apart lobbing shells at each other. Lexington and Indianapolis (my CA) firing 8" shells and the 4 battle cruisers firing 12". We were using range estimation and I was scoring good hits from all of the 8" guns while his fire had a tendency to go long or short and smash my destroyers. After most of his upper works had been reduced to shambles and I had scored a couple of critical hits, he turned away and went back to hunting American battleships. Lady Lex put out a fire on her flight deck and landed, reloaded and kept launching her planes.
I won the "luckiest player" award for that one.

Matt

A trickier question: What is the most fun you've had while getting trashed? So many stories of 'most fun' seem to revolve around stunning victories.

My WFB Dogs of War army crumbling in the second game at Bristol Carnage. My Leadership rolls were so appalling my opponent and I couldn't stop laughing. Any other time I'd have been glad of the sixes…

Or maybe the old Rogue Trader game where we used the rules for 'rubber moss'. I can't even remember who won, just images of squats trying to fire plasma guns while bouncing randomly around the table…

Or maybe I just haven't had enough stunning victories ;-)

Malcolm: what rules did you use for that Peninsula War game scenario? It sounds like a lot of fun.

A sort of Maiden Castle scenario. The British player used half a unit to set fire to the palisade and then realised it was no use doing that so for the rest of the move the other half of the unit put it out.

LOL!!! Maybe we should add most humorous wargame experience too! :-)

I would have to say it was Bob Wiltrout's "SOCCER" game this past Saturday at Historicon.

I was in that game (the second one Blues 1, Liverpool nil) and I second that motion. That game was the most pleasant surprise I have ever had at a Con.

Malcolm: what rules did you use for that Peninsula War game scenario? It sounds like a lot of fun.

We had a homebrew set for the Courier game (aka Steeplechase aka Pentathalon)

full after action report: link

rules: murat.ca/rules/STEEPLECHASE.htm

My most memorable was the French loosing Waterloo with only 1 casualty: Nappy hisself. But I have told that story here before.

The next most enjoyable was a modern 1:1 microarmor game. I am a retired Army tank officer and a friend asked me to play. He considered himself something of a "book" expert on Soviet style defenses and insisted I teach him how effective real tactics are on the modern battlefield. Well, he did insist. I attacked his prepared defenses. By the time he surrendered, I had lost 1 Challenger and an FV432 from my British brigade. He had lost 7 battalions, either from my initial attack or his counter attacks trying to close the gap I had blown all the way through both defensive echelons. For some reason, he did not want to play moderns with me anymore.

A game I played at the Bath Wargames Club back in 1972

It was a simple scenario but unbalanced, but it was the first time I ever played a game with written orders, objectives, hidden movement and a feel of something over than line up equal points and have at it.

Still inspires me now I'm with the Centurions/AFT group here in the Twin Cities 35 years later.

If pushed I could draw the map, describe the move,come up with my Prussian OoB and have a fair stab at the French as well – it stuck in my mind the way few games have.

Winning once in 65 games my friend Peter in WH40K (He has won three Pan-Hellenic Championships, and regularly ranked number two for some years before.

We where playing TAU(him) vs. Imperial Guard(me) with a capture the ground objective (old rules). Pretty much he annihilated all my infantry, but not before it killed off all his anti-tank elements. Then my three Leman Russ tanks just went to the center of the table, turned their rears to each other, made a triangle and stayed there. I won. We were laughing throughout the whole game.

Lots to choose from, but many years ago we had an obnoxious guy at our club who continually claimed to be the best player of Napoleon's Battles around. He won a lot of games, and we suspected foul play.

To test our hypothesis, we set up a 6 player Eylau game. We let him choose his side, and he chose Russians. A friend of ours set up a video camera and videoed the entire thing (openly, no hidden camera).

The first part of the fun occurred when the guy got totally thrashed. The Guard Artillery came forward and shot the entire Russian front line into disorder; then a single unit of French Cuirassiers with Ney attached charged the line and basically destroyed the entire russian front line. The guy left in a hurry, grumbling about dice.

The next part was FAR better. We looked at the video afterward, and the tape showed that every time we looked away, the guy had been shifting markers, shoving troops around, and generally cheating his butt off. All that cheating and the guy took an EPIC thrashing. We laughed ourselves hoarse.

Most memorable: In an 1813 Napoleonic game, I sent the French 1st and 2nd Old Guard Grenadiers (4 battalions) into the attack against a Prussian militia regiment (also 4 battalions). The result should have been a walkover for the French, but a truly unbelievable series of dice throws led to the French routing en masse while the Prussians just stood there. Ouch!

One of the most memorable games was an RPG game where we were playing a rather powerful game of RoleMaster with characters which could only be explained as "Monty Haul" in terms of their power levels, but then again we were also playing the bad guys at the same levels – so it all evened out. In any case, I had my new character which the GM created for me – and he was untested in battle. After a few games everyone got used to his abilities, etc., then I got a new magic item which I don't think the GM reflected on very much when I got it from the loot pile after a lengthy adventure. So, on our way back from the lengthy adventure, the bad guys decided to attack our party – there were two of them and they were both player characters on the "bad side" in the campaign. They attacked, in the first round they had knocked down and out or seriously wounded more than half the party – with the exception of my character and the cleric – who was behind me – so all of the fighters, etc., were down and out. Then they came at me standing between them and the cleric – it the first round I knocked down the bad guy fighter and rolled the inevitable critical hit and rolled "00" for the crit – instant death. Or so I thought, because they had a "force a re-roll of any roll" ability – so I re-rolled – another "00" – so the other character burns his "automatic force a re-roll" power on my – again – "00" again – instant death. So, the first character burns out an artifact which would save his character from death by forcing a re-roll of any hit or critical which cause his death – but was then burned out – again – another "00" and each one with a different set of dice – that is 4 in a row – so they review their myriad character sheets and find that they each have one more "forced reroll" power to save his hide – and the first one is again an "00" and the last save they have from instant death – my dice finally failed – somewhat – it was only a 97 – which meant a slow lingering death in 15 rounds or some such thing. That pretty much ended that battle as the remaining bad guy realized he was no match to stand up to me – and the newly revived other characters as the cleric had gotten the paladin back up. So, away they teleported to their secret lair – and the legend began. Don't mess with Matt's character when his dice are on a roll – it will only end badly for you!

There are too many great war-gaming tales to tell here – all of them have been great – and they span a period of more than 30 years since my first big Napoleonic game, my first skirmish game of Chainmail, Beat to Quarters, Dreadnought, Warhammer 40K, Fantasy, Empire, WRG 5th edition, and inumerable home brew systems.

The last one where I participated that I recall which was great fun was run by Pat Nix at Tactical Solutions in Cour d'Alene last year – I got to command the American tank hunter squadrons – one of M-10s and another of M-18's and the recon elements of Stuarts, and armored cars. Our objective was to capture a bridge and prevent the retreat of the German Panzer division. I moved at double speed for the first 4 or 5 turns to get ahead of the Germans and around their flank on the road to the bridge. I arrived at the bridge the turn before the Germans and was able to set up my tanks in ambush so that any tanks which attempted to cross would be shot in a cross fire. The German player – with his Pz IV's advanced and knew that he was advancing into certain death, but knew that he had to chance it and take the bridge head before the rest of the American tanks arrived to secure the bridge. He advanced and I attacked – Stuarts at point blank range on side armor of a Pz IV are still deadly – as we killed 4 of 5 tanks in a platoon and killed the command tank – leaving 5 smoking wrecks on the board and a sign to the German heavy companies coming down the road – that the Americans were there – and they were now trapped! Great game – loads of fun for both sides – the Germans had fun shooting up the British on the opposite flank, but failed to push to the bridge they needed to escape – they failed to follow the classic rule in event games – go for the objective at all costs – it is what wins the game. They were too distracted with trying to kill British and American vehicles that they failed to push forward to secure the bridge. Great game – beautiful terrain and loads of fun – I hope he does another on this year at Tactical Solutions III!!!

Jovian1

Great story on the M10 ambush game. What rules (or variant thereof) were you guys using?

Most memorable games:

The weekly group I used to play with ran the old West End Games Star Wars Miniatures Battles for the first time using a scenario suggested by the FLGS's other weekly group (we all got along fine, just played different games). I had 20 Jawas with three weapons between them and my friend had two squads of Stormtroopers. I had to get my group off one side of the table while taking a few casualties as possible. Three turns, a dedicated charge later, and I had 13 of 20 off the table and had broken one of his squads. We both had a great time.

I had a game of Desperado II against the same player, unremarkable, save that he managed three crotch-shots against one of my deperados without killing him. The next game we played, the same character on his side, crotch-shot the same character on my side, finally putting my poor cowboy out of his misery.

Best Event? Games Day years ago, right around the time 40K 2E came out. We played on a huge hive ship carved out of a massive sheet of polystyrene. My Thousand Sons tactical squad (plastic beakies, of course) managed to sabotage the mission by getting a little too close to some loyalist Terminators and choosing to engage the Imperial Scum, opening both squads to attack (and destruction) from Genestealers. Dirty bad fun.

The most memorable Game was The Ahrnem game put on by Martin Baber and Sam Scott at Timonoium and Historicon.
As an Umpire in both of the games , I must say we all had a great time and unique experience. We literally had people from all over the globe come and play.
This experience and great gamers we met and entertained will last with me for a long time!

Back in the 90's huge Hungarianvs Rumanian game, 15 tables, 30+ players, lots of walkie talkies, and proper aerial recon ( me balancing on dodgy step ladders, with a very old VHS video camera) using the Combined Arms rules

Oh wow, my most favorite gaming experience was the year long Sun Never Sets TSATF campaign that my local group played. So many enjoyable battles.

Favorite game I played in, a Johnny Reb game in which I and a buddy were in charge of two reb cav regiments holding a crossroads and waiting for reinforcements. Down the road in front of us comes a Union Corp, in column. No knowing what else to do I told my buddy to hold the fort. i mounted my regiment and charged down the road in column. Somehow all of the die rolls went my way and I ended up chasing all of the Union troops off of the road in disorder and made it back to the crossroads.

Most satisfying game…a game of Twilight 2000. one of the guys in my unit was a REAL jerk. He was always giving our CO a hard time. One night he leaves the encampment and not long after we start recieving sniper fire, directed at the CO. One of the crew on the M1 doesn't know what to do so i jump into the turret and light up the imaging equipment. I spot someone in a tree and fire a few rounds from the turret MG. The figure falls and the fire stops. The next morning the jerk comes limping into the compound with blood on his leg. He climbs into a truck and goes to sleep. Not long after the CO climbs in after him carrying a shotgun. BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! No more jerk.

For myself I have referee'd several games and played in numerable wargames. But the game that really stands out in my mind are two moments while playing rolemaster.
I had a friend of mine playing an Half elf assassin and he was having a great time in a dungeon crawl and he was having a ball of a time sneaking up on all of the orcs in the dungeon and sliting there throats and anouncing "silent kill" well the whole group of six other players kept to themselves as it was kind of obonoxious the whole time.. till later in the adventure an Orc assassin (yes he really was in the adventure thats why its so funny!!) snuck up on the half elf and slit his throat with a critical that read… " edged weapon slices through foes neck, foe drops dead, SILENT KILL… " which the rest of the group was more than happy enough to tell the half elf player as I tried to keep a poker face saying .. "can I have your character sheet.." I still get a happy chuckle when I remember the groups glee as they watch the half elf player go away.

1970's.

In the USAF.

Rancho Cordova Library – Central California for those who don't know. Fairly new wargame club that a fellow enlisted type Reggie (last name forgotten over the years,) Randy van Vranken (Air Force dependent,) and (IIRC) Alan Lucien (a civilian) had organised less then a year before. I showed up about meeting number two or three when we still met on base (Mather AFB.)

Library closes Saturday afternoon. We clear the conferenece room. We fill the room with two massive wall to wall armies for the Armageddon ending of the campaign using the original Chainmail rules with some house rules. It had been an INCREDIBLE series of battles/adventures. Thank You Reggie, wherever you are for that campaign! Played all night and when the Janitor came in Sunday morning we talleyed up the results.

My Dwarf Kingdom's sellout/betrayal to the Orcs/Goblins/man-orcs was for naught but oh the human widows (freaking elves migrated out of the mini-continent/Island the last days before the battle – how typical) we created. I suspect Polygamy became mandatory…

Most fun I had for decades.

Gracias,

Glenn

I was the umpire for a ficticious ACW fight along Bull Run between our most obnoxious SUPERGAMER, history know it all, rules lawyer and 2 more acceptable gents. I kriegspeiled as well as I good for the 3 of them using home rules for the strategic moves and using the original JR rules for the battle. They spent the first part of the fight using cavalry to sort out where the enemy was, but then for reasons I can't recall, the confederates (led by the SUPERGAMER) moved away from and uncovered a ford. The Union innocently arrived at the ford and pushed across a cavalry regiment. Well as more luck would have it, a full blown battle developed near that ford soon after.
SUPERGAMER is pushing his way across the battlefield with good tactics etc and all was going his way. The battle was his for the taking.
Low and behold the other fellows manage to bring up the Union cavalry regiment up the road, behind the Confederate lines by using the same road that the Confederates entered upon. This troop was truely inconsequential as I do believe the fight was probably division on division (or larger). Well SUPERGAMER, stood there for a moment (I think the game was lasting till about midnight real time) tears rolled out of his 20 ish year old eyes and he threw his ruler to the floor, leaving never to return. Seriously, I have never seen a person so BROKEN before. Great example of how morale means everything. I can still recall the shock of everyone else on what those reinforcements did to that fella.

Too many years and too many great games to count, but some of my favourite memories are –

Many years ago, when our club was new (and much bigger) a small number of members got to talking about the old Airfix Napoleonic figures (20mm plastic) and how theirs hadn't seen the light of day in years. One thing led to another and they decided to put on an invitational game the very next week. Anyone who owned any (painted) Airfix Napoleonics were invited to choose a side and bring a contingent. The rest of the club was invited watch and join in if there were enough troops to go around. I had three British infantry battalions, including one Highland unit, and a single Horse Artillery battery along with three French battalions and a Cuirassier unit that I was willing to lend to anyone who wanted to play. The big day arrived and everyone started bringing out figures from dusty boxes – and I mean everyone. It turned out that every member had at least some old Airfix Napoleonics. We filled a 16 foot long by 6 foot wide table end to end. It was spectacular.

Years later we were playing a large multiplayer ACW battle where we were using cavalry figures for messengers and rules that required written orders (from the CiC) before you could engage the enemy (no looking around and attacking where and when you felt like it). I was Confederate, and had a small brigade holding a farm, cut off from the main army. The Union reinforcements were marching PAST ME (grrr) on their way to the main battle with the rest of the Confederate army while screening my force. Since my last orders were to hold the farm, there was little I could do (at least without new orders) and being cut off, new orders couldn't reach me. I thought for a moment, took one of my messenger figures – the one that just happened to be painted with a captured union coat (ahha), measured the distance, and when nobody was watching, moved him behind an isolated clump of trees next to the road. On the next turn, when a Union divisional commander (and staff) moved by, I slipped him in among the Union messengers. For the next three turns I watched as the Union player moved his force (and my messenger) closer and closer to the main action. Then, one turn before I was going to reclaim the figure and run for the Confederate lines, he suddenly reached down, saying 'this isn't one of my figures', turned him over, and discovered the message I had taped to the bottom of the base.

We also used to play multiplayer games we called 'absent commander battles'. The two players in charge of the two sides stayed in another room while the battle was played out (until the armies were fully engaged). They sent written messages to their subordinates and received updates of how the battle was going from them via the umpire and kept track on their own small map. There was one ACW battle where I was commander of one side, where our forces seemed to be doing unexpectedly well. I fed in reserves and kept track on my map when I noticed a disturbing trend – the two sides of our army were getting further and further apart. In a short time they were out of touch (and out of support) of each other and I started to worry. I sent messages warning them to watch their flanks. I sent messages instructing them to watch out for the hole opening in the middle of our lines. I finally sent messenges asking for their opinions on slowing their attacks long enough to reform the center. They sent me back messages saying "leave us alone". When I finally got to see the table I understood. They had split the enemy army in two and had forced it back into the opposite corners. But I couldn't tell that, I'd been expecting the umpire to come up to me and tell me my headquarters had been overrun, and that I was a prisoner of war.

There was another one of these games where I was the commander of the British in a French & Indian War game. My general was set up at a small farm near some woods. I sent out my orders, and the army advanced. After a while of not hearing any updates I sent messages demanding updates. Still nothing. More orders, more silence. Finally I announced I was advancing to the front – and was promptly taken prisoner. Indian bands had completely captured the woods and all of my messenges had been going directly to the enemy commander – I had essentially been playing by myself for the entire game.

An "Asterix the Gaul" game at a show many, many years ago (must have been early 80s), run by a club called The Old Guard, I think – can't recall the name of the show!

It was the tavern brawl scenario and the guy playing Asterix was my main wargaming buddy at the time. I was Obelix (I'll let you all guess why). Fantastci fun!

A close (joint) second are being introduced to "Sharp Practice" at Colours 2008, and the chariot race (also run by TFL, I think) at Colours 2006.

Most Memorable Game & Moment: Late 1980's WW2 Night Action Naval Game…using "Clear for Action Rules"….mini-con put on by our local games club…ABDA Defending a ficticous Island Base about to be invaded by Japanese…each ship Captain on both sides was placed in a cubical for pre-game manuevering and was only given limited intelligence…communication between each other was limited to 10 code words each…movement was done on a paper map grid until contact was made, then the battle would be transfered to the floor…each captain was told, turn by turn, what he could see…several friendly fire episodes…ex: Dutch Float Plane takes off to drop flares on Japs…shot down when it flys over friendly ABDA destroyer…highlight of the game: Jap Admiral is in his flagship (Battleship Kongo) with Japanese Destroyer alongside…Jap Admiral orders all units to engage 3 ABDA DD's nearby…Destroyer Captain launches torpedoes at wrong angle…the trajectory was plotted through his own Admirals battle ship….Umpire asks, "Are you sure you want to fire using that trajectory?" Jap DD Capt, "Absolutely"….Jap DD fires full spread of Torps…all hit his Admirals Flagship…critical hit….the Flagship sinks within seconds…the player's name was Merlin and he would be forever known as "Captain Merlin of the Undersea's Fleet"…the game took forever to play out (most of a saturday) but everyone had a ball due to the limited intelligence, etc…nowadays, i dont think anyone would have the patience to play such a scenario…we're all used to "fastplay" rules these days…ahh, the good 'ole days of gaming….:>)

I don't know if it was the most memorable, but a couple nights ago my Finnish tank-hunters took a long shot and threw a 2kg satchel onto an OT-26 and blew it to smithereens, despite the heroic little Finns having been doused in flames by the flamethrower tank for two rounds and accumulated a pile of battlefield stress. It was a very cool scene.

far far too many. Last week, my BKC Americans were on the edge of defeat.

In an act of insane courage (as well as 'what the hell, I have lost already') I ran One of my Infantry bases from cover toward a STuG, and then Bazooka'd it from Point Blank Range, not once but twice.

The whole 'hey – just like that scene in BoB' – ness of the action meant that as I made each command roll cheering got louder and louder.

Sadly neither shot was enough to knock out the stug, which proceeded to squish him like a bug. But it was good while it lasted – 6 consective command rolls at insane modifiers nearly coming off is one of the reasons I like BKC so much.

Pat

Hi Streetline, seconded on the HoTT front. I've been getting nostalgic about HoTT; has been too long since I last played.

Maybe we could resurrect a simplified Gloryday next year…

Simon

I was playing 40k with a buddy for the first time.

He had a space marine army against my IG forces. Even though it was his first game he got the lucky dice and hit with everything and I missed with everything.

he took out a good 70 or so guardsmen. The game ended with one sentinel pilot in an immobilized walker shooting his laspistol got the only kill of the day for me. he was bogged down by 3 squads the next turn.

never had that bad, or good of a game since.

@podette: Surprisingly enough the rules and game were done with Flames of War – which was my first introduction to the game rules other than a skimming of the rules. I was at Tactical Solutions (if I haven't said that already) and we were handed a command. In the rules the M-10 and M-18 tank destroyer units have some funky rules about ambush where they get to pop up and then shoot and scoot. I used them exactly how I thought they should be used. In one instance, I popped out of a woods and fired into the flanks of the German advance – and I had close range shots at several panthers, and other vehicles, but I didn't shoot at them – instead I shot at of all things – his mobile Anti-Aircraft weapons – denying him any ability to fire upon our air support. The German players were stunned that I had shot at their AA weapons – destroying ALL OF THEM – instead of the tanks. I figured they were then sitting ducks for air attacks – and so did they! It caused chaos – they all scrambled to break their formations and spread out – making themselves more difficult to be hit by air attacks, but also isolating their vehicles to concentrated shots from the Americans. The M-18's lost a tank destroyer in the process, but the morale impact on the Germans was unbelievable – they panicked into error – right into the fire swamp!

The M-10 ambush was even better together with the Stuarts – as in Flames of War, the Stuart is a fast little booger and it has a decent gun if you get on the flank or rear of medium tanks – not so effective against Tigers or the heavy tanks, but against the Pz IV and Panther – they do alright – and with the number of shots – they do really, really well if used correctly. My massed attack with Stuarts against the flank of the Pz IV's killed 4 of 5 – with some help from the failed armor saves of the Pz IV commander – and the M-10's sealed the deal by popping out of cover and killing his command tank – eliminating their command and causing the fatal morale check – which they failed miserably. It was not a good day to be the German player.

We played Chaos in Carpathia for the first time as a club. We had a good bunch of guys who enjoy gaming. The scenery was great, the moderator made it more of an adventure. We all laughed and cheered no matter who was winning. The scenario played out in an interesting way and each turn was exciting. I love it when the dice help the game to evolve into something epic. A struggle back and forth.

I won't retell it all but I'll link the AAR and you can see for yourself.

link

It was also the last game I got to play with Dave MacRae. He was a good man is greatly missed by our club.

Matt

Played Dark Age and nothing went right. One of my best fighters got scared and tried to run away…right by the leader who promptly decapitated her. The only thing he hit all night was his own.

Played Rezolution and my Dravani leader got lazed and set on fire. Ran around like a chicken and never could put the fire out.

Both were bad for me as a player but fun like in a "it can only happen to him" kind of way.

I've been racking my brains to think of one particular event, but I really can't pick one out of so many.

My involuntary sound effects (machineguns, dive bombers etc, you know the sort of thing) always seems to cause intense amusement to my gaming pals, but I'm barely aware I do it.

I think the French managing to lose Waterloo in a single turn, just after routing most of the Allied army was fairly spectacular. The Prussians just rolled the lot up with cumulative routs, hilarious.

I recall playing the entire campaign of the old SPI game Highway to the Reich (I know, it's not miniatures, but it was memorable) in my friend's basement circa 1980.

Gamers and non-gamers alike joined in, and it is memorable for the simple reason that we all had a great time and many of these friends have since moved on.

Many of the same group participated in a Meleme airfield game using Airfix miniatures and Featherstone's Wargaming Airborne Operations. Great fun!

Another was playing Peking 1900 with TSATF on a beautiful terrain board at a local gamer's house. Got me hooked on those rules, and that period, ever since.

For me it when I was I was stationed on my last ship. Several of the guys I played Starfleet Battles with rented a suite at the local Inn for a weekend and played SFB all weekend. It started with six of us on Frday afternoon after work. We played until 2:00 AM when peaple started falling asleep at the game table. We took a three hour nap, went to Denny's for breakfast then resumed playing. Two guys had to leave at six AM for duty on the ship and an hour later two guys that had just gotten off duty showed up and took the other two seats. This sequence of events repeated several time that weekend until everyone had to report back to the ship on Monday morning. We actually did this on two different ocassions. It was the two best gaming sessions I have ever had.