This was a one-off game just to try out two forces - one new, one which although not new had never had a game. They were respectively:
- the protection racketeer, gang-boss and all round nogoodnik ape Don Chimpanzino and his enforcers; and
- a section detached from First Platoon, B Company, 3rd Bywater Sharpshooters, the well-known halfling regiment.
Stats are as below.
At the top of the page, from right to left:
Ape-X
Q4+ C3 +2 climbing; Big; Humanoid; SMG. 53pts
Kong
Q3+ C5 +2 climbing; Huge; Tough. 90pts
Don Chimpanzino
Q2+ C3 +2 climbing; Humanoid; Assault Rifle; Leader. 110pts
Clyde
Q4+ C3 +2 climbing; Humanoid; Gunsmith; Short Move; Sniper Rifle. 68pts
321 points
- the protection racketeer, gang-boss and all round nogoodnik ape Don Chimpanzino and his enforcers; and
- a section detached from First Platoon, B Company, 3rd Bywater Sharpshooters, the well-known halfling regiment.
Stats are as below.
At the top of the page, from right to left:
Ape-X
Q4+ C3 +2 climbing; Big; Humanoid; SMG. 53pts
Kong
Q3+ C5 +2 climbing; Huge; Tough. 90pts
Don Chimpanzino
Q2+ C3 +2 climbing; Humanoid; Assault Rifle; Leader. 110pts
Clyde
Q4+ C3 +2 climbing; Humanoid; Gunsmith; Short Move; Sniper Rifle. 68pts
321 points
Below:
B Section, First Platoon, B Company, 3rd Bywater Sharpshooters
Corporal Harefoot
Q3+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun; Leader. 88pts
Lance-Corporal Stickle
Q3+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 58pts
Private Bannock
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
Private Peeve
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
Private Scroggle
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
Private Latchet
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
322 points
B Section, First Platoon, B Company, 3rd Bywater Sharpshooters
Corporal Harefoot
Q3+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun; Leader. 88pts
Lance-Corporal Stickle
Q3+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 58pts
Private Bannock
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
Private Peeve
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
Private Scroggle
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
Private Latchet
Q4+ C3 Sharpshooter; Strong Constitution; Laser gun. 44pts
322 points
As it happened we managed to get two games in.
In the first my opponent had the apes and played just right. He led with Kong, who zig-zagged down the main street from cover to cover. Not easy when you are eight metres tall but Kong managed it. As movement is measured from the front of the base to the back, therefore adding a base-depth to each medium stick that Kong moved, he covered the ground quickly. Crucially Don Chimpanzino stayed within one Long of Kong, urging him on. Corporal Harefoot was understandably put out by the sight of a gigantic part-cyborg ape wielding a four metre katana bearing down on him and made a series of bad decisions, moving the section from here to there and back and never getting a decent shot lined up. Only when Kong got very close was he able to order a concentrated shot but the roll was poor and nothing happened. Kong got in about the squad and immediately killed one - impaling poor private Peeve and flicking the tiny corpse away, as my opponent gleefully described. Corporal Harefoot had managed to get himself separated, and the threat posed by Kong had caused me to overlook Ape-X advancing up a flank. How I was able to overlook a three metre tall gorilla surgically implanted with a rotary gun, a powered fist and various cybernetic parts is unclear. Anyway, as Harefoot tried to organise his section to mob Kong and maybe bring him down Ape-X appeared from a ruined building, spun up his rotary cannon and blew Harefoot to bits. In the ensuing panic the surviving halflings legged it. Two made it off table; Kong got the other two. Where was Clyde the orang-utan sniper all this time? A combination of having Short Move and Don Chimpanzino out of range meant he did not do much, not even firing a shot. Understandable. If the boss is not around, and you could either lug a rifle bigger than you are up to where it is dangerous or stay in a building eating a banana, what would you do?
In the first my opponent had the apes and played just right. He led with Kong, who zig-zagged down the main street from cover to cover. Not easy when you are eight metres tall but Kong managed it. As movement is measured from the front of the base to the back, therefore adding a base-depth to each medium stick that Kong moved, he covered the ground quickly. Crucially Don Chimpanzino stayed within one Long of Kong, urging him on. Corporal Harefoot was understandably put out by the sight of a gigantic part-cyborg ape wielding a four metre katana bearing down on him and made a series of bad decisions, moving the section from here to there and back and never getting a decent shot lined up. Only when Kong got very close was he able to order a concentrated shot but the roll was poor and nothing happened. Kong got in about the squad and immediately killed one - impaling poor private Peeve and flicking the tiny corpse away, as my opponent gleefully described. Corporal Harefoot had managed to get himself separated, and the threat posed by Kong had caused me to overlook Ape-X advancing up a flank. How I was able to overlook a three metre tall gorilla surgically implanted with a rotary gun, a powered fist and various cybernetic parts is unclear. Anyway, as Harefoot tried to organise his section to mob Kong and maybe bring him down Ape-X appeared from a ruined building, spun up his rotary cannon and blew Harefoot to bits. In the ensuing panic the surviving halflings legged it. Two made it off table; Kong got the other two. Where was Clyde the orang-utan sniper all this time? A combination of having Short Move and Don Chimpanzino out of range meant he did not do much, not even firing a shot. Understandable. If the boss is not around, and you could either lug a rifle bigger than you are up to where it is dangerous or stay in a building eating a banana, what would you do?
A view from above the Bywater Sharpshooters' position as Kong prepares to charge.
For the second game we changed sides. Kong was rather less successful for me. He approached in cover as before, but I made a serious mistake in getting him to clamber over a wall, out of cover but in a good position to rush the firing line the corporal had arranged, with only two actions. The halflings cunningly fired not a concentrated shot but a series of individual aimed shots. One actually wounded Kong making him Q4+ and another knocked him over. My second mistake was not having the leader up to encourage Kong. As he struggled to his feet he was wounded again to Q5+ and was now pretty much a spent force. The corporal spotted that and ordered concentrated fire - "Now lads! Give him heck!" - and they tripled his score. Riddled with holes Kong went down. Ape-X also broke cover in a hopelessly uncoordinated attack and was summarily shot down. The apes' morale was sound but mine collapsed and I conceded.
