Axles and Alloys - Recruits 2015

Yeah, I'm a slacker.  I'll freely admit it.  It has been two months since Recruits convention and I'm just now getting around to posting this AAR.

I was approached by a friend of mine about running an A&A game at the convention.  He was in contact with a gentleman that was slated to arrive from the upper Midwest that was really jonesing to play, so I thought "Why not"?

I didn't have a particular scenario in mind, as I was focused on other things at the time.  The gaming group had discussed hosting a racing scenario for the convention, but it never really got off the the ground.  Then inspiration struck.

Ken had a bunch of HO scale buildings he'd thrifted.  They were the typical small town, 1950s-60s buildings that you'd find in places that still have town squares with the courthouse in the middle of a grassy knoll.  Exactly the sort of place I grew up in, actually.  The buildings were too beat up to resell on eBay, so he 'donated' them to the cause...if I "dirtied them up" first and made them available for group play.  Done deal!

After a few furious nights of cleaning, repairing and applying washes to the buildings, I felt they were acceptable for the gaming table.  The next step was configuring a track and creating a backstory.

The paraphrased "hook":  The Deadlands' gangs race in a neutral zone once a year.  The place they do this is a dilapidated town in the middle of what once was a rural community.  The buildings are vacant (except for the strip club, but that didn't come out until the convention), but that doesn't keep the gangs from strategically placing snipers in well-hidden locations.  So, pick your team of three and get ready to see who's the Deadlands champ this year!  One thing to note: There can only be ONE champion...and I mean ONE!

I had a full table.  12 players driving 12 cars.  I had four more people wanting to play, so I assigned snipers to each team.  That last bit proved to be somewhat overkill, but did provide one moment of hilarity and chaos.

With that many racers, the start line was broken into two locations with six cars randomly assigned to each.  This served to not only break up teams, but also open up the racing corridors.  The track itself was a modified figure 8 track that had, at points, vehicles racing head-on at each other.  In my mind's eye I envisioned incredible crashes and skullduggery.  What more could one want from a race like this?!

To top it all off, I had a trophy for the winner.  It was a beautiful thing to behold and real keepsake for the race.

Ironically, the gentleman from the upper Midwest that spurred on this whole thing couldn't make it.  However, I had an unexpected and pleasurable surprise, as a bunch of fine fellows and friends of mine came up from Arkansas and got a chance to play in the game. 

I want to extend a hearty "Thank you" to Terry for the pics, as my phone died right before the race started. I modified a few pics, but I'm going to let them do the talking...

The start of the race.

The Heavy trucks are making a mess of things...

Red team, working together.

Post-apocalyptic drafting!

The Dutch Oven is under fire!

Your winner: Jon Mark!  Look at that trophy!

The game was what one would expect.  There were horrible crashes, both bad and fantastic, by the seat of your pants maneuvers, hilarious dialogue and even a sniper head shot that instantly killed a player.  In another word: perfect.

We didn't actually finish the race.  Specifically, we made it through approximately 1/3 of one lap due to the sheer number of players and the chaos that ensued.  Jon Mark won, literally, by 1/2 car length.  Ken was gunning for him, but got spun out at the last second by someone's poor driving and resulting skidding collision.

Thank you to all who played.  I hope you enjoyed the game and look forward to playing again next yer!