Plastic Command Rules

As I wrote in my previous post, I really appreciate all you readers and your comments. Especially those which points me into new rules or aspects of wargaming.

After writing a review on Nick Grant's Wargame in a Bag (2), J.P. Medved suggested on the Facebook-group Army Men Homepage another free ruleset; the Plastic Command Rules, which can be requested on the Plastic Command Homepage. The rules are made by J.P. Medved him self. I signed up and downloaded the rules and wanted to try them out. 

I think it would be fair to play them with the same scenario as I've done with all the other reviews of free wargame rules for army men and toy soldiers, and a scenario some of you will be familiar by now. I repeat the scenario here if it's your first time here and you haven't read it yet:

The scenario

I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force.

Situation:

This skirmish is finding place in fictional place of Lumbaya in the early January of 1963, when the UN during operation 'Grand Slam' are turning their attention to the remaining Katangese strongholds in Southern Katanga after after securing the Katangese capitol of Élisabethville.

Place:

Lumbaya is a very small village located 80km south west of Élisabethville, and are made into a stronghold by a small platoon of Katangese Gendarmes. The village is one of several strongholds in the area to trying to hold the UN off while trying to keep the self-proclaimed president Tshombe by power of the self-proclaimed Katanga state.

Forces:

• Katangese:
• 2 rifle-squads each of 10 soldiers, a LMG and and a bazooka/flame thrower. Each squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently. 
• 1 HMG-detachment of 3 soldiers
• 1 sniper
• HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
• After turn 12: A QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese forces. 

• UN:
• 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
• 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer
• 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
• HQ-section with platoon-leader
• 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    1 hour and 45 minutes

Turns:   9

Result:  UN defeat

The UN offensive against the Katangese forces in Lumbaya did not have a successful start as the Katangese rooftop HMG immediate got a direct hit on the UN Jeep and eliminated it and the HMG. In the next turn the Katangese forces managed to eliminate an entire UN rifle squad as well.

Lacking an entire squad and necessary support-weapons, the UN had to improvise by using a bazooka-team in the support role for not to loose the initiative in their offensive.

The Bazooka team did well as close support and managed to score a hit in the Katangese defense line. Luckily for the Katangese Gendarmes, they had medics nearby, which managed to help some of the casualties (with good dice rolling). 

At this point the Katangese forces managed to make the UN advancement come to a halt and the forces were exchanging fire.

But when an UN mortar-grenade punched a brief hole in the Katangese defense-line, the UN troops had  to utilize it and make a run for it before the Katangese Gendarmes could fill it up again with their reserves.

But they were not quick enough to exploit the hole in the defenses, as the Katangese reserves arrived just in time to fight back and took out almost an entire rifle squad. The remaining UN-soldier failed his morale test and was hurring back to his own lines.

By this time the UN did not have the necessary forces left to continue their offensive against Lumbaya, and the Platoon-leader ordered a retreat for those very few left.

After giving his orders the UN Platoon-leader was taken out before he managed to leave the line of fire himself

The UN offensive against Lumbaya had taken a toll on the Katangese Gendarmerie, but they managed to hold their position. for now. Probably the UN will return to finish the job.

Pros

• It's free to download on the Plastic Command homepage or on this link.
• It can be played with any toy soldiers and inexpensive army men.
• The rules have very generous firing ranges. Maybe too generous considering that the suggested play area is 4'x6'. This may cause less movement and more static fire exchange. Remember to load your table with different kind of covers. You troops will need them.
• The rules have an own section how to build (equally strong) armies.
• The rules have an own section for urban fighting in buildings.
• It have rules for medics and how and for long to treat casualties.
• It has rules for airborne troops and where they arrive at the gaming area.
• Own rules for planes and helicopters if you want to add such to your game.
• Rules for how to cross and lay minefields.

Cons

• Despite a wide weapon range, the rules just list 'MG' and do not separate between LMGs and HMGs. HMGs just makes more damage than a LMG.
• The rules doesn't make it harder to hit the targets on langer ranges than shorter. And units not moving do not gain any benefits for having time to aim.
• There is no Owerwatch rules to interrupt enemy actions.
• The penetration and save rules makes it theoretically possible to blow up a truck with a single pistol or rifle shot.
• There seems to be contradictory information concerning snipers. In the unit section sniper units are given a shoot value of 4+ but in the weapon section it always hits on a 2+. I played as the latter.
• If the roll of a "1" is always considered a failure, why does a roll of a "1" give vehicles a save?

Conclusion

I'm glad J.P. Medved shared his rules, and I'm happy to play it. Thanks!! I had a good time and a narrative game. I also must say that these rules includes a lots of the different elements I've considered as 'pros' in earlier reviewed free wargame-rules for toy soldiers and army men. It's worth taking a closer look at them and have a game.

It looks like there have to be another revisit to Lumbaya....

Stay tuned!

A simplified set of rules for Modern Wargames

One of the nice things with writing this blog are all you people who reads it, and sometimes comments on my posts. Especially appreciated  are comments which points me into new rules or aspects of wargaming.

After writing a review on Donald Featherstone's 'Close Wars', John Yorio from the excellent blogg '54mm or Fight' suggested another Donald Featherstone's rules; 'War Games or Battles with Models Soldiers' as an alternative for simple rules in a more modern setting with heavier weapons. This was also encouraged by Mark from the excellent 'Man of Tin blog'. Links to both of these inspiring blogs are found in the bar to the right and below in the link-sections (and if you haven't been there yet, pay them a visit). John even provided me of a copy of the 3 short pages of Donald Feathersone's rules.  So I decided I had to try them out. Wow! What a society!!

I think it would be fair to play them with the same scenario as I've done with the other reviews of free wargame rules for army men and toy soldiers, and a scenario some of you will be familiar by now. I repeat the scenario here if it's your first time here and you haven't read it yet:

The scenario

I've placed this skirmish to the United Nations largest mission in both scale and operational scope during the Congo Crisis 1960-65, when UN troops 'peacekeeping' was more offensive 'peace enforcement' with force.

Situation:

This skirmish is finding place in fictional place of Lumbaya in the early January of 1963, when the UN during operation 'Grand Slam' are turning their attention to the remaining Katangese strongholds in Southern Katanga after after securing the Katangese capitol of Élisabethville.

Place:

Lumbaya is a very small village located 80km south west of Élisabethville, and are made into a stronghold by a small platoon of Katangese Gendarmes. The village is one of several strongholds in the area to trying to hold the UN off while trying to keep the self-proclaimed president Tshombe by power of the self-proclaimed Katanga state.

Forces:

• Katangese:
• 2 rifle-squads each of 10 soldiers, a LMG and and a bazooka/flame thrower. Each squad can operate as 2 fireteams independently. 
• 1 HMG-detachment of 3 soldiers
• 1 sniper
• HQ-section with platoon-leader and 2 medics
• After turn 12 if rules include vehicles or skilled troops: A QRF consisting of 1 truck with a HMG and a section of 10 'veterans' with a LMG and a bazooka arrives from the next village. Only if Lumbaya is still held by Katangese forces.

• UN:
• 1 Platoon of 3 rifle-squads each of 8 soldiers and a LMG. The squads can operate independently.
• 1 Light mortar-detachment of  2 soldiers and an observer
• 1 bazooka-detachment of 3 soldiers
• HQ-section with platoon-leader
• 1 Jeep with HMG and 2 soldiers.

Mission:

• Katangese: To hold the strongpoint of Lumbaya. Can request QRF-support as mentioned in the force-section from turn 12 if still holding whole or part of the strongpoint.
• UN: To take and hold the strongpoint of Lumbya, preferably within 12 turns, and take control on as many Katangese gendarms located there as possible.

AAR

Time:    1 hour and 30 minutes

Turns:   11

Result:  UN victory

The UN platoon made their advance towards Lumbaya, supported by both a Mortar team and a vehicle-mounted HMG.

Very early in the campaign the UN mortar made two successfully hits andt eliminated the Katangese HMG and support-base. This made the UN advancement much easier and quicker...

... and gave the UN the needed initiative in the battle.

When getting closer to the village the UN forces met more resistance and heavier fire, and their jeep and HMG were eventually taken out by a Katangese LMG, but not before...

...the UN support weapons made to tear up the Katangese line of defense completely...

...and the Katangese reserves didn't even make it to their defense line before they were under heavy fire and taken out by another successful UN-mortar grenade.

In turn 8 the first UN squads were entering the village. The Katangese had only one team and surprise left for the entering UN-troops, a 'secret weapon'. 

...Until it malfunctioned in the next turn (because you just don't miss with a weapon like this), and another UN squad came to the rescue. By this time there were only 2 unarmed Katangese medics left in the village, and an UN success with minimal losses (just a jeep and 4 plastic grunts).

Pros

• It's simple and can be played with easily available and cheap army men or toy soldiers from a lot of different (modern-) periods.
• Fast playing.

Cons

• These rules are really simple. Perhaps too simple. In only 3 small pages there are minimal information which may lead to misinterpretations.
• Even if the rules were short they were contradictory on the rifle ranges. One place it was written that the rifle range was 12", and on another thet you had to deduct '3' from your dice if firing rifles on ranges between 12"-24". I went for the long range alternative as I think the firing range for infantry weapons are a little too short.
• There were no clear turn sequence, so I decided to play is at 'I go, You go'.
• Even if it contains rules for a lots of special weapons, it doesn't have any rules for sniper rifles. It didn't matter much in my game anyway, because my 'sniper' (which I treated as a infantry man with long range) was only rolling '1's every time.
• In this game you don't roll a dice (or more) for each weapon. Infantry units fire 1 D6 for each volley of 5 men. - and deduct numbers from your dice depending on the range. The units under fire makes a roll for a save thou. So some calculation is needed when not operating 5-men teams or teams divisible by 5. It also makes it very difficult for smaller units to hit anything at all.

Conclusion

As the last time I played a game by Donald Featherstone, I had a good time. The game is easy and fast playing. I think it would work even better in a smaller scale such as 1:72 or similar. This game also shows that heavier weapons cause more damage and casualties, and that was exactly what I missed with Donald Featherstone's Close Wars. Thanks to John for the suggestion and the rules and Mark for the encouragement.

When writing this it seems like there has to be at least one more revisit to Lumbaya during 'Grand Slam'. Sign up on this blog if you haven't done so already, and stay tuned...

Once Upon a Dice in the West - Edition 3

Once Upon a Dice in the West - Version 3

The Rules

I really like 'Westerns', and a couple of years ago I wrote my own 'home brew' I called 'Once Upon a Dice in the West'. I've been playing it, and like the rules it as it gave a narrative game and a kind of cinematic feeling of a 'Western'. I've played so many other games since then, and I wanted to upgrade my 'house rules' with mechanics found in other games to it, and trying to get the whole thing on one page as well (as I'm also a fan of one page rules). So Once Upon a Dice in the West is now in it's 3rd edition.

I recently played Thor Sheil's OMOG - One Man, One Gun 19c with an Old West scenario, and wanted to try it out the same scenario with my recent version of 'Once Upon a Dice in the West'.

The Scenario

The scenario was vaguely inspired by the Dalton gang's robbery i Coffeyville in 1892; An Outlaw gang had to tie their horses slightly away from the bank, while a couple of the gang-members looks after them while the other members rob the bank. Can they rob the bank, get back to their horses and leave the town without getting caught??

The bank is further down the street from where the outlaws placed their horses

The 'Forces'

Playing the same scenario, I decided to use the same forces; 2 members of the gang are watching their horses while 4 other gang members has gone for the bank. These have been recognized on their way to the bank, so the town sheriff and 2 of his deputies are alerted and also on their way to the bank. 4 citizens have armed them self, and are ready to try to stop the robbers from stealing their savings. A small Army-detachment of 2 is also located in the outskirts of the town. Once Upon a Dice in the West is not entirely based upon 'units', but on 'characters' as well. I treated the Army-detachment as a 2-man unit, and all the others as characters. The Sheriff and one of the robbers I made 'special characters' just to give them more skills and advantages in gun-fights.

The Game

The robbers were totally ruthless and very offensive when leaving the bank, shooting in all directions....

...hitting severeal of their 'welcome party', including killing the sheriff and his deputies (!)... 

...but the robbers also recived some fire as all their hits wasn't all deadly, only wounding and stunning some of their targets. They got pinned outside the bank...

...and had to run for cover. The armed townsfolk exchanged fire with the robbers and proved that rifles are still more accurate than the smaller revolvers. -Even in the hand of an unprofessional gunman.

...and finally managed to kill all the robbers from the bank.

The outlaws looking after the horses tried to flee the town as all the other robbers got killed in the shootout and the loot was not in sight for him anymore, but was not quick enough and was killed in the escape.

The Conclusion

The outcome of this skirmish was not so different from the shootout I based this scenario upon.

I had a great time with my childhood miniatures, and the game lasting only 7 turns. 

I provide the Once Upon a Dice in the West - version 3 here on my blog, so you can have a try at it as well if you'd like to. Please feel free to post your comments or experiences here if you'd like to.

Link: Once Upon a Dice in the West version 3

OMOG 19c - One Man One Gun Wild West

OMOG 19c

The Rules

I've played and reviewed the OMOG-rules earlier in this blog. Then my conclusion were that I think it is a ruleset better suited for smaller games and scenarios and for earlier periods. When Steve Snark in the OMOG-Facebook group made a quick reference sheet for the OMOG 19c (which can be found in the groups file-section), I wanted to try it out for a small scale skirmish with only a handfull of miniatures in an early era conflict.

The Scenario

I'm very found of western movies, and decided I wanted to try out these rules and reference sheet in a Wild West gunfight, which is both a small scale skirmish and early enough to avoid automatic weapons (and templates). I was inspired by the Dalton gang's robbery i Coffeyville in 1892, and made a similar scenario: An Outlaw gang had to tie their horses slightly away from the bank, while a couple of the gang-members looks after them and the other members robb the bank. Can they robb the bank, get back to their horses and leave the town without being caught??

The outlaws horses closest, and the bank is located further down the street

The 'Forces'

A unit of 2 members of the gang are watching their horses while 2 other units of 4 gang members has gone for the bank. These have been recognized on their way to the bank, so the town sheriff and 2 of his deputies are alerted and also on their way to the bank. They act as a unit. 4 citizens (in 2 units) have armed them self, and are ready to try to stop the robbers from stealing their savings. A small Army-detachment of 2 is also located in the outskirts of the town.

The Game

To terrify the staff and any curious bystanders, the robbers start shooting when leaving the bank. This alerts the sheriff, his deputies, the armed citizens and the army detachment...

The robbers are shooting in all directions when leaving the bank...

...but get surprised by the sheriff and his deputies who are on their way towards the bank.

The shootout starts and an outlaw and a deputy is immediately taken out. The rest of the outlaws runs for cover outside the bank... 

...and gets divided. One of the bankrobbers get pinned outside the bank while the others starts shooting their way towards their horses.

Only one bankrobber makes his way thru the city to the horses, closely followed by the posse.

One of the outlaw looking after the hoses tries to give cover, but are taken out by the army. One robber from the bank actually manage to get away on his horse, with the loot as well. I think the sheriff will arrange a posse for him very soon...

The conclusion

I think the OMOG rules worked a lot better for this small, early period skirmish with a handfull of miniatures. The quick reference sheet by Steve Snark made this a really fast and enjoyable game. I think the pistols have a little too short range to give it the Western cinematic feeling to it thoug. This game is best played with rifles.

I had a great time with my 40 yrs+ old miniatures from my childhood, and some background Ennio Morricone just for ambiance. 

Holiday Wars

Holiday Wars

Many games claims to be 'Beer and Pretzels games', but with this theme I think this is a 'Chrismas brew and cookie game'

After doing the same scenario and setup several times this year to try out different free downloadable, easy wargame rules for regular army men, I felt it was time to do something else. Since the Holidays was coming up, I decided to to a 'Holiday-themed' game this time.

Creating armies for the game

A new theme, scenario and 'period' meant that new armies needed to be created.  I decided I wanted to make them to 'true 54mm scale'. To find suitable miniatures I searched on Thingiverse, where I actually found some free downloadable files that could be 3D-printed. I rescaled them so they cold be printed to exact 54mm-scale:

These figures are 3D-printed to exactly 54mm height

The paintjob didn't require much studies, except for in the Mrs' cookie jar, and the paint-sceme was pretty easy as well.

Classical gingerbread man

It takes at least 2 armies to create a battle, so I needed to find some suitable oposing forces for my new army. That wasn't very difficult either as there is a typical old Norwegian Christmas baking called 'Hvite Kakemenn' and translate into something like 'White Cookie Men'. They are made by wheat flour, butter, milk and sugar and deviate from Gingerbread men by being white or very light in color, usually with red 'trimmings'.

'Hvit kakemann' aka '(white) cookie man

And some 30+ hours later, I had 18 printed troopers, enough for two small armies; The Gingerbred Men Vs. The Cookie Men. Now I needed to paint them and decide a scenario and which rules to use.

The Gingerbread Army

The Cookie men army

The Rules

I've been playing a lot of different free wargame rules this year, and they all have different pros and cons. After playing Thor Sheil's OMOG - One Man, One Gun wargame, I concluded that this was probably a better ruleset for smaller gaming tables and scenarioes, for periods not including automatic weapons (and templates). One of the pros for this game was that Thor Sheil designed it for a lot of different periods, including ancient and medieval. I think OMOK - One Man, One Knight would be suitable for my tabletop Holiday Wars as my cookie-troopers are armed with swords, polearms and bows. Steve Snark has made a quick reference sheet to this game, which could be found in the file-section in the Facebook-group Shambattle and OMOG Toy Soldier Games.

The Battle

The Gingerbread-Army and The Cookie Men-Army both wants to be this year's favourite cookie, and the best way to do that is to take the cookie jar and fill it up with them self. On their way to the cookie jar, they meet the other cookie-army on the table. Only the victorious army will have the cookie jar...

The battlefield, and their aimed goals in the background

The Gingerbread army had arranged their different weapons in own units, while the cookie men had units with all the weapons in it. Which would be best in the first 'clash'?

The Gingerbread army made a successful polearm charge, and almost whiped out a cookie unit.
At the same time the Gingerbread archers almost managed to do the same by accurate fire.

...So in hand to hand combat the cookie man didn't have a chance against the 3 archers even being armed with a +1 pole

Despite having more armour with chainmail and a shield, the cookie man didn't have a chance against 2 from the Gingerbread army. The cookie-unit in the rear tried to come to his relief, but was too late...

...and got caught and surrounded in a melee they were quickly outnumbered in. The Outcome was given... 

After 6 turns and 30 minutes, 5 members from the Gingerbread army could claim the victory...

...and enter the cookie jar without competition of other cookie (-men).

The Conclusion

OMOK - One Man, One Knight by Thor Sheil works really well for such small battles with limited of ranged weapons and more melee. It looks like it is an advantage to arrange units with the same kind of weapons to gain more 'fire power', than to make a unit which contain some of all the weapons but in less numbers.

To all fellow wargamers out there; enjoy the rest of the Holidays and I wish you all a Happy New Year!!