I expect this will be a rather lengthy post, so please grab a coffee, tea or beer & settle in.
Friday Night
This year I broke with my tradition of flying into Ottawa on Thursday, as the airfare would have cost me another $300...so Friday it was, which also meant missing out on the first timeslot of gaming.
I had hoped to get into the D-Day Juno Beach Assault using the Flames of War. I've never played Flames of War & have avoided getting sucked into that void, but there is no denying that the support the game system has is top-notch.
The terrain board was quite inspiring & of course all the bunkers, trenches, beach defences, etc. just added to it.
These are certainly beautiful models & I am constantly debating whether to sell of my wealth of 1/72 to instead get into 15mm. There would certainly be a large investment required to do so.
So as I was unable to get into that game I moved to play in
The Battle of Paris 1814
March 1814 and the Allies are at the gates of Paris. Both sides have been battered but the Guard is still intact and protecting the gates to the city with their guns and the National Guard.
This game was hosted by the Ottawa Miniature Gamers & my friend Todd using the Lasalle rule set.
I played with the Russian forces at the right flank & had 2 units of Grenadiers & a Heavy Cavalry unit.
The French were already deployed in the old redoubts.
My Cavalry spent most of the battle locked with the Polish Lancers, as we whittled each others strength down to the point where neither of us could no longer charge one another.
Meanwhile my Grenadiers broke into a redoubt to engage the French forces there. As it turned out I was decimated by combined forces of French Cavalry and Infantry causing my dice to be halved as I either formed square to defend from the Cavalry or be decimated.
The battle ended with a French Marginal Victory I believe. The Prussians on the far left were unable to break thru the French forces there to aid the Russians.
Saturday Morning
As with all conventions there are often games you want to participate in happening at the same time. This year I did not play in Mike's Face of Battle game, however I did take photos of his board. He ran a scenario called Collision at Kesternich.
He has been busy acquiring more buildings to add to his collection.
I instead played in a Bolt Action game of
Kock 1939
This four day battle running from October 2 to 6 1939, was the last large scale action of the Polish campaign. Warsaw had fallen and initially elements of the German 14th Motorized Corps were sent to mop up what was thought to be a demoralized enemy.
Below is the German Forces.
I played the Polish defenders with my buddy Glen. Our victory conditions were to have control of 4 of the 5 buildings at games end.
Below we had a Lt & a riflemen recce group who entered the building in front of them as the Germans advanced. The German player never did send anyone in to occupy.
With some lucky dice on our Mortar (decimating the German HMG before it could be used) & a successful AT rifle team which destroyed both of the German vehicles, we were able to achieve a Polish victory. Although we did lose 2 of our rifle squads and the Bofors AT Gun.
Saturday Afternoon
The afternoon found me playing in a Dawn of the Dead game. This system hosted by Matt Collins.
The dead have risen and are converging on the Cross Roads Shopping Centre where a group of survivors have taken refuge. Stay Alive, Aim for the head, and don't let them bite you!
A kit-bash of Dad's 'Spaghetti Western' and various other zombie games.
His mall was very eye-catching. He just needs to get it mounted on Foam Core to help protect the buildings, then will likely be able to bring this out yearly to Cangames.
The current buildings are scaled for 20mm (1/72) scale by the look of the figures. There are lots of little bits also which add to the terrain - pinball machines, garbage cans, carts etc.
He randomized the characters, I ended up with 'The Postman'.
The characters also had hidden objectives which would garner points for the player. However killing lots of zombies is a good alternative.
The initial part of the game did not see the Zombies being much of a threat so the players ran around trying to get stuff to help them. Below I move toward a stack of objects.
And then headed to find my hidden objective.
Which turned out to be Sarah Polley! I even brought her a Large Double Double!
Eventually the Zombies do start to become a problem & as players take injuries start to lose movement, making it easier for the zombies to drag them down.
The tune 'I shot the Sherriff' changed of course to I ate the Sherriff came to mind here.
Finally with the game coming to a close it was time to make the dash to safety. Sarah & I drank our coffees (giving us an extra move action) & we sprinted out the door.
This was Matt's first time running this & with some tweaks this game will get better & likely see many more Cangames as a recurring event!
Saturday Evening
One of the games I always ensure I get into is the annual Rubberboots event hosted by Todd. This year it was Rubberboots & the Curse of Imhotep.
1893 may be the last year for Ashburn Grove College. Strange babbling, black outs and stories of hooded figures has emptied it. The mystery brings not just the police but a famous consulting detective and a scoundrel always on the look for his next score.
This year the game was a much smaller affair. The board used rooms from the Mansions of Madness as our battleground. Todd also used the IHMN rules.
There were 3 factions at play. Scotland Yard, the Thugs & the Mystics. Of course each had their own objectives. Each player started as a minor character, which would be switched to a Main character once certain things occurred, like the characters death.
The various rooms would reveal things as explored. The mystics were causing all sorts of mayhem with creating events such as turning out the lights or locking doors to slow everyone down whilst they worked their schemes.
I was a member of the Constabulary & was the first constable to fall to the Mystics, thus bringing in my main Sergeant character.
Luck was certainly giving me the other cheek as twice I rolled 1's on actions which could have changed the course of the game. My last was throwing the lit lantern at the Mummy which was reforming & watching as it merely skittered across the floor. Finally one of the Constables grabbed it & again rolled a 1, causing himself to be immolated. He did grab onto the Mummy as he burned but was then pulled away by the cultists.
The Thugs did manage to escape with Imhotep's items, The Mystics succeeded in their summoning of Imhotep & alas, the Scotland yard whilst I took great joy in arresting Rita's main character, came in at last place.
Fun was had by all, as the endgame was a huge free-for-all in the first room. Looking forward to next years event!
Sunday Morning
I had to make alternate plans for my Sunday morning game as it had been cancelled. So I took the plunge & joined in a Pathfinder game, playing the generic female elf rogue. I joined Glen & Ross to share in an adventure, which as Pathfinder players added to their developing characters. I was rather impressed with the system in place, where the characters participate in pre-generated scenarios with controlled development & documented achievements to advance. This allows the players to take their characters anywhere & join other sanctioned events to continue to level.
It was very well organized & I enjoyed the opportunity to hang with the gang. It's quite likely that if I still lived in Ottawa & gaming at Glen's on Friday nights I would be involved with this.
Sunday Afternoon
During the afternoon I played in a Doctor Who miniatures game entitled
Rumble in the Jungle
Beneath the jungles of Spiridon, an army of 10,000 Daleks lies in suspended animation ready to awaken. The Doctor has joined forces with a Thal and human Expeditionary Force to stop the Daleks and their ally the Master.
I played the Daleks with Glen, Tracy & Belinda. The terrain board was superb & Brian put a lot of effort into getting it ready in time.
Our objectives were simple, prevent the destruction of the Bunker & generators. We would also get points for capturing Jo & the Doctor. If we were able to defend until the end of turn 5, we would begin receiving more Dalek reinforcements each turn as they woke up.
Jo started by herself in the plain of stones. She had some company from the Spiradons.
The plant life on the planet was quite hostile & anyone passing near the jungle terrain had to roll to see what happened to them. There were some plants which were beneficial & provided a healing fruit. But more often than not, something tried to eat you.
Our mixed Dalek & Ogrun forces deployed to make a perimeter to hold back the Doctor. Meanwhile the Master entered the bunkers lab to begin inventing.
The Tardis awaits.
Glen & I focussed on decimating one off the Thal squads before turning our attention on the other. The force we gave our attention too apparently had a bomb. The Thal attackers were wearing power armor which they were quite successful using to lessen their casualties.
As well a heavy armoured vehicle began to approach. This bad-boy had a defence of 6 & apart from our Special tank Daleks, was going to prove a very tough nut to crack. Our other forces would need to roll a 6 to damage the vehicle & the vehicle itself could take 6 damage before being destroyed.
The leader of the squad was the last man standing & was able to grab the bomb & ran to join with the other squad.
Another squad making its way thru the jungles. Once a Spiradon joined a group, they were immune to the jungle effects.
Meanwhile the destruction of the Thal's continued. The Ogruns rushed into battle & after slaying the Thal holding the bomb, had it detonate killing a couple more Thal's along with the Ogrun.
The Doctor after rescuing Jo, is making for the Tardis with Spiradon assistance.
The Master successfully created an invention lowering the defences of the attackers by 2. Suddenly the vehicle wasn't so bad after all & succumbed to a hail of fire from numerous Daleks & Ogruns.
As turn 5 ended & more Daleks began to arrive from the bunker, we began heading towards the Tardis to cut off the Doctors escape. More plants attempted to slow us down, but by then it was over. The Doctor had been defeated, though he would manage to escape. The Daleks would soon conquer this planet.
As the vendors began to close up shop. We were speaking with some folk's from The Kessel Run who offered us the Vikings game at a very good price. I didn't have a chance to play this new game, being focussed as I was on miniature games, but did pick up a copy to try out at one of the club nights.
Some other oddities I snagged were some of these table edge building structures (just building fronts) for use as the edge of gaming tables.
The have some chips & dings, so I got them for a good price.
I also snagged this church
And lastly bought these 2 packs of assorted junk to make into Steampunk objective markers. I got both packs for $8.00
I also picked up some GW LOTR metal blisters at 50% off, a couple more X-Wing ships & a copy of Elder Sign with the expansion.
So another Cangames has come & gone and now I've shared these memories to carry on.
