All,
I got a game in this past weekend, and it was fantastic. First up, I want to provide a tremendous 'thank you' to Mr. Ben Lacy and his friend, Mr. Roger Burley, for inviting me to Ben's home to play a fantastic game. Ben showered me with favors and gifts; I'd never experienced such graciousness and hospitality, and for that I am extremely grateful and in their debt.
What happened is that Ben and I had conversed numerous times due to my prior purchases of his absolutely fantastic scenario books (my Operation Jupiter batreps are directly from one), and then he allowed me to playtest his "Fulda Gap" scenario book. That was a fantastic bit of fun for me, and required a great deal of communication between us, which strengthened our (online) bond. So when a business trip took me to Northern Virginia I reached out to Ben, and he invited me over. I can confirm the rumors that he and Roger are gentlemen gamers as fact, and I had a great time!
Ben set the table: we used his "Final Combat" skirmish rules for a scenario set in May 1940 in which a French rear guard of approximately a squad was seeking to delay a squad of the German vanguard pushing towards Dunkirk (Dunkerque). The table was absolutely amazing; my mouth watered and I turned green with envy as soon as Ben took me downstairs. I certainly have something to aspire to, plenty of room between my table and this one. I cannot recollect the manufacturer of the figures used, but they were beautiful, and about 54mm by my estimation.
A look at Ben's beautiful table, with the German baseline at bottom right and the French at top left. To see the whole report, please check the blog at:
linkWhat a game! I had a great time, and Ben and Roger were great to have a game with.
In the end, I just want to give a thousand thanks to these two gentlemen for having me over and sharing their beautiful table, figures, and time with me. I am really quite thankful for the opportunity, and would love to do it again, whether that's in Northern Virginia or Texas. And nothing beats playing a set of rules with the author!
As a quick aside, the weekend prior to coming out to DC my son and I played four games of 5 Men at Kursk for my campaign in Cronistria. I haven't had a lot of time, but when I get some I'll be posting those batreps too.
V/R,
Jack
