Huzzah! 2019 Pazzi Conspiracy

Saturday afternoon I took part in Rich Clayton's gorgeous game set in Renaissance Florence

I had a staring roll as Francisco Pazzi leading my men in a search for Medici.

Dave Valentine is playing Medici.

                                  

We charge across the Plaza dodging crossbow bolts and hopping to combine forces with the Arch-Bishop and Duke Urbino 

Suddenly Medici Guards are spotted outside a house...

A Mob is assaulting the Arch-Bishop's retinue!

One of my bowmen isn't good at dodging.  The Young lady who ran the city guards had a bad habit. She didn't get many hits but when she did she rolled a 6 three times in a row.

Part of the city guard and another nobles troops drawl in the house.

Da Vinci is painting throughout the chaos outside.

Urbino and My troops are closing in on the action!

The engagement is fully joined.  It looked bad for Medici and the Arch-Bishop for turn or two....

but both had a turning of luck with the dice and both Urbino and Pazzi fell to Medici blades.  The Arch-Bishop's guards finally overcame the mob (with a little help from Urbino's men and mine).  

Huzzah! 2019 Carnage at the Blockhouse.

 Saturday morning I was at Rich Wallace's Table for Carnage at the Blockhouse.  I play tested this on the American side (very different table) this time I'm on the side of King George.

 Our objective is to hold the Block house Cornwallis is isolated in the house you can see at the top f the page.

 The Yankee Doodles under Sal rush forward at the block house.

 turn two Hessian troops arrive

 The fortress is being pressed hard with the militia driving back the Light Infantry pickets

 The von Kohler Grenadiers charge across the bridge in column... and take fire form the guns that quickly spins around.

 Continental troops are swarming around Cornwallis' headquarters.  

 My men take the guns and other German units begin to shake out into line.

 Despite some tense moments the garrison of the HQ have held

 My Hessian press forward as the garrison launches a counter attack.

 The Continental Dragoons drive back the 16th Lt. Dragoons

 The militia is pressed form both sides...

 and units begin to surrender

 or run as the Hessian's take one more American battery

 One more push by the Continentals fails to break through and American army moral breaks.

The Block house cleansed of rebels (except for prisoners)

Huzzah! 2019 Flint and feathers

Well My blogging for Huzzah is well behind but I will report some thing on every game.

John and I found our selves playing on the same side in Dean Emerson's lovely Flint and Feathers game.

 John's men were the "patrol force" while mine were the relief force and started off board.

John quickly secured two of three patrol markers and then rushed to engage

The Combat system used cards warriors pick an attack or defence card if they are highly skilled or pick one at random if they are less skilled

John won his first engagement and was able to follow up two interlopers were killed early John's men took some wounds in the process.  I got on the board but pulled  a medicine card this meant I lost a move but got to put down a nasty thicket (upper right of the picture) that would slow down our opponents efforts to combine against us.

Finally my men start making their way out form the Village.

Its a long run to catch up with John... and he's slowly loosing troops and hand to hand fighting and to the skilled bowman the enemy has.

Finally I get in range... my bowmen take down a warrior..

 John is down to just his Great warrior who is trying to slip away.

Our opponents dropped a swam delaying the final clash a turn or two.  When we do engage my great warrior and his companion win the clash and the enemy decides to fall back and away.  This was a fun game and I loved the look of Deans figures and the table.

Huzzah! 2019 Gun fight on the Arctic Circles

For Huzzah I dusted off this scenario add in fog banks and an island to add some terrain.

I also provided secret orders to both sides that changed the goal of the game (especially for the Germans)

Early maneuvers had the Tirpitz turning away and maneuvering so it the Pricntz Eugan and the Lutzow could operate together .

This also turned the Tirpitz away from the Washington.

Tirpitz hit the the HMS Exeter hard

Washington had early encounters with a Uboat  Which did harm and was sunk by it destoryer escort

Exeter scored one lucky hit on the Tirpitz starting a fire but Bill who was running the German Battleship made the first of many clutch damage control rolls to put it out.

Tirpitz got its first and most significant hit on the Washignton a flooding critical that would dog Admiral Ken Howe all game.  (He was as unlucky in his DC rolls as Bill was lucky)

John Magifico snuck  the USS Cowell into torpedo range of the Tirpitz...

 and managed to stick two Fish into her. Cowell when down under a deluge of 5.9 inch shell form every ship in the German fleet.  The German luck held and two turns of DC checks had the damage set to rights.

Meanwhile the US Cruisers had two rounds of unanswered gunfire at the Germans as radar allowed them to see and hit them when the German's could not respond.

Both Sides smashed each other with heavy shells at close range.  The Lutzow was lost to the Germans and the Tuscaloosa also went down.  Both Wichita and Printz Eugan were badly wrecked and heading toward a possible collision as Wichita had lost control of its rudder and Printz Eugan had sustained a bridge hit.  With the Washington withdrawing to the support of the convoy's Destroyers and time running out in the session I had to call this a win for the Tirptiz.   It could probably have pursued the Washington and Sunk her or bypassed her to attack the convoy.  The Convoy would probably have scattered and suffered serious losses as a result of this battle.   Damage control was key had the Tirptiz not been exceptionally lucky on its DC rolls (and the Allies correspondingly unlucky) the results would have been very different.