Monday 28 March 2016

ZOMBIE JESUS! Club Meeting - 27 March




And on the third day, the geeks and gamers of TCOW descended on Sturges West Community House, because gaming was in their blood and did beckon to them.

And Lo! they saw the curtains part and the doors open and Dan said unto them, "bring thine toy soldiers, dice and cards and play."


And so they played....until 6.30 when they had to get out lest another community group enter and judge them.


Fools.








That's right team! Another Easter weekend has rolled around and despite the masses the exodus from Auckland, the doors of TCOW were wide open for gaming! And gaming we done did! Five different systems of varying scales and genres all battling for their victor.

Flames of War

One of the club stalwarts, Pablo and Jon we're playing a demo game for a couple of new-comers to the club. Jon had his Grenadiers and Pablo had his "All the Tanks" American list.



This one had all the hallmarks of some serious fun as the American E8's, Jumbos, 105mm Shermans, 76mm Jumbos and a Super Pershing (yes, Super Pershing!) rolled toward the German lines.



This one eventually came down to an assault in the wheat field. Jon's Grens had decimated the initial Jumbo platoon that tried to dislodge them, so it all came down to Pablo's 105mm Shermans.







So...shooting was too successful, the Shermans assault the empty positions and get close enough for a squish.



Jon then decided on the Hail Mary play, moving his PaK 40's into position to get side shots on the Super Pershing in an attempt to force a company check for Pablo. Unfortunately, he only managed to bail the tank meaning no test and an American victory. A super-fun game!

Bolt Action

More WWII gaming, but on a different scale. Stu and I agreed to play MW-ish game and because it was German on German, really just a training mission in the green desert.



I took my SS with a Pz IV and 8-rad (it's not a Puma) in support while Stu had a Pz III, a 222 and a cheaty Kubelwagen in support of his DAK.



I say cheaty because all he did was hide around the corner, generating an extra order die.

The mission rolled was Maximum Attrition, so just KILL, KILL, KILL! The first turn effectively was both forces running toward each other to get into killing positions.

A few shots were exchanged and I think a DAK trooper bit the big one but turn 2 would see the real action starting to get underway.












With the luckiest of lucky shots, my Pz IV took a shot straight to the turret ring and exploded on the very first shot of turn 2. That, effectively, removed all my AT from the game.



From then on in, it was really a war of attrition with shots being piled into various squads in attempts to dislodge and destroy. With both sides being Veteran, deaths weren't easy to muster though.





This one ended in a 5-2 in favour of the DAK but we had a heap of fun on the way!

Despite not actually playing the Japanese, I decided to break out my new Japanese dice from the awesome dudes at Dice of War. You should really check them out if you're in the market for some WWII themed dice.




Magic

This week saw a hiatus from the EDH League as Token was giving his sister away. So instead our Magic crew decided to give Monkey's Cube a whirl as well as getting some Tiny Leaders games in.






We also had a game of Warmahordes being played and also filmed so you may see this online at some point.






And finally, some Dystopian Wars. I haven't seen this played before and I must say, 'twas pretty interesting!









So no choccie eggs this year, but a heap of gaming fun. 

See you in 2 weeks, TCOW'ers!

Sunday 13 March 2016

Bludgefest IV - A New Bludge

Every few months, the members of T.C.O.W empty out of gaming closets, pile their unwanted loot into boxes, and head down to club for BLUDGEFEST!

This Sunday's meeting was the fourth Bludgefest, and it was another blockbuster. Before we get into what was on offer, however, there's one thing we should reiterate: There's still gaming to be had while Bludgefest is on. In fact, there was a good variety of gaming going on.


The Gaming

Four separate systems were played through the afternoon, as well as Magic and Zombicide. In no particular order...

Plucky humans fight to survive against the undead hoardes.
The German army engages in a 'training mission'.
The gangers of House Orlock take on an insidious Genestealer Cult.
A USNC battle group prepare to battle...
...the forces of the Covenant in a demo game of HALO: Fleet Battles.

The Bludging


The weather was warm and calm, so tables were set-up outside to hold the various items on offer. This seemed like a good idea at first, but after a couple of hours a few of us were starting to feel the heat. Fortunately, that didn't stop people from picking up some great deals.

Let's take a look at what was on offer...

An eclectic mix of blister packs, boxes, and board games.
A full Dark Angels army, some Star Trek Attack Wing, and a "limited edition" copy of Space Hulk.
Plastic sprues, buildings, and tanks.

A partially-built Imperial Knight, a Flames of War starter, and some assorted GW books.
A selection of old RPG and wargaming books.
Boxes of 15mm and 28mm vehicles.
More tanks, as well as some terrain and historical rulesets.
Even more tanks, infantry, and some Dusty zombies.
A selection of 'dead' themed items, some Great War infantry and rule book, and even more tanks.
Finally, an epic collection of books and games - including THREE copies of Space Crusade and six editions of 40k rules!
Yes, Timmy. That's an intact copy of Rogue Trader.
Not everything was sold by the end of the day, so if you see something you like mention it on Facebook and you might be in luck (if it's still available).

A special mention must be made for the organiser of Bludgefest IV, the Bludgelord himself!
Bask in his magnificence. Bask in it.
The next club meeting is 27 March. It's Easter Sunday, but that's not a reason to not pop down for a game or two (and maybe some extra bludging).