Paukarlahticon 4

I hosted a gaming weekend at my place a month ago already (29-31.5.) but I've been too busy to report on it until now. The weekend drew in a record crowd of 21 people this time around so I'm really happy. The programme for the weekend was to play lots of miniature games, boardgames cardgames, wargames and so on. A good deal of barbecuing, going to the sauna and enjoying appropriate refreshments is also part of the format.

Many people chose to sleep in tents, which is a smart move if you want to sleep late.

Boardgames

The boardgames crowd is not really represented in the pictures but they were there. Being committed mostly to miniature games during the weekend, I didn't spend much time taking photos of the boardgames, but they were there, honest! Some people hesitate to come to the weekends thinking they're just about miniature games but there's a lot of boardgaming going on, believe me!

Regimental Fire & Fury: Olustee (6mm)

A impromptu addition to the weekend, we tried our first game of the regimental version of Fire & Fury. Familiar enough to anyone who has played the brigade version. I umpired this one, but we did not finish it. The Confederates were taking a beating and it was getting late so the players called it.

Muskets and Tomahawks (20mm)

Timo ran two introductory games of Muskets & Tomahawks during the weekend, but I was stuck in other games during them so I missed out. Also, these were the only half-decent photos I could scrounge so there's not much to see. I sure would like to try it out though.

Battlegroup Kursk: Caen

The main event of the weekend were two simultaneous games of Battlegroup Kursk and I played in one of them. The fighting took place during the battle of Caen in 1944. Both tables had four players. The table I was on had city terrain and had some pretty low grade German troops defending the area against an attack by the British. The British had lots and lots of tanks, but with the aid of good artillery, the Germans held the city.

The other game was an attack near an airfield. I don't know the specifics, but there was some desperate fighting going on in the woods and lots of burning tanks outside.

Chain of Command

I umpired a couple of games of Chain of Command during the weekend players who were either new to Chain of Command or new to miniature wargames entirely. The first game showed me that the tables should have lots of dead spots without LOS for the game to be entertaining. Otherwise the match too easily devolves into a gunfight determined more by dice than wits. I remedied the situation in the second game and I think it was more entertaining.

So there you have it! It was an excellent weekend and a welcome jolt to my otherwise slow gaming year. The space could accommodate the larger crow easily and I think the place could draw ten more people without much trouble. We'll see :)

Paukarlahticon III

Catchy name, right? It's the product of me having enough hubris to call having ten friends over to play over the weekend a "convention" but not having enough imagination to name it after anything else than my home village. We assembled for the weekend for a series of miniature games, sauna and beer. The event was also the first time we've used my workshop/mancave as a playspace and I have to say it worked well. The space fits three individual 4*6 foot wargame tables with plenty of room left to move around the space and I think we can fit a 24*6 foot table in there if we're so inclined.

The workshop converted as a playspace. There's still room for one more table but it was not needed this time.

The theme of the weekend wasn't to play a big battle this time (unlike the previous time and before that) but to play a series of smaller, "standard" sized games. I think it was a good choice and I played a variety of different games (seven in total!) during the weekend.

Battletech alpha strike on my work in progress scifi desert planet board. The weekend showed me that the board is actually quite versatile even though I designed the set just for 6mm scifi.

The "concrete slab" bases for urban areas work quite well for the amount of work needed to make them. Definitely better than just slapping down the buildings on the table.

We played three rounds of Battlegroup Kursk on three tables semi-simultaneously. I got to play with my recently finished Germans (I also shared my command with one player without miniatures). We got our asses handed to us in every round, naturally.

a German assault gun takes out a British tank in a 1945 scenario.

The desert table set up for a WW2 cityfight. The table shows just about all kinds of building bits we could scrape together but the result was satisfactory.

German defenders spot a Sherman approaching.

A Marder tank takes a direct hit.

The second game I played. Not enough anti-tank weapons in our list.

The 88 waits for the enemy armor to come in sight.

Aaand the third game. I admit, I did place that 88 in a position in which it was easy prey for the British infantry.

A 1500 point game of Warmaster. Orcs vs. Empire.

The Orcish cavalry wing performed admirably...

..but it's success was countered by Empire cavalry elsewhere. Another defeat for my permanent record.

A game of Trafalgar using Pirates of the Spanish Main ships.

The desert table transformed into a Western town for a drunken late night game of Legends of the Old West.

The Saloon keeper and his daughters look for a hidden treasure in the town.

A showdown on the thoroughfare.

The next gaming weekend is planned for the winter if I manage to keep the workshop warm enough for it to be usable (this is Finland, as you know). Thanks to the participants, I had a blast!