Club meeting 31 December

WHFB - Aaron's Empire army had a great victory over Matt's Orcs and Goblins. One pesky goblin unit held up the Empire commander for three turns, but it still didn't save them.
WHFB - Jono (Empire) and Nick (Dwarves) played to a draw.
DBR 15mm - John's Maximilian Imperialists beat Scott's Spanish Imperial army.
DBR 15mm - Brett using a Muslim Indian army defeated Philip with Maratha Indians.
 

Club meeting 24 December

A very quiet end of year meeting, with just four players, four spectators, and two dogs.

WHFB - Rob and Aaron had a battle with two Empire armies. It turned out to be something of a mutual massacre, ending in a draw.
DBM 25mm - Nick's Frankish warbands overran the dismounted knights of Grant's Free Company. The French Knights who remained mounted put in a good effort for their side though.

BattleCry 2007 update

More info about the BattleCry 2007 convention (10/11 Feb) is on the website www.theamericaclub.net.nz/battlecry2007. BattleCry has competitions in 40K, Flames of War (Early and Mid), 6mm Moderns, and several fantasy and roleplaying games. There's also a 25mm DBM doubles tournament with 12 teams (with at least 3 teams from the NSWC), the largest field ever in the sixth year of this competition. 
 

Club meeting 10 December

The following games were played:

WHFB - No details at present.
DBM 25mm - Lawrence and Paul played a medieval battle, Burgundian Ordinance vs Italian Condotta Venetians.
DBR 15mm - John's Maximillian Imperials went head to head with Craig's Valois French in the latest instalment of their long running feud over that vexing theological question- wine and cheese or beer and sausage? It was a massive 500AP, 5 hour stabfest. Despite (or due to?) all four Imperial generals being slain, the Empire managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat to take out the French 8/2. Primary lesson learned by the Empire- demoralising French Gendarmes just makes them cross.
DBR 25mm - Brett, using the DBM Medieval German list, and Philip (DBR Early Tudors) fought to a mutual break. The German's Swiss allies were targeted by the English artillery, and, despite losing enough pikemen to become beaten, still broke through the English centre.
 

Initial announcement for SouthCon 07

We at Otago Miniature Tacticians Society are pleased to announce the basic details for SouthCon �07. It will be held over Queens Birthday weekend in Bayfield High School Hall, cnr of Shore St & Musselburgh Rise, a larger venue than �06.

The main competition will be held on Saturday & Sunday, with an extra Monday for any non competition games, demonstrations, daft missions, what have you. Game formats are Warhammer 40k, Warhammer Fantasy, Flames of War, & DBM. Fully detailed game formats & tournaments information will be posted & circulated early February �07.

We seek expressions of interest in the shape of the DBM competition. (25mm would look pretty spectacular, just quietly).

We expect that the various format organizers will arrange something for the third day, but offers to get a demonstration game, small competition, or similar under way we could look at. Any enquiries at this stage please forward to me at [email protected]. 

OMTS is a small club promoting & supporting wargaming in Dunedin. Revenue from SouthCon enables us to cover our basic expenses for the year. We greatly appreciate your involvement in it.

Club meeting 26 November

The following games were played:

WHFB - Nick (Empire) vs Mark (Dwarves) Victory to Nick.
DBM 25mm - Brett vs Andrew (Crusaders with Byzantines?) unsure of result.
Flames of War - Rob (Brit Rifle) vs Kit (SS) Draw.
 

The long-awaited arrival of a decent set of rules for the Second Schleswig-Holstein War

The 1859 Grand Tactical Rules have just been published. Look out for more Italian Wars games at the club. And look out for Mathew and Andrew's names in the playtest credits for the book. More details on the author's website www.grandtacticalrules.com

Club meeting 12 November

WHFB - A narrow win to Rob whose Goblin army fought Brett's Orcs.
DBM 25mm - Nick's barbarian conspiracy of Picts and Saxons defeated Andrew's Early Crusaders with their Byzantine allies. The Crusaders were hindered by two unreliable allies, and could offer little resistance to the Saxon warbands who broke through the knights and made their way into the baggage camp.
Principles of War Ancients - Kendall's Mycenean Greeks defeated Philip's Sea Peoples and Libyans.
Flames of War - Mark (DAK) and Michael (US Recce) played one game in the morning. In the afternoon Michael took on Kit's Panzergrenadiers. The Tiger did well holding out on one flank, but the rest of the Germans were left without a C-in-C after the first couple of turns and suffered a 6-1 defeat.

Club meeting 29 October

These were the games played at the club today:
WHFB - Matt (Orcs & Gobbos) v Dan (Skaven) Dan won
WHFB - Aaron (Snr (Vampire Counts)) v Simon (new guy) (Tzeentch Demons)
40K - Nick (Space Marines) v Mark (Necrons) Nick won
DBMM 25mm - Rob (Snr (Medieval Portugese)) v Andrew (Crusader) Rob won
DBR 15mm - Ian (Scots Common) v Danny (German Bastards (according to Ian!)). And from the Germans' point of view: "The protestant Hesse Kessalians (OK< German Bastards�) successfully repulsed the skirt-wearing deviants and sent them back to their straw huts and squeezing cats�"
DBR 15mm - Grant (Free Cossack) v John (Later Danes)
John's small (58ME) but gallant Later Danish army successfully defended Denmark against Grant's vast horde (86ME) of Free Cossacks. Steady volleys from the outnumbered regulars ripped through the furry-hatted masses, who in a last desperate charge flung themselves on the bayonets of the Danish foot Regiments before melting away in defeat.

Orcland Cup 23 October

Rob Snr (Dwarf), Aaron Snr (Empire), Dan (Beastmen) and Matt (Orcs & Gobbos) went to the Orcland Cup and bought home the Club Competition.

Club meeting 22 October

Some news from the club meeting. Anyone who can fill in the details please let me know.
WHFB - There were four games of warhammer.
Rob Jnr vs Nick both Empire not sure of victor.
Mark (Brettonian) vs Daniel (Skaven) not sure of victor.
Rob Snr (Dwarf) vs Aaron Snr (Empire) - Rob won.
Rob Snr (Dwarf) vs Matt (Orcs & Gobbos) - Rob won.
Shattered Lances - Brendon ands Danny played a positional battle with Komnenian Byzantine attacking Ghaznavids. The Ghaznavids successfully defended the ridge line, holding out the Turk and Norman mercenaries long enough to win the game.

Club meeting 8 October

One of the quietest meetings we have had for a while. There were three warhammer games (Dan and Aaron, Rob and Mark, and Rob and Gervais) and one game of Principles of War Ancients between Kendall and Philip. Despite misgivings about Principles of Everything rules, it turned out to be a good game. The two armies were Mycenean Greeks and New Kingdom Egyptians.

Flames of War Grand Tournament 30 September - 1 October

The second Flames of War grand tournament was held this weekend. We had three players from our club in the competition, Kit, Rob and Brett who took 15th, 17th and 25th place out of 49 in the competition. The tournament results weren't outstanding for our club, except all the FoW hats we won in the quiz!

Club meeting 24 September

There was a good variety of games at the club today, including several practice games of Flames of War getting ready for the grand tournament next weekend.

WHFB - Rob's Dwarfs won a quick victory over Nick's Empire. The firepower of the Dwarfs overcame the mobility of the Empire cavalry. Notably their boltshooter destroyed six riders in one shot.
WHFB - Matt's Ogre Kingdoms won a solid victory over Nick's Empire.
WHFB - Aaron's Lizardmen and Mark's Brettonians fought to a draw.
DBM 25mm - Brett and Paul played a 500 point game using Medieval Germans and Italian Condotta (Venetians in Italy). By the end of the day neither army was broken. The final result was 7-3 to the Italians. Although there were two Italian commands within an element of breaking, they also had an Italian handgunner rampaging through the German's baggage camp. The Italian baggage was within two shoves of a German/Swiss pike block before some dismounted condotta would interpenetrate it and disappear off-table, or if they got lucky the other way push back the German's Swiss ally who was not able to recoil... High drama all round in a very long game.
DBR 15mm - Lee (Early Tudor English) beat Philip (Neapolitan Spanish) 9-1. The Spanish using the latest fashionable pike-and-shot formations were taken apart by the olde English longbows.
DBR 15mm - Andrew and Ian had a game, and both sides used Venetian Italians. Andrew's army was much smaller, with lots of points spent on fortifications and 8 elements of naval. Despite losing his C-in-C Andrew still managed to take the victory.
Flames of War - Rob's British Rifle Company beat Steve's U.S. Rangers.
Flames of War - Kit and Ian played twice in desert terrain, using Indian infantry against Italians.

Pictured below: The Medieval Germans' Swiss mercenary pikemen, one flank protected by wagons and cavalry, advance against Venetian artillery.

Club meeting 10 September

WHFB - Matt won a solid victory using Ogre Kingdoms against Rob's Beastmen. The new 7th edition rules were used, and the Beastmen celebrated their return with a double-one roll to make their break tests. Didn't prevent them from being crushed by the ogres though. Unfortunately for Matt it wasn't a challenge game so Rob retains top place on the ladder.
DBR 25mm - Andrew's Manchu Chinese played Philip's Early Tudor English. The reversion to 10AP Art(F) and the use of DBM style deployment helped the English defenders. A sneaky archer ambush on one flank, and jammy dice rolling elsewhere, completed Henry VIII's repertoire of tricks to win a 10-0 victory. The picture below shows the Chinese centre advancing on the English, whose Burgundian cavalry almost single-handedly defeated them.
FoW - Brett's Russian guards won 5-2 against Kit's Germans in the fighting withdrawal scenario. The German forces didn't have the firepower to deal with the Russian armour. They did however find the Russian C-in-C alone in a barn, and his revolver wasn't enough to repulse a half-track assault.

Push of Pike 2-3 September

Congratulations to John Way for his victory at Push of Pike, with a narrow win over Craig Love in the final game.  Details of all the games on the PoP webpage and some more pictures will be there in a day or two.

Thanks again to Urban Warfare for supporting the tournament. We have four players from the NSWC and four visiting from other clubs. Pictured below is one of the games, Neapolitan Spanish on the left and Scandinavian Union on the right. The Swedish artillery demonstrated its superiority and helped the Swedes to a 9-1 victory.

Club meeting 27 August

WHFB - Nick's Dark Elves were decisively beaten by Dan's "cheesy chaos goats".
WHFB - Brett played Ian, both using Orcs and Goblins.
WHFB - Russell (Slanesh Chaos) played Aaron (Dark Elves with a friendly dragon)
WHFB - Mark (Bettonians) played Brett (Orcs and Goblins)
WHFB - Russell and Dan, both with Chaos armies, played to an inconclusive draw.
DBR 15mm - Philip's Neapolitan Spanish defeated Kendall's Japanese 9-1. The cavalry of both armies gamely charged, but were mostly destroyed by opposing firepower. The Spanish infantry, though close to demoralisation, fought their way through the dismounted samurai and musketeers.
Moderns 1/300 - Bruce's Brits beat Kieran's Russians in a 1960s era game. There was a very nice armoured train on the battlefield (although I suspect it was only there for scenic effect not part of the game).

Club meeting 13 August

WHFB - Dan's Chaos Beastmen defeated Matt's Orcs.
WHFB - Dan's Chaos Beastmen fought a second battle against Russell's Chaos Mortals.
DBM 15mm - Paul (Pyrrhic) beat Al (Spartans). The Galatian warbands in Pyrrhus's army did some damage to the Spartans, but were themselves destroyed demoralising a command. By the time the Spartan army was broken, the Pyrrhic phalanx was only a couple of elements away from defeat. There's a name for that sort of victory.
Medieval Naval - Andrew and Matthew sailed, paddled, shot and boarded a lot of medieval cogs and galleys.
DBR 15mm - Today's DBR was a 500AP stabfest between John's Maximillian Imperial with English Allies and Craig's Valois French. After a long and bitter struggle, with a big Landsknecht v Landsknecht punchup in the centre, the Imperial flanks crumpled under the fire of artillery on one flank and (oh the shame) archery on the other. The Valois scored a 10/0 victory. Note to Imperial staff- find out the English for "When you have quite finished your crumpet, go and shoot a Frenchman please".
PoW Colonials - Scott and Philip played a Zulu War scenario with the British attempting to both hold their own camp and attack the Zulu kraal. Although the regular British units were still fighting at nightfall they had failed to hold either of the objectives. The Zulus took very heavy losses, but the survivors were happily plundering a nice orderly stack of unopened ammunition boxes in the British camp. The picture below shows the camp defended by the 2/24 British line. Ahead of them is a mounted infantry unit flanked by a couple of units of NNC, with a rocket detachment back in the camp.
Flames of War - Kendall (U.S. Armored Company) fought against Kit (SS Panzergrenadiers).

Club meeting 30 July

WHFB - Warhammer news from the Goldsbury Information Bureau:
I played Nick�s Empire Army with my Orcs and Goblins. Nick made a great start, humming the theme of that great 1980s soap �The Falcon�s Crest� and killing my Giant in his second turn! Nick then got very ambitious and started humming the �Dynasty� theme at me. At this his luck became truly awful as his main unit of Empire knights, including his General and army standard bearer, was drenched in troll vomit, eaten by a Wyvern, cut up big Big�Uns or stomped by my Warboss. After this development, and assisted by some fortunate dice rolling for Night Goblin Fanatics (they must have been followers of Falcon�s Crest), the other Empire units were mercilessly hacked down. A victory!

I then played the really nice Bretonnian army that Mark has. No theme humming in this one. We persisted until the bitter end. I was left with about 20 Night Goblins (out of an army that had around 60 to start with, 60 Orcs, 4 trolls, 1 Giant, 1 Chariot and a Wyvern mounted Warboss � so, no, I didn�t have a lot left) and he had 1 Etheral being, 4 Knights and 4 Pegusi left (out of an army that had 25 knights, 10 peasants (mounted), 15 peasants (foot), 1 trebuchet) so yes we slaughtered ourselves, but I�ll give the win to the Bretonnians (the captured standard count was even and we both lost our general) as a feel in a good mood and the Bretonnians can�t help it if they�re French.

 Dan (Skaven) and Matt (Orcs & Gobs) fought a nasty draw. There was no theme humming or anything else of interest.

Nick then turned around and thrashed a new comer, complete with interesting Elf/Bretonnian army (in record time) with his Empire army, rebuilding his fellow�s morale with a stirringly hummed rendition of �Dallas�.

DBR 25mm - A titanic struggle between John's Samurai and Andrew's invading Manchu Chinese. The game was in the balance until the Japanese C-in-C charged off into the enemy line all by himself and slaughtered the Chinese artillery, at one point while surrounded by angry Manchus.

Club meeting 23 July

WHFB - Several Warhammer games were played at the club today:
Nick (Dark Elves) beat Aaron (more Dark Elves)
Aaron (Dark Elves) beat John (High Elves)
Nick (Dark Elves) played Mark (Brettonian)
Dan (Tomb Kings) played Matt (Orcs)
DBMM 25mm - Andrew B (Carthaginians) played Brett (Medieval Germans)
DBR 15mm  - John (Later Danish) beat Ian (Venetian). Not a good day for the Venetian lancers who were destroyed by the Danes with their new-fangled bayonet-equipped musketeers.
PoW Colonials - Scott (Egyptians) beat Philip (Mahdist). This illustration shows the Egyptians advancing on a position held by the Mahdists. The entrenched riflemen repulsed an Egyptian assault, but were later destroyed by the machine guns and rifle fire of the Egyptians.

Club meeting 9 July

WHFB - There was a four-player game with Aaron, Dan, Matt and Rob.
DBMM 15mm - Jono and Brett played a rather belated finals game for the 2005 club competition. Both players used an Alexandrian Imperial army, with the win going to Brett.
DBR 15mm  - Ian (Venetian) v Philip (Neapolitan Spanish). 9-1 to Ian
DBR 15mm  - John (Later Danish) v Benny (30YW French). A win to the Danes.
Moderns 1/300 - Al (British) and Bruce (US Marines) played to a draw. Their game is pictured below.