Matakishi's Tea House
A simple little site...
Operation: Running Deer
This was a game I ran at BLAM 09 the annual British Lead Adventure Forum get-together. To my surprise it won the Best Game/Most Enjoyable Game award despite very strong competition.
This is a game for two players and uses the Crossfire rules.
The Scenario:
It is somewhere in Africa in the 1970s, Rebels are running riot in the main city of an small principality attacking supporters of the previous government and any Europeans they can find.
A rescue attempt is being staged by a collection of Western Embassies. They have hired a local band of mercenaries previously working for the toppled local government to escort embassy staff and officials in commandeered trucks to the airport where a rescue plane will rendezvous with the column and whisk everyone to safety.
The Table:
click on the photo for a bigger picture.
I set this up on a 6ft x 4ft table. The airport was at one short end and the mercenary entry point was at the other. Between these two points was a section of the city. Many of the roads were blocked with rubble or wrecked cars to make them impassable to the mercenary vehicles. Only a single twisting route remained.
The route is marked in red on the picture.
The Forces:
Mercenary Force.
click on the photo for a bigger picture.
Veterans.
Mercenary stands do not need to have LOS to a command stand for movement.
Two Platoons each of 1 Command jeep (HMG, 4 dice) and 2 troop jeeps (HMG, 4 dice)
One Ferret armoured car (HMG, 4 dice).
Three trucks of civilians.
Troops that dismount from a jeep are placed next to it as a stand of infantry (assault rifles, 3 dice) the jeep remains as a supporting heavy machine gun.
Command jeeps are replaced by a dismounted command stand (counts as a rifle stand, 3 dice, +2 for morale and close combat) and a dismounted MG stand (4 dice).
The crew of the armoured car are represented by a rifle stand (3 dice)
The civilians in the trucks may not dismount. If a truck receives a 'suppress' or 'kill' result the civilians are considered to have been killed or run off in panic and are lost.
Rebel Force.
Regulars.
Rebels need to have a LOS to their PC at the beginning of their move.
Four Platoons each of 4 infantry stands (3 dice) and a PC (+1)
One Company Commander stand (+2, counts as an infantry stand, 3 dice).
The rebels are armed with enough RPGs that any stand may engage and damage any of the mercenaries' vehicles.
Special Rules:
Rebel fire will not kill a suppressed mercenary stand or vehicle with a second suppress. Only an actual 'kill' result will remove a mercenary stand from play.
As soon as the rebel player has lost enough stands to form a new platoon (4 infantry and a PC) he may bring them into play during his turn. They appear randomly; since my table is made up from three 2ft x 4ft sections I allocated a number from 1-6 to each short edge and the rebel player rolled a dice.
The mercenary player may keep his forces off table and enter any stands he wishes from anywhere along his table edge during his initiatives. Once a unit enters the table it may not retreat off again and return. If it leaves by any edge other than the airport edge it is considered lost and destroyed.
Victory:
The mercenaries win if all three trucks reach the airport. Less than three is a partial victory.
The rebels win if they destroy all three trucks.
This is a game for two players and uses the Crossfire rules.
The Scenario:
It is somewhere in Africa in the 1970s, Rebels are running riot in the main city of an small principality attacking supporters of the previous government and any Europeans they can find.
A rescue attempt is being staged by a collection of Western Embassies. They have hired a local band of mercenaries previously working for the toppled local government to escort embassy staff and officials in commandeered trucks to the airport where a rescue plane will rendezvous with the column and whisk everyone to safety.
The Table:
click on the photo for a bigger picture.
I set this up on a 6ft x 4ft table. The airport was at one short end and the mercenary entry point was at the other. Between these two points was a section of the city. Many of the roads were blocked with rubble or wrecked cars to make them impassable to the mercenary vehicles. Only a single twisting route remained.
The route is marked in red on the picture.
The Forces:
Mercenary Force.
click on the photo for a bigger picture.
Veterans.
Mercenary stands do not need to have LOS to a command stand for movement.
Two Platoons each of 1 Command jeep (HMG, 4 dice) and 2 troop jeeps (HMG, 4 dice)
One Ferret armoured car (HMG, 4 dice).
Three trucks of civilians.
Troops that dismount from a jeep are placed next to it as a stand of infantry (assault rifles, 3 dice) the jeep remains as a supporting heavy machine gun.
Command jeeps are replaced by a dismounted command stand (counts as a rifle stand, 3 dice, +2 for morale and close combat) and a dismounted MG stand (4 dice).
The crew of the armoured car are represented by a rifle stand (3 dice)
The civilians in the trucks may not dismount. If a truck receives a 'suppress' or 'kill' result the civilians are considered to have been killed or run off in panic and are lost.
Rebel Force.
Regulars.
Rebels need to have a LOS to their PC at the beginning of their move.
Four Platoons each of 4 infantry stands (3 dice) and a PC (+1)
One Company Commander stand (+2, counts as an infantry stand, 3 dice).
The rebels are armed with enough RPGs that any stand may engage and damage any of the mercenaries' vehicles.
Special Rules:
Rebel fire will not kill a suppressed mercenary stand or vehicle with a second suppress. Only an actual 'kill' result will remove a mercenary stand from play.
As soon as the rebel player has lost enough stands to form a new platoon (4 infantry and a PC) he may bring them into play during his turn. They appear randomly; since my table is made up from three 2ft x 4ft sections I allocated a number from 1-6 to each short edge and the rebel player rolled a dice.
The mercenary player may keep his forces off table and enter any stands he wishes from anywhere along his table edge during his initiatives. Once a unit enters the table it may not retreat off again and return. If it leaves by any edge other than the airport edge it is considered lost and destroyed.
Victory:
The mercenaries win if all three trucks reach the airport. Less than three is a partial victory.
The rebels win if they destroy all three trucks.
Resources
Mercenaries and their jeeps are from Britannia Miniatures, the African rebels are from The Assault Group.
How I made the city buildings is here:
and here:
How to build the airport is here:
How to make the jungle is here:
How I made the city buildings is here:
and here:
How to build the airport is here:
How to make the jungle is here:
