Outdoor Pursuits with DVG

[PunkReaper]

Summer is here and I am at the lodge in Wales looking at the mountains. Time to hit the great outdoors and get some sun. The problem is the glare on the laptop screen. This time I was prepared with my new copy of DVG's Phantom Leader.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gAstL81DGk

I set up the table in the garden lay out the quality components and suddenly I'm transported to an aircraft carrier off the coast of Vietnam. The pilots are chosen and I get my first look at today's target...a well defended rail yard. Not what I would have chosen for my first mission but hey this is war. I decide to leave the newbie Whiplash behind, arm the planes and launch into a clear sky.

On route it becomes clear that this is a major target and everyone's stress levels crank up a gear. The plan is simple, approach at high altitude from the south with the Phantoms going after any bandits in the area while the rest of the aircraft dive in low over the target and let rip with serious firepower.
The mission starts off on a low with Showtime firing both his AIM7s at a MiG 21 and missing, but Crusty takes down his Mig17 followed by a failure by Driver to take out the SA2.
As we near the target Showtime and Crusty get their act together and take out the remaining MiGs leaving the Railyard for the bombers.

Now all hell breaks loose with surface to air missiles streaking upwards. Some pilots evade successfully while others try to suppress the SAM sites. By some miracle no-one is hit but there are several near misses really cranking up the stress levels. The bombs drop and the Rail yard becomes a smoking ruin....success

The home journey is uneventful but most of the boys are stressed out. As I debrief them it becomes clear that the mission has taken a heavy toll on the pilots. Crusty's nerves are shot and will be unfit for duty for a while with Taxi, Gringo, Wise Guy and Showtime heavily shaken... 3 more missions to go but who is able to fly them. I know I'll have to take the newbie next time...just hope I get an easier target. Decisions decisions...

And then I'm back in the garden in Wales with the birds singing and sheep doing what they do...immersive or what?

A great game and one that I wholeheartedly recommend. Tomorrow Dvgs Frontline D-Day and another day in the sun.

There are some great solitaire games out there.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... h-atlantic
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... maha-beach
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... -the-great
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... der-rommel

to name a few with Field Commander Napoleon and Hornet Leader from DVG on the horizon. So while we await Battles from the Bulge you can all go out and get some sun

While fixing the link here are some more:

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... aign-again
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... itain-1940
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/ ... -england-8

There you are research done...get your credit cards out [;)]

[Phatguy]

your Rommel link is actually lining to Alexander

[wodin]

I fancy that D Day game I must say.

Oneday I shall buy some boardgames.

[PunkReaper]

They are a great way to take you away from the computer screen but still scratch that itch.....

[wodin]

Looking forward to my introduction to boardgaming after my move.

[JudgeDredd]

I still have to get into Conflict of Heroes - waiting on my extension being built - this summer [:D]

[JudgeDredd]

I am going on holiday to Dartmoor on Friday - I may well take Conflict of Heroes with me...I was very tempted to buy Phantom Leader - but I don't think it will get to me on time [:(]

[PunkReaper]

Woden and I are getting together for a Conflict of Heroes game when he gets his new flat... Now you've got your bike your welcome to cycle up here and join us [:D]

[JudgeDredd]

Ur a bugger PR - I've just paid £45 for Phantom Leader to be delivered on Thursday ready to take on holiday on Friday!

[PunkReaper]

Really enjoyable game ... not too heavy but immersive. You start to care about your pilots... at least I do. I use Gameslore and they are usually very quick off the mark. Have a great holiday.. at least you will if the post arrives.

[ezzler]

Where there is discord and codename Cromwell are on the purchase list.

Now Matrix why don't you try a small scale game?
A decent man to man combat game aka Sniper?
Just something...different!

[PunkReaper]

Now Matrix why don't you try a small scale game?

Sometimes wonder why Matrix doesn't try some small games like Phantom Leader, Wings of War, even Where There is Discord instead of the deep wargames with long development times.... hey but what do I know??

[JudgeDredd]

They've already done Hornet Leader - or were u aware of that?

[ezzler]

Disappointing Hornet leader. Had high hopes but it was so ... bland. 

[PunkReaper]

Didn't realise that..... do you have it, if so was it any good?

[JudgeDredd]

no I don't have it. I played the demo, but it just didn't grab me. I'm looking forward to "revitalising" my thoughts on the engine with the boardgame.

Thinking about it, I might well take CoH on holiday too...it is Dartmoor afterall - I should have plenty of time to play boardgames. [:D]

[jomni]

ORIGINAL: ezz

Disappointing Hornet leader. Had high hopes but it was so ... bland. 

You're right. The Vassal version of Hornet Leader looks better than the Matrix one.
I own Hornet Leader (Matrix), Hornet Leader II (Vassal), Phantom Leader (Board Game)...

[JudgeDredd]

Got Phantom Leader today PR - looking forward to playing it now I go on holiday. Thx for the heads up. [&o]

[PunkReaper]

Enjoy the game and enjoy the holiday.....

[JudgeDredd]

Thanks to Punk Reaper, I wanted to take this game on holiday with me and managed to do so...

Having recently been re-introduced to the world of boardgaming, I purchased one or two games in the past and plan to continue to do so. One recent purchase was Phantom Leader. I received it just prior to going on a "walking" holiday in Dartmoor National Park. I decided to take it with me as being it was a walking holiday, there would be plenty of rest time in the evening.

So - it came on the Thursday and I took it on the Friday with the wife and kids to Dartmoor (she wasn't aware I had packed it!)

First off I would like to thank Andrew at Board Game Extras. There was a little mix up with payment but right at the last knockings (literally 8pm on the Tuesday night) he accepted my payment and had it shipped via courier.

As for the game. The contents are pristine. Very nice detailed aircraft cards, event cards and target cards. The maps for the campaigns are card and seem quality enough. All the counters are nice and thick and, again, look like they'll last a while.

Two things I would point out here as I've played a few games now...
1. There could be more Stress counters. I found myself lacking a few and had to double some up (7 and 1 to make 8 for example)
2. Hit markers for aircraft. When an aircraft is hit, all it's ordinance is jettisoned and it suffers a hit. However, it can be difficult to remember what aircraft are hit (especially with a big campaign and lots of ordinance flying everywhere). I used a small tear of paper to identify them

Now to the game - it took me quite a few attempts and the kids were laughing that dad was so bad he was beating himself!! Anyway, I kind of figured out some things that were not immediately obvious.
1. You can only attack one site/bandit
2. When you are attacking a target, you attack with all available ordinance that you want to expend that turn

A couple of things I would like to point out...
1. In (at least) one of the 1965 War in the South scenarios, you cannot destroy the target with the available planes as you only have one plane (you have to remove two planes in the War in the South USN campaign). You can purchase another plane at the cost of 1 SO, but if you don't have any - you are doomed.
2. I'm still unsure - can ANY aircraft suppress? And can an aircraft suppress more than once in a turn. eg. Batdog was being attacked. Is he allowed to suppress, even though he is the one being attacked (I think so). Second, if he does suppress, and another airrcraft is attacked by a different site, is he allowed to suppress again? I could extract this info from the rules.

My campaign. War in the South. Please remember these were played out and although the rules were fresh in my head, they were not "practiced" and therefore I was still unsure about some stuff. I played some missions after this and performed considerably better because I understood the rules better (I hope it wasn't because I was cheating...though the temptation to re-roll is very hard to ignore!)
*****************************************************************
Campaign
War in the South
Duration
2 Days
SO
1
Rules
If A6 used, remove 1VP
Remove 2 aircraft from permitted
No SA2 sites
No bandits allowed
Remove cards - Bandits!, SAM Site!, B-52 Strike, Show of Force
Skills
1 Newbie
2 Green
4 Average
1 Skilled

Options based on Rules
Due to the -1VP for using A6 Intruders, I shall leave them off the pack. (** my understanding here was that it was -1VP for each mission...I now think it's -1VP for the campaign and had I understood that, I would have taken at least 1 A6 along)
Because there are no Bandits, I will choose my aircraft based on their AtG level and ignore their AtA values.

Pilot Choice
I want to choose a couple of FAST speed pilots so they can attack first (SLOW speed pilots are attacked by sites first). I will choose them based on their Speed, AtG bonus and Stress levels.

Skilled : Pluto
Average : Buick, BatDog, Back Fire, Taxi
Green : Barbarian, Midas
Newbie : Whiplash

I get an Extra 6 SOs for the 3 A4s I’ve picked

Mission 1
Target
I have a choice of Ammo Dump (1) or Covert Mission Into Laos (10). Both are in Route Pack 1 showing Stress +2 and Weapon Point -1

Ammo Dump only allows 3 aircraft and Covert Mission Into Laos allows 4 – I choose Covert Mission for this reason and because it has a 0 Politics value (meaning I do not lose any politics points on this mission – though you could argue I don’t have to worry about that as it’s only a 2 day Campaign)

My mission choice means if I lose an aircraft I lose a VP – so I must try to prevent that as there is only 1 VP up for grabs.

I need 6 hits on the target to destroy it (a tall ask for any pilot) and the target is surrounded by 1 site on all approaches and 2 sites in the centre. There are no bandits this campaign.

The sites surrounding the target are
South Approach : M1939 AA, (High or Low), Range 1, Attack 2/6/8
West Approach : Infantry, (Low), Range 0, Attack 6/10/11
North Approach : ZU-23-2 AA, (Low), Range 0, 3/6/9
East Approach : Infantry, (Low), Range 0, 6/10/11
Target : 2xS60 AA, (Low), Range 1, 5/7/9

Pilot Choice
I choose Pluto because he is FAST, has +2AtG and has 5WP (4 with the Route Pack penalty)
I also choose Batdog. Although he is SLOW, he has 6WPs and has +2AtG.

Plan
The West, North and East are protected by sites which can only Fire low – so I can avoid these by flying High until the Target Area.

However there are the two S60 sites in the Target Area – and don’t forget the M1939 in the Southern Approach. They all have a Range of one. As soon as I get in the Northern Approach area, I will be under fire from the S60s and as soon as I get in the Target Area, I will be under fire from the M1939 which has a range of 1.

To avoid all other sites, I will stay at High Altitude until the Target Area.

Arming
Now I know the sites and targets, I arm the aircraft.

I’m going to perform a risky strategy – I’m going to use one aircraft to take out the two S60s in the target area and hope the second aircraft can destroy the target.

I arm PLUTO with 2xAGM12 Bullpup bombs. These have a range of two and can be fired from High altitude. They also have low die roll requirements (2/5). I will have to use 1 SO (1/2 each) to use these weapons. Pluto has 5WPs but with -1 for the Route Pack, that makes 4. The AGM12s use 2WPs each – so he is loaded out. Because he has a +2AtG, he will be able to take out the 2 S60s in the target area.

I arm Batdog with 1xMk82 and 2xMk84s. I hope this is enough (with a possible 8 hits. It will be touch and go though.

So – I have armed the aircraft. I have very little room to spare…I need 6 hits and can get a possible 8. The alternative would be to change Pluto’s loadout, but by arming him with AGM12s, it means Batdog will get into the target area untouched (though he may come under fire from the M1939 in the Southern Approach).

I’m going to use 1 SO and assign the High Stress optional rule – this will give Batdog +1 to his die rolls at the expense of taking +1 stress each time he uses it.

The Mission
I pull my Inbound Event card - +2 SOs.

I place my aircraft in the pre-approach area in the North. I draw an Over Target event card…Sierra Hotel! I get to pull 1 site from each approach area. That eliminates the M1939 in the South area. So I am cleared hot (as long as the 2 S60s in the Target Area are destroyed…the numbers say it will).

Pluto (having FAST speed) launches an AGM12 at one of the S60s. He needs to roll a 2 or more. He rolls a 6. He doesn’t need the +2AtG modifier to score a hit. The site is destroyed.

The enemy have no units that can attack – so I move my units into the Northern Approach.

Again – Pluto gets to fire first. He fires his second and last AGM12 at the remaining S60. If it misses, there’s a chance the Batdog could be destroyed. Anyway, the numbers don’t lie…with a weapon that needs a minimum of 2 and with Pluto with a +2AtG bonus, it means he could roll 0 and still hit. As it is, he rolls a 9 and the S60 site is gone.

There are no sites around. Pluto has done his job and cleared the way for Batdog. It’s all down to him now. Only he has the weapons to take out the target.

The aircraft move over the target now and move them into Low altitude so Batdog can attack (the MK82 and MK84s are all low alt ordinance).

So – Batdog flies towards the target low and fast. Remember he has +1 to add to his attacks using the High Stress option. I’d better use it as a safeguard. He takes a Stress point hit.
He drops his MK82 first. Rolling a 2 he has a total of 5 points to use for the hit (+2 for AtG bonus and +1 for the High Stress option). Needing at least a 6 for a hit, he’s missed!

The target just became harder to destroy! He now needs 3 hits from BOTH MK84s. I use another +1 High Stress Option and add another Stress point to him. He can handle it.

He drops one of his MK84s. He rolls a 3. With the +2AtG bonus and the +1 High Stress option point, that’s 6 – the target is hit for one.

It’s now impossible to destroy the target with only 3 possible hit points left on the final MK84.

He drops it anyway. No point in flying back heavy. He rolls a 1. With the +2AtG (he didn’t use the High Stress option this time) that’s a roll of 3. MISS!

So. The target has been lightly damaged.

They turn and head home. On the way a Home Bound event card…guess what…AAA Site! The target was not damaged as much as they thought (the event card told me to remove 1 hit point from the target!!).

So the pilots return home empty handed. Pluto done well and Batdog was abysmal!

2 Aircraft. 2xAGM12s, 1xMK82 and 2xMK84s and not a single hit on target…even though all approach sites were removed and 2xS60 sites were destroyed – the gate was open and clear for Batdog.

Pluto has 2 Stress and Batdog has 4. There is one mission left to make some ground on the Campaign so I it’s not been a complete waste!


Mission 2
Target
I have a choice of Close Air Support (6) or Tunnels (18). Tunnels is in Route Pack 1 showing Stress +2 and Weapon Point -1. Close Air Support is located in 1 Corps Area with no penalty in WP and Stress at +1

Close Air Support is chosen as I get 3 VPs for it and no WP penalty. It’s got 4 Sites in the Target Area and none around the approaches. I have to inflict 7 hits on these sites and I will suffer +1 Stress for each missed AtG or failed Suppression.

I’m allowed 4 aircraft (reduced to 2 because there are no bandits in this campaign)

The sites I pull for the Target Area are:
1xInfantry, (Low), Range 0, Attack 6/10/11
3xZU-23-2 AA, (Low), Range 0, 3/6/9

Pilot Choice
I choose Pluto because he is FAST, has +2AtG and has 5WP and Batdog. Although he is SLOW, he has 6WPs and has +2AtG. BatDog suffered 4 Stress the last mission, so I pay 3 SOs to remove 2 Stress. Pluto has 2 Stress from the last mission, so I pay my last 3 SOs to remove those. I want Pluto tip top for the attack.

Plan
The plan is simple. Get in. Bomb and get out. Getting in will be fine as there are no defending units in the approaches to the target and none of the sites over the target have any range. But once I’m in, I’ve got 4 sites waiting to attack. Also, because I’m requiring 7 hits, it means the sites are not to be removed as they are hit. So even when they are hit, they can still attack my aircraft.

Arming
Now I know the sites and targets, I arm the aircraft.

I’m arming Pluto with 5xMK82s and BatDog with 3xMk84s. Pluto is fast, so he will attack first. I will attempt to hit the target with 3 MK82s and keep 3 for suppression to help BatDog.

The Mission
I pull my Inbound Event card – Political Limitations – I can only attack/suppress in the Target Area. Suits me – there are no sites in the Approaches anyway.

I place my aircraft in the pre-approach area in the South. I draw an Over Target event card…A-1 SkyRaiders – No Adjustment

Pluto and BatDog arrive in the Pre-Approach Area in the South. No sites can fire and my aircraft can fire (everything on the board has a range of 0)

I move my aircraft into the South Approach Area – again nothing can fire…

I move into the Centre Area making sure I am in Low altitude and all hell breaks loose. Targets start appearing all over the place.

Being as Pluto is FAST, he gets to fire first. He dives and drops 2xMK82s. He rolls (modified with +2AtG) 12 and 6. That’s 3 hits and will keep his other 3xMK82s to suppress and help BatDog.

It’s now the Sites turn.

1xZU-23-2 attacks BatDog. Pluto tries to suppress with a MK82 and scores a 9, so the site is suppressed

The infantry attack BatDog and they roll 2 and miss.

1xZU-23-2 attacks BatDog again. Pluto fails to suppress and takes +1 Stress. The site rolls a 9 and BatDog is fatally wounded.

The other ZU-23-2 attacks Pluto. Pluto takes +2 stress and tries to evade. The site rolls an 8 and 2, so Pluto successfully evades.

Pluto is out of ordinance. Everything in his body is telling him to bug out…but he has guns and continues on. Being fast, he gets to fire again.

He fires at a ZU-23-2. He rolls a 6. That’s a miss and he takes +1 Stress.
He fires at the Infantry. He rolls 12. That’s a hit.
He fires at another ZU-23-2 and rolls 7. A miss and more Stress.
He fires at the final ZU-23-2 and rolls 11. A hit!

That’s 5 hits. A total of 7 were needed to destroy the site. The mission is a failure and the Campaign is abysmal.

Pluto now has to evade to get out.

1xZU-23-2 fires and rolls a 2. It’s a miss.
The Infantry attacks and Pluto evades, taking +2 more stress. The unit rolls a 5 and 3. He evades. Perhaps luck is on his side.
The other ZU-23-2 attacks. Pluto goes evasive again and takes +2 more Stress. A roll of 3 and 10 means he evades. Things are looking up. Only one more site and he’s home free.
The final ZU-23-2 fires at Pluto. He goes evasive and takes more Stress. BANG! He’s taken out with 2 rolls of 9!!

The mission is a failure and the Campaign is a complete failure. If I was playing linked campaigns, I’d be 2 pilots down. As it is, this sorry mess of a campaign is over.



A couple of things I’m not sure about.
1. When a pilot attacks, is he able to fire more than 1 ordinance on a Site/bandit?
2. When a pilot is attacking a Target, is he allowed to drop ALL ordinance?
3. When Suppressing, can the same pilot suppress each time? i.e. in my example above, each time BatDog was attacked, I suppressed with a weapon from Pluto…is this correct or can a pilot only suppress once? Does this change depending on what area you are in?
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Like I said I understand the game better now, having played in the region of 12 or so missions, so the questions I've left at the bottom of the AAR have (I think) been answered.

If anyone has any comments on how it played out or any glaring issues regarding my understanding of the rules at the time (even though I might understand them now) please point them out so I can better play the game in the future.

Overall, I played the game for maybe 20 hours in the week. It's a great game and once you understand the flow and the detail, missions can play out in 30 minutes or so (after setting up). It's a great game and well worth the £40 I paid...well worth it. I will definitely be buying more.

Thanks DVG.