Post by asuryanmark on Nov 9, 2015 1:35:39 GMT -7
Prologue
Enter the Players
Just a note to anyone reading this, there's going to be a lot of stuff here, so I just want to say up front for people to feel free to add their comments, questions and suggestions here. Players, go nuts sharing your thoughts and memorable moments in the first Foxhole Memorial! And I apologize for any name misspellings in advance.
Enter the Players
Bryson: The South Alberta Regiment [CDN] (Tanks/Combined Arms)
Kleyson: Canadian Airborne Division [CDN] (Infantry)
Dave J: German Infantry Company [GER] (Infantry/Tank Support)
Shaun: The Hitler Youth Brigade [GER] (Infantry/Tank Support)
Mesha: Fortified German Company [GER] (Bunkers)
Jimmy: Herman Goering Panzer Division [GER] (Tanks)
I thank everyone for coming and playing, I certainly hope you had a fun experience!
And yes, I admit, I hijacked Jimmy into this, so I'm grateful for his time.
Thank you good sir!Event Schedule
First Round was the Cauldron Mission. Basically think of it as one side broke through the lines and is waiting for support, while the other side is counterattacking in the meantime. By far one of the more complicated missions. So of course I had it as the first one.
Shaun vs Jimmy, Mesha vs Kleyson, and Bryson vs Dave for the first round.
Second Round was the Pincer Mission. The attacker storms forward to hold the objective while reserves hopefully come forward to catch the attackers on their flanks. It becomes a mix of endurance match meets race against time.
Jimmy vs Dave, Bryson vs Mesha, and Shaun vs Kleyson for this round.
Third Round was the Free-For-All mission. This is more your traditional 40k-style fight, where both sides have to take objectives in the opponent's deployment zone.
Jimmy vs Kleyson, Bryson vs Shaun, and Dave vs Mesha for this round.
See the photos below for some of the action.
Prizes!
The award packs were mostly themed prizes, based on the nationality of the respective commander of note.
The Rommel - Highest number of models/bases controlling or contesting an objective the player needs to win at the end of a match. This was the one I thought would be the hardest one to pull off, so I made it one of the bigger prizes.
Bryson wins this one with 7 models/bases within objective range. His prizes were a Panther platoon, German Infantry, and German Halftracks. Next closest was Kleyson with 5. Go Canadians!
The Patton - Highest number of casualties inflicted.
Shaun wins this one with 71 kills. His prize - Two platoons of US Shermans with the 76mm main gun. That should help his Kill/Loss ratio. Next closest was Jimmy with 69.
The Montgomery - Lowest number of casualties taken.
Mesha takes this one, losing only 29 models/bases. She won two platoons of British Shermans with Firefly upgrades. Next closest was Jimmy with 31. The second award Jimmy misses out on by 2 points. Yikes.
The Zhukov - Highest number of casualties taken. - Many said they would claim The Zhukov, but truly, there could be only one.
Kleyson by far takes this with staggering losses of 95 models/bases. He wins 10 Russian T34 tanks and a Russian Truck. Next closest was Shaun with 68. I think Allied Command would have some issues with Kleyson's, well, efficiency record
The Pink Panther - The Player's Choice Award! - Everyone nominated someone (for any reason) to win this award by secret ballot.
Kleyson wins the popular vote, and takes home a box of Russian Infantry, a box of Russian Heavy Weapons Teams, a box of Russian Anti-Tank guns, and three Russian Rocket Artillery Trucks (Katuchyas). He will eventually get a pink Panther tank for his win as well.
Things of Note
The Allies were the best at the Axis award, and the Axis were the best at the Allies awards. The Russian award was an Ally win with an Axis runner up. An amusing happenstance, in the vein of balance in the force.
Jimmy is a beast at wargaming. If we were playing a more traditional format, he would've won first place with a 3-0 win-loss record. And he won all his games by managing to kill the enemy commanders and forcing a company morale check, which his opponent promptly failed. Also, his Kill/Loss ratio was sitting at 2.22. The next closest was Bryson at 1.65. I swear this list I gave him wasn't that cheesy! It was supposed to be basic for rookies. And his first game was the day before!
I had never seen Mesha's fortified company before today. Every time I look at it, I cringe. It's not unbeatable but damn, it is frightening. A "Fortress of Doom," it is.
Never underestimate crazy Canadian infantry. Kleyson fended off Shaun's army for a while and deeply cut into Jimmy's army on sheer chutzpah and PIATs alone. (PIATs are the Canadian/British answer to the Bazooka)
Kleyson, with his two prizes, basically has won a starter Russian army. He was also a rookie, with maybe 4 games under his belt beforehand I think.
Bryson, representing the hometown boys as I call them, did the best against Mesha's Fortress of Doom, forcing the only conceding of game in the whole event.
I think I need to work with Dave and his affinity for "juicy rear armor" which Jimmy was subtly trying to exploit. Also, I'll have to let Dave bring the Romanians in next time.
Most smoking vehicle wrecks on the field had to be the end of Shaun's and Jimmy's match. So many cotton balls on the table.
Apparently I give more prizes than Onslaught in Edmonton. I should've made the joke that maybe it's time to switch games.
Actually there was a lot for prizes, as the prize pool came from Neutral Ground, Kevin Kwok, and from the supply of untouched kits that belonged to my brother. I'd guess about $400-$500 retail. It was a good haul.I was amused by people coming in and going "Oh, is this Warhammer?" Not quite, but it's related. I keep telling people if you can play Warhammer, you can play Flames of War. I have proof of that now!
Thoughts From The Event Organizer
Truth be told, I like the non-standard scoring format. I think everyone else appreciated it as well. And the spread of prizes worked out beautifully. I think it works better than a traditional format when facing forced time restrictions per round, as I was doing.
If I run this next year, I won't be able to provide prizes myself, but I think an entry fee of a donation to a prize pool would be kind of nice. Community awards for a community game, y'know? On that note, Foxhole Memorial 2016 would tentatively be scheduled for November 6, 2016 (the Sunday on first full weekend in November).
I would still keep the five prize categories and their victory conditions. I actually wasn't sure about the one for The Rommel before but after this, I'm OK with it; it provides another means to win something by means other than killing or be killed.
My thanks to Neutral Ground and Showcase Comics for their support. I pointed out to Dave that if he hadn't been stocking Flames of War, this event might not have even been conceived. And Bobby willing to turn Magic players away today, that was great of him to do for us.
Many, many, many thanks to Shaun for his rules support. I swear you must have the book damn near memorized by now!
I never thought I'd see you excited to play the Americans, but I can't wait to see what shenanigans you pull out of the hat with them. You may want some 105mm Shermans, just saying Bailey, I heard a rumor you had the French mostly ready to go. Too bad you weren't able to make it, I think you would've had a blast.
Lastly, I think my brother would be proud. Or at least amused. Probably both.
Warning! Heavy Image Load Ahead!
Shaun vs Jimmy
Mesha vs Kleyson
Bryson vs Dave
Shaun vs Kleyson
Jimmy vs Dave
Mesha vs Bryson
Bryson vs Shaun
Jimmy vs Kleyson
Dave vs Mesha
That's all for Foxhole Memorial 2015. See you next time!
