Saturday 24 June 2017

Hawkinge Airfield Taken : Operation Sealion

Pretty exhausted now and back at home from today's show on the edge of the Lake District.The battle of Hawkinge seemed to go down well, I think I played through 6 times, the Germans winning every time. This is a feat of carefully planning, a bit of play testing and understanding what punters want. The format, developed from last year placed each participant as the German commander, with a single unit of eight Fallschirmjager who have landed on the edge of the Airfield. Their objective is to destroy  four key targets. Although nobody actually destroyed the Hurricane which was a tough ask, most blew up two, and most people were able to kill off the defenders.
The final set up at the start of the day, happy with the overall effect 
A couple of closer shots....Hawkinge village really just for show
The Eagle has landed...this is the starting place for the Fallschirmjager, Glider through the fence
The defenders starting from the other end of the Airfield by the Hurricane
A shot of the airfield
Game in play.....I managed six games I think and all participants seemed to have enjoyed it 😀 if you are reading this any feedback would be good as I am always looking to improve the experience ?
And in the occasional lull I did manage to pick up a few bits.....after all it wouldn't be a wargame show otherwise. Although I didn't really get to to see the bring and buy, I,m just glad I didn't get any more ACW figures 🙂
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36 comments:

  1. Anonymous24 June 2017 at 20:46

    Positives all round from me. I don't think I can offer any constructive comments on improving anything, as the game works for what it is.

    The scenario is simple enough from a participating player's perspective, and should allow victory every time. So everyone goes home happy. Obviously, as you've designed it, the challenge for the participating player is what level of success do they manage. I know that I'd have loved to have given it another go, pushed hard from the get go, and aimed for the Hurricane - so, obviously, the game has replay value.

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 10:01

      Thanks Roy....it is a scenario for which the Germans have a high chance of success which is how I designed it. Thanks for the feedback 😀

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  2. MartinC24 June 2017 at 20:48

    Glad it went well, looks great fun

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  3. Dalauppror24 June 2017 at 21:06

    Great looking game!

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  4. Unknown24 June 2017 at 21:24

    John and myself got there first thing, wish we had played it then, as everytime we went back the battle was in full flow!!! Looked really good and my son Jake is still giving me jip that he did not get a go. You will sleep well tonight :D

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 10:04

      Really sorry you guys didn't get a go. It did quieten down later but was pretty frantic for the first couple of hours.

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  5. Phil Robinson24 June 2017 at 21:45

    Looks most excellent and went down a treat I see, well done.

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 10:04

      Punters were happy from the feedback and the show a success again I think.

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  6. Michael Awdry24 June 2017 at 21:57

    Just brilliant Matt!

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 10:05

      Thanks Michael.....only 16 active figures but a lot of terrain

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  7. Rodger24 June 2017 at 22:31

    Excellent game!

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  8. Anonymous25 June 2017 at 17:41

    Fantastic set up! What a great looking board. I particularly like the buildings on the edge of town. Did the ARP warden and his chums get involved in the action? :)

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 19:07

      Thanks...I tried to get the feel of a demo game but it is real participation. No the warden etc and aircrew didn't get involved only the main eight combatants on each side. It was enough 😀

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  9. Scarletto25 June 2017 at 18:22

    Looking fantastic as usual, jealous, still slowly getting all mine ready, can i ask where did you get the RAF Tender from?

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 19:09

      Thanks Simon....there is no end in sight for me 😀 The tender is airfix 1:48 scale, I think you can get it on its own but they do a set with the Hurricane. The only disappointment is the ground crew in the box are massively over scale 1:40 scale probably so no use at all which was a shame.

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  10. Scarletto25 June 2017 at 19:15

    Cheers Matt, ive looked at that set and wondered about the men, i will get the set anyway, ive painted up a section in RAF Blue with khaki webbing, having them as a group who got back from France with some Army spoils.

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    1. Matt Crump25 June 2017 at 19:18

      Nice idea...I was speaking to the Warlord rep on Saturday and they are launching the navy unit with the next campaign book so I will be getting some of them 😀

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  11. David26 June 2017 at 08:36

    Glad you had a good day Matt!

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    1. Matt Crump26 June 2017 at 21:30

      Thanks David punters seemed happy so that was good and I picked up some of the new Warlord British funny artillery support...will get to these soon 🙂

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  12. Unknown26 June 2017 at 10:03

    Hi Matt, I played and really enjoyed it. It looked great obviously and also really drew out the way to play Bolt Action. Thanks for all your effort

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    1. Matt Crump26 June 2017 at 21:31

      Thanks Chris glad you enjoyed it makes the effort worthwhile

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  13. Unknown26 June 2017 at 14:22

    I thoroughly enjoyed the demo. Left the table with a lasting smile on my face.

    It would be good to get a more balanced game in at some point. You can get your revenge :)

    Thanks again.

    John

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    1. Matt Crump26 June 2017 at 21:36

      Thanks John glad you enjoyed it....sadly I can't remember everybody who played and can't put faces to names 🤔 If you are local we can certainly get another game in sometime ? But it isn't about the winning....

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  14. Mallius Vane26 June 2017 at 18:10

    Glad it went well. Looks absolutely superb! Now if only you'd come down to my neck of the woods!

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    1. Matt Crump26 June 2017 at 21:37

      Cheers.......not sure I am ready to go on tour....but should you ever find yourself in the true north let me know 😀

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  15. David27 June 2017 at 13:51

    I really enjoyed playing the game - thanks very much for putting it on. My only constructive criticism is play balance. One idea would be to have another small squad of British to deploy from a building perhaps at your own discretion. So leave them off aginst a less experienced player but give veterans more of a challenge. Great fun though - it is almost worth coming to the show just for your games

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    1. Matt Crump27 June 2017 at 22:07

      Thanks Dave glad you enjoyed it. Balance in the scenario is a real challenge when we played tested the British pretty much won each game and it was hard to see how the Germans could win. We looked at reducing the British and other options ! Then we managed to get the Germans to win one so we knew it was at least possible. At Rheged the Germans won every game and I didn't adapt the British play particularly at least I think any subtle options I took to balance the flow of the game wouldn't have been noticed by most people ? It is a really interesting challenge and I would like to develop a slightly bigger game but inevitably this would take longer for people to play. I might think about this...I hope I can live up to your praise......next show game will be at Battleground but not sure what 😀

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  16. The Bad Wargamer27 June 2017 at 22:20

    Looks good, I'm just sorry I couldn't go this year. Glad your demo went well.

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    1. Matt Crump28 June 2017 at 07:29

      Thanks Ian seemed to go down well !😀

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  17. Anonymous28 June 2017 at 09:01

    Battleground (at Stockton - 25th November) advertisement has just hit the Web. Free entry this year. You don't have long, Matt, to plan your next big hit!

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    1. Matt Crump30 June 2017 at 15:52

      Thanks Roy I will hopefully be attending with another participation game 😀

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  18. Captain Darling30 June 2017 at 08:11

    Great looking game as I have come to expect hehe.
    Good to have a short demo game very nice, I've not played Bolt Action but with only 8 figures a side I suspect one bad/good roll could turn the game.
    Just for the hell of it I might set up a TW&T version with a squad a side to see how it goes...
    Thanks for posting this!

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    1. Matt Crump30 June 2017 at 15:55

      Thanks Captain ! The big advantage of bolt action is simplicity and speed of play, whilst just enough tactical depth. It does work with single figures quite well 😀

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