From: damosan@c...
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 2006 14:35:18 +0000
Subject: [GZG] GZG IX AAR
This was my 5th time to ECC and it was a hoot as normal. Friday night I ran "Blue Light Special." The short version is that the players played hard core shoppers who could not be kept from a bid sale at the mall. It didn't matter if zombies flooded the mall....or if bad rent-a-cops got in their way. All that mattered was the sales. The game was played on a 24" x 33" map and each player was dealt 5 cards. Throughout the turn the players could play cards to help or hinder their fellow gamers. It goes without saying that in most cases it was to hinder. There were a few confusing moments where multiple "Talk to the hand" or "I don't think so" cards were played from multiple players...but they were funny each time. Stuart ended up being the final winner. Poor Mike came in dead last as he was the special focus of everyone on the table. He took it like a woMAN though. I thought it was fun. A few in-game tweaks with the deck of cards were required here and there. Saturday morning I played in Martin and Steve's Ice Station Belewbeloid. As a defender myself and two other players had to keep merc skimmers from breaking our lines and destroying the base. It was a hard fight for the mercs who came in low and slow giving the defenders ample time to shoot them up. The big point in the game was when Greg D. blew up the merc's APC with what amounted to a pea shooter. Good job Greg! I think the game ended in a very close (e.g. very minor) victory for the defenders. We did manage to stall the mercs long enough to allow the Scientists from the base to escape...but their "special package" was let loose. That would of been bad news for us I think but the game ended. The scenario was good and the forces allowed for the game to come to a conclusion within the alloted timeslot. Good work Steve and Martin. Saturday afternoon I played in the much dreaded (though less dreaded than the sheep game) cheese game. My plucky band consisted of Madam Danielle and nine members of the Fashion/Weather/Travel team from Station 72. Little did Madam Danielle know that there would be 3 other news teams at the event. The game went well for me in the beginning as my team slinked about the map picking up cheese. A horde of mini-skirted women won't go unnoticed for long and eventually they fell to massed gunfire from a rival newsteam (who had to nerve to call Madam Danielle's band Poorly Dressed -- egads!) and concentrated artillery fire. Perhaps suffering from a mild case of survivor's guilt the newsteam that triggered the carnage charged to the aid of my troubled squad successfully reviving two of the Fashion/Weather/Travel babes. With a nod they quickly ran off towards the last piece of cheese in their sector. Screaming "Versachi!" at the top of their lungs they entered close combat with 4 heavily armed troopers -- to their surprise they won the action and legged it off the table. Though my squad was nearly massacred I managed to come in second. I didn't get my prize though so the victory was hollow at best. (just kidding) Little do these cheese heads know....Madam Danielle's brain managed to survive the carnage....once they grow a new body for her she will return.... Mayhaps they'll put her brain into a Dreadnought suit. Who knows... Good game guys. Saturday Night I played in Tom's "The Devil's in the Details" scenario. Tom will be writing up an AAR of this game on his own so I won't go into it too much. It was fun as hell. Joel *really* got into character which, needless to say, made the rest of us do so as well. Keep in mind the fact that our side was mascarading as Dutch UN Troops....but Joel and the rest of us all talked like Red Necks. More and more forces piled onto the board and I have no doubt that we could of kept playing until 3 AM. Sunday morning came too fast (as it always does). The hotel restaurant was true to form (bad) but that didn't stop the gaming. I played in Stuart's "Contact, wait, out" game. Partnering with Joel we were to defend a bridge from Tom and Steve's forces. It was a bit unnerving to have a platoon of troops on the table as Tom and Steve wheeled in what looked like the 5th Mongolian Armored Horde. But whatever...Joel and I would give them a good game. Stuart was running a company level Stargrunt game. Normally you'd use Dirtside for this type of game so this was new to me (and the other players as well I think). I'll be more prepared for this level of gaming next year if Stuart chooses to run that level of game again. I might even use it to run an WW2 Eastern Front game with my 20mm stuff. Anyway... The short version is that we did give Tom and Steve a good game and it was a bloodbath for us. Timely arrival of our line infantry kept us from losing complete control of the bridge crossing but the writing was on the wall. Another turn would have given the game to Tom and Steve without a doubt. It wasn't strictly one sided though...Joel and I did lay the pain in massive amounts. Blown up tanks and dead infantry showed that much. Then it was time to leave with my goodies and drive home...tired...feet hurting...etc. Another great convention. The people were great. The games varied (something for *everyone*). See some of you at Cold Wars.