Sinai '73 - Cold War Commander AAR
David and I finally put the 3mm lovelies on the table last Monday (Labor day here in the US and a day off for many folks). The game was Cold War Commander - Mike has played a bit of Blitzkrieg Commander in the last 12 months and we've gotten roped into playing a few times.
Being a first time, there were one or two mistakes and we switched the order of play to an alternating-unit activation instead of the very GW IGOUGO. We also left unit damage on the units between turns.
The forces were quite tank-heavy. David's Israelis had two units of M48s and some halftrack infantry. I had two units of T-62s and one of BMP infantry.
To keep it simple, we played a straightforward "encounter" scenario - just a shoot 'em up to learn the mechanics.
David, channeling Garfield the cat.
Early into the proceedings, David pushes his infantry into the village (and its cover). We treated the village as area terrain.
My first activation is a blunder, causing the unit to advance in the wrong dadgum direction. :/ David blundered twice during his first turn. It was really pretty awesome.
The tank battalion that didn't dork it up moved forward then opened up on the M113 TOW team covering the road. The fire was accurate enough to kill off the dangerous ATGM.
A turn in, the BMPs have swung out right on a flanking mission while tanks in the center take up positions overlooking the center of battlefield.
My tanks in the center started taking fire from the Pattons opposite. They wouldn't last long left in that spot!
Further complicating things, the other group of Israeli tanks popped up around the rise creating a nasty killing zone. I was quite fortunate that after they moved, they failed their subsequent command test to order fire!
The BMPs get into firing positions and log a few shells downrange. One stand of Zionist mechanized infantry is eliminated.
Fortune continued to rain down upon the brave sons of the Pharaohs, I won the initiative on the next turn and activated the tanks in the crossfire, successfully moving them twice and out of harm's way.
My tanks on the hill really got to kick it up a notch and began picking off exposed Israeli tanks. We also got to learn how nasty ATGMs are, although I'd like to have had more than one Sagger stand to work with!
The Israelis began falling back, out of the range of the 115mm guns that were causing such misery for David. He realized too late that his tanks had a huge 40mm range advantage on me.
Seizing the momentum, I rolled out towards the tanks on my left in a effort to cause enough damage to rout the Israelis. BOOM BOOM! In minutes, there was only black smoke and orange flame left. The Israelis had enough and quit the field. A stunning Egyptian victory.
A fun way to spend a day off work. CWC is a fine beer-and-pretzels wargame but there's a bit too much of the GW gaminess for my taste, particularly the absence of simultaneous firing. The base mechanics are OK, so I'd like to try it with MSH's turn sequence (losing the command rolls as well) to see how it works. I expect I'll like it a lot better.
Being a first time, there were one or two mistakes and we switched the order of play to an alternating-unit activation instead of the very GW IGOUGO. We also left unit damage on the units between turns.
The forces were quite tank-heavy. David's Israelis had two units of M48s and some halftrack infantry. I had two units of T-62s and one of BMP infantry.
To keep it simple, we played a straightforward "encounter" scenario - just a shoot 'em up to learn the mechanics.
A fun way to spend a day off work. CWC is a fine beer-and-pretzels wargame but there's a bit too much of the GW gaminess for my taste, particularly the absence of simultaneous firing. The base mechanics are OK, so I'd like to try it with MSH's turn sequence (losing the command rolls as well) to see how it works. I expect I'll like it a lot better.
Excellent. I'm actually wondering whether to use CWC, MSH or Fistful of TOWs for some modern games. That's a nice idea regarding using MSH's turn sequence with the mechanics.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes...any excuse to lose GW gaminess is always a good thing.
ah, the never ending search for game rules perfection.
DeleteI bought the Future War Commander rulebook. I'm planning to use it for Dystopian Wars, as I'm really tired of the rules from SG. It seems the "Commander" rules are mostly revolving around the command role!
ReplyDeleteOh for sure - the Command Roll is the whole point behind that set of rules - I'm just not sure it's my cup of tea.
DeleteInteresting idea using FWC rules for Dystopian models. Would units still have multiple weapon systems or would you combine firepower into a single stat?
The new DW 3.0 rules are out - I've skimmed through them. It's completely different than previous editions and has potential. I was also very happy with DW Fleet Action as a worthy successor to DW.
Oh, I didn't know about the DW 3.0. Should give it a go, but the rules seems not meant for land. I'm playing land and was mostly bored by the "to the last man" aspect of the game.
DeleteFor FWC, units will still ave weapons system, but less (classic medium tank will only have one for example). THere is also a blog (leaddontbleed IIRC) that suggest houses rules for critical hits and damage points.