Mech Attack at Adepticon 2015

Earlier this month, Tim and I had the opportunity to run Mech Attack at Adepticon. Though we didn't have anyone sign up for the game ahead of time, we were able to acquire enough passers-by to run a good four-player game.

The scenario and objectives were nearly identical to the game we ran at last year's Little Wars convention, with the attackers on a punitive raid to earn points by destroying the defending teams' bunkers. Each bunker's type and points value was hidden from the defender until it was destroyed. The defenders' goal was to keep the attackers from reaching their objective by the end of the game time.

The main difference between this year's game and last year's game was the quality of the terrain and mechs. Last year's plastic crate buildings had all been replaced with more detailed model buildings.

Twelve new mech models made their convention debut at this game, a few of which are pictured above. Tim brought five massive Zaku, their green paint schemes fitting well with the attacking forces. I brought three Kryomek Striders, three plastic mechs and a rebased prepainted Mechwarrior die-cast Legionnaire.

The scenario background was as follows. In 2366, the occupying forces of the United Colonies were in full retreat. The tide had turned and they were being driven off the planet Melk-3 by a well-organized rebel advance. The vital hub city of Borschtegrad in St. Martin's Parish was the scene of some of the bloodiest mech vs. mech combat in the campaign. There, the retreating UC forces halted their withdrawal for two days and unleashed the Ventauran Legion in brutal punitive raids. Their aim: to cause as much damage as possible to one of the planet's most important industrial centers.

Thus explained, each player chose three mechs and the battle began. The UC forces (in green) advance from the western countryside into the city.

After the opening moves, the Melk-3 rebel forces (in gray) sent two mechs on patrol into the heart of the city.

The tan bunkers are all visible toward the defender's table edge. The rebel forces quickly moved through the city to protect the most westward bunker.

The UC forces quickly reached the first bunker and began to fire on it.

Making use of the dense neighborhoods, the defenders rushed to trap the attackers in a crossfire.

On the north side, the rebels hunkered down...

...as three UC mechs attempt to rush the flank.

The advance is slowed, but only for a moment. The combined firepower of three heavy mechs ripped apart the defending heavy mech and shortly after destroy the bunker. It was an ammo dump! The bunker exploded and did minor damage to the green behemoths.

The advance continued.

Returning to the south side, the UC continued to pour fire into their targeted bunker.

It was eventually destroyed, and the UC attackers discovered that it was a rebel comm center! In the confusion, the attackers make an additional advance (one free move). However, the Melk rebels exact a high price.

Tactical use of crossfire and flanking destroyed the attackers' southern front completely, and the defenders turned their attention to the north side of the city. The defenders took up positions...

…and prepared to sell their lives dearly...

But it was not to be. They slowed the UC advance and managed to protect their city long enough for reinforcements to arrive. The surviving UC mech were in full retreat and the battle is over.

The game was up and we called time. The UC had lost half their force, and the two bunkers they had destroyed had not netted them enough points to claim victory. Though they had lost two mechs of their own, it was a solid win for the defenders. And with that, it was time to pack up the mechs and see the rest of the convention.

I was very pleased with the battle. We had built the game to support eight players running two mechs each, but two players per side running three mechs worked very well.

As always, Mech Attack proved itself to be a system that gives a really fun game. It is easy to teach, with enough detail to keep the players interested but streamlined to keep play moving fast. In my previous post, I discussed my overall experience as a first-time Adepticon game master. Suffice it to say it was an excellent experience and I plan to run a game -- probably Mech Attack -- at next year's convention.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames

Adepticon: A First-Timer's Perspective

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending Adepticon 2015, and here's a review of the experience from my varied perspectives, as a:

• First time attendee who isn't a player of the flagship Adepticon games 
• Terrain-building addict 
• First time Adepticon game master 
• Bargain hunter 

Thoughts as a First-Time Attendee
As an attendee, I have to say that the convention is very impressive. Even though I don't play any of the flagship Adepticon games (such as Warhammer 40,000, Warhammer Fantasy, Flames of War, Warmachine or Hordes), I found a lot to like about this convention.

From what Tim tells me, Adepticon has recently widened it's scope to cover other sci-fi and fantasy games, and it showed this year. This expansion wasn't limited to some of the other big players like Reaper Miniatures, Mantic Games, Bolt Action and Infinity. There were demos and booths for small local games like Wreck Age, recent Kickstarter successes like Aetherium and Super Dungeon Explore, startups like Broken Contract, and a host of vendors selling all manner of Mminiature supplies and services.

To be fair, many of these ancilary companies were directly related to the "big" games, but there was still alot to enjoy.

I'll say right up front that the convention also did a bit to improve my views of the "big games." When we game at the FLGS, I invariably find the 40k tables to be loaded with unpainted, half-assembled miniatures. To the guy playing with three sets of unpainted dreadknight legs (just the legs): I'm looking at you. However, at Adepticon, the 40k tables were filled with wonderfully painted miniatures alongside good terrain and thematic boards.

I didn't take any pictures of them, but the Hordes (see what I did there...) of bare metal Warmachine miniatures seen on shop tables were instead replaced by lovely paint jobs showing off the incredible detail of these elaborate sculpts.

As an example of the variety, Tim, Mike and I were treated to a full guided game of SAGA, a historical Dark Ages warband combat game. The experience was extremely enjoyable, and as Tim has the rules, we will definitely be trying this game out again soon. Tim and I also played in a massive naval game that I'll review in a future blog post.

In the vendor hall, I had an excellent conversation with Mike of Terrainaholic.com about his construction of this display at the Mantic booth. Note the interesting use of NERF guns and other toys.

Thoughts from the Terrain Addict's View
Much of my interest in attending was seeing what kind of terrain folks had constructed. Even if you're not a paying attendee, Adepticon is a joy to walk through just to see the variety of terrain on display, such as this amazing asteroid setup for Robotech.

We saw a number of terrain pieces based around common sizes of buckets combined with laser-cut wood MDF elements. I must find out more about this clever product.

I don't think this concept is quite fleshed out, but I plan to try a similar combination of Dust Tactics buildings and Mantic Battlezone pieces. I have a large quantity of Deadzone sprues on the way…

I won't be buying any Forge World terrain anytime soon, but there were a number of pieces that I photographed for future inspiration.

Thoughts as a Game Master
On Saturday morning Tim and I ran a game of Mech Attack. A full battle report will be coming soon. Here's a sneak peek...

As a judge, I was very pleased with my experience. The staff was very courteous and helpful. Tim and I were given free admission to the entire four-day event and each received one of full swag bags, which I will elaborate upon below.

Our room was off the beaten path, and we didn't have any sign-ups prior to the start of the game, but we had some good foot traffic and managed to rope in enough participants to have a good game.

The only downsides were the slightly out-of-the-way location, and the organizers forgot to make the mini-plaques for our game winner. However, the overall experience was very positive.

Mention must be made of the full swag bag, which is available to those who sign up relatively early. We submitted our event application before registration opened, so when it did, we were primed with our free admission voucher and were able to sign up in time to qualify for a full swag bag. Here's a peek at the contents:

• Warmachine starter army
• Mantic Mars Attacks Alien
• Official Adepticon fantasy miniature
• Special Edition Adepticon Victoria Miniatures Female Imperial Guard Officer
• Aetherium Figure (actually a coupon to be redeemed for figure at their booth)
• Issue of Wargames Illustrated
• 2 Robogear Veritech Mecha on sprue
• Reaper paint bottle, which just happens to be in a shade that I find very useful

Not pictured is the drawstring bag it came in and a batch of coupons for various services and vendors. The pirate captain figure is a freebie for participating in the naval game (which will get its own blog post later).

Conservatively measured (and not counting the pirate), that's well over $50 worth of stuff. Even though Adepticon offers free admission for those only looking to shop and look (but not play), I'd pay the $25 admission fee just for the loot!

Thoughts from the Bargain Hunter's Perspective 
Lastly, as any reader of this blog knows, when I go to conventions, I am always looking for real bargains. Most of the merchandise available was aimed at players of the "big games," and most of the discounts were only moderate. However, I still managed a few good scores at both the vendors and the after-hours open trading session. They call it "Bits Trading" but it's actually a free-for-all swap meet that takes place at 10 p.m. in the hallway.

Here's what I acquired at both venues. You can be the judge of how I did.

• $7 for the Void VASA armored vehicle (1/3 of retail) 
• 50 cents each for resin Hesco Barriers 
• $8.50 for laser-cut plywood stairwells (2 big and 2 small sets... stairs are a pain to scratchbuild!)
• $12 for the group of 40k figures and bits, 3 Lord off the Rings figures, 2 Copplestone musicians and a Void Junker
• $10 for 3 Necromunda Orlock figures 
• $20 for mounted Chaos Marauders on sprue. These are the previous edition figures without as many skulls. I've been looking for a deal on these exact figures for a long time. It would have been even better if it had contained the 11 figures the seller had said, but I'm not complaining. Anyone got two more to unload?

I'm sure someone with more interest in Games Workshop and Privateer Press would find a lot more deals especially at the after-hours swap meet, but I'm very happy with what I found and what I paid. I may even bring some things to sell next year.

Final Thoughts
Adepticon is most certainly worth a visit for gamers of all types. If you can register early, the swag bag is reason enough to pay the entry fee. However, at the very least it's worth the price of gas for all Chicago area gamers to go and feast their eyes on what I often refer to as the "Glorious Spectacle of Painted Armies Clashing on Evocative Terrain". After my very positive experiences, it's likely I will be a game-running attendee at Adepticon for years to come.

-- Karl, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Post-Apocalyptic Greenhouse Scratchbuild, Part 3 – Basing

I enjoy basing. Often times, more than painting! So, when I got the finished (but unbased) greenhouse from Jon, I was excited. I wanted to give it a basing treatment worthy of the time he put into it. I forgot to take pictures of a few steps, so I will do my best to describe them.

The first step was to get some texture on the base. I used Liquitex Resin Sand. It is cheap enough and comes in a large container. Liquitex makes two versions of sand texture. Resin Sand has larger grain, giving it a coarser texture. No need for primer... this stuff sticks great! After it dried (36 hours or so since it was thick in spots) I painted it all over with Games Workshop Dryad Brown.

Next, I gave the whole base a wash of black and brown. Then, I drybrushed progressively lighter shades of brown and grey. There are at least four layers of drybrushing here.

I used the same wet mud technique as I did on my Wreck-Age Stakers to help these sections pop.

I added the resin water in thin layers, letting each one dry before adding the next. I added some patches of dried mud (no water) in various other spots around the base.

Next, I covered it all up with static grass! It is thinner in some spots, so the depth of the painted texture shows through. I added some individual leaves as well.

I wanted to get a natural look inside of the greenhouse. I splattered watered-down PVA on the tile floor, and sprinkled the leaves from high above it. Once the floor was littered in leaves, I blew into the greenhouse through the doorways to clump them in the corners.

I added static grass to some of the brick areas, as well as some individual leaves in random spots. There are also some small shrubs and some wild flowers.

Here you can see one of the finished "wet" spots. Isn't that hose awesome?

This is the wet area around the water tank.

I kept the back side of the greenhouse simple, adding some moss and vines. Just out of the picture is a large log, made from a small stick. No painting necessary!

Here is a close up of one of the vines. I think this is my favorite picture!

In one of the far corners, I made a shrub from some lichen. I gave this a black and brown wash.

I am very pleased with this addition to my post-apocalyptic terrain set. Look for it on the battlefield very soon!!

-- Josh, Chicago Skirmish Wargames club member

Post-Apocalyptic Greenhouse Scratchbuild, Part 2 – Painting

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.