Newsflash:Run! Run for your Lives!

Yes indeed, the Martians are back! Bigger and badder and there's more of 'em to boot!

The landscape seemed empty as the giant machines swung up the valley but, as the first tripods neared the gap, human soldiers swarmed out of their trenches and made a daring grenade assault.

Once again this was an old Grant chestnut, Holding Action from scenarios for wargames. We rolled for armies and sides and once again I commanded the Martians and was on the attack. My mission was to breakthrough and exit the board along the road.

Breakthrough!

The first wave of close assaults by human infantry caused no damage and the Martian advance guard strode triumphantly through the gap.

There's always more humans hiding in some hole in the ground though, in this case including Bikers doing the Skywalker thing with towing cables. In no time tripods were being damaged and immobilized, things that not only made them more vulnerable to the next attack but prevented them from fulfilling scenario victory conditions!

Oops! Where'd the gap go? Oh Ares! There's those damned motorcycles!

The battle wobbled back and forth until, with time running out, I was reduced to one fully functional tripod while Ron was down to a handful of infantry and 2 Bikers. Freeing a tripod from cables requires a die roll which either restores freedom or damages the Tripod, possibly destroying it. One does not like to trust things to a die roll but the only other option was to concede.

Do or Die. If I can free the 3 tripods that have been immobilized by cables I just might be able to wipe out the 2 elite Biker squads and escape, If not........

Lady Luck was with me. Not only did I free 2 of the tripods suffering only minor damage to the other but I finally managed to blast both remaining bikers. The road was clear. I had to abandon 1 damaged tripod which was essentially moving in random directions but I routed the last humans and freed the third tripod before I moved on.

This was our 3rd game of All Quiet (adapted to hexes) and it is clear that it is a very finely crafted and bslanced game system with each side having different strengths and weaknesses. Player's choice of tactics and troop handling techniques but the dice element is extreme enough to occasionally upset even the soundest plan.  Good stuff!

Now back to the mess on my gaming table and the rule thoughts that have been slowly forming in my head.