We Game: Ogre Miniatures

Tonight we had a small contingent for gaming– myself and three players– so we struck on the idea of doing a game of Ogre miniatures rather than an understaffed D&D game. Since it’s now my new favorite game, I was naturally all in favor. None of the other players had been present for the previous Ogre minis game, but the rules are pretty quick to learn, and they are quick studies. Besides, they’re gamers, damnit. They Game!

Since it was another beginners scenario, we paired off much like the last game. Each side got an Ogre Mk III and about 100 points of infantry and armor, pretty much equally divided in terms of units. This time, rather than strictly identical forces, we gave the PanEuropeans twice as many light tanks as the Combine had heavies, and swapped out light GEVs for the PanEuro regular GEVs. It was another “smash the command post” scenario, with each side defending (and attacking) a command post on a mesa.

The battle begins. Off to the left is the Combine infantry, which I left to tie up the advancing PanEuro units while my partner raced his MK III up the right flank. That big force in the middle is missile and heavy tanks, and they pretty much made straight for the PanEuro MK III.

The Combine units were concentrated in squadrons by type…

…while the PanEuropean forces were more dispersed.

The PanEuropean MK III (in red) is surrounded by a force of combined missile and heavy tanks, and a few light GEVs into the bargain. They took out the mains and damaged the treads, and the missiles were gone as well. All the PanEuropeans had to stop the Combine MK III was a squadron of 3 GEVs. They went for a strategy of ignoring the Ogre and making for the Combine command post. It wasn’t pleasant.

The big picture of the same turn. The Combine light GEVs (in the center) are there to support the infantry, stopping the PanEuropean light tanks and missile tanks from sneaking into the command post.

Concentrating all that armor around the Ogre meant that it wasn’t destined to last very long. Between overruns and straight shooting (it still had all 4 secondary batteries intact throughout the entire game), the Combine armor got pretty chewed up. But it brought the Ogre down to 5″ movement, and took out the main battery and the missiles.

A Combine light GEV takes out a PanEuro missile tank single handedly. And that was the 6 that made it possible.

The PanEuro Ogre amid the wreckage of the Combine armored center. The mains and missiles were gone and some treads were damaged, but the secondaries were all intact.

See that big blue thing in the upper right? That’s the Combine Ogre with only a couple of infantry units and a howitzer between it and the command post.

Those light GEVs don’t pack much of a punch, but if you can’t get them in range, they can still wear you down.

 

In range of the Combine MK III’s secondary batteries, the PanEuropean command post is toast. Victory!

I am pleased to say that I seem to have corrupted three more players from our D&D group into Ogre players. Next time we’re planning on doing a pure point-buy game, with enough points on both sides to bring in MK V’s and Fencers, along with a bunch more, and different types of, armor and infantry, plus a much more varied terrain. Good times. Game day is May 7!