Joe Legan | 31 Oct 2016 7:18 a.m. PST |
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Texas Jack | 31 Oct 2016 9:23 a.m. PST |
Very nice write up! Thanks to you, I am on the verge of getting squadron forward, just waiting for payday now. Joe what rules do you use for the combat? And no, I would not have sacked the Major. But only one more chance!
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Just Jack | 31 Oct 2016 1:31 p.m. PST |
I'm with Texas Jack, the Major stays. As they say of war, the enemy gets a vote too, and this seems more like Lemony Snicketts than incompetence. You know, a series of unfortunate events ;) And a two-fer! You're messin' up, Joe! Delta goes after an arms dealer and it's getting second billing!? They're both deserving! Love the Flashpoint Minis' Aussies, and I think you've persuaded me to buy the Ambush Alley Games "Bush Wars" book. And what are you looking for with regards to the 15mm PAVN bazooka? I think I've got spare bazookas: Flashpoint Minis' Vietnam-era USMC with 3.5", Peter Pig WWII USMC with 2.75". Let me know if you think either of those work for you. V/R, Jack |
Mako11 | 31 Oct 2016 2:06 p.m. PST |
Can't really blame the poor chap for headwinds, so he gets another go. Thanks for sharing your report. |
Just Jack | 31 Oct 2016 6:14 p.m. PST |
Joe, Sorry man, I wasn't paying attention, PAVN = VC, and I was thinking ARVN. I don't have any bazookas that would pass as VC. V/R, Jack |
Joe Legan | 31 Oct 2016 6:36 p.m. PST |
Texas Jack, Biased opinion but I think Squadron Forward is pretty good. If for some reason you don't like it I will refund you my cut of the product. Platoon Forward is great but Squadron Forward just fell together. It has resource management ( # of planes and pilots) drama, and an unknown enemy. The only thing I couldn't get to work was blinds. The amount of fun created was erased by the time it took so I have set it up that one side already sees the other; right to the action! Rich told me that land games outsell air games by a large margin. He is a wise man as Platoon Forward ( now in it's 4th year) outsells Squadron Forward by at least 7 to 1. Agree I would have let Maj Lightning stay. The reason I pushed the odds to "possible" was Col Birch already didn't like him. He better do really well next mission! Just Jack, I only concentrate on writing down the story and getting plenty of pictures in one game; hence the slight of the land game. Those aussies are actually my FFL for both Indochina and Africa. FOF Bush Wars is good but didn't have as much "modern" stuff as I would have liked. After the South African wars there is only the British involvement in Sierra Leon. Am having to research the FFL in Africa my self. Thanks all Joe |
Joe Legan | 31 Oct 2016 6:41 p.m. PST |
Texas Jack, Sorry, forgot to answer the question about rules. I use a heavily modified version of BTH2. I have added characteristics like self sealing fuel tanks, cockpit armor and a new damage table. In addition planes are rated for power and ability to dive. Someday this might make it into a Lardies special entitled " Bling the Hun." Just Jack, I handed Grunt's Forward over to Chris Stoesen To format and edit. Thanks Joe |
Texas Jack | 01 Nov 2016 4:15 a.m. PST |
Thanks Joe for your guarantee, but no need to back it up with your hard earned cash. I think for 8 pounds I can take a chance. I play air games mostly solo, and I already have a half-assed system in place, but Squadron Forward has much more personality than what I am using now. I am very much looking forward! I use BtH2 with some tweaks as well, but if you would like to share some of what you have done to the rules I would be interested in seeing it. |
boy wundyr x | 01 Nov 2016 6:44 a.m. PST |
I've also converted Squadron Forward into sci-fi for Battlestar Galactica and Star Wars with Silent Death, just need my painting to catch up to give it a go! Both SF and PF are great. |
Just Jack | 01 Nov 2016 6:00 p.m. PST |
Joe, I understand man, and I was just playing around. Trust me, I know how much work it is to play and blog and post on the forums! Thanks a bunch for sharing your games with us. That's interesting regarding Bush Wars; lots of old Africa stuff, eh? I'll probably still pick it up. I've also seen 'Classified' (or something like that). Do you have that one, and, if so, how is it? I've got the Somalia one, Enduring Freedom, and Fallujah. Somalia and Enduring Freedom are great, Fallujah gets a bit 'samey,' which is probably unavoidable as it's all fighting in a city (Somalia mixes in fights from before Blackhawk Down). That's great news about Grunts Forward, and let me know if you find any good sources for FFL in Mali. V/R, Jack |
Joe Legan | 02 Nov 2016 1:44 p.m. PST |
TJ, Two of the easiest tweaks for BTH are: I scrapped the cards and now use X-wing for activation. Thus each pilot or schwarm or whatever gets to roll 2d6. -1 for green, +1 for veteran, +1 for altitude and +2 for being an ace. (Bombers get -3 or -4 depending how big they are.) Movement is then executed from low score to high and fire ring is from high to low. Simple and less frustrating than getting position on someone only to not have a "fire" card. Second, if I remember, speed is based on 50 mph increments. If a plane is a tweener at say 325, it's speed is 6+. I use a coin while playing and turn it over each turn. On a heads (every other turn) "+" speeds go one extra thus our 6+ plane would have 7 as a base half the time. The cool thing is with makes of planes as they improve speed you can tell because they will go faster. Boy wunderx, Cool. Never thought of that but should work great. Let us know how it turns out. JJ Bush Wars is still good and I am glad I got it for half price on ebay. I do have classified. The scenarios are really good. What I also like is the history and TO&Es; Classified doesn't have those. They state that SF doesn't use TO&Es because they tailor to the mission. True but still weak. My two favorite books are Enduring Freedom and Ambush Valley. The research in AV is incredible. Am researching the FFL raid on Kowleski. Am actually thinking of coming up with a "mini-campaign" for use with the campaign game Platoon Forward; crazy. It would be a short branching campaign where you would play for example " Platoon Attack" out of PF but the map would be more historical. Also key enemy forces would automatically be present. ( for example, in one battle the FFL had to drive off 2 ACs. Thus for this battle you know the enemy will get 2 AC but which "C" marker are the real ones?) Joe |
Texas Jack | 03 Nov 2016 6:07 a.m. PST |
Thanks for the info Joe. I already do something similar with speed, but the rest are new ideas to me. I will be trying them out and seeing what´s what. |
Just Jack | 03 Nov 2016 9:39 a.m. PST |
Joe, Excellent, I'll have to keep an eye open for Classified, Bush Wars, and maybe Ambush Valley. The way you're describing for your mini-campaign is how I've been playing a lot recently. I'm playing scenarios, so I know what the enemy force is, but I place them on blinds, with a dummy for every one or two real units. It works for me. I want to get on with some USMC Vietnam-era stuff, so tell Chris to hurry with Grunts Forward! Oh, and I've got a solution for your PAVN bazooka problem: Eureka USA does a 15mm Vietminh bazooka team (two men) for $1.30 USD, not including shipping. If you take a look around their website you may find more stuff of interest: Modern Aussies, Modern Russians, Modern Chechens, Indochina Vietminh and French, WWII early war Marines, late war Marines, Japanese, desert Italians, desert Aussies, Pacific Aussies. I'm really growing fond of them. V/R, Jack |
Joe Legan | 04 Nov 2016 1:54 p.m. PST |
TJ, Any good ideas for me? JJ, Interesting stuff. Saw the figure from Eureka but the only thing I could really use are the Chechens and don't want to start another side theater! Maybe later, until then my RPG guys are just going to have to substitute! Joe |
Texas Jack | 04 Nov 2016 4:56 p.m. PST |
To answer your question Joe, no, I have no good ideas for you, which is exactly the reason I´m buying Squadron Forward. |
Joe Legan | 05 Nov 2016 8:50 a.m. PST |
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Canuckinator | 06 Nov 2016 1:57 p.m. PST |
An enjoyable read Joe, thanks for posting the AAR. On a side note: is Bomber Forward still in the works? (or did I completely miss its release…). |
Just Jack | 06 Nov 2016 2:41 p.m. PST |
Joe, What's wrong with the 15mm Vietminh bazooka team? They should do fine for NVA with a 'paintjob conversion.' I've got a campaign plan for the next couple weekends (played four games today!), but after that I need Grunts Forward! ;) V/R, Jack |
Joe Legan | 06 Nov 2016 3:44 p.m. PST |
Canuckinator Well… kinda been pushed to the back burner; sorry. I actually should start working on it. All the component ideas are there. Just a matter of making sure they work together. Okay… I will try. JJ I don't have the bazooka team! That is the problem. Your campaign looks great and very enjoyable. Have actually developed a new scenario, Injun Country. Trying it out now. Thanks Joe |
Canuckinator | 06 Nov 2016 5:36 p.m. PST |
Yay! "Kinda" is 100x better then "No". :D I've been toying with the idea of using Squadron Forward with Luftwaffe 1946, so Bomber Forward would be a natural progression. |
Just Jack | 07 Nov 2016 12:36 p.m. PST |
Joe, Sorry man, I'm confused. Where am I going wrong? -You need an NVA bazooka man. -I recommended the Eureka Vietminh bazooka team. -You said you saw the Eureka figures on the website, but the only thing you thought you could use was the Chechens, and you don't want to start a new theater. -I asked what you don't like about the Eureka Vietminh bazooka. -You said you don't have the bazooka team. Sorry man, I'm just missing the boat here. In any case, here's a link to the guys I'm talking about. link I know they're meant to be Vietminh, but I figure they'd pass just fine for NVA. But if you're looking to use them against the French, Vietminh is appropriate anyway. V/R, Jack |
Joe Legan | 07 Nov 2016 7:21 p.m. PST |
Canuckinator, How do you like Luftwaffe 46? Saw it played at a con and looked interesting but maybe too fiddly. JJ, Here we go… I needed a PAVN bazooka team. You said Eureka has one. I said, I know. they have nothing else on their site that I want other than Chechens and I don't want to start another period. Implied in that statement was Eureka charges about $8 USD postage and I didn't want to pay $10 USD for a bazooka team. That is where I lost you. Apparently it was implied only in my head! I apologize. Joe |
Just Jack | 08 Nov 2016 4:25 p.m. PST |
Ahh, I see Joe, sorry about that buddy. I didn't realize shipping was that expensive. I've ordered from them numerous times, but it's always quite a few packs, so the $7 USD shipping didn't seem too out of place (shipping seems to such most everywhere nowadays). I just noticed it's a flat rate, so I'm with you on that being quite expensive for one pack. I'll try to keep you in mind if I end up ordering more from them. V/R, Jack |
Canuckinator | 08 Nov 2016 5:26 p.m. PST |
To be honest Joe, I haven't had L46 on the table yet. I picked it (and its supplements) up because I found CY6 too fiddly when using large numbers of aircraft – so I suppose "fiddly" is relative. That and I'm interested in "what if" style engagements that don't always play nice with more mainstreet rulesets. |
Joe Legan | 09 Nov 2016 7:00 p.m. PST |
Thanks Jack. I have some of their stuff and it is nice. Canuckinator No worries. Let us know what you think Joe |
Canuckinator | 10 Nov 2016 4:10 p.m. PST |
Will do Joe. I'm also considering toying with the "Bombers Over Germany!" rules featured in this thread: TMP link |
Joe Legan | 10 Nov 2016 8:03 p.m. PST |
Those look interesting. I could never fit that many 1/300 bombers on my table though. Joe |