Game: Up Front

Thread: Historical Campaign, Tobruk 1942. Part 1 – Scenario T, Armor Patrol

stroar — 2008-07-06T10:30:53+00:00

My friend and I have recently started another Historical Campaign. This time it is the Tobruk-campaign. He plays the attacking Germans and I play the British defending Tobruk. This is our first time in the desert in a campaign. So we’re exposed to some new problems. I’ll not go into detail concerning the desert rules at this point, but I’ll instead write a briefly about the differences from the European theatre when we encounter them during play. I guess not all of you may own the “Desert War” expansion.

My plan is to give a short (at least I’ll try) account of every scenario we play, and focus more than I usually do on the developments on the Personality roster and in the Campaign Victory Points (CVP)-tally after each scenario. My main intention is to give those of you who hasn’t played very many campaigns an insight in this aspect of Up Front and, hopefully, encourage more of you to try to play campaigns.

Along the way I’ll frequently mention the morale of the men I write about. And I’ll do that by noting, as an example, a morale 3 man as “M3”.

Let’s get on with the first scenario. That is Scenario T, Armor Patrol. And, despite the British being mainly on the defense in this campaign, this first scenario actually sees the British attack.

In this scenario, the British attack with eight men and a Bren-carrier. And they face the standard German 10-man squad. Attacking the Germans is never easy and I felt quite certain I’d loose this one. OK, I had an AFV, but the Bren-carrier is about the most useless piece of junk in the whole AFV-selection of Up Front. It has the firepower of an ordinary Bren-gun, minus the British firepower bonus. And it can actually panic! It’s useful only as a mobile foxhole as it gives infantry groups adjacent and on the same range chit an additional -1 modifier when being shot at. I first thought of placing the Bren carrier as group B, providing cover for both group A and C, but that’s, in my eyes, rather unwise as it makes individual transfer impossible. So the Bren carrier went in as Group A. I put four men in group B, the corporal, the Bren-gunner and the M2 Bell and M3 Willis (Bruce?), making this my fire group. And sergeant Vasey went in group C with the M4, Hodge, and the M3s Tresham and Cottrell. The victory conditions state the first player to have four unpinned men in protective terrain at range chit 4 is the winner. If nobody accomplishes that, the defender wins. My friend has several times lost due to me side-slipping Group C to become D and then advance to the winning range while keeping the distance to the enemy fire group. He wasn’t going to let that happen this time and set up two low-morale men in group A, Sgt Diettinger and a M2 man in group B and the rest in Group C. I was quite happy with this as he had to deplete his fire group to cover his left flank.

The start didn’t look too bright for me as the Germans managed to find an oasis as initial terrain (Desert rule: playing a woods-card and drawing a black RNC makes the woods an oasis. That yields a +1 to the morale and panic values of the occupants due to secure water-supply. If you’re moving and draw a red RNC when entering woods, the palms are only a mirage and the group continues to move while the woods-card is removed from play. Woods-cards discarded or drawn as RNC are removed from play).

I managed to entrench my Group A (successful only on the draw of 1 in the desert). I also transferred Tresham from C to B to boost my firepower. Now it seemed that my friend wasn’t content with staying at RR0, despite being in an oasis, so he advanced to range 1 and took up position on a hill. Luckily, I had a flank movement-card on the hand at that time and flanked him immediately. That flushed him down from the hill and into less favorable terrain. Now we started to trade shots. My firepower at RR1 was only one less than his and I actually managed to kill his M5 Bernhoff quite early. We both had our share of malfunctions (Desert Rule: weapon brake-down ranges are increased by one), but the German and British weapons are quite easily repaired.
Again my friend managed to find an oasis and again I flanked him to flush him out of the oasis. I positioned myself on a hill this time and he had no useful terrain on the hand, and thus had to belly-flop in the open. I even managed to entrench on the hill (black 1 only in the desert) and with the Bren carrier at my side I had a total cover of -3. In addition I discarded a wire on the German fire group. I had a good supply of fire-cards and managed to kill and rout two more enemies with the aid of a black Hero-card played on my Bren-gunner, Scarborough. By now the first deck was exhausted. The start of the second deck brought me no artillery-support and no German AFV-support would show up (Campaign Special Rules N and O). My friend managed to rid the wire and placed himself on a hill during a lull in my firing, effectively negating my elevated fire advantage. He soon received another wire, though, and I kept pinning his guys and he kept rallying them. All the while the rest of our groups, like during the first deck, did nothing but move back and forth and lay down smoke to use up cards.

Then my friend managed to rid his reduced fire group of the second wire. This was the moment I had been waiting for. I flanked him again. He obviously, as I had hoped, had used up his only movement-card to rid the wire. With the advantage of flank-fire, I killed both his machine-gunner and the last rifleman in the group. His lone corporal picked up the LMG and got out of the flanking fire after having successfully rallied several times after pinning fire. But I wasn’t too worried about the German fire group at that moment, so I started to advance my Group C instead to get into some close-up action. He advanced his group B and transferred a lowly M2 man to help out corporal Hessel with the LMG, but I still didn’t worry too much about that as I had the help of a few gullys to make a safe advance. By now we had started on the third deck. Still with no additional support for any of us. The advance to range 4 brought me to RR5 with both the German LMG and the lone sergeant Diettinger in German B. I received some pinning fire, but rallied quickly and took up position on an escarpment (the desert answer to -2 buildings). Simultaneously with C’s advance I had again managed to flank German C with my fire group. Fire from that group pinned the crewman of the German LMG. Meanwhile I had also started to advance the Bren-carrier to try to get four cards to range 4. However my supply of movement-cards now, not surprisingly, dried out.

The Germans were down to five men at this moment, so I needed only to inflict one more casualty to win. I had several options: I could blast his LMG with flanking fire or I could infiltrate his LMG-group as they would be quite easy prey for my rather tough dudes. However, I regarded the lone Sgt. Diettinger in German B as a more rewarding target and tried to infiltrate him with all three of my guys in C on morale check. They all passed, but the M3, Cottrell, didn’t manage to infiltrate. Then Diettinger actually tried to infiltrate me back! He first pinned on the morale-check, but heroed to make another attempt. The smoke he had earlier covered himself in secured his infiltration. “Well, I’ll make sure to kill him, then”, I thought as I started to draw morale checks for my Sgt. Vasey and his M4 companion, Hodge. I let Vasey try first as I wanted to grant him the élan-points for killing Diettinger. He made it, but the coward Hodge pinned! It was sergeant versus sergeant now with equal CCV of 8. I didn’t worry too much as I had saved a -3 concealment to play it on Diettinger. Well, there are two of them in the deck, except the other -3 concealment wasn’t in the deck but on my friend’s hand! Vasey got that one in return and got killed by Diettinger…

Luckily, Diettinger lost his infiltrator-status in the process and that gave me time to rally Hodge. The Germans with the LMG now retreated back to range 1, leaving Diettinger alone at RR5. And here came that damned kraut sergeant again! Diettinger infiltrated once again, attacked Hodge and killed him too! Even with enough leeway to maintain his infiltrator-status! My friend now obviously saw the Feldwebel (SSGT) insignia for Diettinger in the distance; he already had 11 élan-points, and proceeded to charge the last man in the group, the M3 Cottrell. No concealment was played. They both had CCV of 8 and we both drew a red 1. That meant that both men died. The Germans had then lost over 50% of their squad, and my guys had finally secured the victory.

Roster updates and Campaign Victory Points

British:
1. Sgt. Vasey: KIA
2. Cpl. Barnard: 3 elan (for scenario win), 1 survival
3. Pfc. Scarborough: 6 elan (scenario win and hero), 1 survival.
Scarborough trades 5 elan for an increase in morale to M5. He then has 1 elan remaining and gains one slash in the promotion column.
4. Pvt. Tresham: 3 elan.
5. Pvt. Hodge: KIA
6. Pvt. Willis: 3 elan.
8. Pvt. Cottrell: KIA
9. Pvt. Bell: 3 elan.

British CVP: Base number 30 + 12 (scenario win) – 3 (KIAs) = 39

German:
As I’m not the one to keep track of the Germans, I may not always be able go into too much detail on the German roster.
Suffice to say for this scenario, they took five casualties:
1. Diettinger
3. Schussel (LMG)
4. Schumacher
6. Bernhoff
9. Streich
And one man, Wolff (nr. 10), routed and consequently had to decrease his morale from 4 to 3. The remaining men, Cpl. Hessel (2), Schulz (5), Beck (7) and Wollak (8) each got 2 elan and 1 survival. All the heroed guys of the Germans had been killed after they were heroed.

German CVP: Base number 30 -5 (KIAs) = 25

Next time: Scenario C.

R.:)

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

dogmatix — 2008-07-04T06:55:37+00:00

al the pal wrote:
rdsmith wrote:
Speaking of Up Front and Origins, in talking to the MMP guys (now, don't groan too loud), the new version is back in the works.

....

Look for it in 2009.
(Yeah, I know. But it's hopeful.)

I got the same story from MMP at Origins, but their lack of eye contact indicated that it was not going to be released any time soon.

They have any similar fish tales about the rerelease of the British OOB or the entire Pacific Theater of Operations for ASL?

Thread: Re: Relative Range articles

elirlandes — 2008-07-04T02:48:20+00:00

Click on the 'Relative Range' link here, and it will lead you to a site with links to the first seven issues:-

http://grognard.com/zines.html

Thread: Relative Range articles

ChemEng — 2008-07-04T01:37:26+00:00

Does anyone have a link or download to the 10 Relative Range magazines that were published? The Up Front section at relativerange.com seems to indicate that they were 'webified', but the link it points to does not work anymore. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

dude163 — 2008-07-04T03:16:56+00:00

I mentioned this before, but I have scans of the original playtest version of UF , I found them in my old copy of UF , it had a CD in it when I got it

now if only I could understand everything about the game.......

here is an example:

[IMG]http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/7361/playingcards1mc4.jpg[/IMG]

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

GlennG — 2008-07-04T02:28:06+00:00

Having two copies (my play copy card sleeved is mint, and my other is unpunched), I ain't in any rush. I probably would pick up a new release copy because I'm a glutton for throwing money away.

Maybe a re-release would help me find some opponents. But given how dated the game is, I doubt it.

Still love the game nevertheless.

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

goldenboat — 2008-07-03T09:35:02+00:00

You are being far too reasonable.

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

wwscrispin — 2008-07-03T08:41:29+00:00

There is no word about it being in the next batch of preorders going up but that does not mean it might not happen. Usually Brian puts up a batch every three months or so.

I have no angst about this. MMP has been producing more games than ever before and they have had increasingly good production values. I do believe they are working on it again and I hope for the best. I doubt they are holding it back just to frustrate the people who love the game.

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

Firepigeon — 2008-07-03T06:37:28+00:00

Nor what year..... :wow: [/rant]

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

Chad Jensen — 2008-07-03T04:02:18+00:00

They still have four weeks to comply, mind you. Nobody stated that there would be news at the "beginning of" July.

Thread: Re: Pre-Order in July?

jmw23 — 2008-07-03T02:07:48+00:00

It's July, any news?

Thread: Re: If Weird War Tales had been about Up Front

Chanfan — 2008-07-02T07:49:16+00:00

Nice! Now you just need Creature Commandos or the G.I Robot for Up Font cards…

At least you aren't playing miniatures, then you'd already be doomed. DOOOOOOMED, I SAY!

[IMG]http://home.comcast.net/~medwards98020/images/WeirdWar47-1.jpg[/IMG]

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

al the pal — 2008-07-02T03:01:40+00:00

rdsmith wrote:
Speaking of Up Front and Origins, in talking to the MMP guys (now, don't groan too loud), the new version is back in the works.

....

Look for it in 2009.
(Yeah, I know. But it's hopeful.)

I got the same story from MMP at Origins, but their lack of eye contact indicated that it was not going to be released any time soon.

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

rri1 — 2008-07-01T11:49:19+00:00

You don't want to hear my Up Front purchase stories:
- My first copy was found at an SPCA book sale for $3. (I also got a wood tile Acquire for $2)

- Once at in a used game section at a game shop, I saw Up Front and Banzai for $4 each. I ask to look at the contents. All of the cards were in the Up Front box and all of the chits were in the Banzai box. "I'll take both, please!"

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

rdsmith — 2008-07-01T09:37:38+00:00

Speaking of Up Front and Origins, in talking to the MMP guys (now, don't groan too loud), the new version is back in the works. With an apparent snafu with the previous artist, a reworking has been achieved. The new game will have card quality components for all the cards (unlike the perforated ones), but the chits will make a return.

MMP is well aware that their biggest hurdle in doing a proposed pre-order is assuring its delivery.

Look for it in 2009.
(Yeah, I know. But it's hopeful.)

Thread: Re: Scenario G: Block Clearing – Caen, 1944. “Puma on the prowl”

stroar — 2008-07-01T08:24:34+00:00

I've experienced a few heroics with Dittinger myself, but he usually gets killed when I play with him...

Had my opponent had a Churchill, I'd probably have run away instead of entering the Puma.

R.:)

Thread: Re: Scenario G: Block Clearing – Caen, 1944. “Puma on the prowl”

Barbarossa — 2008-07-01T07:04:42+00:00

Fascinating account, which as you say illustrates the superb qualities of Up Front. I was reminded of my Staff Sgt Diettinger, M7/P7, who made it all the way through a campaign to the defence of Berlin. At a critical point he ran up to RR5 against an unbuttoned T34 and drew a black 2 to kill it with a PF, then killed a Russian M5 who was armed with a rifle ... only to be killed by another Russian M5 armed with a rifle.

One advantage of OT AFVs is that, when pinned, they're a lot easier to rally than a conventional tank which needs a Hero - as your opponent demonstrated. On the other hand, if he'd had a Churchill, your Puma probably wouldn't have got him ...!

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

KlausKnechtskern — 2008-07-01T02:33:17+00:00

Imago wrote:
UF+Banzai+Desert War for $105?!?!

Yowza!!! :p

I can top that easily ;-9

UF+Banzai(in own box)+Desert War+Guderians Blitzkrieg II for a meagre 180$ plus shipping :-))

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

dude163 — 2008-07-01T02:00:31+00:00

tppytel wrote:
I love big scores like that and have snagged a few of them recently. Of course, what ends up happening is the next time I'm looking at some game that's really more expensive than I want to pay for I say to myself "Self, you got an incredible deal on Up Front! You can buy this new game and still come out ahead!" Needless to say, the long-term effects are deleterious to my bank account.

HAHAH so true!

Thread: Scenario G: Block Clearing – Caen, 1944. “Puma on the prowl”

stroar — 2008-07-01T01:31:34+00:00

This is scenario eight from the “Caen” Historical Campaign that I and my friend finished yesterday evening. I was playing the Germans defending the city of Caen against the British. I wasn’t planning on doing any AARs from this campaign, but this scenario is a prime example that events can indeed take on an unexpected turn in Up Front. In particular when playing the Historical Campaigns.

Some background information first:
This scenario has several campaign special rules. First, the pillbox function as a strong building in addition to yielding the attacker an additional 12 Campaign Victory Points (CVP) if he’s able to finish the scenario with, at least, four unpinned men occupying the pillbox. Second, both sides are eligible to get support from artillery barrages, depending on their first RNC/RPC draw of each deck (it has to be black and at least a 2 for both the British and Germans). And third, the Germans in this scenario can receive armor-support from deck 2, based on their first RPC/RNC draw of each deck. We’ve modified this rule to bring in armor-support only if the draw is also black. But if one player eligible for armor-support does indeed draw a black card, he’s sure to receive support as we pick out only AFVs available at the time the campaigns takes place and stack them after increasing fighting quality. In effect this means that the higher the black card, the better the AFV one gets. This is not always true if you follow this rule as it is written. Especially for the British who are troubled with a host of mostly useless, early-war vehicles in their ordinary selection.

I set up my force in two groups. Group A consisted of Corporal Steiner along with Volke (RFL) and Hauptmann (MP) who had earlier been killed, but was brought back as a replacement for this scenario. Hauptmann and Volke each carried a panzerfaust. My Group B, receiving the pre-dealt -3 building, was composed of Schussel (LMG), Loth (MP) as crewman (he’d had his morale/panic boosted from 2/3 to 3/4 making him a bit less lousy than originally), Schumacher, Wolf and Beck. Beck had made a good campaign, having had his values boosted from 1/2 to 3/4 and newly been promoted to PFC. The last man in the group, was Corporal Hessel. As I had lost both my sergeants, Hessel acted as the SL for this scenario. Not bad really, because ha had also hung on for the whole campaign and had attained morale/panic values of a respectable 6/6. I was also lucky with my initial setup as my cards brought me another -3 building to shield my panzerfaust-toting Group A.

The enemy set up with five men in Group A. Two MPs, the Bren and two riflemen who were substitutes for dead MP guys (in campaigns rifles and machine pistols are interchangeable for purposes of substitution). His Group C consisted of three high-morale MPs. And Group B was the dreaded Sexton SP gun. This is a fearsome weapon. Its HE effect-number is 5 and it also has a respectable boxed effect-number of 4. Its drawbacks are being open-topped, thus subject to pinning, and low armor values. I’d been up against this one time before in the campaign. That had cost me the scenario as well as my three best men in addition to several other casualties.

Play started and quite early the British Group A advanced to range 1 and took up position in the pillbox… Effectively earning my friend 12 CVP if he could stay there. Well, at least I knew he wasn’t likely to move his guys out of there anytime soon. Then the Sexton advanced to range 1. I had it put in the stream without bogging it, and followed up with fire to pin it. I had a row of useable fire-cards pinning it several times, but the damn thing kept coming back and started to hurl 105mm shells around my guys. One hit killed Schumacher and my LMG, Schussel. Then the Sexton forded the stream, only to drive into another one. It bogged this time, but unbogged only a short time after. In the meantime I put smoke on my Group B. Loth acquired the LMG and Hessel took over as crewman.
The Sexton seemed content with having reduced my Group B and shifted fire to Group A. The poor guys were quickly bracketed and one shell killed both Volke and Hauptmann and pinned Steiner. Shortly after a sniper pinned the Sexton and Steiner got the peace he needed for rallying and acquiring one of the panzerfausts from the dead guys in his group. Things were starting to look grim and something had to be done. I had a gully on my hand and advanced Steiner into it. Luckily, I quickly drew another gully, bringing Steiner to RR3 with the Sexton. Steiner needed to come out of the gully, though. I found only a lowly brush, but decided to advance Steiner to RR4 with the Sexton. This also brought him to RR4 with the brits in the Pillbox. I figured Steiner would, only if very lucky, get a chance at a shot with the panzerfaust. Then my friend, for some odd reason, decided to discard a Hill on Steiner. He probably expected me to have a building on the hand and wanted to reduce my cover. I was only grateful, though, as this allowed Steiner to get to fire the panzerfaust before he was shot to smithereens by the guys in the pillbox who could now muster a respectable firepower of 17 (if adding the British firepower-bonus). I even heroed Steiner to give him the best to-hit chance I possibly could.

The first deck was at this time exhausted, so we reshuffled and the first card drawn from the second deck was Steiner’s to-hit resolution. This draw would also decide if I’d get an artillery barrage and armor-support. Steiner’s to-hit number was 0-2, rather good for a panzerfaust. I drew a red 5! :cry:
Steiner had missed his target by quite some distance and, as expected, the next moment he was cut down by a hail of lead from the pillbox. I was down to one group, granting my friend with the brits an extra card. The situation looked even worse and I started the search for a red movement-card to be able to withdraw. I quickly found one. However, I also had a healthy supply of concealment and rally. So I decided to hang on as long as I could in anticipation of what the third deck would bring me of armor and artillery.

The rest of the second deck was rather uneventful. The British were ahead in scenario victory points and even proceeded to advance Group C to range 3, taking up position in
-3 buildings and securing another 9 scenario victory points. The Sexton advanced to range 2 and continued to try to blast my remaining men, but I kept concealing and rallying and even firing back from time to time. I took pot-shots at the guys in the pillbox to exhaust the deck, and used the higher fire-cards on the Sexton. I managed to pin the beast a few times, but my friend also had a good supply of rally. At the end of the second deck I had a fine selection of small fire-cards amounting to a Fire 6 on the Sexton. That fire would be my first action of the third deck, that RNC also deciding if I would finally receive some support.

Our German vehicle-selection of 1944 from black 3 and up is a veritable panzer hall of fame (or chamber of horrors, depending on which side you play). Black 3 brings the Pzkpfw IV. Then the Panther comes, followed by the Tiger I. And if you’re lucky enough to draw a black 6, you get the legendary King Tiger.
Naturally, I had high hopes for the draw. I pulled a black 2.
That pinned the Sexton, brought me one barrage of fire strength 5 and armor support in shape of the eight wheeled armored car nicknamed “Puma”. Reviewing the Puma, I saw that a hit from the Sexton had a good chance of reducing the Puma to a heap of smoking junk. But I considered the Puma to be my last chance. And, besides, the Sexton was currently pinned. So I sacrificed my red movement-card to bring the Puma into play as Group Z. That also removed the British advantage of unbalanced position, bringing his hand down to five cards again.

The Sexton got only a rally 1.

I moved the Puma to become Group A.

The Sexton didn’t rally.

The Puma entered brush to, at least, get some protection against a 105mm armor-piercing round.

The Sexton still didn’t rally.

The Puma fired. It was a hit! The RR of 2 was added to the boxed fire strength 3 of the Puma’s 50mm gun. The RNC was a black 1. My tormentor finally brewed up with good margin and I could virtually hear my cardboard-soldiers cheer!
But even if the killing of the Sexton gave me 9 scenario VPs, it still left my opponent with more than the double of that.
The Puma set to work harassing the enemy, mainly the three in Group C, while I dropped smoke on my Group B and started to look for the right cards. I also managed to drop my barrage on the enemy Group C, to no effect. After some time I found a -3 building, a wire and a couple of movement cards, one with flank-movement. I had seen one stream pass by and my friend was steadily discarding, so I figured he had not the right cards yet to corrupt my plan. I advanced to range 1.

He discarded.

I decided to take my chances and flanked the pillbox. This was a potentially dangerous move as I left the safety of my -3 building by playing the second movement-card. Also I discarded wire on the pillbox-group. That was also potentially unwise, as a movement to rid the wire would also rid the brits in the pillbox of my flanking-fire advantage. But I suspected movement wasn't what my friend was hoarding at the moment...

Another British discard followed.

Finally I reached safe haven in the new -3 building, with flanking fire on the pillbox and a Fire 7 card on my hand. But now the three guys in the British Group C decided to have a say in the events. They fired and pinned one man. Fortunately I had a Hero-card. Schlaffer was heroed and my Fire 7, reduced to 4, pinned two men in the pillbox and killed the Bren-gunner. The brits were now down to only two unpinned men in the pillbox.

He rallied the two.

My last action was a Fire 4 attack, reduced to a lowly 1. The last card of the third deck pinned one man in the pillbox. We reshuffled to allow me to finish the attack. It didn’t do more damage, but the pinning of the one man was enough to deny my friend the 12 CVP for occupying the pillbox with four unpinned men. My advance of Group B to buildings at range 1 also gave me enough scenario VPs to deny my friend the scenario victory.

The appearance of the Puma had turned the scenario from a likely British win for a total of 24 CVPs to a German win and -10 CVPs for the British for loosing the Sexton and one man, and, in addition, not be able to hold the pillbox with the required number of unpinned men.

My friend conceded the campaign. The final CVP tally was Germany: 71, Britain: 27.

Up Front never ceases to surprise and bring nail-biting action to the game board!

R.:)

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

stroar — 2008-07-01T04:55:36+00:00

Congratulations!
Like Brian, I'm very pleased to see someone loving the game and playing it often walk away with such a bargain!

R.:)

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

ChemEng — 2008-07-01T02:10:53+00:00

goldenboat wrote:
Excellent score! I wonder if Troll & Toad were fully aware of the collector value of those expansions, particularly the unpunched Desert War.Judging by how many times their stock boy told me they fully inventory each and every one of their out of print games--they should have been. Regardless, on my way back to the hotel I had the realization that I got a very good deal on an high demand out of print board game from Troll and Toad. Whowuddathot that would ever happen?

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

tppytel — 2008-07-01T01:55:03+00:00

I love big scores like that and have snagged a few of them recently. Of course, what ends up happening is the next time I'm looking at some game that's really more expensive than I want to pay for I say to myself "Self, you got an incredible deal on Up Front! You can buy this new game and still come out ahead!" Needless to say, the long-term effects are deleterious to my bank account.

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

Imago — 2008-07-01T01:43:31+00:00

UF+Banzai+Desert War for $105?!?!

Yowza!!! :p

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

dogmatix — 2008-07-01T01:34:43+00:00

Great score!

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

fatso — 2008-07-01T01:21:24+00:00

I'm glad it went to someone who's such a fan of the game and will play it often! ... I still wish I could have won that last match, It sure was close. It was great playing Up Front at Origins.

Thread: Re: Up Front and Origins

goldenboat — 2008-07-01T12:18:23+00:00

ChemEng wrote:
I just wanted to share this part of my Origins story with those who may appreciate my excitement. I went there looking for a backup copy of the game. All weekend I went looking for it at the auction, consignment shop, and used game shops but none had it.

Finally, I found a copy of it in Very Good condition at Troll and Toad for $105. Not a good deal, but decent--especially for Troll and Toad. I asked them to open it so I can verify that the internal condition matches the box. The first thing I see is a Japanese personality card. I flipped through it some more and there is a copy of Desert War rules. Still flipping to the back of the box I notice unpunched French counters.

I quickly purchased it and let out an internal little girl geek scream. For $105, I got a complete set of Up Front, Bonzai, and Desert War with the Desert War completely unpunched.

Excellent score! I wonder if Troll & Toad were fully aware of the collector value of those expansions, particularly the unpunched Desert War.

Thread: Up Front and Origins

ChemEng — 2008-06-30T11:19:27+00:00

I just wanted to share this part of my Origins story with those who may appreciate my excitement. I went there looking for a backup copy of the game. All weekend I went looking for it at the auction, consignment shop, and used game shops but none had it.

Finally, I found a copy of it in Very Good condition at Troll and Toad for $105. Not a good deal, but decent--especially for Troll and Toad. I asked them to open it so I can verify that the internal condition matches the box. The first thing I see is a Japanese personality card. I flipped through it some more and there is a copy of Desert War rules. Still flipping to the back of the box I notice unpunched French counters.

I quickly purchased it and let out an internal little girl geek scream. For $105, I got a complete set of Up Front, Bonzai, and Desert War with the Desert War completely unpunched.

Thread: Re: If Weird War Tales had been about Up Front

stroar — 2008-06-30T01:22:05+00:00

Very good! I almost feel sorry for the poor sergeant, stuck in a never-ending war. And even without the possibility of a swift death to relieve him from his torments. :zombie:

R.:)

Thread: Re: 2 more rules questions...

ChemEng — 2008-06-30T10:27:40+00:00

stroar wrote:
Just remember that non-opposite and non-directly adjacent groups, like B and D, can never be at RR5 to each other. That's a good help too.I hadn't noticed that before. Man this is one well designed game!

Thread: Re: If Weird War Tales had been about Up Front

nicktaruffi — 2008-06-30T06:31:09+00:00

Hey man, you got talent!

Thread: Re: A super gift!

davebliz — 2008-06-30T05:33:30+00:00

Very impressive, gets me sad once again with the demise of UFPBW site.

Thread: Re: A super gift!

stroar — 2008-06-30T05:21:35+00:00

JaggedTech wrote:
Are Tom Cundiff's expansions still available, by the way?

I think you can still buy them at his website http://mysite.verizon.net/rjlein/osm/index.html. They are a bit pricey, but he has quite a few.

Thanks a lot!
Quite a few, indeed! Some of them look very interesting.

R.:)

Thread: Re: 2 more rules questions...

stroar — 2008-06-30T05:06:17+00:00

Just remember that non-opposite and non-directly adjacent groups, like B and D, can never be at RR5 to eachother. That's a good help too.

R.:)