Hi There,

Aaron Cleavin and I played this as our first game from Blood & Jungle.

We diced and Aaron got the Chinese. They get a lot of toys with 2HMGs, 2MMGs and 4LMGs for 10 squads and 2 crews, as well as two set DCs. They are defending a big building on the new BFP river board. They get some wire, a roadblock and 3 sangars that they can place on the roof of the factory. Some rubble and debris give a bit more cover.

The Japanese get 15 squads, a couple of crews and 2 toy tankettes.

Aaron set up mostly around the VC building cluster with the wire in front.

The first two turns the Japanese advanced slowly, searching for DCs and dodging the fire of the 10-2 + 2HMG death star on the roof. One oif the tankettes got stunned.

By turn 3 I was ready to do after getting a reasonable scatter with the OBA spotting round.

The Japanese OBA then scattered perfectly and was centred on the middle of the factory. In its two sets of attacks it managed to break pretty much everyone defending the front of the factory. It did, however, start a flame in the factory which started to spread quite rapidly.

Some Banzai charges got me under the wire and into the factory.

The set DCs both had the NTC’s failed (one by the hero!), which saved me a few squads!

The Chinese 10-2 ended up in a heroic last stand, surrounded by blazes in the far corner of the factory, with a big (over) stack. A charge by the last Japanese tank and then two DCs being placed finished them off before the blazes spread into their hex.

Fun scenario, although an enlarged photocopy of the factory might be good for the endgame. Feels balanced. Pretty much everything went perfectly for the Japanese (great OBA, set DCs didn’t blow) and I felt I was starting run a bit low on bodies at the end.

I can see it being much tougher for them if this wasn’t the case.

Richard Cornwell

Being on the receiving end of the perfect Japanese OBA and the inability of the Chinese peasantry to understand modern plunger technology (As well as the Hero failing the 447 who tried for the other one had a 10-2 leader helping but was still unable to understand the mechanical concepts involved)I came out of this battered and bruised. The Japanese carefully coordinated their attack with initial caution scouting out for the SET DC then appropriate bravado once the FFE licked down (And durn near burnt down) the factory.

It has certainly got good toys for both sides and is a scenario where The Japanese OBA. Mortar and Banzai need to be coordinated carefully. Balance is as Richard says good, though the OBA can be a game breaker in but a single mission. AN SSR prohibiting spinning with the tankettes to remove wire might be considered (Richard didn’t need to pull this as all defenders up front were broken by the time the Banzai hit, the OBA having just lifted with the Chinese unable to rout prior to the Banzai incoming).

In terms of replay value I would perhaps wonder if the Chinese can do other than a baseline defense, any forward elements certain to be defeated in detail compounding the odds against the Chinese. The road block is of fairly limited value.

Excitement 7/10
Novelty 8/10
Replay Value 6/10

Overall 7/10

Aaron Cleavin