Bolt Action Refresher Game at the Game Matrix - 4/20/13

Met Old Bob at the Game Matrix for a Bolt Action refresher game today. He brought his 1,000 point Japanese army with Chi Ha tank, mortar, artillery, sniper and MMG support units. My Fallshirmjaegers had a Panzer IV, MMG, panzerschreck and SdKfz 234/1 recon vehicle as support units. We played about 8 turns with my Fallshirmjaegers decimating the Japanese, but failing to obtain any of the three objectives for the Point Defence scenario we played.

Early in the game, a lucky hit from the Chi Ha immobilized the Panzer IV - basically turning it into a very effective pillbox!

Other than the lucky hit and damage to my Panzer IV, the Japanese marksmanship was not up to par. Even when they did hit, the Fallshirmjaeger Veterans were hard to wound. In fact, a Fanatical charge made by one Japanese squad ended in disaster for them.

The fairly inexpensive SdKfz 234/1 proved to be a very good support vehicle. Not only can it use its special Recce maneuver as a reaction to fire, but it's 20mm light auto-cannon and co-axial MMG make it a great offensive weapon too. In fact, it took out the enemy's MMG team at long range. It also has a 7+ Damage Value which makes it immune to small arms fire, other than taking Pins.

It was good to see Old Bob, who drives all the up from Oregon to game with us sometimes. My buddy Pat, who dropped in to drop off some more WHFB stuff for me, said we may reciprocate and visit Bob next weekend.

The Game Matrix itself was fairly crowded today with a 40K tournament taking most of the tables and Mark Waddington hosting a large play test for his Vietnam game he will run at Enfilade! next month. Here's a picture of Mark's game - he had over 10 players. Mark always puts on spectacular games with his excellently painted figures and handmade terrain.