Quest for the Golden Pineapple!

This weekend, Slowpainter John hosted our Sydney Odinians club members for a festive game of Silver Bayonet in the Caribbean. For reasons that will become obvious later, the game was Tropically based as a farewell to one of our club regulars moving overseas shortly.

The brave (and allegedly unhinged) explorers of M'popo island!

Two crews were pitted again one another: intrepid British Privateers under an authoritative Letter of Marque, and upstart French Pirates under the command of Capitaine Camembert!  Each was in search of the famous Golden Pineapple, which legend said was last seen on the curiously pineappled shaped island of M'popo!

Capitaine Camembert leads the French charge ashore against the undead sailors on the beach

A Highwayman, Squidface and Spack Jarrow run ashore

While poor Izzy got stuck in a Spectral conversation

The game was (very) loosely based on Scenario 8: Loup Garoup Surprise, with a bit of everything thrown in. Was great to see all the figures John has been painting over the last few months make an appearance on the table! 

"This statue is the dog's bollocks" cried British Captain Lachy

..and was then assaulted by undead dogs in said bollocks region of the statue!

Wonderfully themed tropical foods accompanied the game and the afternoon flowed in fine company.

"Lets go that way!" cried Midshipman Marty!

...but instantly regretting it...

...as the Undead Werewolf leapt out of hiding to greet him!

The game was wonderful, light hearted fun, with players opening barrels on the table then having a chance to be rewarded with fabulous prizes from John's treasure chest shaped cardboard box. Said box was seen to deliver a most remarkable array of pineapple themed prizes, from chocolates and drinks, to cup, bowls and even a spoon! Truly everyone went home a winner and grinner, clutching their pineapple loot!

Meanwhile Giant Scorpions (in Spider Riding Goblin fancy dress costume) assailed me midway down the island!

Wonderful to see so many Odinians able to make it and have some fun!  Big Kudos and thanks to our hosts for the day: Lord John of M'popo and his ever-better half, Mistress Robyn of the elusive Golden Pineapple! 

Lord John of Spam-a-lot!

Lest We Forget

 

Mackay Blood Bowl League update

An update from the northern realms, where the Blood Bowl League has complete its first Season of 11 games.  All teams started fresh from the box with a million gps. This is how the Coach Reilly's Vampire team went:

Game 1 vs Snotlings TIE 1-1

Game 2 vs Chaos WIN 3-nil

Game 3 vs Orcs WIN 1-nil

Game 4 vs Chaos Pact WIN 3-nil

Game 5 vs Halflings DRAW 2-2

Game 6 vs Mummies DRAW 1-1

Game 7 vs Khorne DRAW 1-1

Game 8 vs Black Orcs DRAW 1-1

Game 9 vs Underworld WIN 3-1

Game 10 vs Gnomes WIN 6-nil - breaking the League record for most TDs in a single game!

Game 11 BYE (counts as a draw)

Overall 5 Wins, 6 Draws and a very sweet number of TDs scored.

Throughout the first Season the Vamps stayed in the top 4, creeping upwards slowly so after 9 rounds they sit proud at the top (but likely to slip to a most respectable second when the Orc team plays their last game and are odds on to win) and the only team that is unbeaten.

The Vamps are now fielding 3 of the 5 leading TD scorers in the League:

And the top passer in the League - "Air Vamps"??? :-) For a guy who doesn't like elves, Coach Reilly seems to be taking a lot of moves from the Elf playbook!  :-)

And perhaps more amusingly...

Vamp team now boasts these key players:

Baron Gregor von Klaus (Blitzer) Blodge, Tackle, Mighty Blow and Juggernaught! (frequent scorer and headhunter)

Count Edgar Dietrich III (Thrower) with Block, Cannoneer ( For throwing the ball)

Vicount Freidrich Freydenburg V (Thrower) with Blodge, Leader (for running the ball)

Here's what the team roster looks like at the end of the Round:

With one of the teams dropping out, there will now be another full round with each opponent. Some teams are now getting very developed and sitting a swedge of cash to buy special play cards and all the shenanigans they bring!

October Hobby Update: Amerika Bomber

Its been a busy past 6 weeks, most of it away on a ship - and while rewarding, I was definitely not progressing any hobby projects. However, I did get to try a game I've long wanted to play: Amerika Bomber! 

This game was designed by my friend Gregory Smith - we worked together on Zeppelin Raider (https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2019/06/zeppelin-raider.html) and Silent Victory some years ago, though I had no hand in this one.

It's a dark, alternate history version of Avalon Hill's classic B-17 Queen of the Skies, where you fly the Luftwaffe's long range bombers from the Azores to attack targets along the US East Coast.  Bombers are all real design/concepts ranging from the Foche-Wulf 300, Messerschmidt 264 and 6 engined Junkers 360  to flying wings likes the Arado E555 and Horten H.XVIII. 

 

On the way across the Atlantik Ocean you are partially escorted by Me 262 fighters, but the US has not been idle either and has a range of US Navy and USAAF fighters, including early jet fighters, poised to intercept. Target types range and missions can vary from basic HE to pamphlet drops, HALO dropping intelligence agents, and dropping a low yield nuclear "Heisenberg device" (I told you it was dark!)

Anyway, I used a combination of Vassal and hardcopy to build myself a 'seagoing' travel version and got my first game in - here is my bomber "Faust von Freya" (Fist of Freya) setting off on her first mission, from my cabin at sea :-)

Any because I love themed music for my gaming experiences, I made a suitably period Spotify playlist, from Luftwaffe marches and Wagner, to the Andrews Sisters, Marlene Deitrich and Edith Piaff

If you'd like to know a bit more about this game, here is an interview with the author Gregory:

https://theplayersaid.com/2018/12/24/interview-with-gregory-m-smith-designer-of-amerika-bomber-evil-queen-of-the-skies-strategic-bombing-of-america-1947-1948-from-compass-games/

Time for my next sortie:"Immer im Einsatz!" (Always in Action, Luftwaffe motto)

BGG entry here: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/286114/amerika-bomber-evil-queen-of-the-skies

Separately, I am looking forward to my preorder of Nam 68 to be delivered - from the great authors of the WW2 Battlegroup rules that we love. Potential/Likely to reignite my interest in Vietnam era gaming, probably in 28mm; yes another scale for this war me...