"So is anyone actually gaming moderns?" Topic

These forums tend to be 99% political discussion.
So if you are actually GAMING modern, cold war or similar, what kind of scenarios do you tend to play?

Small infantry fights?
Massed armour?
Platoon level? Company level? Divisions?

What scale do you game in?

Do you play historical conflicts or make-believe? Imagi-nations?

Howdie.

Infrequently, though my interest is high, my club's interest fluctuates. Normally, I game platoon level using Seek Out Close With and Destroy for Disposable Heroes (… as I am an author of the system). Platoon level meaning, a platoon of infantry (+/-), with or without supporting vehicles, 1 figure = 1 man.

I definitely like to use large tables, and use APCs and IFVs for movement…. I never seem to have quite a large enough table for what I want to do!

Most of my gaming is in 20mm (Falklands, Cold War 80's Europe, Soviets in Afghanistan), except for Vietnam which I game in 28/25mm.

I also game Cold War Naval using Shipwreck and 1/3000 scale vessels, plus some "near future" Chinese vs USN, also with Shipwreck in 1/3000.

Modern (harder and harder to consider the 80's modern, though, isn't it?) gaming is one of my favorite gaming eras, only surpassed by Napoleonics (15mm).

Chalfant

I had totally forgotten about naval gaming :) I know it's popular, though for some reason I don't think I ever run into anyone doing it.

I've been building 15mm mech infantry platoons for 1-to-1 skirmishing and platoon level combat. West germans and Soviets so far but along the way, will no doubt add some Brits and Yanks too. Have a decent selection.

Hi Weasel;

I do play moderns, in 15mm and 28mm.
The majority of games are the Ambush Alley Games rules (Force on Force), which is platoon/fireteam sized.
I've run the "Lawyers, Guns and Money" mini campaign a few times in 15mm on a 2x2 table top. Iraq 2006 or so.
We have used the rules for Rhodesia and Chechnya as well as Vietnam.
I also have the rules and 1/2400 ships for Shipwreck, but haven't played it yet.
And finally I've run a couple of games of Check Your 6 Jet Age (Korea) with 1/600 scale a/c
I'd like to play more, like Arab Israeli Wars.
Good question.

Yes, I do lots of games set in the period of the "First Cold War". In the last year I and the group I game with has done 1946 US Army versus Soviet Red Army. The Soviets outnumbering the Americans and having T-34/85s backed up by IS II and ISUs the Americans with Easy 8 Shermans, backed up by some Pershings and Hellcats and with control of the air: While there were some instances of Red Air Force sorties getting through. The Americans won in a hard fight, The availability of HVAP ammunition in good amounts for the Americans was the table turner.

We have also played Vietnam at skirmish level several times. We have had it at Recruits our local convention; run by Ken Van Pelt which was a great game and we have played Ambush Alley rules in our group. We have always had a good time and have had both American and VC victories so I believe the games have been pretty balanced.

For larger scale unit battles we have used a combination of Firefight and World at War rules and Micro-Armor. I have the miniatures to field a US Army Company Team players have the option of a tank heavy or mech infantry heavy team. I can tailor the period somewhat by using M-113 or Bradley infantry carriers, and standard TOW or ITV anti-tank vehicles. I have two platoons of M-1 tanks and one of M-60A3s. For the Soviet side I have a reinforced Motorised Rifle Battalion. These battles have been hard fought but we have yet to have an American win. The Soviets have been mauled but the Americans have not been able to stop them.

We have played Air to Air using the Two Fat Lardies rules, but that is still a work in progress. Right now the group is involved in a Seven Years War campaign so most of our games have revolved around that. We took a recent break and played a Russian Civil War battle and a day at the arena; one on one gladiators in 28mm for a change of pace. We're back at the campaign though this Tuesday.

Moderns are so deadly over such great ranges that I believe you can't do a NATO game in anything bigger than 6mm. I am planning on doing 15mm some day but it will be close in battles with mainly infantry and very small amounts of tanks or vehicles.

Brad

My modern games are generally 3mm NATO v WarPac (early 80's and brigade/regiment level) and 6mm Vietnam (company level).

I don't play anywhere near as often as I'd like.

I'm working on Vietnam stuff, but the Battlefront 'Fate of a Nation' release has raised the possibility of doing Arab-Israeli wars.

More recent events like Desert Storm or Afghanistan have been harder sells at the FLGS, mostly due to a lack of minis in the store it seems.

I have Ambush Alley rules for a LOT of the theaters, so it's a mix of either platoon-per-side gaming or reinforced-company-per-side.

My cold war and modern games are air combat and in 1/600th.

Fatman

I have a friend who runs a lot of 28mm platoon or smaller games set in any of the small bush wars around the world. If it's off the beaten path and he can do whacky conversion work for the figures, he'll do it!

I'm a fan of Cold War, 6mm 285/300 scale, European scenarios fought at 1 vehicle = 1 vehicle and the infantry in squad/section stands. I prefer the Challenger rules played double-blind with a referee. Games are typically armored/mechanized infantry, but not exclusively. The last game I ran had German Home Gaurd fighting Soviet Airborne over an air strip, so the heaviest pieces on the board were JagdPanzer Konnones.
I'd like to try some higher echelon games, but it's tough to find players skilled or interested in the things which would drive an operational level game – planning, logistics, and intelligence.

pjm

I've got some interest to do Vietnam skirmishing one day.

mainly company sized games in 20mm at the escape committee club, uk.

This may not really be what you are referring to, but I've been doing an African Imagi-nations campaign over the last few years, between two feuding countries and a rebel group. Battles use home rules and individually mounted infantry with forces ranging from squads (or less) to multiple company sized units. Strategic points, usually set around towns with joining crossroads are the primary targets, as well as a few airbases, training camps, supply convoys, etc.

Additionally, I've done a couple of games loosely inspired by the book "Spear Point" set in Iran around the time of the fall of the Shaw and involving US, Soviet and Iranian forces battling in 6mm, force size has included company and battalion sized units. Sometimes the Iranian force is an unknown, rolling dice to decide whether it is friendly to any other force. Chieftains beat the crap out of M60A2s and T-72s in one very entertaining battle.

Also did a WWIII scenario set in Yugoslavia, 1985 based on the description of a battle in Hackett's book The Third World War. Curious battle involving some old M47s and T55s trying to on against T-72s. Company and Battalion sized units.

Had 15mm Soviets do a sweep of an Afghan village awhile back, brutal battle, Soviets got partially surrounded, took a beating and had to withdraw. Platoon sized units fought in that one.

Lots of AK 47

Yup Iraq war using Force on Force in 20mm.

What-If Cold/Hot War '59-'73 with a wild Space Race..and NORAD vs. UFO's.-FFT# and AirWar C21-still trying for Naval, looking at Bulldogs navrules.

Paper Top Down miniatures and figures, can't paint anymore.

Our group does 28mm force on force A-Stan, Iraq and Cold War gone hot. We also do O8 3mm Cold War commander having ultra modern Germans, Dutch, British, Americans and Russians. We have also looked at moving into Fistful of TOWs 3.

Irishserb – sounds like it fits the bill just fine and sounds pretty fun to boot.

Skippy0001 – A long time ago, me and a buddy talked about printing out small photo's of troops, attaching them to card and then laminating them.

Essentially use them as units for wargames. Never got around to it though.

Currently doing a German vs Soviets about 2000. MG rules of course. This is a special sort of campaign game that looks like it will take about 24hr fighting to take a 6.4 km road. Its complex as the units are running out of capability after much hard fighting so are having to be replaced as in the real world. Already its spread over about 72 bounds and at least 6 evenings. It will last a good few more. Why a campaign? If done right it creataes actions and battles you would never think of fighting or wanting to fight, that suddenly become of vast interest win or lose. Max size of any encounter is a couple of companies but involves neate a regiment at units are written down and have to be relaced. All done in 1:144

Weasel-Go to juniorgeneral.com, paper soldiers/topdown-it saved the hobby for me.

juniorgeneral.org

I use squad leader or battletech maps with them.

For the miniaturists it could be a way to playtest/research scenarios and rules before using your models.

I have (but currently don't play)28mm modern US Army and insurgents. I'm putting together a substantial force of both for an event I'm planning to run using modified Bolt Action rules.

I don't play any real cold wars just imaginational type wars.
all 28mm and all skirmish

We played Force on Force at the club on Wednesday using one of the scenarios in the Classified supplement, and have been playing FoF regularly over the last year and a bit, mostly Iraqi games. We are currently looking at playing Skirmish Sangin as well.

Our game for Salute this year used the FoF Ambush Valley rules, although this may not count as modern.

One of the club members has bought 28mm figures for Skirmish Sangin but all my modern figures, originally for AK47 and subsequently FoF, are 15mm.

I've played Ambush Alley (Iraq) Ambush Valley (Vietnam) and run games of Force on Force for NATO versus WarPac. The first two have been in 20 mm as well as 15 mm and the last run I have fun using 6 mm. I have some 28 mm figures for the Iraq War I want to get painted at some point and again I would most likely use either Ambush Alley or Force on Force. So yes there are those of us who do game moderns without all the political hoopla.

Kallman – I was starting to get worried :-)

I have 15mm and 25mm Moderns; Soviets, US, Brits, French, Generic African, Rhodesian. Mostly Cold War Gone Hot type stuff, although I've done historical stuff too, like Operation Barras in Sierra Leone.
Using variations of Disposable Heroes; "Man Among Men", "By the Knife", "SOCW&D", etc.
Best rules EVER!!!

Cold War – 6mm using CWC, Naval using 'Shipwreck' in 1/3000. Plus I have some 15mm US, African and 'Guerilla' forces in 15mm (plus tanks, vehicles and helicopters.) In that I used AK47.

We've had a good response so there's some interest in the period out there.

sabresquadron.com

I have played a lot of Force on Force in the past two years, mostly scenarios from Enduring Freedom, Classified and Bush Wars.

back in the day I did lots and lots of modern micro armor – need to get that stuff out again

- although my current modern projects -are 3mm so I can have a platoon on a stand – generally big battles – like brigade/Regiment + size

- more recently I played a lot of 28mm Battlefield Evolution -I really liked the mechanics although the game itself was short lived and releases were few – there were lots of fan generated vehicle/unit stats

- I have lots of 1/72 modern vehicles now need some cold war or later Russians for all my BTRs

- I also have a fair amount of 10mm/144/micro machine to do something with

Yeah modern is my period of choice

I am (slowly) working on forces for a 1984-85 NATO/Warsaw Pact clash. I tend to like more operational level games and have the battalion as the basic unit. I also have dreams of using miniatures for my Red Storm Rising board game.

I have my own imagi-nations that is somewhere between third-world nations and developed nations. For land battles I use Fist Full of TOWs and AK-47, depending on the size of the battles, for air combat, its AirWar:C21, and for naval its potentially Shipwreck or Surface Battle Group.

Basically, its an excuse to blow up a lot of microarmor tanks and such!

I sometimes solo game the recent Afghanistan conflict with a section to a platoon. I use the original Ambush Alley rules or Chain Reaction from THW. Generally 15mm figures on a 2' by 2' board or 3' by 3' table.

Gaming this only increases my respect for the guys that were there on the ground.

28mm Somalia.

That's a pretty nice set up you have.

20mm based on the scenarios we exercised in the mid 80s, expanding to 6mm to fight bigger battles!

Tally Ho!

AK-47 Republic, first edition and Piquet for Viet Nam.

Yes, I do. Mostly in 20mm: Afghanistan and Rhodesia. I also have one Egyptian division and an Israeli TF for the Yom Kippur, in 1/285.

Fistful of TOWS in 6mm here, so its multi-brigade level gaming. We play a range of real, imaginary and "what-if" games. Our forces encompass West European/Soviet, Middle East and generic "Banana Republics" firces who fight each other and the USMC and Foreign Legion.

If no one is gaming modern, GHQ is making a lot of stuff that won't sell !

I absolutely love playing moderns. I've got more forces than I can stand or have hope of ever actually getting on the table, but it's certainly my thing. On my blog I've got batreps for Vietnam skirmish in 10mm, French Foreign Legion in 'Perplakistan,' and USSR in Afghanistan. Before I had my blog I played a lot of USMC in Iraq.

I've got moderns in 3, 6, and 10mm, with a hodge-podge of unfinished stuff in 3mm, a bunch of stuff for 'Charlie Don't Surf' in 6mm (still being worked on), and a bunch of 6mm Warsaw Pact and NATO stuff still being worked on for some 'imaginations'/alternate history.

I've got 10mm modern US, FFL, Brits, Israelis, African bush war (using Pendraken Aussies from the Vietnam range), French and Vietminh, US and VC/NVA, Middle East regulars and irregulars (Taliban, PLO, and Baseej styles), with quite a few vehicles to kit them out. Oh, and I have Pendraken Falklands Range Brits and Argentinians that I've painted up for imaginations. I think that's all. I hope so…

Plenty of photos of everything on the blog:
blackhawkhet.blogspot.com

V/R,
Jack

Legion – I suppose it could all be bought by people just painting the little gits :)

Jack Jack – Did I ever send you my modern test rules? I think you'll like it.

I do much, much more painting lately than gaming ! And Those are GREAT pics Patrick !

I imagine for most people it's likely to be at the very least a 5 to 1 ratio of painting/assembling to actually gaming.

I wish !!!!!!!

Yep, no doubt. I seem to convince myself I need more stuff all the time…. even if I never use it. I have gamed twice with some 1/72 T-80s, I almost talked myself into buying some 1/72 T-64s because they were a "better match" for some of my games, even knowing that I might only game with them once or twice in the next 5 years.

Luckily, I talked myself into buying something completely different… :)

Chalfant

"I imagine for most people it's likely to be at the very least a 5 to 1 ratio of painting/assembling to actually gaming"

6mm has IMO the lowest ratio of prep to play time, you can have a decent force up and running in an afternoon!

We've been playing modern battles with element based 15mm moderns. Each stand is a fire team or 1 vehicle. All imagination stuff set in Africa. The last battle was between Cubans & 1980ish Lebanese Christians! We use our own houserules designed for either Kallistra hexes or square blocks (they were inspired by Peter Pig's PBI rules.)
Generally we have about 5 platoons per side & it is some the best gaming we have done.

John Kelly

Yes, aircraft and naval combat primarily, though the occasional foray back into land-based combat using microarmor.

Want to do 15mm moderns, and am working on vehicles and troops for that.

Need more vehicles and troops for the other side now, which is planned, as finances permit.