Recruits-Con Fall 2012

http://recruits.mtswebsites.com/index.php

  Recruits-Con Fall 2012 has come and gone. Thanks to Duane Fleck and his band of merry men and ladies, I and many others had a wonderful game filled weekend. There were a few regulars missed but there were many new faces and venders. The thing that stood out the most to me was the large number of under 16 year old attendees, whom I refer to as the future of our hobby. Indeed this convention is aptly named and very successful in it's mission. 10 years, 20 shows, and still  recruiting!!

  There were so many great games to choose from, allocating my time was difficult. The theme was "Old School" and many veteran gamemasters brought back golden oldies from earlier shows.I could of spent the whole show walking around taking pictures, but that what the Recruits-Con website is for, check out the gallery for the latest pictures when it gets upgraded, http://recruits.mtswebsites.com/Gallery.php     

 Chris Cluckey's amazing French and Indian War, Battle of Quebec.Using John Jenkins limited edition 54mm figures and Iron Ivan Games, "This Very Ground" Rules. Chris ran this game the whole convention and always had a table full of participants.

Kenneth Van Pelt's awesome 1/35th scale WWII skirmish! Mamayev Kurgan, Break through in Stalingrad, home rules. I would have loved to play in this one

 Kenneth Van Pelt's   "N" Country, Airmobile Operations in Veitnam.. N scale, home rules.
All of the players will take the Chain of command for a US air-mobile battalion in Vietnam. The enemy encounters are generated from a deck of cards when US forces are searching areas of a valley. The encounters generated in the search mission are researched typical events that occurred for American soldiers. This is a simulation game that is difficult to decide winner and loser- only experience.
 

Ambush Alley Games, Contracting Trouble. This is one of my favorite AAG games hosted by Shawn and Peggy Carpenter. A ton of fun in a very small package, full of suprises!

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It Came From Beyond The Still by special guest Robert Adams, ran by Mike Williams. This game is a hoot!

    Hillbillies vs. Aliens, is the ultimae miniatures skirmish game of down-home alien butt-kicking. Come play as the Hatfields, McCoys, ODaries, or Grangers and fued to the last man. Or, play the Grey aliens, blobs or The Green Menace From Uranus and probe or destroy all life on Earth. Other factions include Cultists set out to summon Great Old Ones and lessor servitors, those Meddling Kids, the Men in Black, The Boys Scouts or Revenuers. 

 16 Miniatures on a Lead Man's Chest,  28MM,  Fist Full of Seaman rules.
 Set Sail and weigh anchor in the Largest Pirate game in North America. Immerse yourself in over 700 square feet of playable terrain where you decide your scalawag’s fate. Trade goods, plunder shipping lanes, hunt for lost treasure, destroy the enemies of the crown, feast with cannibals, or haunt the seas for eternity aboard the ghost ship Petit Mort.

 

   Our club is playing a mini campaign using these rules and we're having a blast!!

   We've played one off games and they were fun, but the campaign has ramped the fun up.
   Best of all we can use any figures we want. Star Wars and D&D prepaints are most common.  I am using my old Necromunda,  AT-43, and Legions of Steel stuff that has been languishing for play.
  Game play is fun ,intense,  and full of surprises as new characters and weapons appear. One week you seem like your at the top of the food chain, with a tough  gang and cool weapons, then you make a tactical mistake, some bad dice rolls, and limp away with your survivors to rebuild.  Games can take 20 to 45 min, depending on the drama. Post game generating replacements and equipment is just as intense.
 I'm currently 2 wins one loss, but my prospects look grim considering my new recruits. My post game recruitment dice rolls were just as dismal as my previous games combat rolls. A robot with defoliant guns on each arm,  I need new dice.

                                                 My Ratskins and their Nightmare cohort.

                                                              Our first  game table.

                                                                    Tools of the trade.

                                                               My android vs a flyer

                                           Phil and Donnie in our three player game intro game

                                               Phil's gang featuring a radiation spewing clown?

                                                         The first game of the campaign.       
                                              Our objective a corral of food, we needed cows.

                                                     My gang approaches the objective.

                                                  Donnie's  gang of Wretched amble forward.

Tomorrrow's Wars Demos at TableTop Game & Hobby

   Here are a few shots from our first participation demo at TableTop Games and Hobby.
   Every Saturday between 10am and 4pm Jason and I will running TW's games featuring Micropanzer's  latest building and figures. If your in the Kansas City area feel free to drop by and join the fun. TableTop carries Jason's a good stock of Jason/Micropanzer's figures, and soon terrain.

The terrain boards:

The figures:
                                                  
                                                          Mecha and SAS troopers   

      

Three mechas, left to right, Anti-Armor, rockets and chain-gun, fer right, Infantry Support, flammers, lasers,and such. and my favorite, the Close Assault, with shredder Talons to rip apart vehicles, buildings and mechas. Nasty boy indeed, don't get close to this one.
                                  

  SAS and AI support vehicle

As you can see beautiful terrain and figures.  I love Jason's mechas, they are poseable  and have variable weapons configurations. I am also a huge fan of his aliens, they really put the alien in my SciFi gaming.

  This was more of event report than an AAR, I will be posting those after this weekend.

Making 15mm buildings pt.1

 A while ago on TMP, someone posted an idea to cut down the blue electrical junction boxes. I had a bunch of them sitting around and decided to give it a go. I went out the garage where I had a wood band saw and had at it. I was very pleased with the results. Be warned it requires a steady hand due to the sloping walls.

I've included some minis for scale reference.

 As you can see things worked out well.   More to follow

Fields Of Honor a Gamers Buffet

   I went last weekend to a great  gaming convention in Des Moines, Iowa. I had nothing less than an awesome time, and regretted that I had to miss the Sunday morning set because I had to get back to Kansas City to work.
  Fields of Honor is run by a great group of people and is filled with friendly enthusiastic gamers, and great games to be played. Featuring a good mix of historical and fantasy miniature games, with RPG and board games also.
     Friday night, "Approach to Arnhem", double blind. 15mm, WWII rules by Trent Burg.

  I played British Paras. Here we are setting up, a cautious entry, as the Germans could have setup anywhere on the map. Our mission was to cross the board through the city and get to the bridges with as many troops and equipment as possible.

 Trent did a great job setting up two identical boards. For a double blind it proceeded at a brisk pace.

Saturday mornings game  "Inn of the Crescent Moon". 28mm fantasy, rules by Ryan Skow.
   The Crescent Moon Inn and Songhouse is being looted and monsters are on the loose! You will control a single hero with the goal of securing as much treasure you can. You can choose to work with the other heroes or face the monsters and traps alone - keeping the treasure all to yourself!

 This was an amazing piece of work! Six highly detailed levels. I must have took 50 pictures.

 Plenty of action and surprises kept this game absorbing.  This is the ground floor to give you an idea of the detail. I will post more pictures later.

Saturday midday "Rhodesia-Operation Uric" 28mm "Force on Force" rules terrain by Ryan Skow
   1979 near Gaza, Mozambique. The Rhodesian forces have been deployed to neutralize a training camp which serves as a major gateway for ZANLA guerrillas into Rhodesia.

I was amazed at the detail of the terrain. A well thought out game with plenty of action, in a not often played theater in the US.

Saturday eve was "Commandos to the Rescue" 28mm rules by Trent Burg.
   July 1944, a french resistance leader has managed to get himself captured. British commando's are sent to rescue him before he spills his guts to the Gestapo.

    This was a blast. The first half of the game was spent creeping into the town encountering patrols and random drunk German officers. Barking dogs and random traffic kept the tension high. As we about to assault the Gestapo house a staff car pulled up with a German general and his aids. After some intense floor to floor, fighting inside the Gestapo house, we made off with our package and a annoyed German general in a commandeered lorry . Lot's of tension, surprises, and action, kept us on the edge of our seats. I'm making plans for my own version to run.

  Sunday,I would have liked to played in Jeff Hyland's  Lots of Gauls" a 15 mm "Hail Ceasar" rules, but I had to get back in time to work that evening. Next time I'll take more time off. There were many more great games as well as a silent auction.

For future events:
Field of Honor website:
http://www.fields-of-honor.org/index.php Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/76339741587/?id=10150303305651588&notif_t=group_activity

To see better pictures of Ryan's  amazing Crescent Moon Inn:
Ryan Skow's blog:
http://blog.ryan.skow.org/