To the Boat!

Having located the lone Sampson, with nothing but his rifle, a few rounds and a canteen, Baxter turns back for the river.

The (hastily requisitioned and armed) Navy Gunboat Visayas waits at anchor on the St. Paul river



Commanded by Ensign Newbolt, he's ordered the crew to make ready for a fight and bring up ready ammunition for the deck gun



Baxter's Patrol returning with Sampson



In a bid to make contact with the gunboat crew ashore as quickly as possible, Norton races ahead of the main group



In his haste, he's ambushed by a native warrior, but Norton sidesteps him with ease, ducking under the thrown spear



Meanwhile back on the ridge, two large Achillobators are moving in



Norton reaches the Shore Party, and breathless convinces them to return with him - he knows what's hunting Baxter and his men



An Allosaurus has been trailing them all morning!



With them in sight for once, it races over the ridgeline and towers above them



The Marines are beset on all sides - and their last minute firing has little effect on the creatures



Jackson is torn in half by the Allosaurus, and one of the Achillobators kills Hill too. Baxter smacks the beast in front of him with the stock of his shotgun but that only serves to annoy it!



Norton leads the Shore Party back up the trail - time is of the essence



Sampson has backed away and, taking careful aim with his rifle hits the Achillobator attacking Baxter - the round hits its head and renders it punch-drunk. Baxter takes the opportunity to sprint away from the mayhem



The two groups meet up and with thing quietening down, they creep into the undergrowth to try to evade the terrible lizards



As they move past a still pool, a crocodile surges out of the water - the same "albino alligator" which nearly got Norton two days earlier



The beasts give chase, but this time the Marines and Seamen are ready for them - they open fire to deadly effect



Even the Allosaurus has been slain - they wade out to the gunboat



Quite pleased with this game - and the tweaks that make Perilous Trail a solo game.

More to follow - has the other Marine patrol found the Reverend Johnston?

Better Late than Never

We can joke about Americans arriving late for wars - and the day after Gaelcon the Marines arrive!
Staff Sergeant Baxter leads a patrol into the jungle away from the St. Paul river where their gunboat lies.

Also, testing out solo-play for Perilous Trail! Solo Nexus made November Solo Tabletop Gaming Appreciation Month
Spacejacker (Tiny Solitary Soldiers) coined the term Solopalooza - which I am stealing!

Baxter, Norton, Jackson and Hill move slowly through the jungle.



Up into the foothills through lush jungle



"Stay frosty" Baxter warns them. Jackson has a bad feeling about this one - Hill tells him that he always says that!



Two beasts lurk in the deep undergrowth



An uphill some Rators creep along a ridgeline



With danger surrounding them, Baxter orders the men onto a rock ledge overlooking a peaceful pool - here they can make a stand against whatever's in the jungle



A Crocodile strikes, but Norton avoids the beast - just like an Albino Alligator he saw in New York Zoo! (OK, I admit it, it's not painted)



Distracted and stepping back from the water, the Marines don't notice the creatures charge out until it's almost two late



A stern fusilade puts down two of them, Baxter waits until he can smell the Raptor's breath before unloading the shotgun into it. Another raptor teeters into the pool, and the waiting jaws of one lucky crocodile



The surviving Achillobator makes a hasty retreat to look for another opportunity



Baxter gives chase and uses his pump-action to telling effect



Rather pleased with how this played out actually - I'm writing up some notes into the game now. Another playtest to come tomorrow or Tuesday.

Wargaming 101

I see it's 'Teach your Kids to Game' week

Over the last few weekends, I told a story quite a few times to various people about this wargaming experiment during the summer!

An amphibious invasion by aquatic smurfs (aboard a flotilla of sailboats) with a gaggle of rubber duckies of a peaceful island (dominated by a yellow keep) held by Peppa Pig and her family.



Old-school rules - throw a ball, if you knock it over it's out, and every throw the flotilla moves close to the island!



Given that she's only 3 and a bit, Isabel's aim wasn't quite as good a mine



But she took the nuclear option in the end - point blank range!



Enjoyable fun! She's playing with my dinosaurs already, and she wants to paint a crocodile with me over the weekend...

Battle of Salamanca (Epic)

Early on July 22, Marmont's army was moving south, with its leading elements southeast of Salamanca. To the west, the Marshal could see Wellington's 7th Division deployed on a ridge. Spotting a dust cloud in the distance, Marmont surmised that most of the British army was in retreat and that he faced only a rearguard. He planned to move his French army south, then west to turn the British right flank.

Marmont was mistaken. Wellington actually had most of his divisions hidden behind the ridge. His 3rd and 5th Divisions would soon arrive from Salamanca.



The British left crosses the Algabete, with the proverbial wind behind them this Division makes a serious attempt to destroy the French here



The French storm through the British centre, sending the 'Halberdiers' reeling backwards and splitting the Anglo-Portuguese army in twain



The massed cavalry on the British right make attack after attack, but they are fended off and sent packing by the French line



The British advance on the left is stopped and the intense struggle at the ridge between Calvarasa de Ariba and the river continues all morning



The Grenadiers combine with the 'Drogheda Cossacks' to send the advance French battalions back to hell! But is it enough to win the day?



On the left, the British sweep back across the river, with the loss of some guns but inflicting serious damage on the French over the hill



It is not enough, and the French surge to victory on the British right, taking the honours.

This scenario was played three times over the weekend, this time going to the French 12-8; in the afternoon it was 12-10 to the French, but on Sunday the British restored their honour with a 12-9 victory.

Just Businessmen

With the Spinosaurus steaks tidied away, these legitimate businessmen can return to their negotiations.

A group of Raptors has been attracted by the smell of spilled rum - they sneak in towards the buildings



The men retreat behind some boxes, preparing their Alamo - but the beasts are smarter than that and approach from around the back!



One of them goes down, and the rest use the feeding frenzy as an opportunity to leg it - they stop, turn around the let the beasts have it



One of the Raptors, who had remained hidden during the initial rush, creeps out behind Reilly and tries to snap his legs off. The wily hitman twirls away and runs, shooting off most of his tommy gun's drum as he does so



Dillahunt, who thought he was safe in the water tower finds something else up there with him



Yates and Salvatore close the door of the house, and the first Raptor to stick his nose inside gets it shot off



Reilly's escape by car is cut off by a Raptor on the roof



Reilly and Dillahunt brave the danger, taking to the cars - two Raptors by the storehouse get an unpleasant surprise as the vehicles try to run them over!



Reilly takes care of his target, but the other Raptors avoids the hurtling car and snaps at Dillahunt - in his attempt to avoid the jaws, Dillahunt loses control of the car and it flips over, rolling over the unfortunate mobster



Reilly gets out of the car and runs into the storehouse, taking out another of the Raptors as he goes - two more are nearby but can't seem to make out his scent amongst the heady stench of rum



Yates and his remaining henchman make their last stand in the courtyard



The last Raptor is put down like a dog



Tommy guns seem to do fine after all!
That was all I had time for at Gaelcon - though I did get to play some of the Wild Geese's Three Musketeers game, Conrad Kinch's Battle of Salamanca. Thanks for reading!

The Bigger They Come

The Yates outfit are the main operators in Monrovia. They're about to feel the heat of competition...

Newcomer in West Africa - Reilly, with his man Young arrive at the Yates' place



An uninvited guest has arrived at their business meeting - their initial fusilade doesn't stop the monster, but it does think twice and circles around through some thick jungle



After quickly grabbing guns from the cars the mobsters run for this shack and hunker down - they behemoth oustide doesn't spot them but he does notice Dillahunt on top of the water tower



Taking fire from above the Spinosaurus lurks beneath what seems to Dillahunt like a flimsy structure - he loses his nerve and runs for it (at a pace he didn't know he had in him!)



Charging out after him the rest of the mobster inside the shack open up with everything they have



The gigantic lizard falls to the ground, toast! The tommy-gun barrels are melting! Back to business fellas.