Sunday, April 1, 2012

Striker! A Test Game

This is a game style test of the experimental “Striker” rules for small arms combat with “Funny Little Wars”. “Striker” is a take-off of the Fred T. Jane’s naval wargame. In this version, the target is a row of soldier illustrations. The striker is a paint stir stick with a tack and a shield on one end.


To adjudicate a unit’s fire, the appropriate target is laid on the striker pad and hit a number of times (one hit for every two eligible shooters). Holes in the soldier illustrations represent hits on the target unit. These are the basics. More detail of the rules will be added as the game progresses.

The illostration above shows the equipment for Striker! In the box are the strikers, next are the targets, and the striker pad.

This scenario has two infantry units of Army Saffron defending against three infantry units of Army Black. The first battalion Army Saffron (an elite unit for this test) is in close order and in hard cover behind the hedgerow. The second battalion Army Saffron (a regular unit for this test) is in open order in the open on the right side of the table.















For Army Black, a unit of Jagers (an elite unit for this test) and a reserve infantry battalion (a Militia unit for this test) advance in close order column toward the hedge. The Bavarian Line battalion (a regular unit for this test) advances in open order line.

Turn 1

Army Saffron holds its position. Army Black advances a full move. The two Black columns are just outside medium range to the Saffrons behind the hedge The Saffron second battalion is at long range to the Bavarians in the woods. The first Saffron battalion elects to fire on the Jagers, the second will shoot at the Bavarians. The two Army Black columns are surprised and will not get to fire. The Bavarians will return fire on the second battalion of Saffrons.

First Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

At long range, the default target class is 2. Because the First Battalion is Elite, one is added to the target class making it a 3 (with 2” tall soldiers). They get 9 strikes (as a house rule, my musicians get to fire making 18 shooters in the unit). The class 3 target is placed on the striking pad and 9 hits are taken.

Examining the target, I see 4 clear misses. The hole on soldier 1 is on the line so counts as a miss. There are two holes in soldier 4, of which only one is counted. Soldiers 7 and 10 both have clean hits. That’s a total of three hits, none on the special figures.

Second Battalion Army Saffron File.

They will get 9 strikes also. They use the default long range target class of 2 (with 1.5” tall soldiers). Because the Bavarians are in open order, only hits of the odd numbered soldiers are counted. Since they are also in light cover, any hits below the bottom cover line are not counted.

Of the 9 strikes, 2 are clean misses. Three hits are on invalid soldiers (1 on number 2 and two on 6). Number 9 was hit twice, counting as 1 hit. Soldiers 1 and 3 were both hit once, for a total of 3 hits. Looking at the back of the target it is noted that soldier 3 was the “Special” target. The hit landed in the flagman’s zone, so the Bavarian standard goes down.

Bavarian Fire.

The Bavarians get 8 strikes (two riflemen are masked by the building). They will use target class 1 because they are at long range and were moving (this is a house rule, moving and firing is a -1 target class). The Saffrons are in open order so only hits on odd numbered soldiers are counted.

There were 3 clean misses. one hit is on an invalid soldier, number 8. One hit is a liner on number 3, which is a miss. Good hits were scored on soldiers 3, 7, and 9. Number 7 was the special soldier and that hit is on the musician.

Turn 2















Saffron Battalion 1 holds its position. Battalion 2 goes prone. The Army Black Jagers advance and go into open order line. The Reserve battalion goes into line at its location and the Bavarians advance half a move and go to ground.

First Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

The elite Saffrons will again fire on the Jagers. The Blacks have moved into medium range which makes them a default target class 3, plus 1 for elite shooters for a final target class 4 (2.5” tall soldier).

Only two hits were scored, on soldiers 3 and 5.

Second Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

The Bavarians are still a class 2 target in light cover (because they went prone). Due to casualties, the Second battalion only gets 7 strikes.

Three hits were scored, on soldiers 1, 5, and 7. Soldier 1 was the “Special” guy and the hit got the officer.

Bavarian Fire.

The Bavarians are shooting at a Class 1 target in light cover and open order. They also have 7 strikes.

Three hits were scored, on 1, 5, and 9. All were privates.

Jagers Fire.

The Jagers Movement modifier and Elite status cancel each other, so they are shooting at a Class 3 target in hard cover. They get 7 strikes.

Two strikes were on valid soldiers, but neither were above the hard cover line. So, no hits are counted on the First Saffrons.

Turn 3

Everyone holds, except the Army Black Jagers and Militia. The Militia advances and the Jagers charge the hedge.

























First Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

At close range, the Jagers are a target class 5. The Saffrons get 9 strikes.

Hits were scored on all 5 eligible Soldiers. The hit on 5 (the Special soldier) took out the standard. The Jagers fall back knowing they will be destroyed if they go into melee.

Second Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

The Bavarians are still Class 2 in soft cover. The Saffrons get 6 strikes.

Hits were scored on soldiers 1 and 7. Soldier 7 was the Special. Notice that there are two holes in number 7. These are the result of a “double strike”; the striker bounces up and leaves a second hole. On a double strike, only the initial hit is counted. If the initial hit cannot be determined then the hit is counted as a miss. Because both holes of this double strike are hits and both are within the NCO’s zone, the NCO is deemed a casualty.

Bavarian Fire.

The Bavarians get 7 strikes at a class 2 target in soft cover.

Soldiers 1, 7, and 9 were hits. The two strikes on soldier 5 are both “liners” and deemed misses.

Militia Fire

The Army Black Reserve battalion fires at the Saffrons in the hedge. They get 6 strikes (the remainder are masked by the Jagers). They are at medium range (target class 3), -1 for moving, and -1 for Militia resulting in a class 1 target. They are also shooting into hard cover.

No hits were scored. The 4 hits on soldiers were all below the hard cover line.

Turn 4















The Black Jagers retire. Everyone else holds for another turn.

First Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

The First Saffrons turn their rifles on to the Reserve battalion. They are a Class 4 open order target (medium range, +1 for Elite firing).

All 5 valid soldiers were hit. The Special soldier hit got the bugler.

Second Battalion Army Saffron Fire.

The Bavarians are still Class 2 in soft cover. The Saffrons are down to 4 strikes.

The only valid hit took out the musician. This was enough to break the unit.

Bavarian Fire.

The Bavarians get 6 strikes at a class 2 target in soft cover.

No hits were scored on valid soldiers.

With all their friends retiring, the Black Reserve Battalion decides to follow before any more losses occur.