Trumpeter Salute, Apr 1-3 in Burnaby, BC

[Mugwump]

I'm still in the process of arranging things with the Trumpeter group but I'm hoping to run Sails of Glory for 6-8 players on Saturday, Apr 2 and Wings of Glory: WWII for 8-12 on Sunday, Apr 3.

Anyone going to be around for the salute?

http://www.trumpetersociety.com/

[OldGuy59]

Ooohh!
Mick, way to go! I was dispairing of Trumpeter Salute ever hosting Wings of Glory.

It is the wrong time of year for me to attend, and I will be into the final prep weeks for InCON 2016.

Best of luck on the games.

[BobRoberts]

Mick, I'd love to come out for some Wings of Glory on Sunday April 3. I will most likely bring my girlfriend's son with me as he loves the game, Mike can attest to that. What kind of scenario will you be running?

More importantly, why haven't you come to BottosCon where Mike has done yeoman service hosting multiple Wings of Glory events at my convention these past 3 years?

Rob Bottos


I'm still in the process of arranging things with the Trumpeter group but I'm hoping to run Sails of Glory for 6-8 players on Saturday, Apr 2 and Wings of Glory: WWII for 8-12 on Sunday, Apr 3.

Anyone going to be around for the salute?

http://www.trumpetersociety.com/

[Mugwump]

OldGuy. Well, it's still in the works so we'll have to see if Trumpeter gives it the go-ahead or not. I did bring Sails of Glory to the last meetup and it garnered a fair amount of interest from the attendees so hopefully they'll agree to let me run the games. If the Check Your Six guys decide to run a game during the Salute, I suspect it'll get the nod over Wings of Glory as they've been running that game at Trumpeters for quite a while now.

Bob. I just found out about BottosCon last year but couldn't make it as I was working the weekend it was on. If my schedule permits, I'll definitely attend this year.

[BobRoberts]

Mick, apologies, after I saw your post and posted I remembered I had already asked you about BottosXon before.

One way to gauge interest for Wings of Glory, what about running a session at the March meeting on Friday night? I plan to be there that night, and could also bring Tyler along, providing he is not at a scout camp.

Rob Bottos


OldGuy. Well, it's still in the works so we'll have to see if Trumpeter gives it the go-ahead or not. I did bring Sails of Glory to the last meetup and it garnered a fair amount of interest from the attendees so hopefully they'll agree to let me run the games. If the Check Your Six guys decide to run a game during the Salute, I suspect it'll get the nod over Wings of Glory as they've been running that game at Trumpeters for quite a while now.

Bob. I just found out about BottosCon last year but couldn't make it as I was working the weekend it was on. If my schedule permits, I'll definitely attend this year.

[BobRoberts]

Another thought, Mike Owen has been running Wings if Glory at BottosCon these past 3 years, this year he has indicated there is a strong chance he can't attend. If that proves to be the case, I would much rather have someone run Wings of Glory as opposed to Canvas Eagles, which had been my back up plan as I did not know if there were any other serious WoG players in the area.

Rob

[Mugwump]

Serious player? Does that mean I can't make airplane noises and machinegun sounds when I move my plane around?

I'm hoping to make it for the Mar 5th session but as I'm working until 7pm that day, I can't firmly commit as my attendance will depend on just what kind of day of work it was.

[Mugwump]

I've got things sorted out with Trumpeters for the Salute from April 1-3rd. I'll be running a game of Sails of Glory on Saturday night. I'm still trying to get a table reserved for Wings of Glory. If it happens, it'll be on Sunday morning.

[Mugwump]

Wings of Glory is also confirmed for Sunday morning at 10:00 am.

I've got three ideas for a scenario. Any input on which one you think sounds like the most enjoyable (and any ideas for tweaks or changes) would be appreciated.

Scenario 1: Battle of Britain - The Hardest Day.
August 18, 1940
Chain Home radar station, Poling, West Sussex.

RAF fighters scramble to intercept an incoming German raid targeting the Chain Home Radar station at Poling.
Forces will vary depending upon the number of players.

Play area will consist of two mats, coastal and country.

RAF
1-3 Spitfire Mk Is
1 Hurricane
1 Gladiator
1 Beaufighter

1-2 AAA guns situated near the radar target

Luftwaffe
1-3 Bf 1-09Es
1-2 Ju 87 Stukas
1-2 Bf-110s

The Luftwaffe will set up along the edge of the coastal map at altitude 5.

The RAF will set up along the edge of the country map at altitude 4. The Radar tower and AA will set up in the middle of the country mat. The radar tower will have 15 HP. Stukas will have 1x250 KG bomb and 2x50kg bombs. A direct hit from the bombs will do 1D chit and 2 A chits. A near miss will do 1B chit.

Victory points will be determined by adding total number of damage points inflicted to the enemy.



Scenario 2: Bomber War - Big Week
February 25, 1943. Augsburg, Germany.

B-17s have separated from their formation due to bad weather but are still proceeding to target. Luftwaffe fighters pounce.

Forces will vary depending upon the number of players

USAAF
1-2 B-17Gs
2-3 P-51Ds

Luftwaffe
1-3 FW190 D-9s/D-13s
1-2 Bf-110s
1-2 88mm AAA guns

The play area will consist of 2 mats, city and country. The target will be an industrial facility located near the urban area on the city map.
The US forces will set up along the edge of the country map. Altitude 10
German forces will set up along the edge of the city map, FW190s at altitude 9, Bf110s (if present) at altitude 10.

The Bf-110s will be equipped with Werfer-Granate 21 rocket tubes. Each plane can fire twice. These rockets will function similarly to AA rules but the attacks cannot be delayed once placed on the board. Each rocket will do 1D and 1B damage if it hits.
The 88mm AAA guns will have a maximum firing altitude of 12.

The B-17s have a bomb load of 8,000 lbs. They can drop as one attack or as a string of bombs 2 cards in length. A direct hit from a full attack card will do 2D, a card from a string will do 1D. A near miss will do 2B or 1B. The factory has 24 HP.



Scenario 3. Bomber Command - Nachtjaeger

This scenario will only be attempted if the number of players who sign up is small and all have previous experience with the game.

September 10, 1943. Lancaster bombers from No. 6 Group, 405 (Vancouver) Squadron target Hannover, Germany. Elements of II/NJG 2 attempt to intercept using "Y" Guidance GCI.

Play area is 2 mats, city and country.

RAF
1-2 Lancaster bombers
1 Beaufighter Serrate night fighter.

Luftwaffe
1-2 Bf-110s with Schrage Musik and Lichenstein BC AI radar.

All planes start at level 10.
Special rules. Both the Beaufighter and the Bf-110s have airborne radar. They must spend at least one turn "tailing" the enemy (using aim rules) before they can fire. Firing can only occur at close range. The Lancasters must flight straight and level until they spot an enemy aircraft. In order to spot, the enemy must be at close range. To successfully spot, place two 0 damage chits and one non-zero damage chit in a cup. The Lancaster player draws a chit. If it's the non-zero chit, he may change his next planned movement card to a non-straight manoeuvre to represent a corkscrew.

The Lancs are carrying 12,000 lbs of HE and incendiary bombs. The difficulty in hitting the target at night in poor visibility is simulated by making a deck of 2 straight and 1 slight turn card. For each turn that the bombs fall, draw a card from the deck of three and use that to plot bomb movement. Any hit (full or partial) on the urban area of the city map counts as a hit and scores 15 VP.

[Mugwump]

Well, Sails of Glory went very well and was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Wings of Glory was a bust. I went with the Battle of Britain scenario. Only had 3 players sign up and, despite my "no kids" instructions to Trumpeters' one was a kid who immediately managed to lose some cards from one of my decks. Apart from that, he was actually fairly decent and seemed to be the only one enjoying himself. I think everyone was burnt out from long hours on Saturday and it showed. His teammate quit halfway through, saying he just tired and just wasn't into it so the kid ended up trying to control all 4 German planes. If I host again next year, I'll be sure to do it on the Friday or Saturday.

[OldGuy59]

Mick,
The grognards are still not getting it. It isn't difficult enough to learn, so it can't be any good as a simulation. And, they are focused on their present passion, so not turning their heads.

It took three years at BottosCon to start getting some people interested in Wings of Glory. However, this past year, the tables were well attended. Give it a few times, and it will get there.

We also have to get Ares to throw in a bit of support, too. Next year, I will be over to help out, if I can get the Financial Advisor to loosen the purse strings.

Thanks for doing it this year, and making the first few chisel marks in the stone.

[Mugwump]

To add insult, I guess one of the mouth-breathing asshats who did play found adding the damage totals together just a little too difficult to do in his head so he took it upon himself to do a little sums table in indelible ink on the spitfire plane card. What a lovely, permanent reminder of a miserable session.

[Carl_Brisgamer]

Well, Sails of Glory went very well and was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, Wings of Glory was a bust. I went with the Battle of Britain scenario. Only had 3 players sign up and, despite my "no kids" instructions to Trumpeters' one was a kid who immediately managed to lose some cards from one of my decks. Apart from that, he was actually fairly decent and seemed to be the only one enjoying himself. I think everyone was burnt out from long hours on Saturday and it showed. His teammate quit halfway through, saying he just tired and just wasn't into it so the kid ended up trying to control all 4 German planes. If I host again next year, I'll be sure to do it on the Friday or Saturday.

Wings of Glory is now a niche game. When I think of how popular it was back in 2010 before Nexus fell over.....(sigh). No release of product for two years killed the momentum and slow release now (while good for the wallet) is retarding the appeal. FLGS and clubs that used to run hours of 'Wings of War' back in the day now host X-Wing - and have whole walls of product ready to go.

Even if I made the effort to rally the old Wings of War crew in my home town to raise the WG profile the lack of local product on the shelf means new players cannot just pick up a plane or two not to mention the rules pack and jump in. Sad particularly considering we are in the middle of WW1 centenary commemorations.

[clipper1801]

I agree, but don't get me started! Too late. I am the last dinosaur in the Phoenix area, no stores carry it, no shops will clear a table, no one comes even if you have the planes ready to go. I have even tried gathering up and making starter kits with minis and cards etc, but again there is no product supply to back the starter up. If it were not for Keith and the Aerodrome I think we would be doomed. I have regressed into just adding to my mini library of both wars and now the years between just to have something to do. Keep hoping we will get a reboot to restart the whole game, maybe I should use my retirement fund to buy the rights and hire the designers to . . . ah well, still having fun. Done with the rant, for now . . . .

[Carl_Brisgamer]

I agree, but don't get me started! Too late. I am the last dinosaur in the Phoenix area, no stores carry it, no shops will clear a table, no one comes even if you have the planes ready to go. I have even tried gathering up and making starter kits with minis and cards etc, but again there is no product supply to back the starter up. If it were not for Keith and the Aerodrome I think we would be doomed. I have regressed into just adding to my mini library of both wars and now the years between just to have something to do. Keep hoping we will get a reboot to restart the whole game, maybe I should use my retirement fund to buy the rights and hire the designers to . . . ah well, still having fun. Done with the rant, for now . . . .

When the miniatures replaced the cards the game really took off. I was running a campaign in 2010 with over 100 players on the books and of those 30 would submit AARs every week. Once the production of miniatures stopped interest waned (they wanted SE5as, Bristol Fighters, Sopwith Triplanes) and the campaign ran out of steam. The painters amongst us took to preparing our own minis (bows to clipper1801 the king of mini production) but that was not enough.

A steady supply of locally available product, advertising campaign with local reps, and product support for gaming cons might do the trick. I have a feeling that would mean Ares would have to go bigger than their comfort zone allows.

[Mugwump]

Here's the card in question. What makes it even more irritating is that the card was in a sleeve so the jackass had to slide it out in order to write on it. Why he just didn't write on the sleeve is beyond me.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v320/bogaty/IMG_20160502_0001_zpsjl5to3cc.jpg~original

[clipper1801]

Have you carefully tried light solvents? MEK, lighter fluid or denatured alcohol etc might dissolve the ink without affecting the card - try on a spare card first . . . I have a can of pre-spray prep fluid from an automotive paint shop that is very handy - avoid acetone!

[Mugwump]

I received a replacement card from Ares Games today. Great customer service. Thanks OldGuy59 for providing the contact info.