Chehalis Veteran's Memorial Museum Game Day

Had a great game day down in Chehalis at the privately run Veteran's Memorial Museum there. One of our gaming buddies is on the board of directors, and lets us have a game day at least once a year. I missed last year, but have been to several in the past. I was lucky play in a great Tribal game run by David, aka "I Live With Cats" blogger in the morning period. His figures are 40mm and very impressive - along with the terrain. My warlord ended up destroying a good portion of my opponent's warband before finally succombing to wounds from successive attacks by several enemy units. I did manage to secure my two objects though - destroying the warband's own totem and also have a shaman type safe until the end of the game. I'm sure David will be posting a detailed report of the game on his blog soon. It was my first time with the rules and they are card driven. That is, each player had deck of cards and it's used to activate and respond to actions during the game. The cards are also used for measuring movement - the long and short sides. Range for missile weapons is the entire table - as long as there is LOS. I was also able to finally get my Wargames Atlantic WW1 French and German figures on the table with a Bolt Action game in the second period. A captured Mk IV and Renault FT-17 from Warlord Games also made their gaming debut in the game. Here are some pictures from the two game I participated in.

The Tribal game prior to commencing. Two cards per player were drawn by the GM and had each players hidden objectives. My two were to destroy my own warband's totem and to secured the safety of a shaman (or whatever he was, as I can't remember). Then each player drew a card from their own deck and the order of play was decided by highest cards. Further cards were drawn for each unit, including individual heroes, by each player. These were used for activation or reaction.

David's 40mm figures are awesome to behold. His terrain is top notch too.

Second period with me hosting a Bolt Action WW1 game. As I hadn't played Bolt Action for some time I was a bit rusty at first, but then got into the swing of things. The Germans ended up winning by occupying more of the structures (ruins) at the end of turn 7 or 8. The Mk IV had the advantage over the FT-17 as it not only had several Lewis MMGs, but also a 6 pounder AT gun. The FT-17 only had a single Light AT gun. If I use it again I'll give it the option having an MMG. A French unit did attempt to assault the Mk IV, but it suffered a few casualties by the reaction fire from the tank. The remaining French had a fair number of hits but failed to cause damage to the tank. Here are a few pictures from the game.

French forces at the start of the game - two infantry squads, two machine gun teams, and the Renault FT-17.

Germans at the start - two infantry squads, two machine gun teams, and the captured Mk IV tank.

The terrain set up is pretty much the same way I had when I've run FPW games in the past. It seems to work well for these types of games.

The Mk IV unable to get LOS on the FT-17 in the distance.

Just an excuse for a photo op of the tank. I failed to get more of the FT-17 as it was hiding behind terrain most of the time.

German squad and machine gun team making into the ruins - this is an Old Glory building I've had for over 15 years - it has served well!

The other German squad and machine gun team occuyping another set of ruins on the opposite flank.

French squad advancing up to the stone walls for cover. They were eventually destroyed by fire from Germans occupying ruins facing them.

German squad moving up to hedges for light cover. They were able to take out the French facing them with rifle and machine gun fire.

French squad assaulting the Mk Iv near the end of the game. The failed to damage the the tank and had to retreat back. In fact, this was the only assault in the entire game - there was no infantry on infantry assaults. 

Rat Patrol game using homebrew rules. Greg the GM, came up from Portland to host this in the first period. He also ran it at Enfilade earlier in the year.

Xenos Rampant game - first period.

Chain of Command WW2 game - first period.

Napoleonic Rebels and Patriots game - afternoon period. This was run by my buddy James with his 1809 Campaign Austrian vs. Bavarian scenario. I played versions of this scenario a few times with both Black Powder and Rebels and Patriots.

Natives getting restless in the morning prior to the first period. I was able to set up my Bolt Action game on a spare table for the afternoon period.

The entrance into the display area of the museum - I've posted images of the displays in previous posts of prior game days here.

The P-51 and massive US flag on back wall.

As mentioned before, this museum is privately funded and very impressive. The displays contain a lot of personal items from service members from the Washington State and surrounding areas. It's easily accessed off of I-5 in Chehalis.

It was a great way to spend an overcast and drizzly Pacific Northwest day in a great museum with like minded gamer buddies. I was again encouraged to attend the Tuesday night games in Olympia and also have a Saga game day on Wednesday. Not sure if I'll make these, but it's always nice to have so many gaming opportunities nearby. Speaking of which, next month is another annual game day up in the Boeing Museum of Flight. Looking forward to that one too. Until next time, thanks again for stopping by and wishing you all the best.