Our Friday Night Game -- the conclusion of FF-8 "Send in the Sand Rabbits"

Our Friday night game saw the conclusion of FF-8 "Send in the Sand Rabbits". We had missed one session, so it took us both a moment to reorient ourselves to the battle in progress. I had been thinking about the game throughout the week and felt that it would go pretty well for my Russians. To say it went my way would be an understatement. Things went my way almost from the start and my opponent's dice took away any chances he had. 

It's never easy for ASL'rs to reflect on the randomness of results, which is such a huge aspect of game play. It's tougher still, when we observe that randomness deny what we know would otherwise be predicted results in a given situation...at least as much as we might believe we can accurately predict such things. So I did feel badly near the end of the game as my opponent's cold dice allowed my forces to simply walk past his defenders.

Winning any game in ASL is always worth celebrating and despite the setbacks suffered by STL opponent, I was still happy with the win and my choices for much of the game. As for the scenario itself...I have to admit that Scott Holst's initial impressions of the VC were accurate. It played a bit messily. My opponent never made any attempt to move east of Row T and gain the VP associated with being beyond that row. Instead, he built his game around keeping me from exiting the board. Was that the best choice?  I don't know. This game really played very much like the historical event, so I generally give kudos to a scenario designer when they achieve that. To me that is a big part of the game, as I really enjoy experiencing the actual event to the extent possible with a board game. Would I play this one again....probably not. It just never developed into an exciting game for us, which of course is as related to the Players involved as the scenario itself.

My opponent's Germans would find themselves locked in position for most of the game. They traded shots with shadows as they attempted unsuccessfully to uncover my concealed 4-5-8's in my initial ambush force.

My ambush force was hugely successful...not in eliminating German units, but in holding them in place along a long front, which enabled my exit forces to get off the map.

At the start of Turn 4, I wasn't sure what to expect. Through 3 turns, my STL opponent had been content to stay pretty much west of the Row Y Road. That appeared to be the road he was planning to defend in an attempt to stop my forces from exiting the board.

His forces had good North-South visibility and the road definitely bisected my approach to exit the board. So I could see the value in that, but on the downside, I was going to be moving through his field of vision with only 1 MP...so any shots would be really tough to make.

My opponent moved the Jadgpanzer IV into a hull down position with a shot down the entire length of the Y Road. His Tiger II then started up and rumbled towards my oncoming infantry laden trucks. I had feared that move and would now see if I would pay for my audacity.

In Advancing Fire, the MG's managed to immobilize my lead truck. Both squads made their morale checks...but a Snake Eyes created a Berserk squad and activated the German Sniper who promptly eliminated my broken AT Gun crew.

Good shooting Uwe.

The Berserk 4-4-7 charged right at the King Tiger in order to draw its MG fire and spare my other truck from disaster. The ploy worked, but my Berserkers were broken, which left 6 residual fire in the Hex...and ensured that I would not be moving any trucks through that hex.

They made a lot of noise...but ultimately broke under the point blank MG fire of the White Tiger!!!

Next up, I decided to go for broke. I sent two IS-2's right at the mighty King Tiger.

Dmitri Kasonov questioned the wisdom of my command...but understood that his comrades in the trucks were in great danger. Only he stood between them and the White Tiger of Death!!!

What would follow would be the decisive moment of the scenario as my IS-2's faced off at point-blank range with the fearsome King Tiger.

My other forces continued moving as well. I was determined to run everything to the edge of the board as quickly as possible. The Tiger II could only watch as Trucks of Soviet Infantry bypassed and headed West.

Two trucks with a total of 4 squads ran past the Tiger II and would successfully exit the West board edge.

Soviet Yaks captured the battle from the air as they headed west to strafe German airfields.

My opponent's bad luck with the dice continued and gained in frequency. His Tiger II eliminated his Main Armament while trying repair and was recalled.

Bad Dice...

Bad dice didn't just affect my opponent. Dmitri's IS-2 broke its gun while trying to hit the King Tiger. Fortunately for me though, the Tiger kept failing to penetrate the armor of the IS-2 right in front of it.

Meanwhile up in the North, the recalled Tiger II headed for the rear. The standoff in the building remained with the Germans on the 1st floor and the Russians hanging on to the second floor.

My opponent's Landsers never came up the stairs after me.

The tank duel ended with a fiery blast as my IS-2 hit the King Tiger's turret and rolled snake-eyes for the effect.

That was the moment we both realized that the game was over. There was nothing now to stop my forces from exiting the board.

My tankers had come through and taken out the dreaded White Tiger!!!

My opponent didn't give up of course and as my column of tanks and trucks went by, he attempted to fire a Panzerschreck and Panzerfausts from inside the building. Three times he fired as my vehicles rolled by...and each time, he rolled a "9" which broke the squad and failed to hit.

It's hard not to feel like my opponent suffered a bit from bad rolls at the end. The odds of rolling three 9's in a row...with auto killing Panzerfausts was hard to believe.

So, as my opponent's DM'd themselves, my Trucks and Armor exited the board and secured a Russian Victory.

A look at the Russians who successfully exited the board.

Relative positions of the forces at game end. My opponent gave the concession at the conclusion of Turn 6.  Not the greatest scenario we ever played, but it had its fun moments and it's never boring when King Tigers face off against IS-2's!!!

Grumble Jones June Scenario - GJ033 "Sake at Sunrise"

5/23/19 Scenario Revision.

based on playing and recommendations by a member of Gamesquad, I have revised the scenario. Thanks Mike205 for your suggestions!

Remember to open link in a new window to maximize the view. The PDF for this scenario can be downloaded from the The ASL Scenario Archive. (simply search on Grumble Jones or Sake at Sunrise)

And always remember, these scenarios are presented for fun only and as a thank you to the readers of my blog.

Design note - this scenario was inspired by the following webpage:  http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Guam/

Heat of Battle's FF-8 "Send in the Sand Rabbits"

Our Friday game was Heat of Battle's FF-8 "Send in the Sand Rabbits". Late last year, Scott Holst and I had considered playing it, but switched it out as the Victory Conditions seemed a bit odd to us both at that time. My STL opponent and I looked at it and thought..."yeah, King Tigers...IS-2's...yeah let's play this one!"

I drew the Russians and was both defender and counter-attacker. My STL opponent had the Germans with two King Tigers, two Panzerjaeger IV's and the Sand Rabbits (German Paras). At first glance, this scenario seems a little more complex than the average one. The Russians begin with a small ambush force anchored by a 100L AT Gun and an JSU-152. Not too shabby to ambush with that kind of firepower. 

The Germans gain VC for each turn they are able to advance infantry past Row T. Meanwhile, both sides record CVP normally. Additionally, the Russian player gets reinforcements on Turn 3 consisting of 8 x 4-5-8's, 4 x Trucks, and 4 x IS-2's. That is one powerful force.

Liberating Europe should be a snap with that force!!!

Of course...just one problem...yeah... 2 x King Tigers. Historically I have had a poor track record of success when facing them and even most recently when under my control. So I was definitely worried about how to slow down the big cats long enough for my reinforcements to arrive on Turn 3. Three turns was more than enough for my opponent to push through to the T Row and start racking up VP. But as we shall see...caution became the byword for my opponent.

 A brief look at the ASL Archive showed the Russians tend to win this scenario more often than not. It definitely looks tough for the Germans who only have 6 squads. Armor wise, the 2 x King Tigers really give the Germans a solid edge, but the weakness in infantry could definitely be a problem.

Additionally, a German 9-2 Armor Leader lends a significant advantage to the German force.

 Before leaping in to the night's gaming, I wanted to do a mini Cardboard via SKYPE clinic. Some folks have asked me how I manage this style of play, so these pics can show the Grumble Jones ASL Foxhole. My STL opponent likes to aim his camera at this setup and I aim mine at the dice cup, as I can't really aim the camera at my boards, given where I locate them during the game. Now I almost never look at the screen during the game. I'm focused on my game boards and listening to my opponent's instructions, etc. And for those who are probably wondering...no I don't see my opponent's dice rolls. Keep in mind we are both 51 years old and have been friends since we were 13 and playing ASL together since 1989. Trust...enough said.

 My desk has been converted to an ASL storage, work and game center. Everything I need for any given game is within arm's reach.

 My desk is also covered with various knick-knacks....work stuff and other misc. things. And yes...that's duct tape. Got tired of the paint wearing off my cheap-ass desk...so covered it with duct tape...much to my wife's dismay. But hey...it works!!!

 

 Oh... I wish you wouldn't...

 My opponent started off our game with a somewhat limited movement forward. I had expected a strong move to slip past my ambush line with troops on each of the tanks. Wrong...The infantry more or less crept onto the board and the tanks moved very cautiously with only a Jagdpanzer IV in the North moving to a hull-down position against my JSU-152.

Yeah...I was a bit surprised by the tentative advance. I was glad of course, because slowing down the Germans was my primary objective for my ambush force.

 The Jagdpanzer IV made a great move. In my D-Fire I simply shifted the JSU-152 to be hull-down should the King Tiger move forward. I felt confident that I could shrug off the 75L shots from the Jagdpanzer IV.

Foreshadowing...

 In the south, my opponent moved with similar caution. He had anticipated that my AT-Gun was hidden in the woods at X1. But it wasn't...

 For the most part, I fired no one in D-Fire and tried to maintain my concealment as much as possible.

 My strategy of just letting the Jagdpanzer IV plink away at my JSU-152 wasn't exactly a good one. I survived the D-Fire from my opponent, but in his Turn 2 Prep-Fire, the dice blessed him with a burning JSU-152.

 As my opponent went into his Turn 2 movement, I managed a lucky PTC against his concealed 8-1 stack. And managed to pin the two 5-4-8's with the 8-1.

 Nice shooting boys!

 Now in the South, the Germans moved into the kill box for my 100L AT Gun. I took deep breaths and told my boys to hold their fire. We could hear German 5-4-8's crawling through the rubble nearby. I couldn't risk a shot at a moving target that I had just seen...miss...and then face advancing fire from the German Sand Rabbits. So...my AT Gun Leader...held his fire.

 My opponent had positioned his Jagdpanzer IV in the direction where he believed my AT Gun was. And in doing so...exposed his rear to where my gun really was.

 My opponent's tendency to roll boxcars at the worst time...continue to plague him. His northern King Tiger went to shower some HE love on my LMG boys...but instead malf'd the MA.

 Back in the south...my Prep Fire finally arrived and my AT Gun slammed home a shell into the rear of the Jagdpanzer IV. It had no chance and burst into flames.

 

 As Turn 2 wrapped up, the Germans were still pretty far from the T-Row and my boys were holding well in the South. Up North, I had been broken and routed back in the 2 story building. But overall, heading into Turn 3, I was feeling very confident. The Russian plan was going pretty well.

Boris checks off the Jagdpanzer IV. Good points for us Comrades!!!

 Turn 3 German movement. All the German paras made solid moves forward.

 Fortunately for me the Germans were not able to get near my broken boys. They would rally in my part of Turn 3.

My opponent was feeling some frustration at that point, as he also didn't move any armor that might have DM'd my boys again.

 Turn 3 Russian player saw the arrival of my reinforcements. I had been expecting that the Germans would be waiting at the end of the long roads...but the roads were wide open, so all my forces moved to the full extent of their movement points and all my infantry were in the 4 trucks. 

 4 x IS-2's...couldn't be happier!!!

 Then it happened...my AT Gun crew had been successfully weathering fire from 2 x German 5-4-8's and keeping the southern King Tiger in check. But I rolled the German SAN and next thing I know my crew is broken. UGH!!!

Nice shooting and finally something for my opponent to cheer about.

We stopped for the night with the conclusion of Turn 3. A great night's worth of ASL. The game is still very much in doubt. The Germans now know where I intend to try and exit the board...but will the lone King Tiger be able to stem the Soviet Horde...guess we'll find out next week.