Origins 2017 King Kong AAR

It's early/mid-1917, and there's danger in the skies above a town on the German border. Roving planes from the Entente and the German Empire, searching for one another, also have to contend with the 8th Wonder of the World, who has broken free from his restraints and has climbed the tallest building he could find. The Great Ape is swiping and grabbing at any plane flying near.

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This first picture shows the planes tangling with one another in the distance, while a DH2 nears the beast - Kong has just shifted his position at random, jumping out of the arc of the potential threat - but the plane is still within short range, so Kong inflicts a C damage card on it.

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A mini furball ensues - the Ape isn't the only enemy - pilots have to contend with enemy pilots, with A and B cards being dealt left and right.

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All sky roads lead to Kong! Planes converge on the building-top, in hopes of downing the beast - Kong's back is to them, but if one comes within short range, it will 'feel his wrath'! His movement roll could also drastically change his perspective.

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A Nieuport falls to the Beast! Those C cards can be murder! After destroying the Nieuport, the game paused so that photos could be taken of the Beast with the vanquished plane in his hand. Luckily, the ape model's hand is the perfect size for 'holding' a plane...:)

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Plane Two falls to the Great Ape - with the exception of the Frommherz Albatros which Kong also destroyed, the other three planes were all yellow to some degree. This encouraged the supposition that perhaps the planes reminded him of bananas, and he was just a hungry monkey looking for a snack...

Here the CDL DH2 is grabbed in triumph by its Gitterschwanz! Funnily enough, cheers went up each time Kong downed a plane - I think more out of a 'there but for the grace of God' perspective rather than anything else.

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While combat between Central Powers and Entente occurred sporadically throughout the game, many planes took turns taking shots at the monkey - here another yellow one (Voss's Albatros) falls prey to the Beast.

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This last shot shows Don's hand (he flew the Frommherz Albatros) as he closes in for an attempted kill on the 8th Wonder - Don was the monkey's second victim, and he re-spawned with the intention of ignoring the planes and seeking revenge on his destroyer.

When the game ended, Kong was wounded - he had taken a bit more than half damage - but he was still victorious. He had downed four planes - one had exploded upon collision with another after it was tossed randomly by the the Beast. All in all it was a very fun scenario - everyone had fun, and many pictures were taken by participants, particularly when Kong destroyed a plane and then held it victoriously in his hand.

It is a fun scenario to run, too, and I can't recommend the Crooked Dice great ape figure highly enough - it's a beautiful little model and fits wonderfully into the scale of the game.

All the best,
Matt

A fantastic game Matt, wish I wasn't running a game at the same time!

I'm glad you were otherwise occupied, Peter - with your flying skills, I have no doubt you would have done the Beast in!

Great to see you again this year at Origins - thanks for everything you did to make it a success:sAprvd::sAprvd::sAprvd:

Always the best,
Matt

Me likey....!
http://horrornews.net/wp-content/upl...-5-400x300.jpg

Innovative game and brilliant AAR, Matt. :clap:

That was fun to watch and read.

Matt, thanks for a very fun game. Everyone at the table seemed to enjoy themselves quite a bit. Sue and I had a blast playing - what a way to get back in the air.

What a what-if game! Thanks for sharing the AAR, Matt!:D

Great to see your Great Ape in action at last, Matt.
Looks like "more fun than a barrel of monkeys"
;)

Glad to see lots of folks having fun monkeying around!

I hope they APE-reciated all the effort you put in! ;)

Now that could be a game for Doncaster.:sAprvd:

Very creative scenario! :sAprvd:

Now that is different - well done chaps

Well done and a very good and different kind of scenario for a con.

What a fun way to introduce newbies!

Where did you get your ape?

The model is made by Crooked Dice Miniatures, Wayne, a UK company. It was being discussed last year on the forum - I believe Steve (Guntruck) brought it to our attention. When word came out that he was in production and available, I ordered one - great service from the company - and I had him in about a week. 3-piece kit - I think it's a lovely little figure.

Here is the link to their website: www.crooked-dice.co.uk/wp/product/giant-ape/

All the best,
Matt

Do you have a template for the base? If not, what size did you make it?

I built the base first, Dan, and then made the card/template to fit beneath it. It ends up being a standard pentagon measuring 3 inches on each side. For firing purposes at King Kong, we played that you measured from the plane's 'peg' to the actual figure of the ape - that was how range was figured, and it worked quite well...

All the best,
Matt