Zona Alfa - Frostgrave with guns and Vodka?

I've just received my copy of the new Osprey rules Zona Alfa. Still to play but here are my first thoughts.

I pre-ordered these on a bit of a whim. Regular readers may have noticed I have a fairly cynical view of the gaming world, particularly the constant spawning of "Boutique" games. You know small tables, small forces, eye-watering price tags on the figures that you buy then by the time you paint them the new flavour of the month is here. I also don't particularly "rate" many Osprey rules - they do seem to throw them out there on the assumption that if you throw enough some will stick. And if I see another bloody re-skin of Lion Rampant I may scream. My glass is pretty much always half empty. Then again there have been some stand out successes - Gaslands and Frostgrave have been excellent, as is Black Ops, and for a fun multi player Colonial game The Men Who Would Be Kings ticks a lot of boxes, so maybe it is just me.

Zona Alfa is the latest in the series. It is the usual Osprey format - soft cover, 64 pages, lots of nice pics and illustrations. The setting is interesting - an exclusion zone somewhere in Eastern Europe, straight out of computer games like STALKER and Metro. Actually as far as I can see on first reading this is a bit too vague and not really well explained as to exactly what it is or what caused it - I suspect the author assumes we are already clued up on the games that inspired the setting and I am not sure that is really the case. The premise is simple - small groups scavenging this zone fighting each other and the dangerous denizens for loot and wealth which you can then use to improve your team and rinse and repeat - not new really. Where the author does go out of his way is to really fix the game in that pseudo Soviet setting, with some really nice touches and sections that are very good - possibly a bit too Hollywood, but really helps set the atmosphere. The game mechanics seem solid enough on first glance with nothing out too unusual. Forces consist of a leader and his crew -  usually between 3 and 9 others depending on quality. You also choose one of several factions to represent - Military, Scientists, Bandits etc etc.   There are a couple of nice touches - these rules are the first I have seen to give a bonus to troops in camouflage clothing for example. The setting is fleshed out well too. The campaign rules and progression also seem to be simple but viable - nothing that new but still perfectly playable - loot to gain cash and experience that you can use to upgrade your crew and skills. One thing that is new to this sort of game is a built in allies \ enemies system where groups from different factions can cooperate or not based on their faction allegiances, which is a nice touch.

Another big bonus is the total absence of associated figures - you can use whatever you have - in the same way as Frostgrave, although there are mentions of the excellent Copplestone and Lead Adventure miniatures that are pretty much spot on. I will be using my reasonably "modern" Russian and Chechen figures but anything really would work. 

One miss is a playsheet. This is something Osprey have "form" on. They really need to add a playsheet , either in the rules or as a pdf download - the logical place, the inside back cover, is taken up with adverts for more Osprey rules.

I would not go so far as recommending these rules yet until I have played them, but all the signs are these could be a good solid game. How many players will pick them up I cant say, but as they don't require much in the way of expenditure this could be a winner as a fun back up game.

So Frostgrave with guns and Vodka - Da! What is not to like?

A Quality all of it's own?............Blood Red Skies Tournament torment

As Josef apparently said

I'm going to a Blood Red Skies Tournament on February 2nd in York. I'm only down as the sub in case we have odd numbers, so probably wont get a game, which is fine. But I still need to take a squadron "just in case", and the choices are driving me mad.

Originally I was planning to take a fairly standard 5 plane list of La5FNs. They're a solid choice at 31 points each and for a 500 point list I could get an Ace and a couple of reasonably skilled pilots, with the odd Rookie to make up the numbers. I also love La5s as I said before here "The WW2 plane I love best is....  Then doubt and "meta" happened. Building a list for any sort of game brings out the worse in me, and many others. I try to work out what the optimum choice will be. Is it better to take fewer planes and get better pilots, or more planes and poor pilots? At the moment there is no maximum number of planes allowed - but that is going to change with Air Strike to cap Squadron size to eight - and having a lot of planes brings advantages in resilience. Last year at a similar event I met a swarm of Rookie Hurricanes and they scared the bejesus out of me! On the other hand can a well handled small squadron hold its own against a "swarm" of less skilled opponents?

The other problem is the tyranny of the internet. Everyone has their own opinion of what constitutes a good list - and they're happy to tell the world. The problem is some people don't just offer this as an opinion or suggestion, they insist it is the one true word and everyone else is deluded. What I suspect is these prophecies are self fulfilling - if you use "x" like this then you will win. So people try it and some do, and they too become prophets of "x" when of course there is always "y" that will beat "x" - and then "y" is the next thing and so it goes. Luckily BRS isn't there yet, and I suspect with so many variables it will never really get there. Hopefully 

So I decided to do something a bit more "fun" and run Squadron of MiG3s. MiG3s are a bit rubbish to be honest. Actually they're quite a lot rubbish because they have the "Sluggish" Trait. I rambled on about it a while ago here One Trick Pony . On the other hand, they are simple to play, because you don't have so many choices, and MiGs are very cheap at only 14 points each, so I can afford to take a full six and still have plenty of points to get good pilots, which counts for a lot in BRS. So I decided to give it a go. I'm taking Pokryshkin as an Ace, and I can take the rest as pilot skill 4 (Vets) and 3 (Experienced). Pokryshkin is one of the Aces who rather than being that good himself, he can assist other pilots within 6" when they attack, and he is also one of the few Aces that can negate the "Sluggish" Trait - so he can out manoeuvre opponents. To cap it off (pun intended) I will be using the Low Altitude Performance Doctrine, which hopefully will allow my MiGs to get themselves back in the fight quickly, and Bad Weather, so I can get plenty of clouds to hide in (!), plus it inflicts one "Boom" chit on both sides before the game starts, so with what I am hoping is a numerical advantage it will have a greater impact on my opponents rather than me. Lastly I am taking the "Drop tanks" equipment card. I'm not 100% comfortable with this as I cant find any reference to MiGs using them, bit some other Soviet fighters did have something similar, so ...... it's a competition not a history lesson. Drop tanks allow squadrons to negate some starting disadvantages, at a cost of performance on turn 1.

So that's it. List building can be agony for me - and the urge to squeeze the maximum out of the 500 points is a curse. But in truth, the exercise in itself is interesting. I also enjoy the games - playing against different people with different ideas is always interesting, even if I sometimes get my arse handed to me.

I will report back on what happens after the event - assuming I have a shred of confidence left, but on the off chance you are anywhere near York on February 2nd why not drop by Vapnartak, (link) take in the show, which is excellent, and maybe drop by the BRS Tournament and say Hi!

Cheers

 

One Trick Pony update

A couple of months ago I mentioned I was working on a MiG3 Squadron for BRS shameless self promoting link and I just realised that I didn't show you the finished unit.

As I mentioned, it is white. The models are from Warlord and are in the new resin. This was interesting to work with. The models were very clean, with limited mould lines to worry about, but they did require cutting rather than scraping or filing - the resin frays rather than files. This isn't a problem once you work it out, in fact I found it quite easy. As they're pretty much weightless they don't need widgets or base extensions and work well with the standard Advantage bases

As they were going to be white I undercoated white (doh) then went for a sky blue underside. Decals  with the trade mark red arrows from Misc Minis. These were always going to be a PITA to apply - no reflection on Kevin, they're bloody awkward shapes and when you realise he never had a copy of the Warlord model to work with, it's a bloody miracle they fit at all - but with a little work they do. Kevin did these as a request including the individual patriotic slogans, which is a very nice touch, and theyre available now on his website here

These were also the first models I tried Tamiya Panel line solution on. It worked, but I suspect the resin models may not suit this approach doe to the shallower depth of detail.

Anyway, here we are . 122nd IAP standing ready to defend the Motherland. As long as were only expected to engage unescorted bombers at high altitude we'll be fine.................