Guns of August 2010 Report Maroubra, South Sydney, Australia. The second annual Guns of August tournament proved to be a resounding success as 26 players passed through the doors over the course of a very enjoyable weekend. The event attracted a mix of old hands as well as new players eager to prove themselves. The range of abilities, experience and age allowed the event's reputation as a friendly and relaxed competition to continue. Much to the delight of the organisers and players alike.

This year the points limit was changed to an unorthodox 1425 to get the prospective generals thinking about how they could balance their old 1500 point Mid-war armies. Despite the meagre points limit, someone still managed to squeeze in a Panther company! Prizes up for grabs included 1st, 2nd and 3rd places for Generalship, Sportmanship and Best Presented Army. This year also saw the inclusion of awards for Contribution and Best Newcomer; given the number of new players to the game and the hobby.

The scenarios played, with each game lasting two and a half hours were: 1. No Retreat 2. Breakout 3. Encounter (with Night Fighting rules) 4. Fighting Withdrawal 5. Breakthrough

This year the tournament scoring wasmoved to a Win/Lose points victory system; scores were calculated by simply adding 100 points to the winners Scenario Victory Points, therefore a winning draw meant a score of 104:3.  This meant the competition rewarded winning over clever list design and allowed people to run and risk small platoons without onerous penalties. Overall, the concept was well received.

This year saw the preparation of a Pripet Marshes table (seen in the photo to the left) with a village amongst a lot of swamp/reeds (visibility was limited to 12” unless on a hill). It became a popular table both for spectators and players. Despite an equal number of Allies/Axis entries, by day two it was evident the Allies had a firm grip at the top of the table. This forced the tournament organiser to run Allied Blue on Blue missions. The strong showing by Allied players was evident by the top three spots being taken out by competition seasoned Allied players.

Winners Generalship 1st Place: Tom Smallwood (Soviet Tank Batalon). 2nd Place: Al Hurst (US Rifle Company). 3rd Place: Damian Robinson (Soviet Tank Batalon). Best Sportmanship Pat (German Grenadierkompanie) Best Presented Bryan Cook (German Grenadierkompanie) Special Awards went to: Contribution: (for rolling 3 fives!)Young David. Best New Comer Cocky, for three wins after only two games ever played before the tournament. Thanks to all participants for making Guns of August bigger and better. See you next year.

Special thanks to the following: Sponsors Battlefront Mininatures Peter Nathan www.toysoldiers.com.au The Tin Soldier www.tinsoldier.com Miniature World Maker www.miniatureworldmaker.com.au Organisers Zels / David Robinson Scenery Providers Damian Robinson & Tom Smallwood

Our club is called EMIRS (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EMIRS/ ) with a Yahoo group. We meet every Tuesday night at the Maroubra Junction Hotel from 7:00pm till late. Email us if you want to want to have a game: [email protected]