‘About Patton’ try-out game: The 101st early birds

 Introduction

Re-activating old wargame enthousiasm for the Market Garden operations (Netherlands, September 1944) Peter, Stan and myself started working on collecting, painting and dusting the materials needed. None of us had serious experience in gaming WW2 in our favourite 54mm scale. Having knowledge of Dirk’s plans in this direction, I asked him for the state-of-the-art, latest version of ‘About Patton’, a ruleset, using the well known About dice, Dirk’s clever, WW2 warfare thinking and proven game mechanics. 

A now quiet scene, soon to be a possible place of wreaking havoc.

The Plan

We option for a spread out campaign-like set up of the combined operations of both Market and Garden specific games. This will take us months if not longer because these second world war games intermit with the other game interests of the individual participants and chances to meet up with the three involved persons is once or twice every few months.

To maintain a game storyline we choose to keep pace with a scenariobook published by the Bolt Action/Warlord/Osprey games, titled simply ‘Campaign Market Garden (see photo all the way below). We do not use the Bolt Action rules, however some nice tweaks from this scenariobook, fit themselves as a close cut suit in the About Patton doctrine, especially in an airlanding setting.

Various steps in the operation (airlandings, safeguard dropzones, armour advance over a narrow and long route, win and occupy bridges and urban ground, resupplies) are the intended themes of the individial games.

This game objective is the introduction of the ruleset to all three players. To play it, we needed to keep up the logistics around finding, collecting and preparing (painting) the materialised game essentials like figures, gameboard and scenery. 

Landing- / dropzone devided into
sectors for paratrooper dispersion

The wargame table by the hand of

participating player Peter.

A semi modular solution

for multiperiod escapades

The album

Our business, here, in a sense, was not to run a photographically appealing game. Theory of the ruleset, and it’s practical implementation made us do this. Luckily WE like pictures too, so digital recordings were made in several stages of the (in total two) game(s).  

 

 

Aftermath

What started as a loose remark on preferable warfare campaigns, teenage enthousiasm and similar contribitions in this blog, is now a serious new subject for miniature (war)gaming. The ‘About Patton’ ruleset answered our expectations. Some ideas from other rulesystems might be incorporated, going along this campaignpath. I here mention the ‘stick’ and ‘combat’ jump rules as an example but more are potentially useful. 

Most figures used sofar are Airfix. Buildings Peter used are Miniart, some converted others like the original. His paintjobs on them is very good and do a lot for realism and atmosphere. 

Feedback in the comments is appreciated!