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Thread: Hank & Bill Con !

  1. #1

    Default Hank & Bill Con !

    On Wednesday I drove 2 hours East of my home to The Portal in Manchester, Connecticut to meet my friend Hank D (who in a burst of creativity calls himself "Hank D" on this site) and our mutual friend Al P. for a full day of war gaming which we modestly named Hank & Bill Con. Our schedule for the day (after a sumptuous repast and Epicurean delight at the Golden Dragon restaurant) consisted of Wings, De Bellis Napoleonicis (DBN), and De Bellis Antiquitatus (DBA). We all agreed the first games of the day would be Wings and allow me a chance to christen the four beautiful custom painted planes I won earlier this year in the raffle on this site. Jim (rhodie 80) and Peter (Teaticket) painted these gorgeous birds:

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    Here are some pictures from the game -- Al P. flew the DrI against me flying the Sopwith Camel, and Hank D flew the Fokker DVII against me in the SPAD XIII. The two British planes vanquished the two German planes in a hard fought joust.

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    The second game of the day pitted Hank's French against my newly completed Austrian army which I was aching to try out. I anchored my left flank with a grand battery, the center with the bulk of my infantry, and attempted to turn the French left flank on my right with my cavalry division. It was a close run thing -- two die rolls determined if I would turn the French left flank and charge into the French rear, but alas the die Gods did not smile upon me and we were repulsed giving the day to the French. Here are some photos of the action:

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    The final game of the day was DBA 3.0. I hadn't played DBA in a few years (and I hadn't played 3.0 at all) because several years ago there was a bitter schism in the DBA gaming community over the 3.0 revision and after decades of enjoying the game I just didn't want to get caught up in the unpleasant politics of the moment and moved on to Flames of War, then Bolt Action, before discovering the pleasures of Wings and Sails....I never looked back. I must say though, after playing the 3.0 revision, I really don't understand what all the fuss was about. I thoroughly enjoyed my game. I loaned Hank and Al some of my armies for this game. Al took my generic Italian Condotta army which was my first non-18th or 19th century army that I built back in the 1970s:

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    I loaned my Low Countries army to Hank to oppose Al's Italians:

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    I loaned my Later Swiss to Hank to fight against me with my Florentine Condotta:

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    The Low Countries defeated the generic Condotta army in a close fight. My Florentine Condotta really took it to the Swiss (there is a Swiss cheese joke to be had here, but it is beyond me..). Here is a shot of my boys from Florence finishing off the Alpine fellas...

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    It was a great day of fun and fellowship. I ran into a monsoon on the way home -- high winds, heavy rains, vibrant lightning, and limited visibility (although I swear at one point I saw Auntie Em's house fly by...). After a 3 hour ordeal I, my troops, and my beautiful new planes arrived home safe and sound.
    Last edited by NewFlyBoy; 08-09-2019 at 12:56.

  2. #2

    Default

    I miss the days of gaming in different battles and concepts.
    Nice to see the prize planes on the board, and those figures of yours are exquisite.
    Thanks for sharing.

    P.S. Can't give you well-deserved rep because I gave you some yesterday.
    Last edited by Stumptonian; 08-09-2019 at 14:52. Reason: speelnig

  3. #3

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Stumptonian View Post
    I miss the days of gaming in different battles and concepts.
    Nice to see the prize planes on the board, and those figre of yours are exquisite.
    Thanks for sharing.

    P.S. Can't give you well-deserved rep because I gave you some yesterday.
    Thanks Pete !

  4. #4

    Default

    The planes do look nice, especially the German pair but the mat you are using also looks pretty good as well.
    Sounds like the whole day was a good one.

  5. #5

    Default

    Nice to see the new planes on the table. Which one did you fly Bill?

    Is that some DBA Napoleonics going on?

    Nice mix of games played.

  6. #6

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Teaticket View Post
    Nice to see the new planes on the table. Which one did you fly Bill?

    Is that some DBA Napoleonics going on?

    Nice mix of games played.
    Hi Peter!
    Good to hear from you. I hope you are well up there in the Great North. I flew the Sopwith Camel and the SPAD XIII. Hank flew the Fokker DVII. That was a DBN Napoleonics game -- I wanted to try out my new Austrian army. Came close to turning the French flank and getting into their rear (I think I had Hank sweating on that one), but the dice failed me at a critical moment. Looking forward to seeing you at the Council of Five Nations in Schenectady.
    Be well,
    Bill

  7. #7

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Vagabond View Post
    The planes do look nice, especially the German pair but the mat you are using also looks pretty good as well.
    Sounds like the whole day was a good one.
    Hi John,
    Yes it was very much a fun day. The mat part of one of the gaming tables at The Portal -- the tables are pretty cool, they are mid way between the waist and chest in height, and the outer edges even have cup holders!
    best,
    Bill

  8. #8

    Thumbs up

    That looked like a super fun filled day Bill!
    i like the idea of playing a few different games when getting together with gaming mates.
    Rep on its way!

  9. #9

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gully_raker View Post
    That looked like a super fun filled day Bill!
    i like the idea of playing a few different games when getting together with gaming mates.
    Rep on its way!
    Thanks Barry !
    B.

  10. #10

    Default

    It is good to see your prizes in action, Bill.



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