Newbie Introduction w/Grandpa's Playtest

Oogie Da Bruce · 11-29-2005, 02:15 PM

Hi all,

Oogie here. I've been doing extensive lurking on this forum since GenCon SoCal. That is were I got my first taste of A&A minis, and oh what a taste it was

I am an avid gamer. It used to be video games, but in the past 5 years I have gravitated to Board Games and Miniatures. I played some Warhammer Fantasy but had to give it up (didn't have enought time to paint and memorize the huge rulebooks). I did look into Flames of War, but same had the same problem.

Heroscape filled the niche nicely. All the minis were painted and the rules were simple enough to teach, but allowed for strategic play. These are the same positives that I found when demo'ing A&A minis.

Beautifully painted minis (compared to my horrid work), all the unit info is clearly explained on their cards and hour to play a 100 point game and round limit scenario w/objectives to vary from the "kill 'em all" engagements. All this under the nostalgic backdrop of my grandfather's glory days, WWII.

If you havn't already guessed by my avatar or signature, I was raised by my grandfather who was part of "Blood and Guts" Patton's 3rd Infantry Division. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the taking of the Rhine River and many other battles. He was also in the Korean War. He was awarded 2 Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star (among others) and was nicknamed "Seargent Christmas Tree" by his troops, due to his overwhelming medal count.

I showed the game to my grandpa and even before we started playing, we talked for hours. He used to mini's and maps to diagram some of his old battles. He had stories for nearly every mini from the European Front.

Finally we got to playing and Grandpa showed his savy.

He was the Allies and advanced his Shermans to a nearby city, used the cover from the city and forest to advance his infantry along my right flank, while covering the open area on the left with 6 pounders.

I tried to hit his Shermans at range with my Panzers, but he had some light tanks moving advancing to the FAR left which began to pepper me from the rear.

All this time he was using his Humbar to Strike and Fade along the roads and pretty much decimated my soldiers.

I took out his Shermans, but he took out my Panzers. He still had a light tank, humber, and plenty of infantry to clean up.

He enjoyed the game and we talked about the new expansions. He was very delighted to here that there would be a US half-track (said that they had came through for him on more than one occasion). And was not excited about snipers until he thought of flushing them out and giving the sneaky B*stards what then deserved.

I am a frequent poster on Heroscape HQ and hope to be more familiar with all of you here at the AH Boards.

Looking forward to unit and tactics discussion, and what ever else pops up,

Oogie

PatrickWR · 11-29-2005, 02:22 PM

Wow. Now that is quite possibly one of the coolest posts I've yet seen on this forum. WOTC has truly stumbled across something grand if their game can bridge generations like that. Great story!

Jumpmaster G · 11-29-2005, 02:42 PM

You talk to Grandpa every chance you get!!!! Glean every bit of info out of him and then some! Never stop telling him how much you appreciate him. (and that I do too for that matter!) These guys are leaving us at an alarming rate and I, for one, will feel alot less safe in this world when they're gone!

P.S. Grandpas sentiments on ole "Blood and Guts" echoes nearly every 3rd army vet I've ever had the pleasure to talk to!

Iron Warrior · 11-29-2005, 02:56 PM

I could not agree with you more J.G.. My grandfather served in WWII and Korea and now most of my friends (College level) can't place Korea/Poland/Denmark/etc... on a map of the world

. Sad to know how little people understand history. The losses taken during WWII make Iraq look insignificant. (on a side note I did a survey and one of the questions was where was Syria and no one answered correctly out of 60+ people

)

Domhnall101 · 11-29-2005, 03:04 PM

[quote=Jumpmaster G]These guys are leaving us at an alarming rate and I, for one, will feel alot less safe in this world when they're gone!

Despite neutrality Ireland sent many like your grandpa to fight in Europe and I wanted to let you know that he and his comrades are owed a large debt by us that have come after them not just in the US but throughout the world

Waffen-SS(leader) · 11-29-2005, 03:17 PM

I had different relivtives fight for all different sides. My Grandpa fought on D-day, Africa... and countless others and I had some German ancesters that died on the Russian front and some Italian ones...

Eric

FSSF · 11-29-2005, 03:50 PM

I agree with PatrickWR, this is the coolest post I have read on this board yet. Those of you who still have relatives that went to war and are willing to talk about it are so lucky. Carpe Diem to all. Sease the day and don't waste the opportunity. I envy you so much.

Stojakovic · 11-29-2005, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Iron Warrior

I could not agree with you more J.G.. My grandfather served in WWII and Korea and now most of my friends (College level) can't place Korea/Poland/Denmark/etc... on a map of the world

. Sad to know how little people understand history. The losses taken during WWII make Iraq look insignificant. (on a side note I did a survey and one of the questions was where was Syria and no one answered correctly out of 60+ people

)

This man was crazy but I have to agree with him here and I think most of you would too...

"The man who has no sense of history, is like a man who has no ears or eyes"

- Adolf Hitler

And it is nice to hear about people talking about how much they honor veterans.

capchris · 11-29-2005, 03:59 PM

Congrats on your bonding with your grand-dad! Learn as much of his story that he wants to tell, now, while he is available.

Before your first/next official tournament, ask him to come along. Maybe he'll even let you wear the Bronze Star for good luck! And paint up a special counter (halftrack, maybe?) representing him.

Field Marshall Rommel · 11-29-2005, 04:02 PM

Unfortunately, I lost my grandfather a few years ago. I always listened to his stories about the Pacific and never forgot to tell him how much I loved him and appreciated his sacricices for all of us. Don't let these servicemen (and women) be forgotten!

11-29-2005, 02:15 PM	#1
Oogie Da Bruce Granddaddy's Son Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Whittier, CA Posts: 24	Newbie Introduction w/Grandpa's Playtest Hi all, Oogie here. I've been doing extensive lurking on this forum since GenCon SoCal. That is were I got my first taste of A&A minis, and oh what a taste it was I am an avid gamer. It used to be video games, but in the past 5 years I have gravitated to Board Games and Miniatures. I played some Warhammer Fantasy but had to give it up (didn't have enought time to paint and memorize the huge rulebooks). I did look into Flames of War, but same had the same problem. Heroscape filled the niche nicely. All the minis were painted and the rules were simple enough to teach, but allowed for strategic play. These are the same positives that I found when demo'ing A&A minis. Beautifully painted minis (compared to my horrid work), all the unit info is clearly explained on their cards and hour to play a 100 point game and round limit scenario w/objectives to vary from the "kill 'em all" engagements. All this under the nostalgic backdrop of my grandfather's glory days, WWII. If you havn't already guessed by my avatar or signature, I was raised by my grandfather who was part of "Blood and Guts" Patton's 3rd Infantry Division. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge, the taking of the Rhine River and many other battles. He was also in the Korean War. He was awarded 2 Purple Hearts and the Bronze Star (among others) and was nicknamed "Seargent Christmas Tree" by his troops, due to his overwhelming medal count. I showed the game to my grandpa and even before we started playing, we talked for hours. He used to mini's and maps to diagram some of his old battles. He had stories for nearly every mini from the European Front. Finally we got to playing and Grandpa showed his savy. He was the Allies and advanced his Shermans to a nearby city, used the cover from the city and forest to advance his infantry along my right flank, while covering the open area on the left with 6 pounders. I tried to hit his Shermans at range with my Panzers, but he had some light tanks moving advancing to the FAR left which began to pepper me from the rear. All this time he was using his Humbar to Strike and Fade along the roads and pretty much decimated my soldiers. I took out his Shermans, but he took out my Panzers. He still had a light tank, humber, and plenty of infantry to clean up. He enjoyed the game and we talked about the new expansions. He was very delighted to here that there would be a US half-track (said that they had came through for him on more than one occasion). And was not excited about snipers until he thought of flushing them out and giving the sneaky Bstards what then deserved. I am a frequent poster on Heroscape HQ and hope to be more familiar with all of you here at the AH Boards. Looking forward to unit and tactics discussion, and what ever else pops up, Oogie __________________ 'Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddmned-B*tch named Georgie Patton!'

11-29-2005, 02:22 PM	#2
PatrickWR HHR Committee Member Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,843	Wow. Now that is quite possibly one of the coolest posts I've yet seen on this forum. WOTC has truly stumbled across something grand if their game can bridge generations like that. Great story! __________________ "If we come to a minefield, our infantry attacks exactly as it were not there." -- Marshall Georgi Zhukov HHR - An Axis & Allies Variant Ruleset

11-29-2005, 02:56 PM	#4
Iron Warrior Grand Warmaster Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: S.W. MO Posts: 48	I could not agree with you more J.G.. My grandfather served in WWII and Korea and now most of my friends (College level) can't place Korea/Poland/Denmark/etc... on a map of the world . Sad to know how little people understand history. The losses taken during WWII make Iraq look insignificant. (on a side note I did a survey and one of the questions was where was Syria and no one answered correctly out of 60+ people ) __________________ Everyone Fights, No One Quits! "If guns kill people, Spoons make Micheal Moore fat." "An open mind is like a fortress with its gates unbarred and unguarded" The A&AM players map

11-29-2005, 03:04 PM	#5
Domhnall101 HHR Committee Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: st. louis Posts: 1,149	[quote=Jumpmaster G]These guys are leaving us at an alarming rate and I, for one, will feel alot less safe in this world when they're gone! Despite neutrality Ireland sent many like your grandpa to fight in Europe and I wanted to let you know that he and his comrades are owed a large debt by us that have come after them not just in the US but throughout the world __________________ Sample of Generic card http://www.tionol.org/chicago/sample.jpg zipped file of hi rez axis and allied cards as jpgs http://www.tionol.org/chicago/jpg.zip and pdfs (warning 5 mb file) http://www.tionol.org/chicago/pdf.zip

11-29-2005, 03:17 PM	#6
Waffen-SS(leader) Deutschland Erwacht Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Pa Posts: 374	I had different relivtives fight for all different sides. My Grandpa fought on D-day, Africa... and countless others and I had some German ancesters that died on the Russian front and some Italian ones... Eric __________________ "The Eastern front is like a house of cards. If the front is broken through at one point all the rest will collapse." - General Heinz Guderian Best song known to man! http://www.fjr1.com/erika.mp3 Another Version! http://sspanzerjaegerabt9.homestead....-Erika--00.mp3 I am Selling Singles! CONTACT ME!

11-29-2005, 02:42 PM	#3
Jumpmaster G "All The Way" Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 48	You talk to Grandpa every chance you get!!!! Glean every bit of info out of him and then some! Never stop telling him how much you appreciate him. (and that I do too for that matter!) These guys are leaving us at an alarming rate and I, for one, will feel alot less safe in this world when they're gone! P.S. Grandpas sentiments on ole "Blood and Guts" echoes nearly every 3rd army vet I've ever had the pleasure to talk to!

11-29-2005, 03:50 PM	#7
FSSF Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada Posts: 1,107	I agree with PatrickWR, this is the coolest post I have read on this board yet. Those of you who still have relatives that went to war and are willing to talk about it are so lucky. Carpe Diem to all. Sease the day and don't waste the opportunity. I envy you so much. __________________ "Das dicke Ende kommt noch!" (In german it means "the worst is yet to come"; FSSF soldiers used to leave stickers with this message after their night raids behind enemy lines. It made the germans nervous...; I first put it in homage to this great elite unit... but now I find that it also reflects my opinion of this game's future.

11-29-2005, 03:59 PM	#9
capchris Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 119	Congrats on your bonding with your grand-dad! Learn as much of his story that he wants to tell, now, while he is available. Before your first/next official tournament, ask him to come along. Maybe he'll even let you wear the Bronze Star for good luck! And paint up a special counter (halftrack, maybe?) representing him.

11-29-2005, 04:02 PM	#10
Field Marshall Rommel Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: South Euclid, Ohio Posts: 199	Unfortunately, I lost my grandfather a few years ago. I always listened to his stories about the Pacific and never forgot to tell him how much I loved him and appreciated his sacricices for all of us. Don't let these servicemen (and women) be forgotten! __________________ Life is a journey. Shame about the destination.

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