Setting the Scene One of the more memorable sights at the 'shows' in 1997 was the spectacular Guns of Navarone participation game staged by Shaun McLaughlin and his mates from the Bunker. The cleverly designed, colourful Greek Island terrain with a hollowed out mountain sporting a pair of huge German railway guns attracted a large audience and lots of budding Hollywood celebrities whenever the game was on public display. I was chuffed when Shaun asked me along recently to give it a bash on home ground. The game is designed around the famous film featuring a host of stars including Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, and David Niven. Most memorable elements of the film are reproduced on the tabletop and I was pleased that proper German kit was in use rather than modern American stuff painted grey with big white crosses painted all over. Tony Chadburn was in charge of the Greek partisan types, the Brits were played by David Crawford and myself. The bad guys (well this was the movies) were commanded by Stephen & Ray Haskins and Steve Weeks. Karl Clough and John Freeman ensured fair play and Shaun made the tea. The Game The handout which accompanies the game (and which is reproduced with this article) defines the overall objective and the basic charts for combat/movement etc. What players are not told about is the content of various random factor cards, equipment cards and umpire controlled events, that help or hinder a player. As the game progressed my small band of heroes: encountered several groups of off-duty German soldiers looking for a place to get drunk, met a particularly aggressive roving patrol and attempted to steel two civilian trucks (one of which turned out to be out of fuel). After Shaun dropped a subtle hint I decided to search Navarone town for equipment before attempting to attack the main fortress and I managed to acquire some rope, German uniforms/passes and extra TNT from the Greek underground. I was aided in my endeavours by my fellow Brit, whose unfortunate run of event cards had resulted in him creating a diversion by attracting the hostile attentions of most of the Axis forces in the Mediterranean theatre. After a shoot out with a couple of 'far too nosy for their own good' motorcyclists my chaps managed to slip past the fortress main gate and strode confidently towards the guards at the entrance to the underground complex. With very poor timing my German opponent drew a 'You've rumbled them!' card. In the resulting firefight the sentries were bumped off but as the steel doors slammed reassuringly shut only Major Franklin, Sergeant Chamberlin and Corporal Miller had managed to reach the gun room - the other 5 members of my team having perished (or was it delayed by local ladies of the night now I come to think about it) on route. Several poorly armed but resilient German gunners nearly put paid to the mission and very quickly my band of elite commandos was reduced to the reluctant Corporal with only sufficient TNT to destroy one of the railway guns. However, he successfully planted his charge and made good his escape through the firing aperture using the rope acquired earlier. Just like all good film epics, as the bad guys finally burst through the doors, off went the charge, and a gun was put out of action. I'm fairly certain that I won't receive any Oscar nominations and Shaun never did explain whether or not knocking out only one of the guns counted as a draw! However, winning or losing didn't seem to matter because the game itself was literally a laugh a minute and all players entered into the 'OTT' Hollywood spirit. The Bunker The 'Guns of Navarone' is the most recent in a huge variety of games available for visitors to 'The Bunker'. Others include 'Raid on Entebbe' and 'The Eagle Has Landed'. Shaun's overriding objectives are that the games should be entertaining, fun and capture the spirit of the original 'Plot'. The new game for the 1998 season features Indiana Jones but I do understand Shaun is insisting would-be Harrison Fords hang up their bull whips before starting the game. If you are looking for something completely different from the 'Grand Manner' games of Waterloo, Gettysburg, Kursk etc. for your wargames holiday 'Break' then give Shaun Mclaughlin a ring on 01904 705399 or write to 7 Bramble Dene, Woodthorpe, York, YO2 2RL (with s.a.s.e) for full details. [Not made it there yet myself but have seen the demo games Shaun puts on at shows and they are very impressive. Kenn] THE BUNKER PRESENTS - The GUNS of NAVARONE by Shaun McLaughlin 1943. To aid the rescue of British troops cut off on an Aegean island the Royal Navy has despatched 6 destroyers. These ships are desperately needed for the war effort as well as the 2000 men trapped on the island of Kheros. Unfortunately the only deep-water channel that the ships can pass through is off the coast of the island of Navarone, where the Germans have installed two massive radar controlled guns which dominate the sea lanes and will make short work of our ships. Your mission is to get onto the island, with a small team of commandos and local partisans, and destroy the Guns of Navarone before the ships get into range, good luck; you'll need it. Character Statistics Table CHARACTER DEMOLITION SHOOTING MELEE CLIMBING SKILL WOUNDS MAJOR FRANKLIN 10% +3 +2 2XD6 1 CAPTAIN MALLORY 5% +2 +3 3XD6 2 ANDREA STAVROS 5% +3 +3 2XD6 2 LT STEVENS 5% +2 +2 3XD6 0 SGT CHAMBERLIN 10% +4 +3 2XD6 0 CPL MILLER 20% +2 +1 2XD6 1 CPL BROWN 5% +4 +3 2XD6 1 PRT PAPPADIMOS 5% +4 +1 2XD6 0 MARIA PAPPADIMOS 5% +4 +1 2XD6 1 LOUKI 5% +3 +2 2XD6 1 Movement Table Infantry Fire and Move/Move and Fire 4" Move no Firing 6" Charge to Contact 8" Deductions Buildings/Woods Half Move Fences/Walls 2" Large Walls Full Move Vehicles Road X Country Kubel Wagon 18" 12" Cars 14" 6" Motorbikes 20" 8" Lorries 10" 8" Armoured Cars 12" 7" Horses 8" 5" Half Tracks 8" 8" COMBAT TABLE Range Short Medium Long Burst HMG 12" 24" 36" 3" MMG 10" 20" 30" 2.5" LMG 8" 16" 24" 2" RIFLE 7" 14" 21" N/A SMG 4" 8" 12" 1" PISTOL 3" 6" 9" N/A SHOTGUN 4" 8" 12" .5" GRENADE 2" 4" 6" 2" BAZOOKA 4" 8" 12" 2.5" Vehicle mounted HMG's get +2 at short range. MMG's and LMG's +1 at short range only if stationary. Moving vehicles get -1 for firing on the move at all ranges. SMG's get+1 at short range. HMGs and MMG's cannot move and fire unless vehicle mounted. FIRING (d6) Short Cover Medium Long Open 3 - 6 4 - 6 5 - 6 Soft 4 - 6 5 - 6 6 Hard 5 - 6 6 6 x 2 Saving Throws - D8 Greeks/Garrison Troops: 8 Commandos/Alpine Troops: 7 - 8 Mallory: 6 - 8 Morale Checks Greeks and Garrison Troops Unit below 50% OC killed 4 - 6 = OK. 2 - 3 = Operate Defensively. 1 = Retreat Commandos and Alpine Troops Under Armoured Car fire 4 - 6 = OK 1 - 3 = Pinned -1 to firing Cards Commandos 6 Cards or 3 per player Mountain Troops 4 Cards Greeks & Garrison Troops 2 Cards per player Back to Table of Contents -- Lone Warrior #123 Back to Lone Warrior List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1998 by Solo Wargamers Association. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. 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