Normandy - Pulp Alley

Here at the BIG Force on Force blog, we'd like to reassure our readers (is there anybody really out there ? Or am I just wittering on to myself ?) that we don't just play Force on Force. No, siree; we play 'both kinds' of games, Force on Force and Pulp Alley. For those of you not familiar with the Pulp Alley set of rules, they are extremely simple and flexible, ideal for narrative driven small-scale skirmishes of an heroic nature. They've been used for Indiana Jones-style games, in the WH40K universe, costumed superheroes, and even Wars of the Roses... We decided to apply them to Normandy 1944, to see how they would work; we made the game 'gritty' to prevent too much Hollywood heroics, and used 15mm figures. (Usually we would use 28mm in Pulp, as each figure has 'character', but the only WW2 figures we had were from Flames of War).

The premise was simple - a small section (8) of US paratroopers have landed in Normandy, and ambushed a staff car, which has crashed a little way up the road. Some local Germans (5 troops with a guard dog) have heard the shooting, and are out to investigate. The major 'plot point' is the briefcase in the staff car, containing important papers. There are also a couple of caches of weapons scattered around as minor 'plot points'.

The game was quite bloody, due to the close terrain. Both sides picked up a minor plot point apiece. but made their main effort for the staff car. The Americans got there first, but were repeatedly denied the chance to seize the briefcase by grenades and burst fire from the Germans. The German sergeant (Schultz - 'I know nothing... nothing') made an unopposed grab for the papers right at the very end... and failed. The game ended in a draw.

The bocage - the staff car has crashed into the house at the crossroads. The weapon caches are in the fields.

The Germans advance cautiously across the field towards the crossroads from the left side of the board.

The paratroopers approach from the right side of the board, sticking to the hedges. The sergeant investigates a cache.

The German corporal finds a para-dropped weapons container.

'Private Hunde' sniffs around the house; the paratroopers are not animal lovers, and shoot him...

Private Schumann spots paratroopers crossing a field, and engages them.

US paratroopers getting the worst of the firefight around the staff car.

The two opposing sergeants in a stand off at the staff car.