This past Saturday August 22nd we picked up our Battle of Kandahar 140th Anniversary game where it left off a week before.
We played 2 more turns -- 4 and 5 -- before having to take another pause.
The 3HR time difference amongst players and between some players and the GMs made it difficult to press on past dinner time on the East Coast.
Once again all 6 players spread across the country from coast to coast, and the 3 GMs here in Los Angeles, all seemed to enjoy themselves through 4-1/4 HRS of remote gaming goodness plus a 1 HR lunch-break. Like last time we used 2 separate "GOOGLE MEET"s each linked to a dedicated webcam on their side of the table plus their dedicated GM's iPhone camera for close-up views of units and terrain.
The 2 long-lasting turns were jam-packed with action. They were later described by an Afghan player as "wow, what a slug-fest!" and a British player as "very intense and fun!" As a GM, player feedback doesn't get much better than that.
The best part -- at least for me as a GM -- is that at the end of turn five I still don't know who's going to win.
It remains anyone's game.
The Brits have made progress at the South end of the table and are close to turning the corner -- literally and figuratively -- around the razorback ridge and Pir Paimal Village, despite command problems following the unfortunate demise of their Brigade Commander when he gallantly/recklessly attached himself to the 4th Gurkhas as they charged Tribal Foot entrenched in a drained stretch of canal.
In the middle of the table the Afghans brought so much fire to bear on 3rd Bengal Lancers (Skinner's Horse) as they raced straight through the Baba Wali Pass and charged a gun, that there were no Lancers left to close into combat with the crew. It was a mini "Charge of the Light Brigade", with the C.O. and NCO the last 2 figures to fall under an ill-timed (at least from the British POV) Afghan BONUS FIRE CARD.
At the North end of the table the British 1st Brigade has crossed over Marza Pass, routed a unit of Afghan Regular Cavalry and reduced the Infantry defending Marza Village to below half-strength, but are now taking fire from Afghan Artillery to the South.
Pre-game British intelligence reports included several units of Ghazi fanatics in the Afghan roster, and none have been seen so far, so it's possible there may be more surprises in store for the British.
RHA Lieutenant Hector MacLaine remains a prisoner in the Afghan Camp, currently being harangued by a hostile Ghazi, defended by a friendly Afghan Regular Cavalry Officer, and guarded by a neutral Regular Infantry Sentry. How his captivity will end is anyone's guess.
If you're like to read some more details about the still ongoing game and see a bunch of photos, come on over and visit my humble old-time blog at the LINK below, and thanks for your time if you choose to do so::
link
Meanwhile I wouldn't be Mad Guru if I didn't sweeten the pot of this post with a taste of the visual splendor visible at the other end of the above link, so here's a few of those aforementioned pics:
Stay tuned as I hope to be back again next week with the third and – perhaps – final installment of this epic remote gaming saga.
is back from Council of Five Nations.
