At 6 AM, Saturday, September 22, Ted and I hit the road for Barrage VI, the HAWKs one day gaming convention in Maryland. We arrived at the Perry Hall Community Hall after a 2 1/2 hour drive and paid the $5 admission fee. The HAWKS had thoughtfully put up signs at every intersection, making navigation easy. We enjoyed a long day of virtually non-stop gaming and arrived back in Ocean City around midnight. It was well worth the trip. Actually Ted and I both agreed we'd gotten our $5 worth by noontime.

Of course gamers in the South Jersey area considering a trip to Barrage next year should remember to factor in the costs of gas and tolls, but rest assured it's still worth the effort. Especially if you get to ride in the comfort of Ted's mega-van. We both hope to attend again next year.

On the downside I have to report that Perry Hall leaves something to be desired. The main room was unbearably hot, the bathroom was dirty, and there aren't any convenience stores nearby. To their credit the HAWKs sold candy bars and sodas to the hungry gamers at reasonable prices (fifty cents for a soda). They also took orders for pizza and sandwiches but next year I think I'll bring my lunch. The HAWKs are a friendly bunch, which goes a long way towards making up for the deficiencies of Perry Hall.

Ted and I had no trouble finding games to play all day long. The only glitch was one game Ted played in which was delayed an hour. There aren't a lot of games to choose from at any given time, but those that are available cover a wide range of historical periods and genres. The dealer area was small. Age of Glory was on hand selling Foundry minis at a good price. There were also a lot of used books and games on sale. If you make the trip next year go to play in games, not to buy merchandise.

Battle Reports from Barrage

Aerodrome

The first game Ted and I played in was "Aerodrome 1.1" being run by Hal Dyson. I've seen this game many times at HMGS conventions but never got an opportunity to try it. This was the perfect chance. Ted and I sat down on the German side and listened to the explanation of the rules. I started to despair when this took a full 45 minutes, but once the game started everything turned out to be easy and play moved quickly. Each player had one WWI plane to control.

The 1/72 scale planes were mounted on TV antennas which allowed you to raise or lower them to simulate altitude changes. Movement and fire were plotted three phases in advance on an elaborate wooden control panel, and then executed on a hex grid. It was a very elegant game - easy to play, fast, fun, and challenging.

In the first game we were victorious and we each downed an enemy plan, earning a nice certificate as a prize. The game was set up for a second round and this time I flew like Daffy Duck. I was finally put out of my misery when I collided head on with a British plane, which had run out of ammunition, and had its controls locked. This delighted the kid running the British plane but was something of an embarrassment for Herr Fritz. Ted had a grand time blasting away with his pistol whenever an enemy came near him.

For the next game Hal gave us something new to worry about - if you plotted fire for a phase and a friendly was in your path you shot at him. Suddenly the game was much more difficult. Ted and I tried to team up on a British plane but I kept shooting Ted by mistake. To avoid further humiliation I flew to the other side of the board where I found an enemy headed to the ground in a spin. I followed him down, blazing away with my guns, so I could claim the kill. "Knights of the Air" indeed! This game was great fun. It tilts more towards a game than a detailed historical simulation, but it retains the flavor of WWII aerial combat. The various planes of the period have different capabilities in flight, which adds variety to the dogfights. I'd like to buy the game but putting together the control panels and plane stands would take a lot of effort. If you're not up to the task try the game at the next convention. Hal's games are easy to find since they usually attract a large crowd. The games don't take too long so it shouldn't be too hard to climb into the cockpit and give it a try.

Moros by Gaslight

Our second game was a "Gaslight" scenario run by Buck Surdu. The "Gaslight" rules are based on "Thunder and Plunder," with some changes to the morale rules and stats for sci-fi weaponry. This scenario didn't need any science fiction - the Moros are weird enough all by themselves. The Moros were attempting to attack a village and take slaves. Several USMC units were on the way to help the villagers fight off the attack. Commands were distributed randomly and Ted ended up a Moro, I got two Marine units.

Ted had a rough time of it. His Moro unit charged some Marines and, after some dismal dice rolling, they were dispersed. My plan was to use one of my units to block the Moro band in the jungle across from me while my second unit raced to seize the bridge. This plan went to awry on turn two when the Moros charged my first unit. I dutifully rolled the dreaded "anything but a 20" morale check and, sure enough, it was a twenty. The panic-stricken Marines routed all over the table. The only silver lining was that it took the Moros a couple of turns to run down and kill the remnants of the squad.

Having already lost half of my command I decided to send my remaining unit across the river rather than trying for the bridge. We were half way across, just one move from the village, when a horde of Moros appeared out of the jungle on the other side of the river. We gave them a volley and this time the dice were in my favor. They took heavy casualties and their hero was killed. Unfortunately my command was now stuck in the river with enemies on all sides. Some Moros charged the village but the residents fought back like tigers. I watched helplessly as the Moros set up a field piece and pointed it in my direction. Another Moro unit came charging across the bridge on my right flank.

When my card came up I wanted to charge three different units but I had to pick one. I went after the field piece but only two of my men could reach it (stupid river). The rest of the command fired away at the Moros on the bridge. The field piece blasted me but I made my morale check. There was an ugly moment when one of the villagers shot a Marine by mistake. He was taking aim at my Sergeant when I convinced him to hold his fire. "We're the guys in the blue uniforms! Don't shoot us!" My unit briefly considered whether to leave the villagers to their fate, take bloody reprisals, or battle on. We decided to continue the fight.

On the following turn the Moros all attacked the village hoping to get some prisoners and I did my best to stick close to them to prevent the field piece from shooting me again. Several turns of hard hand-to-hand fighting followed before I missed a morale check. By then the Moro attacked had run its course and, with fresh American units on the way, they withdrew without any prisoners.

This was my first experience with the "Gaslight" rules. I enjoyed them. They should work well for colonial adventures and other Hollywood style war games - a nice alternative to TSATF, which they resemble in some ways. Units get to act when their card comes up. The "extras" have one rating for shooting and another for melee. The leaders have generally higher ratings and they get to save when hit. Units led by a hero get an extra action each turn, making them powerful.

Shooting, melee, movement, and morale are all quickly resolved. I didn't look at the rules for science fiction weapons since they don't interest me. I think the rules are worth a try - look for them to show up at one of our Game Days this year.

The Eagle Has Landed

My third game was a "Battleground WWII" scenario based on the movie "The Eagle Has Landed." I've never seen the movie, but this scenario reminded me why I once loved BG WWII. They work beautifully for a small infantry action. In this scenario each player commanded 7 - 10 soldiers. At the start of the game the German FJ have captured a British town and are holding the townspeople in the church. Their objective is to fight off an American attack in 10 turns so they can ambush Winston Churchill when he drives through the town. Several jeep loads of American Rangers are on the way to attack the Germans. Commands were distributed randomly and as luck would have it all the kids ended up as Americans. The scenario rules required the Americans to make a full move onto the board in their jeeps on turn one. Of course the Germans had all the roads covered (we were all carrying SMGs). The first jeep rumbled into view and I opened up on it from both sides of the road. We hosed it with bullets killing the driver. The jeep swerved into a stone wall and the survivors bailed out scrambling for cover. The same fate befell the second jeep to enter the board. It moved in on another road, right in front of my remaining Green Devils. Bullets riddled the vehicle and the survivors took refuge behind the burning wreck. Most of the other American jeeps got the same treatment from the other German players. After turn one it didn't look good for the Americans.

On turn two I mopped up the remaining Americans in my vicinity. A close assault on the first jeep resulted in the capture of the American commander. Six hand grenades finished off the survivors of jeep two. The men from jeep three were pinned down by fire from the church tower. Only two American jeeps were in good shape. I took pity on one of the young American commanders.

He had only one guy left, and that guy was wounded and broken. I gave him half my command so he would have some men that could move and shoot. Unfortunately he got them all killed on his first turn in command. Bazookas can ruin you day.

The Americans staged a brief rally. Their comeback was helped immensely when several Germans inexplicably ran out into the street. They had forgotten the first rule of street fighting - don't fight in the street! Even our hero, Sgt. Steiner, tried this "kill me" tactic and, predictably, he was killed. The Americans also started rolling 1's on their morale checks creating a small cadre of heroes.

The German fire slackened enough for some Americans to get back in their jeeps and make a dash for the church. I moved as quickly as I could to catch them, going house to house with grenades and close assaults, but they were too fast. They managed to enter the church and fire a few shots before the German defenders finished them. It ended as a marginal German victory.

Other Games

Ted and I each played in one other game. Ted's battle was a BAPS game based on "Saving Private Ryan." Playing as a German Ted reports that they killed 20 out of 23 of the Americans but the bridge was destroyed. Of course, to the Germans, the bridge was all that really mattered. I played in a Darkest Africa game run by Rob Dean using TSATF. The scenario was a Zanzibari slave raid on a native village (there was also a British safari on the table but they didn't figure in the action). I played on the Zanzibari side. We encountered rough going but eventually we were able to bring all our units on line and beat the native defenders. Unfortunately few prisoners were taken, and our losses were high. It was not a good day for the Zanzibaris.