Unboxing new games

[Staggerwing]

'Ye Auld Countdown Finale' ?

[MengJiao]

I spy a Saratoga CV hiding amonst those old Iron & Oak vessels!  ;D

  Yeah, its weird, but I got the game very slightly used and there's a hand-written addendum to the playbook which claims that Operation Crossroads opened up a
time travel switcheroo (or "Crossroads") that sent the Nimitz to late 1941 and the Saratoga from 1941 (or 1946?) to 1862: Mission: Sink the Confederate Ram Manassas before she
panics the US Navy off the Mouth of the Mississippi.  It seems like overkill since the Manassas nearly sank herself with her own signal rockets and did no real
damage to her target the USS Richmond despite ramming her at full double-secret ramming speed, but you know, hand-written time switcheroo scenarios can have some flaws sometimes.

[MengJiao]

I spy a Saratoga CV hiding amonst those old Iron & Oak vessels!  ;D

  Yeah, its weird, but I got the game very slightly used and there's a hand-written addendum to the playbook which claims that Operation Crossroads opened up a
time travel switcheroo (or "Crossroads") that sent the Nimitz to late 1941 and the Saratoga from 1941 (or 1946?) to 1862: Mission: Sink the Confederate Ram Manassas before she
panics the US Navy off the Mouth of the Mississippi.  It seems like overkill since the Manassas nearly sank herself with her own signal rockets and did no real
damage to her target the USS Richmond despite ramming her at full double-secret ramming speed, but you know, hand-written time switcheroo scenarios can have some flaws sometimes.

At the rate things are going the US Navy won't even need a carrier from 80 years in the Future.

Here CSS Sumter tries to run the blockade off NewOrleans and runs into USS Iroquois which has heavier guns and is almost as fast.  After a few minutes of ramming and crossing Ts, the final straw comes when Sumter crosses the T, uses rapid fire and has a gun blow up.  At which point she is at pointblank range and about half sunk.  So I called a halt an took a picture (re-reading the rules, I see the Sumter is probably in no immediate danger of sinking -- those hits are all just "shield" hits, ie no serious structural damage -- still with already inferior guns blowing up, maybe things are pretty bad):

[Nefaro]

That looks nice.  :)

[Staggerwing]

Wow, how big are those ship counters with their modifying chits?

[MengJiao]

Wow, how big are those ship counters with their modifying chits?

The counters are the usual ship size.  they are on the big grid area on the map. 
The ship cards -- I just put them on the map for the photo-- they don't get played on the map.

[Staggerwing]

Ah- now I see.

[MengJiao]

Ah- now I see.

Unboxing 2nd ed of War Galley (2006):

[Martok]

Holy crap.  That one looks like you could have some seriously epic Classical Era naval battles. 

[MengJiao]

Holy crap.  That one looks like you could have some seriously epic Classical Era naval battles.

I had the first edition long ago.  Not all that serious or epic.  It does work for smaller battles -- but for larger -- one ship counter can stand in for multiple ships.
seems kind of odd.   I may run through some small scenarios.

[MengJiao]

Ah- now I see.

And here is (from 1995 -- third edition) Great battles of Alexander deluxe:

[Bison]

Finally got my P500 copy of Panzer's 3erd expansion. 

[bayonetbrant]

w00t!

[bob48]

Very nice. Looks like an interesting series.

[GJK]

My copy of Panzer is still in shrink.  Ugh...I need to stop buying and start playing more!!