T.C.O.W

Sunday, 8 February 2015

Did You Forget Something?

I love it when every other Sunday rolls around. It means I get to head out of the house and play toy soldiers with a group of other like minded fools. This Sunday was going to be no different.

With a reasonably moderate turn-out by TCOW standards with about a dozen of us hitting the tables. This didn't stop us from having 5 systems being played though! A couple of games of Warmahordes, a game of Kings of War and one of Flames of War. Francis FINALLY got his Myth Kickstarter (we're not mentioning any other ones) so took Damian and Gav through a test run.

I didn't get too much of a chance to have a look over the game, but by all accounts the mechanics are pretty good and its a bit of fun. I'd say it will see another appearance at TCOW.

Now, it isn't often that I (as the perpetual n00b) gets to school anyone on how to play a game, but that's the position I found myself in. Dan wanted to finally have a run with his SAGA war band and learn the rules and with me having had about a half dozen games, gladly obliged. My Saxon's were ready to take on the Christian Orders....and Brave Sir Robin.

So, we set-up for a Clash of Warlords battle and diced off for deployment....

The rules of SAGA are very clear what happens in this situation. The player with the most impressive facial hair wins ties....

I didn't really note down too much of the action but Dan did find out that Saxon levies aren't too bad when it comes to battle...and shooting. Eventually it came down to a Warlord v. Warlord fight. Arthur, King of the Britons vs. Lord Sir Lemmy. With Arthur's retainers already on their way back to Camelot he just couldn't take the punishment Lemmy dealt....VICTORY TO THE SAXONS!

Photos of the battle as I remembered to capture it here:

The battle lines are drawn!

The Knights thunder in....

And Saxon slings halve their number!

Arthur and the Knights mount the hill...

And the melee is met!

VICTORY! Saxon Time!

And with that, Dan's first game came to an end with his Knights broken and his false king dead. The Saxons reign supreme!

So, with other games wrapping up we wandered over to watch the final throes over Andrew M and Monkey's Warmahordes game. Very few models left on the table it was coming down to those final important dice rolls. With Monkey's Caster left on 1 health and Andrew poised to attack, boosted no less, he rolls....

So with the terrain packed away and the toys in their boxes, we finished our conversations when Andrew H piped up and said..."Where's Gav? He's my ride?"...

Oh, how we laughed....even more when, luckily for Andrew, Gav pulled back into the car-park!

And that's TCOW for another fortnight....

Tuesday, 3 February 2015

Club Meeting time!

After all the hype and pomp thats associated with DanCon, its time to get back into the swing of things with a new week and a new club meeting.

As always, games are being arranged over on Facebook with Flames of War, Kings of War, SAGA and Warmahordes looking like they're gonna to see some game time.

So, if you're wanting to get a game in, you need to get your opponent sorted NOW!

This week also saw a new NZ Wargamers forum being started, so if you're wanting somewhere else to talk nerdy, why not head on over and register?

www.wargamernz.com is the site, head on in for a look.

There is also something new on the horizon...keep an eye on this space for more details next week...

In other news, the results of DanCon were added to the national rankings over at The Fields of Blood with some TCOW alums featuring in the top 25 and potentially being in Masters contention. Power gamers!!!

7. Andrew Haught
10. Mike Haught
17. Dan Linder
19. Greg Lockton
23. Damian Caulfield

See you Sunday. GAME ON!

Tuesday, 27 January 2015

DanCon II: Electric Boogaloo - The Results are IN!

22 gamery, beardy types descended on TCOW yesterday, vying to walk away the undisputed* champion of Flames of War in the entire known universe. Battles of cunning, guile and just pure dumb luck to be fought and tales to be told of dice rolls that could be and plans that should have worked.

(*may be disputed)

But, in the end, only one could be named the victor and take the crown....and I'll tell you who that is a little later on. First up, a reminder of what the rules of the day were:

700 point, briefing legal, LW forces.
Random doubles which changed with each round (apparently!).
Random (mostly) missions.
Team points score for each player on the team.

(As there was only 22 players, the final pairing would play a mano e mano battle on a 4x4 table)

So, with the scene set, we awaited the pairings and opponents for the first round to be drawn from.....THE HELMET:

ROUND 1 Mission: Counter Attack

Steve & Wayne vs. Kit & Mike H: 1 - 6
Damian C & Dad vs. Jonathan & Gav: 2 - 5
Faizal & Rob vs. Charlie & The Bludgelord: 4 - 3
Francis & Andrew vs. Surf & Pat: 1 - 6
El Presidente & Howard vs. Monkey & The Noob: 5 - 2
Sofia vs. Peter (4x4):2 - 5

The Coke Table

The Grass is Always Green Out WEST

ROUND 2

Mission: Free For All

Jonathan & Howard vs. Damian C & Mike H: 1 - 6
Steve & Monkey vs. El Presidente & The Noob: 3 - 4
Faizal & The Bludgelord vs. Andrew & Pat: 1 - 6
Rob & Sofia vs. Surf & Dad: 2 - 5
Wayne & Kit vs. Gav & Peter: 2 - 5
Francis vs. Charlie: 2 - 5

Faizal loved his time with the Bludgelord so much, he's even changed his Facebook profile picture to the one on the right! Respect!!

ROUND 3

Mission: Hasty Attack

The Bludgelord & Jonathon vs. Francis & Sofia: 4 -3
Damian C & Pat vs. Peter & Andrew H: 5 - 2
Mike H & El Presidente vs. Faizal & Gav: 5 - 2
Howard & Steve vs. Kit & Rob: 1 - 6
Dad & Wayne vs. Charlie & Surf: 2 - 5
Monkey vs. The Noob: 1 - 6

I did manage to witness some amazing dice rolling from Jonathan and also captured Damian's immediate response....given Jon was on his team...

Jonathan, post the double snake-eyes, then rolled another 1 followed by a 2.

ROUND 4

Mission: No Retreat

Rob & Surf vs. Wayne & Pat: 4 - 3
Faizal & Dad vs. Andrew H & The Bludgelord: 3 - 4
Monkey & The Noob (AGAIN!!!) vs. El Presidente & Gav: 2 - 5
Steve & Mike H vs. Damian C & Francis: 6 - 1
Charlie & Howard vs. Sofia & Peter: 2 - 5
Kit vs. Jonathan: 6 - 1

Now, I dont know about you, but Monkey and I featured in ALL of each other's games. Random selections my left right....

So, with all the games done and dusted, it came time to collate the results, count the points and crown a champion. Drumroll please...

1st: 23 points - Mike Haught

=2nd: 20 points and winner of the fist-fight for real second - Pat Gribble

=2nd: 20 points and runner-up of the fist-fight for real second - Kit Goldsbury

=2nd: 20 points and KO'd in the fist-fight for real second - Mike Haycock (Surf)

3rd: 19 points - Dan Linder (El Presidente)

4th: 16 points - Rob Sadler

5th: 15 points - Charlie Mair

=6th: 14 points - Damian Caulfield, Gavin van Rossum, Peter Welsh/Walsh and Greg Lockton (The Noob)

7th: 13 points - Andrew Haught

=8th: 12 points - Sofia Chambers, Andrew Duncan (Dad) and Damian Reid (The Bludgelord)

=9th: 11 points: Steve Eyles and Jonathan Carryer

10th: 10 points: Faizal Mohammed

11th: 9 points: Howard Mair

=12th: 8 points: Wayne Turner and Paul Monk (Monkey)

and final, the most prestigious of all award at TCOW...the coveted WOODEN SPOON....13th place: 7 points - FRANCIS HAMBROOK!!!!! Well done Frankie! Ladle well!

Obligatory photos of people winning things will follow....

Grand Champion: Mike Haught

True Second: Pat Gribble

Other Second: Kit Goldsbury

Now, for those of you who think that events like these are easy to run, you're probably wrong so muchos respecto to the guys that make these things happen. Tables look pretty bare without terrain and we're pretty lucky at TCOW to have dudes like Dan and Monkey who have a heap of it and let us play on it. Behind the scenes, behind his cool, calm exterior, Dan is furiously working calculations and making sure that everyone is having fun.

At the end of the day, we're all just playing toy soldiers.....

Until next year....and DanCon III: <Insert Cool Rhyming Name Here>

And here are some more photos....keep an eye on Mike's blog over at Scary Biscuits Studios because he takes some great shots.

Cheer up Charlie....

Pershing? Should be bloody Perishing....

Monday, 19 January 2015

Welcome Back!

That's right ladies and gentlemen, TCOW is back! Bigger, better, stronger and faster than 2014! It is going to be a MASSIVE year of wargaming and nerdiness in general and to show you EXACTLY what we mean, we're starting off the year with a double-header!

This Sunday (25 January) sees the first regular club game for the year and there is already some talk about a DUST game going on and maybe some SAGA as well. If you want to get a game in, I recommend jumping on to the Facebook page and arranging something NOW!

Monday is the BIGGEST DAY on the Flames of War tournament calendar since 2014! That's right people, DanCon is back! This year sees the format change from last year's 1200 point Late War bash. We're playing 700 point, Late War, Mixed Doubles.....and the pairings change EVERY ROUND! MADNESS! Last year's winners and losers are coming back to defend their respective crowns and spoons and a few more people thrown into the mix. If you haven't already committed, you need to let El Presidente know ASAP!

This year, we're also going to be holding more, More, MORE events* for different systems and periods, so keep your eyes peeled. We've already locked in our first Vietnam event for the year thanks to Mike and I think there is talk of a SAGA event in the near future as well...

So, welcome to TCOW 2015.

Game on.......