Remember the Alamo and property rights! AAR TSR modified boardgame to table top minis

The main event for Dougs trip over the Georgia Strait was the Saturday game, hosted by Nate, for the Alamo. He is prepping it for a convention in April (Trumpeter in Vancouver, BC). The skeleton of the game is lifted from a venerable board game (with cardboard tokens, none of the fancy plastic stuff back in MY day of wargaming *grumble grumble) by TSR.The fort is a beauty and really made the game I think. 

 

 

Combat is roll 1d6 and add your melee/shooting modifier. No effect, Drive back (variable distance), and Wounds are all about equal. Two wounds remove a fig. Cannon throw extra dice with a good bonus (and long range). Troops at the bottom of walls can't be hit by the cannon. 

 

The barricaded gate. Mexicans don't have enough troops here.

 

 

There is some complicated process of melee at the top of the ladders....complicated in the sense that it happened a few times and fast and I didn't pick up on the nuances. Just roll a bunch of melee attacks. By the time this is happening it's bad news for the Texans. 

 

 

Coming from 2 sides against the corner they have enough troops here...

Morale is simplistic, once the Mexicans hit certain threshold amounts of casualties without gaining the walls they will fall back to summon their nerve for another push. Historically it was on their third go (I think) that they got over the walls. The rules seem to generate victory for the Texans a lot (what a surprise as TSR was based in Austin)...so some small tweaks were made in the Mexicans favor. 

 

 

 The first few turns saw the mexicans taking heavy fire, pushing back the Texans, but also being driven back. Texan casualties were absent if I recall (I think they worst that could happen was a drive back).

Under at the base of the walls the cannon could no longer fire....thankfully it was a target rich environment that the driven back troops (and second wave) could still soak up cannon shells.

The main gate was sufficiently well defended, and lightly contested that one of the questions was when to pull troops to help defend the major push. Another consideration was the number to send. Here we see the first wave of reinforcements heading across the compound.

Back to back rounds of poor Texan shooting let the Mexican attackers avoid running back and the ladders go up! The 1st break point is close....so close.

Unappreciated in the top photo is that the mexican have troops against A LOT of wall. The texans have, largely, been swept off the wall to regather their composure (stands in the middle of the courtyard).

Those reiinforcements are late. Also, the Mexicans continue to assault the gate. The fools! They have no chance!

We are saved! The 1st break point is hit during the assault and the Mexicans fall back a single move. The Texans regain the walls and punish them with accurate rifle fire. They the attackers quickly race back to the wall base. Some ladders are thrown down, but even more go up.

Looking peachy here. Reinforcements half way there, the wall looks fully manned. The cannon in the courtyard (historically on a raised berm) is sending shots through the breach to discourage the curious.

An amusing reversal. The Texans have a bad bad defense and the Mexicans breach the alamo....at the main gate. With essentially no troops at all. It's a problem, but I'm sure we can clean these irritants up shortly.....

Errr....crap. The second wave assault goes in hard. The Mexicans final unit showed up but it likely won't be necessary. The texans fall back to try and form a new firing line. They are pursued by the angry and vengeance filled attackers.

This firing line thing aint working so well without a wall to hide behind. We may be worth...well...at least 2 attackers for each of us (without a wall) but by my count we are facing a problem.

It's turning into a bug hunt. Nate assures us that it's traditional for the Defender players to be chained to the gaming table so that they, like their little miniatures, can't escape from the slaughter early.

It's all over except for the amusing photos of overwhelming Mexican firepower facing down brave and foolhardy defenders.

My command, reduced to 3 figures, hides in the bottom right. I'm trying to talk the GM into letting my leader (whose name escapes me) into slipping over the walls for 'reinforcements' as he was found outside the walls historically. 

To the top of the photo the church/redoubt is trying to buy time to fire the magazine. I'm sure it will blow up like the end of the ALIEN movie.

You'll never take me alive!

Off screen there is a fantastic explosion from the magazine with hurts exactly 0 of the attackers. That's a disappointing blast range we inform the GM. At least we "saved" the dependents from that vile nation that does not respect property rights.