After a great drive over the Peak District with superb views in the sunshine, yes I said sunshine, I arrived at Richard Crawley's house in Storrs for my first Christmas game. Richard had set up an Arc of Fire game set in his fictional Black Sea state of Andreivia.
Background.
Without going into a long history of Andreivia, plenty of information on Richard Crawley's Andreivian Tales blog
http://andreivian-tales.blogspot.co.uk/ the scenario involved the struggle for Vani the self declared capital of the Andreivian Armenian republic. After the capture of Serj Benkian by the 101st US Airborne in a game held in Dungworth earlier in the year, a power vacuum has been created in Vani with several different Armenian factions fighting for power.
✤ The Armenian Popular Front - led by Daron Bogassian
✤ The Popular Front of Andreivian Armenia - led by Adam Kardashian
✤ The Armenian Republican Movement - Benkian loyalists led by Deputy President Sergei Agassi
✤ The Democratic Union of Armenia - led by Alexandra Tankian
Players were teamed up in pairs and drew 3 random units each with different (or in some cases the same) objectives. This meant that you could have different factions controlled by the same players which resulted in some interesting situations. I was teamed with another Richard (not Richard C) and 'Team Richard' drew an ATV (Andreivian Television) film crew consisting of a cameraman, a sound engineer and a reporter which was tasked with filming the fighting and rioting in Vani. The second unit was a PFAA Snatch Squad consisting 5 armed troops in a 4x4 tasked with looting a Turkish women's fashion outlet as their commander Adam Kardashian has a penchant for wearing women's clothing when not on duty. The third group was a squad of Militia from the Armenian Popular Front (APF) tasked with taking the town hall.
Forces and Objectives.
APF Mob (Tac 8, always in Confused Mode)
Leader Pistol 5L
6 Rioters Melee weapons 8
Start in Town Square.
Score 5 black counters if they destroy a Turkish-owned business.
DUA Mob (Tac 8, always in Confused Mode)
Leader Pistol 5L
6 Rioters Melee weapons 8
Start in Town Square.
Score 1 orange counter for each card spent ransacking the files in the Town Hall.
Police Patrol (Tac 6, self-activating
2 Patrolmen Pistols 6
Police car
Start in Town Square.
Score five green counters if they prevent either Mob fulfilling its victory conditions.
Neighbourhood Watch (Tac 8)
Retired teacher Unarmed 5L
6 citizens Melee weapons 6
Start adjacent to the shops.
Score five green counters by preventing damage to either of the shops.
PFAA Shock Troops (Tac 5)
Leader Assault Rifle 6L
8 Troops Assault Rifles 7
Enter at Point 7.
Score ten blue counters if they are in sole control of the Radio Station at the end of the game.
DUA Assassin (Tac 5, self motivating)
Sniper Self-loading Rifle 5
Starts anywhere the player chooses at time Alpha.
Scores five orange counters per non-DUA leader figure killed or wounded.
Scared Townspeople (Tac 8, self-motivating)
6 Civilians Unarmed 8
Enter at Point 6.
Score one white counter for each figure that reaches the safety of the UN Monitoring Office in the
Goods Station.
Andreivian Mafia (Tac 5)
Leader Pistol 5L
Mobsters Assault Rifles 6
Start in the anonymous building.
Score ten white counters if the final margin of victory for the winning faction is less than five points
(business is better if there’s no single, strong facton in control).
ATV Crew (Tac 6)
Correspondent Unarmed 5L
Cameraman Unarmed 6
Sound recordist Unarmed 6
Start in Town Square.
Score one white counter for film of the aftermath of rioting, three points for bodies in the street and
five points for film of actual fighting.
Psychopath (Tac 6, self-motivating)
Lone gunman Self-loading Rifle 4
Starts anywhere the player chooses at time Beta.
Score one white counter per figure killed by this figure.
(No sniper bonus).
Chechen Mafia (Tac 5)
Leader Pistol 5L
3 Mobsters Pistols 6
Car
Enter at Point 2.
Score five white counters by successfully collecting a load of drugs from the boot of a car parked
outside the travel agency.
Gendarmerie Squad (Tac 6)
Leader Pistol 6L
6 Gendarmes SMGs 7
Enter at Point 3.
Score one green counter for each turn at the end of which there are no non-ARM figures in the
Town Hall.
DUA-controlled Gendarmerie Squad (Tac 6)
Leader Pistol 6L
6 Gendarmes SMGs 7
Driver 7
BTR-80 APC
Enter at Point 8.
Score ten orange counters by occupying the Town Hall at the end of the game.
APF Militia Squad (Tac 7)
Leader Assault Rifle 6L
Gunner Clip-fed LMG 7
Loader Assault Rifle 7
5 Militiamen Assault Rifles 7
Start at Point 1.
Score five black counters for occupying the Town Hall at the end of the game.
PFAA Militia Squad (Tac 7)
Leader Assault Rifle 6L
Gunner RPG 7
Loader Assault Rifle 7
5 Militiamen Assault Rifles 7
BMP-2 IFV
Enter at Point 9.
Score five blue counters by occupying the Presidential Residence at the end of the game.
APF Militia Squad (Tac 7)
Leader Assault Rifle 6L
Gunner Clip-fed LMG 7
Loader Assault Rifle 7
8 Militiamen Assault Rifles 7
Enter at Point 4.
Score five black counters by occupying the Presidential Residence at the end of the game.
PFAA Snatch Squad (Tac 7)
Leader Pistol 4L
4 Militiamen Assault Rifles 8
Car
Enter at Point 11.
Score five blue counters if they can loot the Amina Modi shop (Adam Kardashian likes to dress in
women’s clothes when not on duty).
UN Observers (Tac 5)
Officer Assault Rifle 5L
Soldiers Assault Rifles, LAWs 5
Will not leave the Goods Station but will defend it if attacked.
Vani, middle left is the Radio Station, middle right is the Town Hall, centre is the Town Square, middle bottom is former President Serj Benkian's Residence, bottom right the 'Anonymous Building', bottom left a Turkish Auto Repair shop, above the Radio Station is the Women's Clothing Store and a Travel Agents and the top end of the table was occupied by the Rail Yard. The Rail Yard was occupied by a UN Monitoring Force throughout the game.
As soon as Turn 1 started it got very confusing so for now here are some photos of the game and I will try and update the story when I can.
A group of Democratic Union of Armenia (DUA) rioters loitering on the street corner by the Town Hall.
The local police arrive to keep an eye on the Armenian Popular Front (APF) rioters.
Popular Front of Andreivian Armenia (PFAA) Troops move to occupy the Turkish Auto Repair shop.
The Usual Suspects, Psychopaths, Rioters, Looters, Militia, Police, Mafia and Drug Dealers. What a trustworthy bunch!
The local residents trying to get to safety in the UN Zone in the Rail Yard. Will they make it?
PFAA Troops on the roof of the Auto Repair shop start to lay down fire on opposing factions in the Town Hall.
'Psycho' the sniper. His motto was 'If it moves shoot it'
A DUA controlled Gendarmerie Squads BTR-80 in flames thanks to 30mm shells from a PFAA BMP-2. The BMP-2 also took out the radio in the Police car.
Andreivian Mafia forces with the assistance of the 'Psycho' sniper who was given an offer he couldn't refuse join the Andreivian Mafia or wear a goats cheese overcoat!
A suspicious looking Mercedes containing members of the Chechen Mafia pulls up behind a VW Beetle parked outside Amina Fashions. After finally working out which end the boot was they took possession of a large consignment of drugs.
ATV Film Crew get to work in the Town Square getting great footage of rioting, fighting and bodies in the street!
The two police officers head for the Town Hall after spotting the DUA Rioters entering through the windows.
They will wish they never entered, spent most of the game locked in the stationery cupboard!
PFAA Snatch Squad raid Amina Fashions via the back door for the women's clothing.
Anybody seen our commander he was here a minute ago? The APF Militia lose their commander on Turn One after being targeted by a DUA Assassin on the roof of the Town Hall.
Gendarmes approach the rear of the Town Hall.
The Rail Yard, no sign of the UN, must be monitoring.
Another view of the Rail Yard. UN playing hide and seek!
PFAA Snatch Squad head back to the 4 x 4 with a nice selection of dresses, pantyhose, skirts and blouses. Adam Kardashian will look delightful in his new outfits!
Film Crew head for the cover of the Radio Station. Hoping to get some reports out over the airwaves. Unfortunately didn't get a chance as they were asked politely to leave by a unit of PFAA Militia who had decided to occupy the radio station.
The PFAA BMP2 continues to cause havoc in the Town Square. Although a random event was to put pay to its trail of devastation when it ran out of fuel.
Town Hall, scene of much fighting during the game as most factions were tasked with controlling it.
PFAA Troops move out of the Auto Repair shop towards their objective, the Radio Station. 'Sir why are you always at the back?'
Chechen Mafia drug deal going down! The Mercedes was to fall victim to the marauding BMP2 which disabled the vehicle but all occupants were able to escape with the drugs.
Attack of the 40ft policewoman :-)
Typical the bus is late!
The Radio Station is captured by PFAA Militia.
More troops try to retake the Town Hall, again they would fail!
Film Crew and locals reach the safety of the UN Zone.
Who's that at the back again, more paperwork!
The former President's residence is occupied.
Each player received tokens of differing colours when they achieved their required objectives as detailed earlier. Andy came out top when all the tokens were counted up. Overall the Democratic Union of Armenia won control of Vani, but for how long? Will Serj Benkian return?
Thanks Richard C (The Oracle of Andreivia) for a great game which I'm sure will have repercussions in future Andreivia games. Thanks to all the other players for making it a most enjoyable days gaming. Looking forward to April and the next installment of Andreivian history.
