Game: Banzai

Thread: Re: Hand made game

3flyer — 2008-07-09T20:51:46+00:00

I think the Banzai / Desert war rules are online in the html rulebook , along with the scenarios / rosters if you wanted to get an idea what was included.

Follow the link to Andrew R Malys up front page from the BGG up front entry.

Thread: Re: Hand made game

Robrob — 2008-07-04T04:48:00+00:00

I made my own copy of Up Front (cards, rules, chits and characters) and made copies of the Banzai and Desert War cards and characters but didn't have a source for the Banzai/Desert War rules.

Thread: Re: Scenario B: City Fight – Okinawa, 1945. “The slimmest of margins”

goldenboat — 2008-06-30T21:36:18+00:00

stroar wrote:
Hope We'll see some AAR from the French too! I really enjoy your reports.

R.

When something notable happens I'll write up a session report. For now, after two scenarios, it has all been summer soldiering ... only one KIA (some hapless German landser in the first scenario), and only a few memorable moments (a successful demo charge attack by the French, and today a terrific gun duel between the French IG and the German scout car which took at least a dozen shots to resolve). But not much in the way of interest, action-wise, in the scenarios themselves.

Seemingly my entire French roster is set on 4 elan right now so we could have a breakout if I can enjoy some success in the upcoming "Outpost Line."

Looking forward to your report on the Tobruck campaign; almost did Bir Hakiem as our first campaign because we haven't done much desert at all ...

Thread: Re: Scenario B: City Fight – Okinawa, 1945. “The slimmest of margins”

stroar — 2008-06-30T21:30:15+00:00

This is really cool! I was excited to see that you had started on the Historical Campaigns. And, even cooler, I've actually played that same campaign, as the French, not very long ago. You have a formidable task ahead of you! We played seven scenarios before I decided to concede. I won two scenarios.
Anyway, I wish you luck! Playing the French is a challenge. All the more satisfying, then, when you win a scenario.

I have recently finished the Caen-Campaign. British forces trying to evict the Germans from the city of Caen in 1944. I was the defending German. I soon got ahead in points, but my friend managed to turn the tide and come back in force. Mostly with the help of a Sexton in the first scenario G of the campaign. Coupled with a mindless rush on my behalf, to try to get within panzerfaust-range. That cost me the scenario and my three best men. That was followed by two more British wins before we were on the eight scenario in the campaign, another scenario G. That one was so close and turned so abruptly towards the end that I'll write an AAR from it.

Now we're headed for the desert in the Tobruk-campaign. I plan to write AARs from each scenario in that campaign. But I'll stray away from the novelist style and shorten them in a bit and instead focus on how the soldiers develope to show people a little more what Up Front campaigns are about.

Hope We'll see some AAR from the French too! I really enjoy your reports.

R.

Thread: Re: Scenario B: City Fight – Okinawa, 1945. “The slimmest of margins”

goldenboat — 2008-06-30T17:07:49+00:00

Playing a campaign with the Japanese does certainly seem to yield a different experience. With their high break point and superiority in close combat, I find that I drive my Japanese especially hard in scenario play. Winning outright is of course the only objective in scenario play, and it doesn't matter that my Japanese get shredded along the way. Having to live with those decisions over the course of a campaign is a very different matter, and seeing your guys ground down to just a half-dozen guys defending a cave is sobering, especially in view of your having won so many scenarios in the campaign.

Inspired by your reports of historical campaign games, I began one of my own last night -- the Sedan 1940 campaign. My French narrowly lost the first scenario to the Germans, but we didn't suffer any KIAs and two of my guys were able to improve through elan awards (one twice rallied with hero cards, while the other pinned three enemies with a demo charge). I'll certainly be keeping an eye on force preservation as my lads try to slow down the Germany juggernaut of 1940 ...

Thread: Scenario B: City Fight – Okinawa, 1945. “The slimmest of margins”

stroar — 2008-06-30T13:16:33+00:00

This is scenario eight from the Okinawa Historical Campaign. It is not as much a City fight as a Cave Fight. As in the, for the Japanese, disastrous scenario G, the Campaign Special Rule (rule “K”) for caves apply. The marines can never play a building/cave on one of their groups. They have to infiltrate and take over caves occupied by the Japanese. Apart from that, all other City Fight rules apply.

The sad remains of the squad were once again back in the caves. The defending force was still only five men strong. Ashigawa and his MMG had been moved to defend another sector, but we saw the return of Tenyuru with the LMG. Apart from that there were only Sgt. Kodu, Kobayashi, Fusano and Fuchida.

Kodu divided his small force in two groups. The left group consisted of Tenyuru, Fusano and Fuchida. They took up position in a cave mouth. The right group was composed of Kodu himself and Kobayashi. The two of them had succeeded in breaking the Americans in the previous firefight and Kodu hoped that they would be able to repeat that feat. For extra punch, Kodu brought a demolition charge.

The Americans had split their attacking force in three groups. The one opposite Tenyuru’s small fire group consisted of four soldiers with mixed armament, one Tommy-gun, one carbine and two rifles. The American centre group was apparently their fire group with six riflemen and a BAR. The group on the American left flank consisted of two men armed with Tommy-guns. As were their usual practice, the Yankees advanced to start firing outside of our effective rifle-range. Sadly, the marksmanship of the Americans is far better than the Japanese. Sometimes I think our army puts too much emphasize on the bayonet. We have seen numerous examples of the bayonet’s inefficiency against a well trained and well equipped enemy like the Americans. Our officers live too much in the past.

But this time Tenyuru would have nothing of the Americans picking us apart from safe range; he advanced through the caves and took up position with his men in a cave somewhat closer to the enemy. This cave had also been prepared as a strong position (Pillbox used as -4 building/cave). Tenyuru felt safe and the Yankees soon found that Tenyuru’s position was almost impregnable from the range they now were at. In addition our fire became more effective against the enemy who was not so protected as Tenyuru’s group. Kodu and Kobayashi also decided to move out. They repositioned more to the right to create some distance between themselves and the Americans’ rightmost group. The Yankees found out that they were not able to bring enough fire to bear on Tenyuru and his comrades without closing the range even further, so they decided to move out, -only to end up in the stream running below the cave-complex. And all the time Tenyuru’s group kept a steady stream of fire coming at the Yankees. The Americans saw their position quickly degrade and decided to advance with the four-man group on their right flank. These men advanced first in a gully, making it impossible for Tenyuru’s men to fire at them. Tenyuru instead concentrated his fire on the Yankees splashing around in the stream, killing and routing three of them in a short time. Then Tenyuru’s LMG overheated and malfunctioned. Tenyuru desperately tried to repair it, too desperately, apparently, as he managed to break the gun. The Americans did not let the opportunity slide and advanced quickly to point-blank range with their four-man group. On the way, Fusano and Fuchida pinned one of the advancing enemy. And when the Americans took up position just outside the cave, Fuchida decided to charge them. He infiltrated the enemy position and attacked. Unfortunately poor Fuchida overestimated his own strength. And instead of going for the pinned enemy or the one armed with a Tommy-gun, he went for the biggest guy in the group and resolutely got clubbed down and killed. Now the pinned American rallied and it was their turn to infiltrate our position.

However, the Yankees weren’t the only ones to advance. Seeing the American fire-group reduced to a manageable number of men, Kodu and Kobayashi advanced on our right flank. They quickly reached the bank of the river and Kodu armed his demo charge and threw it into the river. The blast killed two of the three remaining Yankees and pinned the last one. Then Kodu drew his Katana and charged the last survivor of the group, swiftly killing him with the sword. The Americans were now down to only six men separated in two groups.

On our left flank, things didn’t go as well as on our right. The Americans fired from good positions and pinned Fusano. Then the big soldier recently killing Fuchida in close combat, infiltrated the cave and set of a demo charge. We were obviously not the only side with portable explosives. The cave held, but Fusano got scared and ran away while Tenyuru lay dazed and confused on the cave-floor. Shortly after, the same American entered the cave and finished off the still unarmed and pinned Tenyuru. The Americans were now in possession of our most fortified cave. And our brave men were now down to only one group with two men in it.

Observing the events on the left flank, Kodu decided there was nothing he and Kobayashi could do about it. Instead they advanced on the American left-flank group to try to kill as many enemies they could. The Americans looked rather stunned when they saw the two Japanese rushing towards the position. And Kodu and Kobayashi reached close combat range without being fired on.
Again Kodu dropped his rifle, whipped out his sword and charged a rather scared-looking, little American with a Tommy-gun. But the fear of being hacked to pieces by the shining Japanese blade, gave the little American the strength of a tiger. He blocked Kodu’s strike with his weapon, and then managed to hit Kodu with the butt of his gun before he emptied his magazine in our brave sergeant. The demise of Sgt. Kodu made the remaining Kobayashi decide that the battle was over for his part.

So, that was it. This scenario spelled an action packed end to the campaign. The current difference in campaign points wasn’t that high, but upon reviewing how many points I would have to spend to get a useable force for the next scenario, another “Jungle Assault” (as I was supposed to attack, I was again allowed to bring in replacements), I found out that I had to win the two remaining scenarios by halving the enemy squad, without loosing more than just a couple of my own guys. All very unlikely when playing the Japanese. The fact that my Japanese had won five out of eight played scenarios wasn’t of much help, as my appalling losses and following need for replacements, more than nullified the points for winning the scenarios in several cases. So I decided to concede the campaign. Since, I have somewhat regretted that decision, as the Japanese surely proved to be tough fighters in the face of a seemingly overwhelming enemy.

It must also be noted that I lost this last scenario by the slimmest of odds. At the time Kodu went into close combat for the last time, the Americans were down to six men and the Japanese had two. The Americans would break on their seventh casualty and the Japanese on their fourth (having started with only five men). Kodu with his sword and morale 6, had a CCV of no less than 13. His opponent had a mere 7. Kodu had his CCV reduced to 11 by a concealment card, and his opponent also had a concealment card played upon him, reducing his CCV to 6. We practice that the attacker in CC always draws first. I pulled a red 3. I still held the upper hand with CCV 8 compared to 6 - until my friend drew a black 6…

That’s Up Front.

Anyway it was a very entertaining and nail-biting campaign with great heroic feats, particularly from the wily sons of the sun.

R.

Thread: Scenario O: Assaulting a Pillbox – Okinawa, 1945. ”Blade of the Katana”

stroar — 2008-06-27T21:56:17+00:00

This is scenario seven from the Okinawa Historical Campaign. The Japanese ranks are growing thin. But the brave “sons of the sun” will continue to fight to the death…

After the disaster in the caves, we got very few replacements. We only got a new sergeant after our inspiring leader, Sgt. Okimoto, had met his maker in the face of an American tank. The new one’s name was Kodu.

Our next task was to take up position in and around a pillbox in a jungle part of our lines. We were only five men to defend this section, but we had the aid of a MMG. In the pillbox, Kodu placed Fuchida and Fusano to help Ashigawa with the MMG and provide max firepower from the pillbox. Kodu himself took up position to the left of the pillbox together with Kobayashi. We dug in and waited.

The Americans came at us in three groups. Their group, facing Kodu and Kobayashi, consisted of two MPs and a flamethrower. Their middle group was their firebase with one BAR and most of the rifles, while their left flank was guarded by a second BAR and a single rifle.

Upon discovering that our line was so thinly held, the Americans proceeded to transfer both men on their left flank into their firebase before advancing. Then they came on line abreast. They tried to take us out from a safe distance at first, but Kodu and Kobayashi ducked into a gully, and the pillbox provided more than adequate protection for the men inside at that distance.
Sgt. Kodu discovered that the gully was quite long, and decided to advance with Kobayashi to maybe be able to stop the flamethrower before it could harm the pillbox.
Still not able to get in position to harm Kodu and Kobayashi, the Americans decided to advance with their fire group to close the range. But then, suddenly, our enemies walked into the minefield prepared some distance away from our pillbox. And one Yankee was instantly killed by a mine. Now Ashigawa also had a clear view of the American soldiers struggling in the minefield, and he opened up together with the third man in the pillbox. The Yankees got a hard time getting out of the minefield. Almost constantly one or more men were pinned down and the leaders had to keep rallying their men and urging them to try to move out. The first time the enemy soldiers had a chance to move towards the edge of the minefield, another of them stepped on a mine and got killed. And the fire from our pillbox accounted for three more of them killed or routed. When they finally managed to clear the minefield, their firebase was down to only five men and not much of a threat anymore. But our lines had wisely been positioned with a small stream between us and the American lines. So the stream too had to be crossed by the Yankees to get them any closer to the pillbox.

Seeing that their firebase was not to get near our pillbox anytime soon, the Yankees decided to advance the group with the flamethrower. That was the moment Sgt. Kodu had been waiting for, and he too advanced with Kobayashi to meet the American flamethrower-group head on. It was a dangerous move as it brought the two brave men to point-blank range with the Americans struggling in the stream too, but Kodu showed no fear. The Americans in the stream now suddenly fired at Kodu and Kobayashi, but the two men were very adept at avoiding the bullets. They took cover in the jungle at the bank of the stream, embracing themselves for more fire from the Americans. The fire never came. And at the moment the American flamethrower and the two other soldiers also took cover in the jungle, one of our snipers operating in the area killed one of them. The one killed proved to actually be their sergeant. Our sniper had picked his target wisely.
Kodu saw no point in wasting any more time lying around in the jungle. He threw down his rifle, pulled out his shining, razor-sharp Katana (see note at the end of the AAR) from its scabbard and led Kobayashi in an honorable Banzai-charge against the two remaining Americans in front of them. Kodu, with Kobayashi right behind, first attacked and killed the man carrying the flamethrower. And after that the last American in the group tried desperately to defend himself against the two attackers, only to become the next victim of Kodu’s sword. With that the fighting spirit of the Americans was once again broken.

Well, as you see, the Japanese can be tough even if few. Their discard-capabilities make them suitable for finding important cards such as minefields and streams quickly. And if such cards show up, the MMG in this scenario can really rake the opponents. It does help too, that it only malfunction on a red 6 instead of 5 and 6 like the Japanese LMGs. Add to that a successful Banzai-charge, and as you see, a mere five Japanese soldiers can actually defeat 13 marines. Okimoto and Fujiyama had been properly avenged!

Katana
The Katana variant can be found on the Yahoo Up Front-group. It allows all Japanese sergeants to, anytime, exchange their rifle for a Katana - the Japanese name for the legendary Samurai-sword. The Katana gives the Japanese sergeant an additional +2 modifier in CC at the cost of having to reacquire a firearm once the CC is over. It adds flavor to the game, so we didn’t hesitate much to introduce this variant.

R.

Thread: Re: SCENARIO G – OKINAWA 1945. No luck for the brave.

stroar — 2008-06-26T22:56:38+00:00

Thanks!

If you like some real heroics, check out my AAR for Scenario S if you haven't done so yet. Those Japanese can really fight too. They're not always blasted to chutney by US tanks.

R.

Thread: Re: SCENARIO G – OKINAWA 1945. No luck for the brave.

Dirty Harry — 2008-06-26T04:50:52+00:00

Ahh I can almost smell the smoke! UF never loses it's edge! Thanks for that action packed AAR. UF is a fine game and will outlast anything in this area of gaming (except someone please rewrite the rule book-or lay it out better with a larger font size please)

Thread: Hand made game

presence — 2008-06-25T02:50:19+00:00

Anyone try to recreate this game from scratch since it (and Desert War) have so low an availability?

I have ye ol up front, but I wouldn't mind owning this one and the other as well.

Thread: SCENARIO G – OKINAWA 1945. No luck for the brave.

stroar — 2008-06-24T21:27:22+00:00

This is the sixth scenario of me and my regular UF-opponent’s Historical Campaign, “Okinawa”. The buildings in this scenario are considered caves. Only the Japanese player can play caves as terrain. The Americans can only capture caves from the Japanese. And to do that they must, of course, first infiltrate and then kill the Japanese soldiers in the caves. Sounds easy for the Japanese to just hang on and deny the Americans victory points? Well, the marines came on with some tough hardware…

The last days the Japanese forces had steadily been pushed back. The company had just executed a perfect fighting retreat (scenario Q, Campaign-scenario five) and lost only two men in the process, but those men could not be replaced before the next clash with the Yankees. Also, retreating is not in the spirit of the brave sons of the sun. But the officers had told their troops that it was important to retreat with as many men as possible to take up position on a defence-line consisting mostly of caves. The remains of the company were again ready to face the onslaught of the Americans.

Sgt. Okimoto had divided his squad in two groups for the next fight. The fire-group (A) consisted of Pfc. Tenyuru with his LMG, acting as the ASL. And Tenyuru was accompanied by Pfc. Oi, armed with an Anti-Tank rifle, and five more riflemen. The right group (B) consisted of Sgt. Okimoto himself as well as the hero from the night-assault, Fujiyama, and Kobayashi. All three carried explosives (ATMM) to deal with the enemy armour expected to arrive on the scene.
The fight was a disaster almost from the outset. The Americans came on with a large tank in the middle (B), most of the men in a fire-group to the left of the tank (A) and a smaller group on the right of the tank consisting of only two men. Their fire-group quickly advanced and took up position on a hillside slightly above our cave-opening and started to pour fire at our group in the cave. The tank soon joined in with its gun. Oi tried desperately to fight the tank with his ATR, but the bullets only ricocheted off the metal-monster’s thick armour. Wisely the Yankees stayed out of effective range of our rifles, and the few shots Tenyuru was able to fire at them did no harm. Then the tank also started firing with its machineguns. Within a short time the Americans routed Fuchida and killed Oi and four other soldiers in the cave, leaving only Tenyuru in our left group. How can anyone in their right mind wage war on a country with such fierce weapons in its arsenal?
Okimoto saw the position quickly disintegrate and decided that the only hope was to close with the steel-monster and destroy it with explosives. He ordered his men to move out quickly. The tree men ran across a long stretch of nearly coverless ground, hoping that the Americans were caught by surprise by the bold advance and were unable to bring fire to bear before the range was close enough to attack the tank with explosives. Okimoto and his men paused briefly in a small, wooded area. But when they again moved out, they were greeted by a few heavy salvos from the American firebase and the tank’s machineguns. This fire killed instantly both Okimoto and Fujiyama, finally breaking the spirit of the two remaining men.

This scenario was really quick and gruesome. Within approximately one and a half deck of cards, I saw the Sherman tank and the rest of the marines making mincemeat of my fire-group, even if positioned in a -3 building (cave). And the futile attempt of the manoeuvre-group to close with the tank cost me my two best men. Even if Okimoto had a hefty morale of 7, an 8 is still an instant kill.
In hindsight I might have been better off trying to sit tight in hope of saving a few more men, but my friend with the marines would still win because he had already earned a good deal of victory points for killing and routing the men in the cave. And I had probably just been blasted anyway. The best thing to do probably would have been to try to withdraw my surviving men, effectively conceding the scenario. But that isn’t very Japanese, is it?

I still had a few men left, though. Will the Japanese have their revenge?

R.

Thread: Re: Scenario S: Jungle Assault - Okinawa, 1945. "Fujiyama returns".

goldenboat — 2008-06-12T15:27:59+00:00

Great to see Fujiyama back doing what he does best.

Great session report, Roar. My favorite games are games that create a narrative, so it should be no surprise that Up Front is my favorite game of all time. It is an amazing story generator (in addition to being an amazing game).

Good luck in the rest of your campaign!

Thread: Scenario S: Jungle Assault - Okinawa, 1945. "Fujiyama returns".

stroar — 2008-06-12T11:35:47+00:00

This is the fourth scenario of me and my regular UP-opponent’s ongoing Historical Campaign, “Okinawa”.

The Americans had come ashore on Okinawa a few days before. They had cleared the beaches, inflicting heavy losses on our company who was instructed to perform a fighting retreat to lure the Yankees into the jungle where our real defensive positions were located in dense jungle and a myriad of hidden caves. We had lost many good men, but the men considered to be of more average quality, managed to hang on surprisingly well, defeating the Yankees in a skirmish following their initial assault on the beaches. The Yankees had recently had their first encounter with our fortified positions, and had not managed to clear the pillbox in our sector. Now we were ready for the revenge.

The soldiers sat dead quiet on the edge of a small area of open ground in the otherwise dense jungle. They were all waiting to commence the attack, adjusting their eyes to the darkness of the night. Sgt. Okimoto had his flares ready where he had taken up the position together with a knee mortar and his crewman. To his right was a large group consisting of most of the riflemen, another mortar and Pfc. Yoruba with his LMG. To their right again was a small fire group with Pfc. Tenyuru with his LMG and just one other man. And on the far right flank were Cpl. Kyoto and four of the toughest characters in the attacking force.
A scout had reported that in the jungle across the field there was a small force of Americans, but they had a large machine gun in their position. The MMG and most of the American riflemen composed a firebase with frightening firepower, and their Sergeant and just one other man was positioned on the Americans' right flank. We would have to make good use of the darkness.

Sgt. Okimoto gave the signal. And our assault group moved out. We hoped to be able to make use of the terrain to make a quick flank-march and close with their firebase before they started to sense what was going on. Okimoto also strained his eyes to try to spot the Americans so that he was able to send up a flare and give our mortars a chance to get into action. But the Yankees were well hidden. Okimoto struggled a long time to try to spot our enemies, but apparently his night vision was quite bad. Only a couple of times during the fight did Okimoto think he saw something and sent up a flare, but the few times our mortars managed to fire before the flare died out, they missed. It looked like we had to trust our assault team to carry the day.
Our assault team ducked into the jungle for a while and then continued to cross an area with tall straws. They ran quickly to close with the enemy and had their eyes set on the jungle besides the American position. But the Yankees had been clever and had hidden some barbed wire in the grass. Our assault team was tangled up at the same time as the Americans had them spotted and sent up a flare. Obviously there was nothing wrong with the American sergeant’s night vision…
But their firebase didn’t quite seem to catch what was going on, and our assault team managed to clear the wire and duck behind an ancient stone wall just outside the jungle before the flare died.
The yank sergeant had more flares, though, and finally their firebase woke up and started to zero in on our brave men. The Americans sent up one flare after another and poured fire into Cpl. Kyoto’s group, but they were very adept at finding cover and Kyoto rallied his men time and again. The group lost only one man to the heavy, American fire. Then the American sergeant seemed to have to look for more flares. The fire died out and darkness once again fell on the jungle. The enemy decided to try to get into a better position, and started to move sideways towards Kyoto’s group. Kyoto thought he had his chance and ordered his men forward. The cursed Yankees had been clever though, and had established their position just across a small stream that ran through the jungle. The American firebase took up position in the jungle just on the edge of the stream and Kyoto and his men once again were bathed in light from a flare. Kyoto’s luck was running out. He was preparing to try to ford the stream and then order an honourable Banzai-charge as his last option. But before it came to that, Kyoto and two of his men were cut down by a wall of lead from the Browning and the other rifles of the Americans. The only man left alive was private Fujiyama. The flare died and the Americans had to change their clips and get another box of ammo for the Browning. Fujiyama decided he would continue the fight and die in glory for the emperor. He proceeded to ford the stream and belly-flopped on the bottom of a gully leading out into the stream. He heard swearing from the yanks as they had lost sight of him and fumbled with their ammo clips. Fujiyama found out that he was safe from the American flares as the enemy sergeant could not spot his position in the gully. He moved to try to infiltrate the Yankee-position. It was easy despite the number of enemies in the group. The nigh and jungle were Fujiyama’s friends. Suddenly one of the enemy soldiers shouted out and that was followed by a heavy burst of fire. The fire did not affect Fujiyama. In the darkness, the Yankees were bad shots. In the darkness, cold steel was the answer. The moon came out from behind the clouds for a second, and the last thing one of the American soldiers saw, was a quick reflection of the moon in Fujiyama’s bayonet. The soldier managed to scream out before he died and that led to frenzied activity among the Americans. Fujiyama had to scurry back down into the bottom of the gully. The enemy soldiers tried to find him and sneak up to him. And suddenly Fujiyama saw the shadow of a large American peering over the side of the gully a few yards away. Fujiyama froze in place for a long time. He was sure the American could see him. But it seemed that, despite his size, the soldier was reluctant to charge Fujiyama without the aid of some of his friends. Coward! Fujiyama thought and moved out to kill more enemies. The Americans were slowly circling him in, but now Fujiyama had determined the exact location of the large machine gun. In quick succession he killed first the crewman and then the gunner. At that moment three Americans decided to try to charge Fujiyama. They had ganged up now and felt safe. But things did not go as planned. The sight of Fujiyama standing over their dead friends with blood dripping from his bayonet, made the blood freeze in the Americans’ veins. All three of them hugged the ground to try to avoid the vengeance of Fujiyama. Fujiyama ignored the cowards and went for the fourth remaining American, killing him just as easy as he had his previous opponents. Two of the three cowardly yanks on the ground now regained their confidence and rallied to meet Fujiyama. The second after, one of those two became the fifth victim of Fujiyama’s bayonet.
That was too much for the Americans. Fujiyama alone had brought them to their breaking point and they decided to pack it in.

And so this scenario ended.
Had my friend with the marines not had the stream on his hand when my assault group reached RR5, I’d have won on scenario victory conditions, at the cost of one, dead Japanese. And I would not have inflicted a single casualty on my opponent. That would have made quite a boring session and an unusually un-bloody fight for being a scenario involving the Japanese.
Instead I saw my assault group, save Fujiyama, being cut to ribbons in a stream and immediately considered my chances of winning to be between slim and none. But Up Front never ceases to surprise! I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw Fujiyama, in the face of some 25+ US firepower factors, fording the stream, ducking into a gully and then proceed to infiltrate and kill in CC no less than five marines. And the failing of the morale check of all three soldiers at one point trying to charge Fujiyama, was the icing on the cake. Had the scenario not ended due to the US squad breaking, Fujiyama could, quite possibly, have wiped out the entire seven-man group (we allow pursuit in our campaigns only if one side first decides to withdraw). So this scenario went from rather boring to really become one for the books.

The scenario earned Fujiyama a whooping 23 Elan-points, which made me able to boost his values from Morale 4 / Panic 4 to a decent Morale 6 / Panic 6 immediately after the scenario.

I am convinced that only Up Front can bring you this kind of nail-biting excitement and extreme gaming action. And produce “war stories” like this.

I may have mentioned it before: I love this game (even when I loose)!

By the way, wonder why I subtitled the scenario “Fujiyama returns”?
-Check out Paul “Goldenboat’s” AAR of scenario N…

R.

Thread: Re: Scenario N: Jungle Meeting Engagement –Rangoon (again), 1942

goldenboat — 2008-06-01T17:39:43+00:00

stroar wrote:
I'm new on this forum and currently going through all your AAR's. Great entertainment!

R.

Thanks, Roar!

Thread: Re: Scenario O: Assaulting a Pillbox – Iwo Jima, 1945

stroar — 2008-06-01T13:49:30+00:00

Aaaahh! This was a classic! Great fun to read despite poor Fujiyamas' horrible fate.

R.

Thread: Re: Scenario N: Jungle Meeting Engagement –Rangoon (again), 1942

stroar — 2008-06-01T13:41:21+00:00

I'm new on this forum and currently going through all your AAR's. Great entertainment!

R.

Image

RayGuns — 2008-02-19T05:23:44+00:00

Full page add for the game from a GENERAL magazine.

Image

Tarmahaan — 2007-11-02T14:40:35+00:00

Japanese Soldiers

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

goldenboat — 2007-10-10T15:22:17+00:00

A quick check of the files section shows that the City Fight in Four article is available to download under the main Up Front entry ... I'll check it out today.

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

goldenboat — 2007-10-10T15:19:09+00:00

B_Scheuert wrote:
In my opinion the real fun with "Up Front" begins with playing by the rules of "Up Front 501 in four". You design your own squads (worth 501 pts. at most) and you play a "City Fight" scenario through 4 (four) decks.

There has been an article in one issue of the "General" magazine covering the rules and some sample squads. I can send you a short summary via Geek Mail if you wish. About one week ago I have been playing two 501 games (after a hiatus of about two years) against Andrew Nick (Chump here on BGG), and we had a lot of fun. In my opinion 501 is where Up Front really shines.

I think I've played that scenario maybe once or twice. I don't have the General issue you mention but I think I saw it on the web someplace -- maybe at the Up Front Yahoogroup? We've been concentrating on the printed scenarios but DYO is pretty obviously where we need to go next so I'll check out City Fight. It will give my treadhead pal a chance to finally get his tanks on the table.

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

goldenboat — 2007-10-10T15:16:07+00:00

Barbarossa wrote:
I've always found this scenario an interesting one to play. One point that I missed for quite some time was that the defenders start one card down, as their SL is pinned - this reduces the hand-building advantage that you mention.

I did neglect to remember this in my first game -- it is easy to overlook.

Barbarossa wrote:
The British FP bonus gives them a big edge here, doubling the Fire cards they can use at RR 1 & 2. If you play the Russians sneaking up on the Germans, it can get quite fraught!

Another point is that trying to get the attackers to Close Combat isn't the only strategy - I have manoeuvred to get flanking at RR1/2, which can give you FP18 on a mostly-pinned group. A good burst there and the defenders are crippled and close to breaking, and can't put out much FP to stop you closing.

With my opponent playing Japanese the temptation to close to Banzai range against two pinned groups proved irresistable. But with the British firepower advantage he never got the chance.

If we give this another go we'll try Russians vs. Germans as you suggest. I wonder if this might be a good scenario for night rules, too?

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

B_Scheuert — 2007-10-10T11:40:29+00:00

goldenboat wrote:

...I'll probably throttle back on session reports, unless something really extraordinary happens, or unless one of the more exotic scenarios from the General magazine or someplace on the web proves worthy of a write-up.

In my opinion the real fun with "Up Front" begins with playing by the rules of "Up Front 501 in four". You design your own squads (worth 501 pts. at most) and you play a "City Fight" scenario through 4 (four) decks.

There has been an article in one issue of the "General" magazine covering the rules and some sample squads. I can send you a short summary via Geek Mail if you wish. About one week ago I have been playing two 501 games (after a hiatus of about two years) against Andrew Nick (Chump here on BGG), and we had a lot of fun. In my opinion 501 is where Up Front really shines.

goldenboat wrote:
The game really holds up. It is a genuine classic.
Who am I to argue on this?

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

Barbarossa — 2007-10-10T08:34:09+00:00

I've always found this scenario an interesting one to play. One point that I missed for quite some time was that the defenders start one card down, as their SL is pinned - this reduces the hand-building advantage that you mention.

The British FP bonus gives them a big edge here, doubling the Fire cards they can use at RR 1 & 2. If you play the Russians sneaking up on the Germans, it can get quite fraught!

Another point is that trying to get the attackers to Close Combat isn't the only strategy - I have manoeuvred to get flanking at RR1/2, which can give you FP18 on a mostly-pinned group. A good burst there and the defenders are crippled and close to breaking, and can't put out much FP to stop you closing.

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

goldenboat — 2007-10-10T02:52:31+00:00

scribidinus wrote:
Always happy to read a session report of this game.

Thanks! But I think I am nearly done with Up Front session reports. Two more scenarios to go and then I will have played and reported on all the scenarios in Up Front and Banzai. I won't give up the game, but I'll probably throttle back on session reports, unless something really extraordinary happens, or unless one of the more exotic scenarios from the General magazine or someplace on the web proves worthy of a write-up.

It has been a fun project playing through all of these scenarios. I've played the game off-and-on since it was first released, but this last year and change has been the most sustained bit of Up Front I've been able to manage. The game really holds up. It is a genuine classic.

Thread: Re: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

scribidinus — 2007-10-10T02:39:29+00:00

Always happy to read a session report of this game.

Retro Edit: I had UF and both expansions. Sold 'em on ebay during the big game purge of '03, thinking I'd never miss any of them.

Thread: Scenario W: Surprise Attack – Tea Time in Burma, 1943

goldenboat — 2007-10-10T01:13:12+00:00

British soldiers enjoy a tea break and hang the consequences …

“Damned if the strangest thing didn’t happen yesterday. The lads and I were enjoying tea when what should I see but some Japanese soldiers approaching our position. Beastly of them to be skulking about at that hour. I pinned a few of them with my Lee Enfield, while the boys saw to the washing-up. Then we deployed our Bren gun and had a fine old time playing ducks on the pond. The last of the poor devils was seen running away at a fast clip, heedless of some chap with an officer’s sword yelling “Banz”-somethingorother.

“Well, that would be strange enough, but then during tea time today, the Japanese tried again to do the very same thing. I was about to shoulder my rifle when Sgt. Vassey chewed me out – he was still put off by interrupting his tea time the day previous, and he demanded that the lads and I all properly finish our tea before engaging the Japanese. This time they got much closer (close enough that I could clearly hear what they were shouting – definitely “Banzai,” which appears to be Japanese for “Please shoot me while I make an obvious target of myself.”) We had an anxious moment when the Bren gun jammed but we got the bloody thing locked and loaded just in time to finish off the last of the hapless bastards as they splashed about in a stream.

“Deuced irregular. Hell of a way to run a war. It would be outright comical if poor old Vassey hadn’t been killed by a sniper. I guess there’s such a thing as too stiff an upper lip.”

* * *

Our trip through the rump end of the Banzai scenarios brought us to Scenario W, “Surprise Attack” today. This is another gimmick scenario that on paper offers something different, but in practice proved to be fragile (and possibly not sufficiently tested?). The scenario sees an attacking force sneaking up on defenders that begin pinned (all but one soldier), in buildings. I guess they’re supposed to be sleeping in a barracks under the eyes of a single guard. The defenders can’t play rally cards until they come under fire, or they are able to make a fire attack, themselves – which is difficult to do when you only have one unpinned soldier.

The problem was that in the first game, I was dealt a 1 FP Fire 1 card for my British defenders, so as soon as the Japanese came to RR4, the game was up. I also had a wealth of rally cards so my men were up and on the firing line in no time. The Japanese got stuffed in open terrain without rallies and we kept them pinned until our Bren gun could prove decisive. Result – a true blowout, eliminating the Japanese by squad break shortly into the second deck.

But the scenario’s premise was still intriguing, and we had some time to spare, so we gave it another go, same forces, same players. This time the Japanese got to RR3 before I was able to shoot at them, and from that point forward it was pretty much another blowout, notwithstanding that the Japanese made it interesting by getting to Banzai range through gullies … before my Bren unjammed and I mowed them down.

This scenario could be fun but it requires some care. Certainly the British firepower advantage makes them difficult to defeat as defenders in this one. The Japanese should be a good attacking force as they have so many movement cards, but so much hinges on the defender’s draw that it really is a crapshoot about whether the desire effect of a close-quarters surprise scrum will result. Also, with nothing to do but occupy buildings and cycle their hand at first, the defender is practically guaranteed to build a strong hand by the time the Japanese begin their attack … I don’t know. I’m not sure this one can ever work. Maybe the attacker should set up at Range Chit 2.

If we play this one again it will be with lesser defenders crippled by a bad discard rate (the French, maybe?), under attack by Japanese or Russian troops who can hopefully close to good range before everything goes pear-shaped.

Ah, well. At least the scenario yielded me a couple cheap victories.

Thread: Scenario V: Ambush – Caen, 1944

goldenboat — 2007-10-03T21:33:10+00:00

Elite Germans ambush British infantry during Operation Goodwood …

We’re nearing the end of the road for “Operation Up Front.” Only a handful of the “official” Avalon Hill scenarios remain for us to play. As we dig down deep into these last few scenarios from Banzai it is obvious that the scenario designers are experimenting with the underpinnings of Up Front in an attempt to create novel and varied scenarios.

One such scenario was on the table this afternoon. “Ambush” sees a very strong German elite squad on the attack against just seven British defenders. The Germans get all sorts of rarely-deployed equipment in this one – assault rifles, a flamethrower, and even a panzerschreck. The British … well, the British get to hang on and prey they get reinforcements. And they get to run like Hell.

In theory, this could be a good scenario, but everything really hinges on the random reinforcements. There’s a 50/50 chance the British can qualify for random reinforcements after their opponent pulls a Black 6 RNC. They can also check at the beginning of each new deck. So the feeling for the defenders is supposed to be one of hanging on like grim death in anticipation of fresh troops, keeping an eye on the deck and trying to run out the clock.

In our scenario, however, the reinforcements never arrived (sort of). I put my Germans into two groups – basically the LMG and support in one group, and all the short-range stuff (assault rifles, flamethrowers, and the ‘schreck) in the other. The British deployed into two groups, but with only seven men they were forced to have a group of three and a group of four … fragile positions that would quickly proved vulnerable.

German elites are very, very tough in this game. They can earn a second discard if the Germans take only one or no actions. As such, I was able to keep a good flow of cards through my hand, and the cards I drew seemed to always be right in the wheelhouse for what I needed. This was the kind of game where you find yourself discarding a low-value rally card, or having the luxury of picking between several types of terrain when you move.

My LMG group enjoyed good success in keeping the British pinned while we advanced. My maneuver group ran into a stream, but we quickly got across with a ford card and took up position in woods. The Brits opposite us tried to pull back, but ran into a marsh (which they refused), and then a stream … like I said, the cards really came to me this game. Eventually that hapless group found themselves fording the stream, in wire (!), and a couple shots from the panzerschreck proved deadly accurate. Scratch one British group.

With the British now in an unbalanced position, the German hand limit went up to six, meaning it was just a matter of time before we finished them off. The survivors rallied in buildings but another couple panzerschreck shots and a hosing from the LMG took care of that, and the Germans won by squad break just a little bit into the second deck. It is hard to see how the defender is supposed to survive FIVE decks to claim victory, especially when the reinforcements don’t show up.

And about those reinforcements. I did draw a Black 6 RNC, but it was part of a fire resolution that ran out the first deck, so the British had the bad luck to see their chance to check for the Black 6 unfortunately be combined with their free check at the beginning of the next deck. To make matters worse, their check was a Black Zero, which yielded an extra sniper, something the British needed like a moose needs a hat rack.

I’m not sure I like using the same RNC to determine both if reinforcements are received, and the nature of those reinforcements. With zeroes being the most common card in the deck, it seems doubly difficult to get decent reinforcements. A second sniper will prove useful in only the most narrow circumstances.

The game ended so quickly that we got in another match over lunch. This time it was my British on the attack against the Germans in the “Armor” scenario, but my luck stayed hot and this one was almost as big a blowout as the main attraction. My British armored car was the star this time, pretty much taking the Germans down to squad break all by itself, even while being buttoned-up and never advancing from Range Chit Zero. I got both my British infantry groups in to gullies and ran one of them up to Range Chit 4 without drawing a shot for a win. Damn, I was lucky today.

I’ll take it. The only thing better than one Up Front game over lunch is two Up Front games over lunch, even if they aren’t the most memorable scenarios.

Thread: Scenario S: Jungle Assault – Guadalcanal, 1942

goldenboat — 2007-08-27T23:34:10+00:00

The fight continues on distant Guadalcanal …

This time my task looked formidable on paper – only a handful of G.I.s to stem the wave of a fearsome Japanese jungle assault. I am outnumbered almost three-to-one, with only Pvt. “Dick” Nixon’s .30 MMG and the advantage of setting up in good terrain to even the odds. And half of that advantage went away when I failed to draw terrain in my first hand.

But for all that I was intimidated by the initial set-up, this ended up being the most lopsided game of Up Front that I have ever played.

The Japanese came on in two groups of roughly equal size and firepower, with a grenade launcher in each group. They probably should have set up in three groups, but there is something to be said for large maneuver groups, particularly if you plan to close with the enemy and threaten them with a Banzai charge. For my part, I set up in two more-or-less equal groups, with my MMG in the middle. As I noted above, I didn’t draw any terrain, but I was able to at least entrench in the open, which when combined with the pervasive -1 modifier for jungle terrain made me feel a little less naked.

The Japanese grenade launchers found the range early, quickly bracketing my machinegun group and pinning two soldiers. I moved my rifle group laterally to some jungle (woods), and entrenched. My first deck was thin on rallies and most of the fire cards I drew were too high to be useful, but when I did shoot I drew fat black numbers, and each of the Japanese groups found themselves with pins through most of the game’s opening.

But if I was thin on movement and rally cards, I was rich in terrain. I could have opened a real estate office with all the turf moving through my hand. And what terrain it was, too … a Pacific Theater chamber of horrors. Marsh. Swamp. Wire. And I used it all, mercilessly, on my hapless Japanese opponent who really had no choice but to keep on the move to stop his four-card hand from stalling out.

In this single game, I had the pleasure of watching the Japanese run into marsh no less than FOUR times. And one time when they got out of the marsh, I hit them with a stream. My opponent took it all in good stride, but it really was ridiculous. By the time the second marsh had hit the table, we’d already started to call it the “marsh of death.” The name we used later in the game was less family-friendly.

Add to this that the Japanese managed to malf one mortar, and lost the other while trudging through that marsh, and things were looking grim for the Axis. I had moved my MMG to a hill and had wiped out the entire Japanese Group B, which gave me an extra card for the Japanese imbalanced position. We had one of those moments where the Japanese player’s morale broke before his cardboard charges, but we soldiered on … with a 75% break point, the Japanese can be a danger even when they’re getting shot to pieces. And sure enough, as the third deck opened, the sole surviving Japanese maneuver group was approaching Range Chit 5, and victory. But “Dick’s” MMG put an end to that, blistering the last group while they stumbled through yet another marsh.

Final result, fifteen Japanese dead or fled, with two pinned in the Marsh of Death. U.S. casualties – nada. Maybe some blisters on Nixon’s trigger finger. A blowout of epic proportions.

But my opponent still enjoyed the game. He liked how breaking or losing both of his mortars forced him to change his plan on-the-fly, and as discouraging as hitting all that rotten terrain may have proven, if that lost patrol had come out of the murk to steal victory, it would have been all the sweeter (and I recall him doing something very similar with a U.S. squad to smoke my Japanese bunker several weeks ago). He was tenacious and almost rescued an impossible position. Wounds, snipers, the worst jungle terrain the islands had to offer – still those Japanese came on, until we killed nearly every one of them.

Incredible. It is a mark of a fine game when you can get your teeth kicked in but still have a good time. Up Front continues to deliver.

Thread: Scenario R: Paratroop Drop – Crete, 1941

goldenboat — 2007-08-15T21:45:33+00:00

From the skies above the Mediterranean Sea …

When I was twelve years old and traveling through Europe for the first time with my brother, we stayed in a little hotel in Munich. We were to catch a train the next day that would take us through what was then Yugoslavia to Athens, where we would board ship for our eventual destination in Crete. The hotel operator, an older German gentlemen, asked where we were traveling, and when my brother said, “Crete,” he got a far-away look in his eye and said words to the effect of, “That’s a terrible place to parachute into.”

That was my first exposure to Operation Mercury, the German invasion of Crete, an ambitious offensive depending on airborne assault to seize key ports and airstrips on the Greek island in advance of a following invasion by sea. The Germans would win the campaign but only at severe cost in casualties … severe enough that Hitler determined the age of paratroop assault was over (something the Allies would disabuse him of come 1944). For Crete the invasion would mark the beginning of a long and bitter occupation, and set the stage for one of Europe’s first and bloodiest partisan resistance movements. And I saw it all mirrored in the eyes of that German hotel keeper, who might have been remembering comrades hung up in olive groves while Cretan farmers came out of their barns to blast away with their shotguns.

The image always stuck with me, so it was foremost in my mind when our Up Front rotation served up a German paratroop assault versus British defenders. And thus thirty years after that trip to Crete I found myself vicariously experiencing the opening minutes of the campaign in the infinitely less serious venue of Up Front Scenario P.

Parachutes look lovely when they float down from the heavens, and they offer such tempting targets. My British defenders were locked and loaded before the first Fallschirmjager had their boots on the ground, and the lads needed no encouragement to open up with their Bren gun from atop the hill at the German elites desperately trying to disentangle from their chutes and get the lay of the land.

The Germans are required to basically link-up under fire in this scenario, winning if they can recover from a random, chaotic set-up and form into a good-sized group in protective terrain. But for the Germans, the victory conditions are so difficult in this scenario as to make me suspect a misprint in the scenario instructions. They have only ten men, are required to set up in four groups, and can win only by having five men in the same group in good terrain at range chit 3, 4, or 5. Because minimum group size is two, the Germans cannot initially deploy in a group of five, which means the only way they’re going to get a group of five is with successful individual transfer of a man into a group of four.

Individual transfer is dicey in this game when you are advancing in good order; in this scenario, where your groups are randomly spread all over the place, getting two groups to the same range chit is even more difficult. Add to this the fact that a leader must be in either the sending or receiving group to be eligible for individual transfer and it becomes yet more difficult. And in this scenario, when luck of the draw put my opponent’s group of four in Group D while his leaders were in Groups A and B and, well … let’s just say this landing was FUBAR, even by usual airdrop standards.

But Up Front is more about the journey than the outcome, so we soldiered on, and were rewarded with one of the more memorable games we have played.

I had a firegroup on a hill in the center, which as luck would have it placed them at relative range four to a couple Germans, including the enemy squad leader, and much of my early game was spend cheerfully hosing them down from the hill (although as both targets were morale 5, they proved hard to keep down for long). On my right, I had Sgt. Vassey and four lads with Lee Enfields; I ran them up into some buildings to pour serious fire onto the German left.

The Germans, meanwhile, were struggling to meet up. Their LMG was all the way over in Group D, and while the MG34 is a fearsome weapon even at Range zero, it wouldn’t be until later in the game that it made its presence felt. In the center, the Germans frantically moved forwards, backwards, and sideways, trying to get everyone into a position where they could transfer into winning terrain.

As the second deck was expiring, everything seemed to be going my way. The German LMG had yet to prove a factor, the German group C had been whittled down to just the defiant Pvt. Shultz, and the German leaders were either stuck in open group or flailing around in a marsh. My own casualties were limited to the hapless Pvt. Moon, killed clean by a German sniper (whoops, there goes Elfenland!). When the one-two punch of my Bren gun on the hill and Vassey’s killers in the buildings finished off the last of the German leaders, my opponent was ready to pack it in. He was one kill away from squad break, and without leaders it was now impossible for him to achieve the scenario victory conditions, as a leader is required to assist in the individual transfer of a soldier into what would be the winning group.

But I encouraged my opponent to keep after a squad break victory and that’s when the scenario got memorable. Some stunning rifle work from Shultz pinned two of my men on the hill, including PFC Scarborough with his Bren gun, and Pvt. Willis broke his Lee Enfield while firing back in panic. Then a sniper finished Scarborough and suddenly our center didn’t look so strong anymore. Vassey was out of fire cards. And now that German LMG was moving up on my left, threatening to flank my hill. I didn’t relish my chances if the LMG got set up and operating at relative range four or five.

In between pins, rallies, wires, malfunctions, and weapon recoveries, I somehow managed to get Willis to crawl over and acquire the Bren gun. A burst did drop the advancing German LMG gunner, but before I knew it the Germans were in the woods, with the LMG acquired by the crewman, and I was getting sprayed down pretty regularly on the hill. The deck was getting thin and I could win by running it out, but I didn’t like the way the karma was swinging, so I concentrated by fire on Shultz, rather than the LMG group. He was only one man, in the open, and killing him would give us a squad break victory. Besides, Herr Shultz had been taunting me ever since his rifle work laid low my hill group coming out of the second deck.

Well … it took two or three volleys from hill before we got him, but we finally did (the British firepower advantage helping several times in this game). I was almost sad when Shultz went down, because it had turned into such a cracker of a game, and I had found myself practically rooting for the Germans to come all the way back from the brink of annihilation. Even in defeat, it was one for the ages, and additional proof that a player’s morale frequently breaks before that of his cardboard soldiers. If the Germans had been just a little bit more fortunate, they might have cleared my hill entirely, and found themselves flanking down on Vassey’s building position as the clock counted down to zero.

It would have been an interesting conclusion. And even as it turned out, Crete did indeed prove to be a “bad place to parachute into.” Awesome game.

Thread: Scenario Q: Delaying Action – Henderson Field, Guadalcanal

goldenboat — 2007-08-14T20:50:04+00:00

In the jungles of Guadalcanal …

It didn’t take long for an American picket line to determine that they were facing a significant Japanese probing force in the dense jungle near Henderson Field. Electing to pull back, the American commander called for a delaying action, to stall the Japanese advance and to prevent his own withdrawal from turning into a rout …

This scenario substantially straightjackets the action into some pretty specific channels. The U.S. force is significantly smaller than the attacking Japanese, and even with their BAR gunner the Americans are at a severe firepower disadvantage. With the Japanese winning by advancing to Relative Range 5, there’s really no choice for the Americans but to pull out, attempt to keep a healthy chunk of range between themselves and the Japanese, and try to run out the deck. The U.S. is only slightly helped by a deck rules that will give them exclusive access to streams and snipers to stem the Japanese advance.

The Japanese are in good shape in this scenario, with fifteen soldiers, an LMG, and a grenade-throwing mortar. I put my high-morale guys in Groups A and D, with two smaller groups in the middle, one built around the LMG, and the other around the mortar. I figured I'd run my track stars up the flanks while using the middle groups for harassing fire on the Americans. With the pervasive -1 jungle TEM in this scenario I didn’t expect to do a lot of shooting, but the fire might pin Americans trying to pull out, and the mortar would give a good outlet for cycling cards through the small four-card Japanese hand.

My U.S. opponent set up in three small groups … which in retrospect probably cost him the game before it began. I think he was looking for tactical flexibility, but as retrograde movement requires red RNC movement cards, he effectively reduced his movement opportunities by a third over what they would have been had he been in two larger and more firepower-intensive groups.

This one was over in a hurry. I had good cards for the Japanese throughout, and aside from a quickly-fixed malfunction on the first shot with my mortar, our plan went off without a hitch. I used superior Japanese mobility to rush up the left flank, while a steady stream of excellent terrain cards kept my lads safe from American fire. The Americans were stuck with useless high-value fire cards and never enough movement. My mortar found the range and shelled the Americans across the center of their line, usually to little effect, but there were some lovely explosions. The Americans did manage to pull back into negative range chits, but they didn’t have enough firepower to stop the onrushing Japanese, who achieved Relative Range 5 in dense jungle with a five-man group shortly before the end of the first deck.

A quick and vaguely disappointing play experience, but it’s still Up Front, and that counts for a lot. Also, this game was an anomaly in my experience – there wasn’t a single casualty during the game, and when it ended, all soldiers on both sides were in good order. There were a handful of pins along the way, but that was it. So, while we played hard, at least no one was hurt. I doubt the same would be said were by Japanese to continue beyond my mythical picket line and run into the heavier stuff holding the airstrip back at Henderson Field …

Thread: Re: Scenario O: Assaulting a Pillbox – Iwo Jima, 1945

goldenboat — 2007-06-14T23:45:07+00:00

garysax wrote:
The narrative this game produces is awesome. No wonder a lot of the ATers like it too.

And it doesn't take a lot of rationalization to extract the narrative, either. The events are pretty transparent.

Up Front has a steep learning curve, but the curve is pretty short, and you are repaid several times over with unique gaming experiences. A genuine classic.

Thread: Re: Scenario O: Assaulting a Pillbox – Iwo Jima, 1945

garysax — 2007-06-14T23:40:41+00:00

The narrative this game produces is awesome. No wonder a lot of the ATers like it too.

Thread: Scenario O: Assaulting a Pillbox – Iwo Jima, 1945

goldenboat — 2007-06-14T21:36:02+00:00

“Corkscrew and blowtorch” tactics on Iwo Jima …

Flush with success from my last outing with the Japanese, I set up a large, low-morale Japanese rifle group on my left, a Banzai-ready high-morale group on my right, and the Type 92 MG with two flunkies in the pillbox in the center (of course). I designated Pvt. Fujiyama as loader for the Type 92 as I figured he’d earned a day on the bench after his performance in Scenario N. If only I had known …

The Americans came on in two groups, a small maneuver group opposite my Banzai boys including the flamethrower, the BAR, and the demo charge (led by Sgt. Burnett … and if you wonder why I know his name, keep reading …), and with the rest of his guys piled into a nine-man-large ad hoc base of fire. Having such a big group very nearly cost the Americans in this one, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Americans advanced by rushes, and I had a grand old time throwing terrain at them when the Type 92 wasn’t chattering way. The American maneuver group got to see a stream, a marsh, a minefield, and several wire cards, but, troubling, they kept on coming. I threw a lot of low firepower attacks at the big U.S. group, which burned through the deck with frightening velocity (which is what might have cost the Americans the game, as the Japanese can win by running out the deck).

With one deck to go, my Banzai group was entrenched in jungle on my right, and my garbage group had been whittled down to a pair of riflemen on my left, but they, too, were entrenched in good jungle, and they were close enough to enemy lines to throw FP 1 or FP2 attacks at their opposing group, churning through nine cards every time they fired. The American flamethrower group was at range chit 4 in -2 terrain, but I figured I had the “God Hand” to deal with them … a pair of Fire-5s for the Type 92, a movement card to spark a Banzai counter-charge after the MG did its work, and a Rally 6 in case things went wrong.

With the Type 92 locked and loaded, I did the unheard of. I passed. TWICE! Let ‘em come, my hand’s not getting any better.

The Americans broke from the woods and rushed the bunker. I dropped a Fire-5, turned a card, and … Red 6. Malfunction. My heart skipped a beat. Random selection shows it was my loader, Fujiyama (the Lion of Rangoon losing his nerve? Not a good sign). The attack continued, but we didn’t get a pin. Hmm.

So, now, do I Banzai with my group of super-samurai, fingering their swords and looking toward me with expectation in their eyes? The American maneuver group has come right up to RR5 … nah, I figured I’d let the bad guys hit terrain, shoot them again with my Type 93 (I have another Fire-5, remember), and then maybe infiltrate instead of Banzai with my close-combat warriors.

Except …

Except that the Americans never bothered to hit terrain … they fired on the run (whoops, forgot about how effective a flamethrower can be with moving fire), shooting with the flamethrower, the BAR, and the Thompson-wielding Burnett (remember him?). To add insult to injury, Burnett chomps on his stogie and goes battlemad (Hero card), doubling his firepower, and the Americans drop TWENTY-SEVEN FREAKING POINTS worth of firepower cards on my bunker, for an unheard-of Fire-11.

By the time the smoke cleared, all that remained of my bunker was a burned-out hole in the ground. Game over.

It hurt to lose but I have to hand it to those Americans. They came through the worst terrain the jungle had to offer, withstood a hail of machinegun fire, and took out my pillbox with an awesome display of firepower. Of course, there were things I should have done differently. I shouldn’t have passed on those last two hands … my hand was terrific, but it was greedy to assume I’d get off two shots with the Type 93 before the charge hit my bunker. I should have been cycling my hand, maybe turning up another low-odds attack card for another group, or a sniper, or another stream … any number of things could have popped up to make the American attack more difficult. If nothing else I would have been burning through the deck and putting more pressure on the Americans. But I loved my hand and I got arrogant (and paid for it).

I also should have Banzaied with my guys as soon as the American bunker busters got to RR5. That’s what they were there for, after all, but I got too fine. If they’d been charging across the opening with their swords flashing maybe they would have drawn off some firepower and kept my pillbox alive for another turn to shoot that Type 93 a second time. But it was not to be.

And poor Fujiyama picked the wrong day to sit one out in the bunker. He deserved better. Great game.

Thread: Re: Scenario N: Jungle Meeting Engagement –Rangoon (again), 1942

goldenboat — 2007-06-06T22:45:32+00:00

garysax wrote:
I always enjoy your Up Front AARs. Thanks.

Thanks for reading them, Gary, and thanks for the kind comment.

I have all my Up Front AARs on my BGG blog, now ... click the word balloon in my avatar to see 'em.

Thread: Re: Scenario N: Jungle Meeting Engagement –Rangoon (again),

garysax — 2007-06-06T22:32:06+00:00

I always enjoy your Up Front AARs. Thanks.

Thread: Scenario N: Jungle Meeting Engagement –Rangoon (again), 1942

goldenboat — 2007-06-06T21:33:13+00:00

As today is the anniversary of D-Day we probably should have played a Normandy scenario, but instead opted for a jungle meeting engagement between the British and the Japanese. Lots of stuff happened … one of my Japanese maneuver groups was wiped out by the British Bren gun (which later malfunctioned), my own firebase was spectacularly unsuccessful, there was a lot of entrenching and skulking about in bushes (which were torn up by heavy firepower attacks in the dense jungle … we really whacked the foliage in this one), but the game would turn on the saga of my high-morale maneuver group, and the heroic determination of Private Fujiyama.

In his own words …

“We have encountered a British patrol … My squad leader, Sgt. Okimoto, assigned me and two others to Cpl. Togo … We are to maneuver on the right flank and engage the British in close combat while Sgt. Okimoto leads a charge on the left, and our base of fire on the hill fixes the British in place … I trust Cpl. Togo and will follow him willingly, I am eager to confront the enemy … We move out through dense jungle, and I hear fire from my left … Pvt. Kobayashi says it is the sound of a British Bren gun … It is the last thing he says, Kobayashi drops in his tracks, whether from the Bren or some other gun I do not know … I go to his side, even though I know I cannot help him … He was from the country, like me … Cpl. Togo barks at me to get moving, and I do … We go to ground in heavy jungle, and there, just across the way, so close I think I could touch them, are four British riflemen … Cpl. Togo motions for us to draw our knives, and close with the enemy … This is not what I expected, I had thought Cpl. Togo would draw his sword and lead us in a heroic Banzai charge … Cpl. Togo and Pvt. Asanti crawl off through the vines, I intend to follow but I hear a twig snap, and I freeze … By the time I look up, Cpl. Togo and Pvt. Asanti are gone, and I hear men struggling nearby … And then silence … I am alone … What should I do? … Should I follow? … Suddenly two British soldiers are upon me, stabbing with bayonets; I strike back blindly, and the first soldier goes down … His friend’s eyes go wide, and it looks like he will turn to run, but I strike him down, too … It all seems too easy … I check one of the fallen soldier’s dogtags, his name was “Moon,” a strange name … Silence again, but I sense someone is still near, still alive … Is it Cpl. Togo, or Pvt. Asanti? … Or is it the enemy? … I decide to take a closer look, but a wind stirs the leaves and a shadow passes over me, and I freeze … When I look up, I see a British soldier running away … I want to follow, but I can’t move … I hear more gunfire from my left, but I don’t hear the Bren gun any more … Somehow this encourages me, I get up, I run across the clearing, and past the corpses of Cpl. Togo and Pvt. Asanti … Seeing my friends dead removes all my fear, I run into a gully, I see the British soldier up ahead, diving into the bushes … I follow, my knife out … I trip and hit the ground, flail wildly … If my man had fought at all he could have had me, but he seemed almost paralyzed with fear … I have killed three of the enemy in a matter of minutes, I don’t know how it happened, my squad mates are dead and I am cut off from the others … And then PFC Yoruba comes up, says that the British have fled, but that three other members of our squad under Okimoto have fallen … We regroup, and move back toward our lines … Okimoto says that I am a hero, and that I will get a medal … But I wonder if I will live that long …”

The game really did come down to Pvt. Fujiyama, who fought through multiple pins and failures to infiltrate to eliminate three enemy soldiers in close combat, including a pair when he was outnumbered two-to-one. No less heroic were the British soldiers opposing Fujiyama’s group, who did everything they could to keep the advancing Japanese at a distance, but once at relative range five went into close combat on their own, and nearly carried the position against the superior Japanese fighters. When Fujiyama rallied, the British pulled out their lone remaining soldier, but Fujiyama ran him down and ended the scenario with a close combat kill, but only by a single factor, and only after both soliders pulled red RNCs for resolution.

The heavy jungle was a huge factor in this game. The British routinely threw heavy firepower attacks against my advancing groups with their Bren gun group, but between the building/jungle cards and the pervasive -1 modifier, the attacks had little effect. I also seemed to have all the concealment and rally cards that I needed. It didn’t hurt that the Bren gun broke when I’d finally closed to hand-to-hand range with the British flank group.

Nationality factors also weighed heavily in this game. The British benefited several times from their marksmanship bonus, while I kept my hand cycling even while on the move. I took enough losses to break any other squad, but was able to hang on because of the higher Japanese squad break threshold.

It was always my plan to finish the game with a Banzai charge, but I’d been infiltrated and come under close combat attack myself before I could pull it off, and then I didn’t want to risk my high morale maneuver group in a frontal charge against inferior British soldiers. I never expected those Brits to put up such a struggle in hand-to-hand … but for some lucky draws, I would have been writing the ballad of Pvt. Cleary and how he single-handedly fought off four Japanese killers.

This game always generates great stories, but this one really stood out …

Thread: Re: Scenario M: Patrol – Rangoon, 1942

goldenboat — 2007-05-24T16:18:11+00:00

Scoot wrote:
I've become a real fan of your AARs and two months is a long time in waiting to read a new one! Thanks! I hope you guys keep playing and letting us in on the action.

Thanks ... I really don't know how two months got behind us. We're supposed to go at it once a week. Real life is a bitch sometimes.

I'm putting these AARs in my BGG Blog, so if you missed one, you can just click on the blog link in my avatar and you'll see all the Up Front session reports that I've done.

Thread: Re: Scenario M: Patrol – Rangoon, 1942

Scoot — 2007-05-24T05:24:44+00:00

I've become a real fan of your AARs and two months is a long time in waiting to read a new one! Thanks! I hope you guys keep playing and letting us in on the action.

Thread: Scenario M: Patrol – Rangoon, 1942

goldenboat — 2007-05-23T21:06:03+00:00

A meeting of patrols near the city of Rangoon...

The Japanese are on the march and everywhere across the Pacific they are rolling back the Allies, but for the length of this scenario, at least, they met their match in the form of a plucky ten-man squad of good Commonwealth riflemen (plus a Bren gun, which would prove decisive).

I had my Bren gun in my base of fire in the center, and a four-man maneuver group led by Sgt. Vassey on my right. The Japanese came on in two groups, recklessly advancing across open ground. I couldn’t do much about that at first, as I had a hand full of movement cards, myself, and I didn’t relish getting too close to that Japanese line, as I knew they would welcome the chance for a banzai charge. After some card cycling I managed to get my firebase into woods, and my maneuver group into brush, and that’s when we started to see a display of British marksmanship.

It really was the “mad minute” as my firebase poured it on at the eight-man-strong Japanese group rushing at them across open ground. At one point, I had an attack that pinned all eight men … only to see them instantly on the go again, thanks to a “Rally All.” It was like they just kind of leaned into the lead I was throwing at them, and kept on coming. Twice more I would pin men in that group, only to see them rally instantly. And in the meantime, they we coming closer.

With too many movement cards to play, I decided to “flank” the Japanese Group A with my firebase in Group B. This was almost a throw-away move, but it was the game breaker. I was reluctant to take my attention off of that large group opposite my firebase, but they were occupied with sniper pins and streams and never did get close to me for the rest of the game. The flank group, meanwhile, caught all sorts of Hell … a string of Fire 4s, 5s, and sixes issued from my firegroup. With the assistance of a sniper the Japanese Group A was whittled away to nothing.

With the Japanese in an unbalanced position, I was able to draw an extra card, and after that it was academic. I quickly advanced my unopposed group to buildings at range chit 4 (and the Japanese couldn’t even shoot at them as I went, given that we’d moved out through a gully). Victory for the British early in the second deck, and without a single British casualty.

The cards really came my way in this one; I don’t think I’ve ever enjoyed more perfect draws. Something to remember the next time I get jammed. Or maybe this is just making up for one of those frustrating games in the past when nothing went my way. But the only kind of luck the Japanese had in this game was bad luck … no terrain, few useful fire cards, and at one point they had two broken rifles in the same group. Aside from those early rallies that stymied my best fire attacks, they really had nothing to cheer about in this match.

It was a quick game, and I was delighted with the outcome, but I would have been pleased to have play even if I’d been on the Japanese side of the table. I was shocked to see that it had been two months since I’d last played Up Front, which is entirely too long for this fine game to remain on the shelf.

Thread: Re: Scenario H: Armored Advance – Caen, 1944

goldenboat — 2007-04-21T00:47:04+00:00

Scoot wrote:
Paul, your AAR's are the best! I look forward to reading more of them. I hope you guys keep playing UF and thanks for the lessons.

Thanks for the kind words, Scott. We try to play once a week but it's turning out to be more like twice a month. We're up to Scenario "M" for our next game so we'll probably see more reports filed here under "Banzai" as we go forward. Time for jungle action!

Thread: Re: Scenario H: Armored Advance – Caen, 1944

Scoot — 2007-04-20T18:01:23+00:00

Paul, your AAR's are the best! I look forward to reading more of them. I hope you guys keep playing UF and thanks for the lessons.

Thread: Scenario H: Armored Advance – Caen, 1944

goldenboat — 2007-03-12T06:54:39+00:00

Trying to break out from the Normandy beachhead …

With a weakness detected in the German position, but with reinforcements known to be on the way, there was no time to lose as my British troops moved off from the zero line, advancing rapidly over open ground, two groups of infantry supported by an A12 tank. A German PAK 36 gun, hidden behind a wall directly opposite our tank, rapidly checked our advance. The A12 tried, without success, to suppress the PAK 36, while the German gun found the range on my left flank, reducing in rapid order my troops from a five-man maneuver group to hapless Pvt. Hodge, entrenched alone in the woods.

Losses were severe, but we soldiered on. My base of fire (including our Bren gun) got entrenched in woods on the right, but only after being reduced from five men to four, a critical loss as it meant this group no longer had enough men to fulfill our victory conditions all by themselves. The A12 tank raced ahead to range chit 3, and went hull-down on a hill; with entrenched infantry on either side, my combined arms force would enjoy good defensive benefits, but any loss would end our afternoon. The tank and the PAK 36 exchanged fire, without effect, though prompting the PAK 36 to withdraw to distant brush. My tank turned its attention to the German LMG firebase in the woods on our right, but the German infantry’s strong entrenched position (and a nice flow of concealment cards) kept us from scoring more than the occasional pin.

Now those German reinforcements came on from my left. Pvt. Hodge satisfied honor by bringing the reinforcement group under fire from his Lee Enfield Mark I, but he would have had to be Sgt. York to stop the German tide. Slowly, the Germans moved laterally across the field, taking up position in good buildings and eyeing the A12 for a panzerfaust shot.

Things were just getting interesting when the German LMG found the range and hosed down my opposing infantry, winning the game in the second deck via squad break. It really was an overwhelming victory for the Germans, as they didn’t suffer a single casualty, and their “holding” force was able to take me out without the reinforcements being a factor. I probably was too aggressive, wanting to put the boot in before those German reinforcements arrived, leading half my infantry into a position where good shooting from the PAK 36 rendered our offensive moot seemingly before it started. I should have spent more time trying to suppress the PAK 36 with long-range shots from my A12, but the Germans were in damn good terrain behind that wall and I lost heart. Later in the game, the lack of effective HE ability from the A12 would prove crippling, as we were never able to be more than a nuisance to the blocking German infantry opposite my right flank. If the tank had been able to make a mark on that German group, we might have advanced to victory despite our terrible start.

The A12 did have a memorable day, though, being hit several times by the PAK 36 to no effect, and living to escort my infantry as the fled the battlefield with news that the road to Caen would be no cakewalk …

Thread: Re: My kingdom for a scan!

autumnweave — 2007-01-18T09:18:11+00:00

Leave Kevin's ferret out of this!

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40thann — 2006-12-24T12:40:52+00:00

General Magazine Up Front - Banzai

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broken_halo20575 — 2006-07-22T19:04:52+00:00

Thread: Re: My kingdom for a scan!

yossarians — 2006-03-24T22:02:33+00:00

You are a prince among men.

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Badgeroonie — 2006-03-12T21:26:21+00:00

All the game components

Thread: Re: My kingdom for a scan!

Kevin Moody — 2006-03-12T05:01:36+00:00

Send me your email address and they're yours. (Or explain to me how I can attach them to a geekmail.)

Thread: My kingdom for a scan!

yossarians — 2006-03-12T01:06:01+00:00

Well, about 20 anyway.

I really, really need a good scan of the front and back of British personality card #1 (Sgt. Vasey).

Please. I'll be your buddy. I'll tell you where that sock is that you've been looking for. I'll let you in on the winning numbers of the lotto. I'll quit molesting your ferret.

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Badgeroonie — 2006-03-08T18:44:38+00:00

Scenario sample

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Badgeroonie — 2006-03-08T18:42:27+00:00

Rulebook

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Invité — 2005-03-16T16:01:39+00:00

British and Marines

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Invité — 2005-03-16T16:01:39+00:00

Thread: Session Report

jmw23 — 2005-03-10T03:52:20+00:00

Banzai just arrived in the mail today, and of course I had to try it right away! I took charge of the Japanese, and Katie took the Brits.

Early set-up was pretty standard. Katie had her men in a fire group and a maneuver group. My men were in two large groups, one with high morale, and one with low moral. I started one of Katie's groups in a Stream.

Early on, I decided that due to the poor firepower of the Japanese, I'd have to close to Relative Range 4 and get into cover in order to win, rather than wipe out Katie's squad through fire. I quickly moved my high-morale group forward to Relative Range 2, and then lost my nerve and hid them in some Woods.

Meanwhile, Katie was more than happy to sit back and shoot the heck out of my soldiers. My low-morale group spent most of the game at Relative Range 1 with about half the men pinned. Whenever I'd rally a few, Katie would pin them all over again! They didn't really contribute much to the game.

Finally I had had enough. The time to charge forward had come! I moved my high-moral group forward, trusting to luck and camoflage cards to protect them. Katie pinned my men with her fire, and killed one. My luck was running out, if I lost one more man in my high-morale squad, I wouldn't be able to win with them, even if they were all rallied in cover! I had to work fast.

Sadly, luck was not on my side. I drew a Wall, and put my best men into cover. I was sure that soon I'd draw the Rally card I needed for the win. I didn't. Turn after turn I agonized over whether or not I should discard my fire cards, or simply pass and try to draw into a rally. I opted to do both. I'd shoot Katie's men until they were pinned down, and then I'd mill through the deck trying to find a Rally. In retrospect, maybe I could have tried to Banzai, but I wasn't too familiar with the rules for that, and I could taste victory close at hand. Katie returned fire, but it was weak, as I was behind a Wall, and had Concealment cards to protect me. Katie had some bad luck, as first her machine pistol jammed, and then her LMG was killed.

Finally, after shuffling the deck, I lucked out, and drew my Rally 3 Card I needed for the win. This was a close game, and I was starting to think that I might just go for the win based on attrition when my ship came in. Katie enjoyed the British, though she still prefers the Germans. I really liked the Japanese. They play a lot like my old favorites, the Russians, but their morale is amazing. I'm looking forward to getting them into action again soon. I can certainly see why Banzai is so well-regarded!

Thread: User Review

rri1 — 2004-11-29T01:16:38+00:00

Banzai is an almost required expansion for Up Front.

The set consists of personality cards/chits for the Japanese and British and rules for playing them. US Marines with slight modifications to the rules (mainly treating each rifle as bolt action rather than semi-automatic) and scenario rosters.

The rules include 12 additional scenarios. Several are repeats of scenarios from Up Front, but others are completely new Paratroop Drop , Surrounded , Ambush and Surprise Attack (The new scenarios have listings for the orignal nationalities, as well.) Also rules are added for Jungle scenarios.

The British have a firepower advantage (effectively each group gets one additional firepower point) and can either German or American split action cards. Their hand size is smaller than the American (5 vs. 4) and can similarly only discard only 2 cards when no actions are taken. The standard squad for Patrol has 10 men.

The Japanese are a fascinating power to play. They have only a 4 card hand and can only discard 2 if no action is taken, but movement card plays do not count as actions for discard purposes and cower cards can always be discarded. (Despite their hand limits, the Japanese rarely have a bad hand to play.) The Japanese break on 75% casualties. ("Bushido") And their biggest wild card is that they can declare "Banzai" attacks--a group can banzai an opposing group which means all of the group automatically rallies and it MUST advance towards the targetted opposing group. Since Banzaiing men are exposed, no hitting safe terrain or concealments AND a pin result = KIA. However if the group reaches the enemy, they automatically enter close combat (no infiltration). (Highly risky, but it can be very effective if they reach close combat.) The standard Japanese Patrol squad has 13 men.

Both of the British and Japanese are fun to play and are reasonably balanced against the original three Up Front nationalities.

Highly recommended.

Thread: Re:Components

rri1 — 2004-11-28T18:58:27+00:00

Maybe no one noticed it. It isn't worth calling the communitiy shameful.

I am glad you found out the info.

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JaggedTech — 2004-08-23T18:19:38+00:00

Some Japanese card fronts and backs

Thread: Re:Components

GlennG — 2004-06-28T01:11:38+00:00

Well, the community was a big letdown on this. (Pretty shameful after two months.) I have buddies I can verify the contents against, but for those of you who may require the parts breakdown you can refer to this page:

http://grognard.com/info1/ufparts.txt

Thread: Components

GlennG — 2004-05-02T02:56:51+00:00

Can anyone tell me the number of cards contained in Banzai?
I picked up a copy that looks mostly punched but unused and I want to be sure all the cards/counters are here.

By my count I have 58 personality cards, 28 vehicles and 32 counters (well one of my counters is missing; no biggie).

Thanks,
Glenn