Fire for effect! Repeat... Fire for effect!

So today we traveled a bit south to put on some Flames of War games at.... wait for it.... Fire for Effect Games in Oshkosh, WI.  We found tables at a nice height with cool mat covers (see pictures) and several people interested in giving the rules a try.  The theme was mid-war and initially had Falschirmjagers (with a Tiger) against Americans; five Tigers and two self-propelled AA against American, and at my table grenadiers with three Tigers (sensing a pattern here....) against my Brits.  People new to the game were added in here and there.  I got AJ who had done some miniature gaming but nothing like this.  Click to enlarge pictures.

German paras and a Tiger on table one

Tiny but super powerful force on table two

Our game, striving for a bit of balance among arms

In the first game the lone Tiger waddled over to the nearest objective, said "try and push me off" and the game ended soon.  In  the second the Tiger/SPAA group also won quickly.  On my table I was against Clayton again, a genuine gentleman for a middle-schooler, and I thought we had a big advantage after the deployment.  Massing my six Shermans on the right along with the recon element and most of the infantry/HMG stands, I figured my four towed 17 pdrs. could contain the Tigers.  Yeah..... right.  Didn't help that their Tiger Ace roll allowed them to re roll misses.

Charge!  Only infantry and a pair of spotty guns to stop us!

Redeploy, offering flanks to the ineffectual 17 pdrs.

And as they emerge from a smoke screen, we burn

Out of tanks and unable to hit the Tigers with guns that could kill them it turned to the infantry and recon to try to win the game.  Using a combination of mortar fire and Vickers HMGs to pin German infantry groups the Recon Bren Carriers (upgraded with .50 cals.) successfully assaulted and over-ran three German groups.  Meanwhile at a critical moment the Tigers were deflected from their pursuit of an objective to try and save theirs instead.  In one of the rare moments of success I experienced (AJ was doing all the hurt) I assaulted a bailed out Tiger and eliminated it with grenades, bayonets and harsh language.  So as German infantry closed in on an objective defended only by a pair of AA trucks, our Recon group raced to an objective with infantry double-timing it behind them.

Broad view with the Motivation test in the foreground

VCs all around!

The seemingly invulnerable German 105s opened up on the Recon troop and added another armored scalp to their tally, dropping them below half strength.  We needed to pass a motivation test to win.....  and AJ came through.  Without a doubt the closest, nail-biter game I've experienced with FoW.  Usually it seems someone makes a mistake with deployment or simply gets unlucky early on and the game is over.  Not so this one.  The 17 pdrs. were an epic fail.  They rarely hit.  If they did Clayton usually made his armor save.  If he didn't all I could get was a bailed out result.  Not surprisingly all six of our tanks were quickly burners or runners.

New game on table one, but with predictible results

A different American contingent took on the Falschirmjagers and uber Tiger with another quick exit for the Americans.  As I left to run errands before returning to Appleton Clayton was taking on a Soviet group based on T-34s and a LOT of rocket trucks.  At the time Tigers were up 3-1 for the day.  Makes you wonder. 

Nice to meet some new gamers and introduce our flavor of miniature gaming.  A fine bunch of fellows and a good new game shop at 605 S. Main St.  Oshkosh, WI.