"Knife fight in the desert- Command decision 1940 game" Topic

Finally finished the AAR (very brief but lots of piccies) on the Western Desert game a mate and I played, using his Command Decision rules and the Benghazi Handicap extension. Between bad morale throws and early, not very useful, British and Italian armour I'm surprised we reached a decision. But it was fun and I'm slowly getting used the the system.

AAR here link

Thats a fun game when a cruiser tank and an M11/39 are considered the big guns.
A good read and obviously one hell of a scrap. I hope the Armenian belly dancer was worth it….
Not played CD rules myself so I can't really comment on the foibles/problems with them.

Enjoyed the report. Very nicely done models. I always enjoy using the early war vehicles.

Nice write up. Do you know which version of the rules you played?

I hope the Armenian belly dancer was worth it….

It turned out she was 67, retired and in a mobility scooter, mate. The Italians blamed the British for that.

Nice write up. Do you know which version of the rules you played?

It was 3rd Edition for the main rules, 79th. I don't think they ever updated Benghazi Handicap, though.

BuckeyeBob, they're a mix of 1/76 plastic kits, some that Bill converted using 3D printed parts, and some 3D prints. He's got quite skilled with the printing and is turning out some lovely models that I've never seen on a table or in a catalogue, such as Italian truck-mounted anti-tank and anti-aircraft portees. The detail on the 3D stuff is very impressive.

I'd never played an early-WWII mini's game, and it was a bit of an eye opener. A lot of fun, though, even if I did want to crucify my dice at times. But Bill's dice were as bad as mine, so I can't blame them for his good win.

(Perhaps if I crucify just one, as an example….)

PS A mix of AB and printed tank crews and plastic (not sure which maker), metal and printed foot figures.

Wow, that was a helluva intense fight man, loved watching the shop switch hands back and forth, a real seesaw battle. In line with Korsun's comment, it's awesome to see something like "and now that we've got 37mm guns we're ready to head out and whoop some ass!" ;)

Regarding your comments on it not "feeling" like 1 stand=1 platoon, it's always very interesting to me how rules can be tight, well written, with great/interesting mechanics, and yet still not "feel" right once you get them on the table. It's completely subjective, of course, but there's no doubt it's a relatively universal experience for us gamers. I've read so many sets of rules, set up the table, then had a go with it, then just fizzled out halfway through because it didn't "feel" right. But not smart enough to write my own, to capture this nebulous "feel" I'm looking for ;)

V/R,
Jack

Thanks for the kid words, Jack. It was interesting and fun, which are what a game should be. But rules don't stick in my brain any more, so it's still "new" to me, plus there's the "feel". Whether that's through unfamiliarity or not feeling right, I don't know. Probably the former.

I've read so many sets of rules, set up the table, then had a go with it, then just fizzled out halfway through because it didn't "feel" right.

Been there and done that, too. Empire is one I really tried to like- most of the Nap' players I knew raved about it- but I never could. The same with WRG's 16something to 1845 rules. Going the other way, nobody will be able to convince me that there's a better ACW set than JR II- even with the horrid charge and melee rules. (JR 3 required re-basing and reorganising my figures, so failed to attract me at all.)

Writing your own rules isn't that hard, mate. Getting them to work the way your want them to is, however, an entirely different matter…..

Stay well, mate.

Dal,

"Thanks for the kid words, Jack."
You bet! I appreciate you taking the time to take pictures and notes, then write it up and share with us.

"It was interesting and fun, which are what a game should be."
Amen!

"But rules don't stick in my brain any more, so it's still "new" to me, plus there's the "feel"."
At this age, I don't feel like anything is sticking in my mind anymore! ;)

"Whether that's through unfamiliarity or not feeling right, I don't know. Probably the former."
That (the former) can certainly be a problem, particularly when it all feels chaotic, no rhythm to it, and you're constantly having to stop and look things up, but my issue is more the latter, where it made sense and seemed cool, but then you start playing and I find myself saying stuff like "this doesn't feel like a platoon commander's fight, it feels more like a squad leader's (or battalion commander's fight, just something about how the rules interact with terrain and figures and force certain decisions to be made.

"Writing your own rules isn't that hard, mate. Getting them to work the way your want them to is, however, an entirely different matter….."
Indeed! I work for an aeronautics company and our engineers are fond of saying "anyone can build one of these that flies, the hard part is building one that lands" ;)

Take care!

V/R,
Jack

Benghazi Handicap is a fabulous scenario book and historical resource, a shame it is OOP. I've played that particular scenario a couple of times.

Reading AAR's gets me motivated, Jack, so I hope to return the favour.

That (the former) can certainly be a problem, particularly when it all feels chaotic, no rhythm to it, and you're constantly having to stop and look things up

Too true, mate. Add in remembering other games' rules, instead of the current game, and half the game time was spent flicking pages or looking at tables. Bill was a bit the same, have usually been playing in NWE '44 scenarios. But we battled through. Semi-literally.

Benghazi Handicap is a fabulous scenario book and historical resource, a shame it is OOP. I've played that particular scenario a couple of times.

I agree, Martin. I tried to buy my own copy of the rules, but not only is it OOP, it's hard to find outside the US. The cost, and even costlier P&P from the US these days, mean I'm still looking (now and then).

Did you end up having the same sort of close-combat scrum in your games? Or did you think before moving (which I'm not sure I did)?

PS 79th, I was wrong. I thought "Test of Battle" was 3rd Ed, but have been told it's 4th.

Thank you. I don't think I've touched it since the 1st edition.