Chain of Command (via Zoom)

The coronavirus crisis isn't stopping us from enjoying some gaming fun here at The Wargames Table! To enable us (me and chum Paul, who lives 160 miles away) to play Chain of Command I first set up a table in my lounge.  Then I moved a bookcase so that my laptop (using Zoom) could get a good view of the table.  To give a more detailed, roving view we also used Facebook Messenger video chat on our iPads.

Anyway, enough of the tech stuff ... here's the table.

As I was introducing Paul to the game, plus the fact that he was playing remotely, I got him to play the German defender holding the chateau in the "Attack on an Objective" scenario.  I would be using a regular British platoon.  Rolling for supports, Paul got an static MG42 and an Adjutant, I got an additional section, another 2" mortar and a Sherman.

On a practical note, we agreed that a certain amount of extra leeway in terms of lines of sight, distances, etc would be needed.  Also allowing your 'remote opponent' some pre-measuring at key points would be helpful to keep things fair and running smoothly.  The roving iPad camera was very useful as it allowed me to show things in a close up, 'eye-line' view.

I'm not doing a full battle report, rather it's just a few pics of key moments.

Paul deploys a squad in OW behind the ruined section of wall

I advance a section on the flank towards the orchard

But that didn't go quite according to plan!

The Sherman rumbles along the country lane

Another section moves in to the farmhouse

Yet another trample the farmer's fruit and veg

The fourth section deploy in support of the tank

At last... the 2" mortars can deploy and begin shelling the chateau with smoke

Need to put plenty of smoke down to block those pesky MG42s

I ran out of proper smoke markers!

The Germans pop up in the orchard and use a Panzerfaust to good effect

By the time I'd got enough smoke to shroud the chateau, Paul had a full CoC dice.  Ending the turn he cleared the smoke and let rip with a total of five MG42s!  He also managed to get a triple run of phases - although we do play the house rules of (a) weapons can only fire once in a series of consecutive turns, (b) each successive turn sees one command dice temporarily removed.  Even so his shooting throughout the game proved to be astonishingly good.  The loss of the Sherman signalled the end as my force morale fell to just 3 points.

It was a really good game with lots of humour and plenty of good natured banter.  We were both pleasantly surprised at how well it worked given that we were not in the same room.  Indeed we're planning another session soon so that Paul can introduce me to Oathmark.  So, if you feel in need of a game, get your tech sorted and get playing!