Our fifth regular season TOB event – the August 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Tournament was held on Saturday, August 17th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA. It was sponsored by Hardwick Crossing Golf Course.
We had great golf weather – and for the second time in a row had 104 golfers on 26 teams in three divisions/flights.
We sincerely thank Hardwick Crossing for their sponsorship of the event!
I may sound like a broken record, but once again, each of the three flights were very competitive. One were decided by two strokes, one by one, and one by a playoff to break the tie.
There were just two skins won as well.
In the Nicklaus Flight, the team of Reece McLeod, Tom McCarthy, Paul Boulette, and Lynn Morin won with agreat score of -11. Congratulations to all for a fine round of golf! Coming in second place two strokes back at -9 was the team of Jim Kularski, Rick Gemme, George Fiske, and Greg Wypych. Well done!
In the Player Flight, there was once again a two-team playoff as both top teams ended their rounds at 9 under par. That playoff took place on hole number 18, and was decided there. The team of Jim Wilson, Amanda Pierce, Jarrod Dandurant, and Joe Nichols won the playoff. The team that fought it out for first place and came in second was the team of Chip Wetherell, Pete Peloquin, Sr., Jake Malin, and Bernie Lapierre, Sr.. Of course, Chip’s team did get an amazing Eagle on the par-5 hole number 16 which was worth a good number of bucks – so kudos there!
Finally, in the Palmer Flight, the team of Dave Daoust, Tom Foley, Nelson Malin, and Mike McCarthy took top honors with the best score of the entire tournament at -12!! Wow!! In second place at only one stroke back was the team of Tanner Frankian, Dave Russell, Dylan Allen, and Jamie McShera. That team also were happy winners of the other tournament skin with an Eagle on the par-4 8th hole! So good news for them too! GREAT golf was played by these two teams!
On hole number 17, Matt Desimone got the closest to the pin prize for his team with a fine shot – a 3′ 5″ pin-seeker (that edged out his brother Joe Desimone!).
The results table is below as are some notes for the upcoming September event and the highly-anticipated FINALS! As I was busy at the event, I did not get any photos or videos this time – my apologies.
2024 Hardwick Crossing Express Results
The Next Tournament and some notes
Thanks again to all the players, to Hardwick Crossing for sponsoring this event, and to Gary and Debbie Donlin, Jim LeBlanc, and all the staff at Quail Hollow who work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible.
The next tournament is the last regular season event.
It is a SUNDAY – NOT A SATURDAY – event!
It is coming up on Sunday the 8th of September, and will be the great Lamoureux Ford Open. Sign ups for this event will come down on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 28th.
The event is coming up very quickly – and this event will also likely be VERY well-attended, so sign up early at Still Harts, at Quail Hollow, or on the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page!
Registration starts on the day of the event (September 8th) at 7:00 AM.
Some of you need to play in this event to qualify for the FINALS, so sign up!
As before, many players are trying to get qualified for the FINALS (you need to have played in 3 to be qualified for the FINALS).
Going forward only players who have a chance at playing in 3 will be allowed to sign up. The exceptions will be sponsor’s teams and individual medical issues as reviewed by the Committee.
Key information for the FINALS – Mark your calendars!
After the Lamoureux Ford Open, all of the results for this year’s events will be consolidated and published in a blog post here in this blog (“Life, Golf, Miniatures, & Other Distractions”) similar to what I did last year. Due diligence on the A-players’ parts will be an important aspect in preparing for the draft night. All will have access to the same information published here.
The FINALS sign up will close no later than September 15th – and possibly even closed up earlier. Sign up at the September 8th event or afterwards at Still Harts, at Quail Hollow, or on the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page!
The committee’s decision on A-men rankings and the publication of the players in the field will occur by September 23rd – also here in this blog.
The DRAFT NIGHT for the FINALS will be held at Quail Hollow on September 26th (Thursday) evening at 7 PM. ALL are invited and encouraged to attend.
The FINALS will be on Saturday September 28th with registration starting at 7:30 AM.
REQUESTS AND FYI
Thanks for arriving on time on Saturday! Thanks for getting the scorecards in quickly – these two items made things run a LOT more smoothly. Please keep that going by continuing to come early for registration. 7:30 should find everyone at Quail on September 8th.
As we hope to continue a full player showing, please sign up early – by August 28th – that’s a Wednesday! When it’s full, it’s full. If we still have openings after Aug 28th, that will be shared on the Facebook page.
If you have any feedback or comments on this blog post – there is a comment section that you can use below. I will continue to put up these events on Facebook – with results posted here on this blog.
Once again, this blog is titled, “Life, Golf, Miniatures, and Other Distractions”. I do post other stuff here – mainly around miniature toy soldiers and tabletop wargaming (my other passions). Feel free to subscribe as an email follower! (and it is free and you’ll get instant updates).
A while back I received a nice gift of a couple of fully-painted LED-lit resin mushrooms from Buck Surdu. I have been using them on my tabletop set ups this year and they always add a nice touch for a Wars of Ozz game.
I have found that not all gaming halls are well-lit, so nicely-lighted terrain definitely brings a new visual element to the games. When I went to Historicon, I heard that a vendor was selling them, so I went down to the hall and bought three mushrooms as well as two crystals. All were unpainted (painted ones were available too but I preferred to paint mine). The nice thing with these is that the insertable lights and the batteries came with the mushrooms/crystals. In fact, they were nearly sold out by Saturday morning!
I have previously played with using little tea lights to make smoke/blast markers for What a Tanker games (see here). I am not a 3-D printer, and prefer metal stuff, but have used many things that have been 3-D printed before. In the vendor hall, I believe the seller was a 3-D printer and the booth there was for Bad Goblin Games.
After coming home, I did some digging on-line, but I could not find the products on their website. Looking further on the packaging, I saw a reference to Fat Dragon Games. There I found the links for the STL files available for purchase for both the mushrooms and the crystals – but as far as whether the lights and batteries came with the purchase – I think only the files do. I cannot find anywhere the little lights could come from that fit here, but if interested I’d contact the vendors on their websites.
The mushrooms and the crystals as purchased. The mushrooms came with white lights and had green, orange, and blue discs that accented those colors. The two crystals came with green and purple lights. All had batteries. The back of the package with QR code and website listing.
The crystals were made of clear white resin, and their green and purple lights did give them a nice glow. But if you’ve ever read this blog before, you KNOW that I always try to add another level to a project. So I added some Secret Weapon Washes for effect – and they worked really well.
The crystals after washes added……and lit!
Here is a short video of the crystals:
Crystals done!
I then moved on to washing, assembling, priming, and painting the mushrooms. I used a number of paints (see list at end) to achieve the look that I wanted. For flocking the bases, I went with a leaf-litter look.
The three mushrooms and crystals from the top.Here you see the little lights and how they nest in the mushroom stands and the bottom of the crystals. The mushroom caps fit right over the lights which are inserted light-down. The batteries are flat CR2023’s.Close up of the mushrooms showing their colors.My current collection – the two green ones on the left are from Buck……and now lit up in a darkened room!
Lastly, I made another brief video of these that I think you’ll enjoy.
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE LED CRYSTALS AND MUSHROOMS:
Secret Weapon Washes “Purple” (wash on crystal)
Secret Weapon Washes “Green” (wash on crystal)
Vallejo Surface Primer “Black”
Vallejo Model Color “Off White”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Apothecary White”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Fire Giant Orange 1.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Contrast Medium”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Shamrock Green 2.0”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Talassar Blue”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Bad Moon Yellow”
Citadel “Contrast Paint – Iyanden Yellow”
Army Painter “Speed Paint – Burnt Moss 2.0”
Elmer’s PVA Glue
Loose crushed leaves (oregano, basil? I don’t know! Got these flocking materials for free or in a raffle box at HUZZAH! in May. They gave good texture under the 4-Ground leaves.)
4-Ground “TSM 123 Loose Foliage Brown Leaves”
4-Ground “TSM 124 Loose Foliage Copper Leaves”
4-Ground “TSM 124 Loose Foliage Green Leaves”
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
I mentioned in my last post that I would have cavalry units coming up next to augment the Whim Whim – and here they both are – “Whim Whim Chariots pulled by Great Desert Aepyers”.
What are Aepyers, let alone Great Desert ones? It seems that they are similar to either jackals or the ancient Egyptian god Anubis. They definitely have that feel.
In Wars of Ozz games, a Whim Whim Chariot Regiment (WWCR) consists of two chariots deployed abreast in a column formation (never in line formation) on 2″ x 4″ bases. This is due to the physical size of the models. The two chariot bases in the regiment are always deployed abreast, and each base acts as two normal Ozz bases. By this I mean that one chariot base counts as two bases. When the regiment has taken four hits – then it is treated as a three-base unit. After four more hits, the regiment becomes a two-base unit with one of the two chariot bases removed. After 4 more hits, it becomes a one-base unit. Each chariot is pulled by 4 Aepyers, and has three figures inside. I had two regiments to paint up for Historicon.
The unit is found on the website as SKU OZZ-1403. With 2 bowmen, a driver, a chariot,and 4 Aepyer per WWCR base – that makes a total of 32 figures for both WWCR’s together. WWCR’s are quite powerful. They are treated as cavalry, and have all the shock advantages as other cavalry units. They also have missile capabilities with their bows. Their Marksmanship is exceptionally good with a value of 8/10. The WWCR’s are average in Melee with a value of 6/10. They do not have regimental commanders.
As far as their ability to stand fast against an attack, the WWCR’s are average with a Resolve value of 6/10 – but as it’s tough for infantry to charge cavalry in Ozz games, this is better than you’d expect. Their desire to get into and stay in a fight is average with an Elan value of 6/10. Point-wise, they cost 6 points per WWCR. The figures are 28mm and metal. The Aepyers have basically two different sculpts.
The WWCR photo from the website is below.
Image of the OZZ-1403 on the website
As you will see below, I made some modeling and color modifications. I thought that instead of scoring the metal on the chariots to look like wood, that I would actually use wooden matchsticks to achieve that look. I did this before on my conquistador ships. I also wanted to rig the yokes with thread, As I had two regiments, I took some liberties with the color schemes to differentiate them from each other on their wheels, uniforms, and Aepyers.
I started work on all of these WWCR’s right after the 4th of July (the 6th actually) with the hope of finishing them before leaving for Historicon on July 18th. These took a few twists and turns that you will see in the WIP shots next.
Whim Whim Chariots WIP Shots and Discussion
The pieces of both WWCR’s, filed and washed and prepped for priming on July 6th.
I decided to work on the figures separately from the chariot components. As I did with the WW spearmen regiments, I mounted the chariot crew figures themselves on popsicle sticks for painting instead of the specimen jars that I usually use to save space.
I first cut and glued the wooden matchsticks to the chariots, and brush primed them when dry.
The chariots modified with the matchsticks. The one on the far left has been primed. My goal was to have them look dark but weathered.
I primed, gave a wash application, and dry brushed all the components.
July 8thJuly 8th
By July 9th, I had made some progress on the project as seen below.
July 9thJuly 9th
By the next day (July 10th), I had made some more progress.
July 10thJuly 10thJuly 10th
July 11th and 12th saw me more approaching asssembly and base preparation.
Drilled out for quiversAffixed the quiversStarted prepping styrene bases (with steel hases underneath for magnetic storage & transport)Let’s put these chariots together!
After I assembled the chariots, it became obvious that attaching the yokes to the Aepyers needed a special approach if I was to successfully mount and rig everything – and attach to the poles on the chariots.
I chose to mount the Aepyers to a 2″ square steel base first. Then, once they were in position, I would add their yokes across their backs – shaping to the different heights of their saddles. Next, I would add basing paste to the bases to hide the steel bases under the Aepyers. I would then glue that assembly to the styrene base, and add more basing paste to hide the steel bases’ edges.
At this point I would be able to determine the exact position of each set of chariot wheels by mocking the set up. I marked those spots on the styrene, and scored depressions there for the wheels. I next covered the rest of the base with the basing paste, and let that dry (with some hair dryer help), leaving the depressions alone.
Aepyers on steel base mounting to styrene base – note scored wheel depressionsHelp drying!Flippy assembled chariotsWaiting for the basing paste to dry on the styrene bases- July 14th
July 15th saw the final assembly. Once dry enough, I then mounted the wheels into the depressions, and used Gorilla Glue to hold the wheels and the flippy pole onto the yoke. I added some pigments to the sand, then rigged with some sewing thread. Then it was on to varnishing and flocking and I was finally done on July 15th. Phew!
Starting rigging on a 1st WWCR baseMore rigging on a 2nd WWCRGetting close!Done!
I hear you – “Mark that’s a LOT of WIP”. Yes, so it’s time for…
Eye Candy
1st Whim Whim Chariot Regiment (front left view)1st WWCR (left side view)1st WWCR (back view)1st WWCR coming at ya!2nd WWCR now coming at you!2nd WWCR (right side view)2nd WWCR (back view)2nd WWCR (left side)Both WWCR’sNice side view of both WWCR’s
As with my WW Spearmen, these did make their first brief tabletop battle at Historicon in July. I did not feel well at Historicon, but managed this picture of their encounter with a regiment of Gillikin Dire Wolves.
At Historicon – I think the fight favored the WWCR.
This project also qualifies for Dave Stone’s “Season of Scenery 2024” community painting challenge as he includes vehicles. Thanks Dave for running that!
I still have more Whim Whim units to paint up over the rest of the summer, but I’ve made a nice dent in the pile…
Did you enjoy this WIP-heavy post? Any feedback – any favorite WWCR? Let me know! I always thank you for looking!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TWO WHIM WHIM CHARIOT REGIMENTS:
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
It’s been a while since I had a chance to finish a blog post on any new Wars of Ozz units. That doesn’t mean that I have not been working on any – in fact between golf since April (which you have seen a bit about here in this blog), HUZZAH in May, I have posted about the Noobi, allies of the Whim Whim. I have been working my way through some Whim Whim units.
The Whim Whim are nomadic tribesmen who hail from the southern “underbelly” of Ozz. This faction has many very cool units, especially in terms of cavalry and infantry. (However, artillery? Nothing – as is appropriate for these nomads.)
Still, I have enough figures to build two brigades for the Whim Whim in concert with the Noobi. I decided to start with an infantry core – with 2 Whim Whim Spearmen Regiments (WWSR’s). As a Whim Whim brigade can have up to 6 WWSR’s, this seemed to me to be a good start on the brigades. Of course, the two brigades would need leaders. My good friend Greg Priebe also 3D printed some “Ottoman Noble Admirals” for me that will serve as either ersatz brigade or divisional commanders until more are avaialble from Old Glory. I worked on the leaders at the same time as I did on the WWSR’s.
The regiments are listed on the website under “The Kingdom of Whim Whim Tribes” as SKU#1400, “Whim Whim Spearmen with Command”. There are 4 command figures, 16 spearmen, and a regimental leader mounted on a siliyiplix in each regiment. Don’t worry – I cannot pronounce it (the mount) either – but it’s the common one for the WW. Apparently it’s a camel-like animal with 6 eyes and a double tail. This is Ozz after all… That makes a total of 42 figures for both WWSR’s together.
As the WWSR’s are only armed with long thrusting spears, Marksmanship is irrelevant for them. The WWSR’s are, however, very good in Melee with a value of 7/10 – plus they get an extra die in the first round of Melee, giving them a nice shock advantage. As far as their ability to stand against an attack, the WWSR’s are average with a Resolve value of 6/10. They do more enjoy more getting into and remaining in a fight with an Elan value of 8/10. Point-wise, they cost 5 points per WWSR. The figures are 28mm and metal. There are a few very subtle differences among the spearmen as far as the individual sculpts go.
On the website, the WWSR photo has them with paper pennons attached to their spears. Additionally, there are no protrusions from their shields where the little holes are. The website photo is below.
Photo from the Wars of Ozz website
I decided that I would modify my WWSR’s in these two areas. First, I would change the spear tips with an Iron Wind Metals spear tips product that I remember using in my Ral Partha Rooman project that I did a while back. That product is now sold under IWM, is very reasonably priced, and is called SKU#DH-507 “Banner Spear Head Sprue”. There are 6 tips per sprue.
DH-507 spear tips sprue
The other modification that I made was to disassemble the little balls from a pull-chain (the kind that lights use), and add them to the shield fronts where the holes are. As for colors, the 1st Regiment would have a purple theme, and the 2nd an orange theme – which is completely fine with the canon. I started working on these back in late May.
As for the leaders, Greg printed up Wargames Atlantics SKU WAAD00063, “Ottoman Noble Admirals”. He mailed me 5, of which 3 bodies and 5 heads survived the USPS journey.
The Admirals.
The figures curing in Greg’s Laboratory of fun.
I started work on all of these (45 figures in total) back in May – and with my modifications it took a while (there was a LOT of drilling and gluing). Another issue really added to the time for this project – 1.0 versions of Speed Paint.
I mistakenly forgot that one of the the purple paints that I used (Army Painter “Purple Alchemy”) and one of the orange ones (Army Painter “Fire Giant Orange”) were not 2.0 but were instead 1.0 versions. As a result, I didn’t mix them initially with Citadel “Contrast Medium” – which I normally do to avoid the notorious bleeding in the 1.0’s. AARGH!
This led to a lot of repainting, but luckily it was mainly on the shields. I do want you to know that after mixing with the Citadel “Contrast Medium”, no bleeding occurs in my experience. I just have many more 2.0’s than 1.0’s, so I forgot – and I have had no bleeding issues with the 2.0’s.
Now onto WIP shots for both the WWSR’s and the leaders!
Whim Whim Spearmen WIP Shots and Discussion
As receivedWashed and ready for primerSpears with the IWM tipsEarly painting on the shields – with visible bleeding having started. I glued on the pull-chain balls to the shields and used Gorilla Glue to fill voids on them. The balls also acted as handles for painting them – again and again due to the bleeding.
I mounted the figures themselves on popsicle sticks for painting instead of the specimen jars that I usually use to save space.
By the end of May I had the WWSR’s drilled out (for shields, heads, and spears!), primed, washed and dry brushed.
I needed a jig to hold the spears while they were assembled and paint dried on them – not ideal but it worked.
32 modified spears.
Then I worked on the two regimental commanders and their siliyiplixes (is that the plural???).
I used a new (to me) pumice sand-basing paint/paste on the bases. I acquired it from Shadow’s Edge Miniatures and it is called Shadow’s Edge Miniatures Earth Works Dirt Colors “Sand Dust”. It comes in a 230ml/8 oz jar and I really liked it a lot. The only downside is that there is no photo on the website – you just have to choose “Sand Dust”. I have a photo below of the jar mid-project after using a lot!
Shadow’s Edge Miniatures “Earth Works Dirt Colors Sand Dust”Early work on the mountsAdding “Sand Dust” initially
By mid-June I had the infantry figures mainly painted and ready for weapons and shields.
We need spears – and shields!
You notice that I alternated drilling out on the forearms and the hands for the shield mounting so as to give more differentiation.
Armed!
With the final proximity of each figure to each other on a 2″ base, I needed to sequentially add the basing paste. First, I added the basing texture where the figures were to be affixed with Gorilla Glue. I got help from my granddaughter Tabitha who had fun doing this.
Tabitha at work!!Here you can see the sequential process that I followed – which allowed much easier application of the “Sand Dust” texture paint between the figures – but this added TIME.
After the “Sand Dust” had dried, I added three pigments to give better subtlety to the sand (and all the paints that I used are listed at the end of the post). Then I added varnish and flocking. By the end of June I had them completed and varnished as well as the leaders – but let’s get to their WIP next.
Whim Whim Brigade Commanders WIP Shots and Discussion
The brigade commanders went much more quickly as the drilling was limited to their heads! The figures looked great.
At the start – heads drilled out.
After assembly, I followed the same procedure as with the WWSR’s.
Two of the heads on paper clip wire after dry brushingBodies after drybrushing. I painted the figures then assembled them.
Before basing, I had these looking pretty good.
Then I was on to basing them like the WWSR’s, except this time on MDF bases.
Basing showing the figures with and without pigments on the sand on their bases.
Enough WIP I’d say – let’s jump into some…
Eye Candy
1st WWSR from the front in line formation1st WWSR in column formation2nd WWSR in line formation from the front2nd WWSR in column formation
And the leaders:
Leader with a blue turban from the frontLeader with a Blue turban from the sideLeader in armor from the frontLeader in armor from the sideOlder Leader with a red turban from the frontOlder Leader with a red turban from the sideBoth WWSR’s and the three Brigade Leaders assembled
These did make their first tabletop battle at Historicon in July, as did another Whim Whim unit – but I’ll save those pics for the next post. That will be coming shortly (so I can get caught up)! Let’s just say it will be cavalry units that required some modeling for sure.
I now have a full box of Whim Whim and Noobi – though in retrospect I should have slightly trimmed the spear shafts to fit better height-wise in the Really Useful Box.
One box of Whim Whim and Noobi!
I hope that this was enjoyable to read. Your feedback in the comments section is always appreciated – and thank you for looking!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my earlier posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE TWO WHIM WHIM SPEARMEN REGIMENTS:
Number 6 steel washers
Iron Wind Metals Banner Spear Head Sprues SKU #DH507
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the next two places:
Our fourth regular season TOB event – the July 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Tournament – the 308 Lakeside Restaurant Open – was held on Saturday, July 27th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA. The weather was spectacular, as was the number of players we had sign up – we had 104 golfers sign up (with one last-minute late drop due to illness). This left us with 103 players on 26 teams in three divisions/flights to max out the available carts at the course.
We sincerely thank 308 Lakeside Restaurant in downtown East Brookfield for their sponsorship of the event!
As is the norm for the TOB, all of the flights were very competitive. None were decided by more than one stroke, with 14 of the 26 teams finishing within 3 strokes of the winning scores in their respective flights. See the results after the narrative.
We had two sudden-death playoffs – with two teams each playing off in the Player and Palmer Flights. Amazingly, there was just skin won as well (and that was a BIG prize).
In the Nicklaus Flight, the team of Ryan Toomey, Dave Fiske, Jared Danitis, and Doug Brown took top honors. They were victorious with a spectacular score of -11. This was the best score of any team across the three flights. Congratulations to all for a fine round of golf! In second place at one stroke back at -10 was the team of Cory Heyes, John McQuaid, and Matt McLeod. Due to the previously-mentioned player drop, this team valiantly played with three players instead of four – and was only 1 stroke away from the top score as well – so kudos to you three!
In the Player Flight, there was a two-team playoff as both top teams ended their rounds at 9 under par. That playoff took place on hole number 18, and was decided there after the 18th was played only once. The team of Tom Orszulak, Rich Casault, Jason McCarthy, and Lynn Morin (my wife!) won the playoff with a par. Tom told me that all of his team contributed of course to their -9, but Lynn had two spectacular putts that made a huge difference. She dropped a 35-foot downhill putt for an Eagle on the par-5 fifth hole. And she was not finished as on the next hole she then dropped a 25-foot putt on the par-3 sixth hole. WOW! The team that joined Tom’s team in that playoff was the team of Jack Dorman, Norm Laliberte, Joe Nichols, and Leo Forget, which came in at second but had also an amazing -9 round – INCLUDING that sole skin of the tournament with an Eagle on the first hole (par 4). So, they were the big winners money-wise!
Finally, in the Palmer Flight, there was a two-team playoff on holes 10, 18, and 18 as both teams there finished at an astounding -10. The team of Fran Lamothe, Rich Johnson, Ed McLeod, and Tom Korzec came out on top on the final hole. The other contending playoff team was the team of Shane Higgins, Tom Savage, Bob Demaio, and Jamie McShera who fought valiantly to the end and just came up a bit short on the final playoff hole. Wonderful golf was played by these two teams – well done!
Brian Leveille got the closest to the pin prize for his team with a fine shot – a 6′ 9″ dart!
The results table and some photos that I took will follow this narrative and some notes below.
2024 308 Lakeside Open Results
The results – and some photos I took – are below. Big congrats again to the winners!
As for photos, I did not get as many as I would have liked – and some had folks with closed eyes (I thought I’d delete those). I did get a few videos and I’ll include two here below.
Click on any of the photos for a bigger image.
Matt McLeod and Tom SavageNewlyweds Ron & Beth McCann, with Tony Woodman and Norm Laliberte await the start of the dayLex Varney and Paul WymanJim McKeon and Sam Patchen happy to play golf
As for videos, these are not great (I never claimed to be trying out as a videographer), but the first is Tom Orszulak in the playoff hitting from Lynn Morin’s drive position. It’s a tough shot – probably about 125 yards – to an elevated green over a swampy pond.
As you can see Tom’s shot stayed on the green. The other team ended up off the green, chipped on, and two-putted for a 5. Tom’s team putted close and Lynn Morin got to finish as you see below (the exuberant yell at the end is from me).
Before the tournament started, Tom and Lynn gave me a pose – how prophetic!
Before the round even started!
The Next Tournament and some notes
Thanks again to all the players, to 308 Lakesidefor sponsoring this event, and to Gary and Debbie Donlin, Jim LeBlanc, and all the staff at Quail Hollow who work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible.
The next tournament is in August coming up on Saturday the 17th of July. It will be the prestigious 308 Hardwick Crossing Open and will be at Quail Hollow. The event is coming up very quickly – so sign ups for the Hardwick Crossing Open will come down on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 7th. This event will also likely be VERY well-attended, so sign up early at Still Harts, at Quail Hollow, or on the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page!
Registration starts on the day of the event (August 17th) at 7:00 AM.
As many players are trying to get qualified for the FINALS (you need to have played in 3 to be qualified for the FINALS), going forward only players who have a chance at playing in 3 will be allowed to sign up. The exceptions will be sponsor’s teams and individual medical issues as reviewed by the Committee.
REQUESTS AND FYI
Thanks for arriving on time! Thanks for getting the scorecards in quickly – these two items made things run a LOT more smoothly. Please keep that going by continuing to come early for registration. 7:30 should find everyone at Quail.
As we hope to continue a full player showing, please sign up early – by August 7th – that’s a Wednesday! When it’s full, it’s full. If we still have openings after Aug 7th, that will be shared on the Facebook page.
If you have any feedback or comments on this blog post – there is a comment section that you can use below. I will continue to put up these events on Facebook – with results posted here on this blog.
This blog is titled, “Life, Golf, Miniatures, and Other Distractions”. I do post other stuff here – mainly around miniature toy soldiers and tabletop wargaming (my other passions). Feel free to subscribe as an email follower! (and it is free and you’ll get instant updates).
After finishing off my Quadlings (for the moment anyways), I decided that it was time to work on some of the troops from the southern “underbelly” of Ozz. These southerners are composed of Whim Whim tribesmen, their ally the Noobi, and the Gillikin cousins known as the Temujicans.
The World of Ozz – so far!
I decided to start off with the Noobi as the figures really intrigued me. They look like tribal Oompa Loompas, although with orange skin and green hair. They inhabit the Lost Jungles of Noobi. I had two regiments of them plus some leaders and witch doctors that I got from Russ Dunaway (Old Glory) – that have not yet been put on the Wars of Ozz website.
The regiments are SKU#1600, “Noobi Warriors with Blowguns“. They are listed on the website as Noobi – but currently fall under the desert-dwelling Whim Whim as organic troops (not costing extra points like other allies would).
Their Marksmanship is very good at 7/10. As would be expected, these little guys are not great in Melee with a value of 4/10. But they will stick around in a fight (Resolve at 7/10) and are better than average at taking it to an enemy (Elan at 6/10).
Each Whim Whim brigade can have up to 2 of these Noobi regiments at a cost of 5 points each. The downside to these is the ranges of the blowguns are only 4″ for short and 8″ for long (as compared with muskets which have ranges of 7″ for short and 14″ for long, or carbines which have ranges of 4″ for short and 8″ for long). So blowguns are like weaker carbines as far as range goes.
But, an advantage for them is that at short ranges the Noobi can get 1.5 bases of firepower (rounded up) into the fight which is a big increase. A challenge is they move at Munchkin speed, so getting them into a fight or into range takes time.
The figures are metal, and despite the Noobi’s diminutive height, are 28mm in scale. The Noobi are supplied in multiple poses that allow one to vary each of the five bases for each regiment. There are metal feathers that come with each SKU that could be affixed to either the blow guns or the Noobi – I went with the latter option and drilled out mounting slots on the different heads. While according to the Ozz canon, the Noobi have orange flesh and green hair – no mention was given as to eye color. Therefore I went with pink/magenta as I though, why not?
The Whim Whim can only have one bowmen unit in a brigade, and they have no organic artillery. Therefore, having these Noobi provides adds a crucial missile capability. Time will tell if there will be more types of Noobi going forward.
The leaders and Witch Doctors will be SKU#1601 I believe – and I had enough for two leader bases (each having a leader and a drummer) and two witch doctors. The leaders are not special, getting only one skill, but the Witch Doctors get three spells instead of just two. The leader and Witch Doctor figures are not currently shown on the website, but should be soon.
I worked on these in parallel with efforts on Admiral Jinjur’s Personal Band. I had been very convention-busy in April (HAVOC AND MAYHEM) and in May (HUZZAH Goes Hollywood. Let’s not forget that the golf season kicked off in April too. So, while I finished these at the very end of April, I am only getting this post up now. I am also getting ready for a post on a some Whim Whim that are now done. As you have seen I have kept up with post-convention and post-golf tournament posts instead. Now, for the moment, more posts on miniatures (at least today).
Now on to my progress on the Noobi:
WIP Shots and Discussion
First, clean up and wash the figures! At this point I also drilled out for the feathers.
All washed! I organized the figures and primed them.
I used a mix of grey and white primer with a brush instead of an airbrush. Why? Well, the primer paint I was using was getting old and getting stuck in the airbrush – and I hate to waste anything. The primer was still useful with a brush.
After priming, I applied a dark wash, then once dry added a dry brush application with a white paint. Then it was on to applying speed/contrast paints and some shading and highlighting as needed. The two regiments were painted similarly – with some differences. I planned to differentiate the bases for easier tabletop play down the line.
Here below are shots of some early work on the regiments:
And the individuals:
The individual figures in progress.I think he’s upset because of “pink eye”…
Below is a gallery of the figures right after varnishing (with an airbrush) before I added flocking.
Now, let’s add some…
Noobi Eye Candy
The first regiment got blue and orange tufts:
1st Noobi Blowgun Regiment in line.1st Noobi Blowgun Regiment in a column of single bases.1st Noobi Blowgun Regiment in a modified line as seen from the left.
I gave the second regiment red and blue tufts:
2nd Noobi Blowgun Regiment in line.2nd Noobi Blowgun Regiment in column.
Then the leader bases and Witch Doctors:
A Noobi leader with his drummer.The other Noobi leader and his drummer.I gave this Witch Doctor an orange and purple mask.For this Witch Doctor, I went with a blue and yellow mask.All the individuals together.
These were fun to paint and I look forward to their first tabletop battle at Historicon in July! Any feedback is always appreciated – and thank you for looking!
And yes, I still have much more Ozz to come…
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
PAINTS, INKS, GLAZES, SHADES, WASHES, PIGMENTS, FLOCKING, GLUES AND MORE THAT I USED ON THESE NOOBI WARRIORS, LEADERS, AND WITCH DOCTORS:
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get the rules (and I make no money from this btw). The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:
Welcome back! I’m (temporarily) off the golf course and this is a tabletop wargaming post. This blog post is my final one on the “HUZZAH! Con 2024” and is part 3 of my three-part recap. To read about Friday’s games in part 1 you can go here, and Saturday’s part 2 is covered here.
Sunday, May 19th was the last day of the convention, which is run annually by the Maine Historical Wargame Association (MHWA), an excellent organization. It was held at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Portland Maine. The theme for this year was “HUZZAH 2024 GOES HOLLYWOOD”, so games with an association with movies or TV shows were categorized as theme games. I ran 6 Wars of Ozzgames here, and given its association with Baum’s books and the 1939 movie, they all counted as theme games. Sunday was the final piece de resistance for me.
I have a number of photos of the game that I’ll share with as many descriptions as I can remember. The game started at 10 AM and I had a full table of 8 players – which was encouraging as often the last day of a convention is a “get out of town quickly” experience. Not here! This was my 6th 4-hour game of the three-day convention. I do include a lot of photos here – and some descriptions of them best as I can remember given my age – and teh fact that this was my 6th game in three days…plus I DID promise a surprise back in parts 1 & 2…so here goes!
Sunday Morning – The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz)
This was a repeat of the Saturday Evening game, and as before I had 8 player slots available for this game – but this time the game was sold out.
The scenario description on the registration website was follows:
The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz)
“I’ll get you my pretty – and your little dog too!”
The two rival witch sisters – Evora (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the East) and Arella (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the North) have both learned that a force of Munchkins has taken refuge in a small town near the border of the Great Land of Harvest. Moreover, their spies have also confirmed that the town also harbors other notable Munchkin-lovers – such as the Kansas Farmgirl and her friends. These include the Tinman, the Lion, and the Scarecrow – and importantly Toto.
Both witches believe that possession of the little dog Toto will bring power and leverage over their enemies. Plus, any opportunity to hit the Munchkins is always enticing.
Unbeknownst to the other, the two witches have each simultaneously gathered their forces and allies to attack the town. The two rival forces are converging from oppsite cornesrs of the tabletop. Arella has a reinforced Gillikin brigade and has allied with two Harvest brigades under King Jack, the King of the Pumpkinheads. Arella has recruited King Jack in her quest.
Evora has a both a reinforced Winkie brigade as well as two large Impkin brigades as allies.
Will the two witches put aside their differences and join forces? Or will sibling and tribal rivalries win the day and the two converging attackers try to take on each other for the right to assault the town? And, will Toto be safe?
I have secretly (at a location unknown even to myself) hidden Toto in one of five buildings in the town in the tabletop’s center. The town is defended by two Munchkin brigades – the one on the left commanded by Leif and one on the right commanded by Andrew). Toto is represented by a secret card placement – and even I as the GM would not know where Toto is placed.
As before the Winkies and Impkins were allies, and the Gillikins and Harvest were allies – so the drama built up – would they attack each other or get the Munchkins first? The Munchkins prayed for the bad guys to hit each other.
Victory is determined by scoring, but how the points awarded is different.
For the Munchkins, one point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board.
For the attackers, one point is earned for each Munchkin base destroyed or routed off of the board. However, 1.5 points are awarded for each base of the opposite attacking force that they take out.
Additionally, possession of Toto by the Munchkins is worth 10 points at the end of the game. For the attackers, possession of Toto and getting him off the tabletop successfully is worth 10 points at the end of the game.
On to the photos!
The players – clockwise from the left Michelle (attacking with an Impkin brigade), Brad (attacking with another Impkin brigade), Leif (defending with a Munchkin brigade), Matt (attacking with a Gillikin brigade and Gillikin divisional commander), Sam (attacking with a Winkie brigade and the Winkie division commander), Andrew (defending with a second Munchkin brigade), Jerry attacking with a Harvest brigade), and Steven (partially hidden attacking with a second Harvest brigade).
Most of the players were experienced so it went smoothly as far as play goes.
Leif prepares for a Gillikin Dire Tiger assault from Matt with his Munchkins.Jerry maneuvers his Harvest troops towards the town using the forest as cover as that Munchkin Medium Artillery battery (in the fence) was deadly.Matt sent a regiment of Gillikin skeletons into Andrew’s Munchkin Guard – with Phantom Allies to boot!Brad’s Impkin cavalry and infantry make a determined attack on the Munchkin light battery and push it back from its walled defensive position.A view from Leif’s Munchkin Sharpshooter’s position as Gillikin Dire Bears and more come their way.
At this point the game had gone on for about about 2 hours. As was the custom with HUZZAH!, the games were paused for the MHWA to announce raffle winners, best in slot winners, painting contest winners, and best in convention winners.
Insert drum roll here...here comes the announcement…
I was thrilled and honored to win the “Best in Convention” award for HUZZAH 2024 for Wars of Ozz!
My beautiful crystal award!
I was so very honored as the other games there were of such high quality and run by incredibly talented GM’s. I especially appreciated the solid and loud round of applause from the convention attendees! WOW!
The gamers join me for a celebratory photo with the award!
Well, we went back to playing the game as the convention hall emptied – all except for US. The players did not want to leave!!! How great is that!
Winkie infantry and Gillikin Dire Bears breach the town defences and start searching buldings for Toto…while eyeing each other warily. In the foreground, the skeleton regiment is licking their wounds from the Munchkin Guard (can skeletons lick?). The Guard at this point had been wiped out.All of the players were actively planning their next moves.
Finally, the bad guys started to fight each other as well! One of the Impkin Infantry regiments was hit in the rear by a regiment of Harvest Savage Apple Trees that had been hidden in a forest copse!
Attack of the Savage Apple Trees!On the other end of the table, Winkie infantry engage both the Dire Bears and the Skeletons of the Gillikins to keep them out of the town search for Toto… Matt and Sam (who are engaged by the way) – were fighting each other here as Gillikins and Winkies respectively. Love is love, but we’re talking about Victory Points here!
Meanwhile, Brad’s Impkin ally, the Tin Mechanical Axemen of Professor Nitpick, found Toto and moved to get their little dog prisoner off of the tabletop.
The Tin Mechanical Axemen have Toto! The Impkin’s cry HUZZAH!The Tin Mechanical Axemen pass Toto off to the Impkin Infantry, who scamper away successfully with Toto!
This game was a reversal of the previous one on Saturday night, with this time the Winkie/Impkin alliance successfully getting Toto off the board for the 10 points. The final scores were:
Winkie/Impkin (Michelle/Brad/Sam): 35.5 points
Gillikin/Harvest (Matt/Jerry/Steven): 27 points
Munchkins (Leif and Andrew): 18 points
Yet another amazingly fun game with a lot of twists and turns! Toto was the key to victory, as it should have been. At this point, we had the hall to ourselves!
I am so very, very, grateful to a number of people…
To all my players –THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
I MUST thank and acknowledge the great help and assistance of Bradley Gosselin and Leif Magnuson in helping me set up and take down the games. Wingmen supreme throughout the convention!!!
I also want to again sincerely thank the Maine Historical Wargamer’s Association (MWHA) for running HUZZAH! and doing it so very well. Thanks SO VERY MUCH for honoring me with your “Best in Convention” award!!
Also, you may see a lot of Dave (of the Guru PIGS blog and club in Australia) and in particular his “Mouse Metropolis” terrain gift in these photos that have helped to made my games so special. Thank you Dave! Thanks so much to Buck Surdu and Russ Dunaway for their support and inspiration.
As a side note, this marks my second “Best in Convention” award, as I was awarded the “Dave” award at this year’s HAVOC for yes, Wars of Ozz games. I learned of the award after that BGB convention and after my post on it.
And thanks to my wife Lynn for tolerating this all!
If you get the idea that Wars of Ozz is a great game system and that the figures for it are way cool, then I have achieved my goal. Check it out!
Thanks for looking! Hopefully now I’ll be able to share with soon you some of the regiments that have not yet been seen here but have been painted and ready for action. It is summer here, and golf season, but my world has room for both!
And Historicon is coming up!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get your own copy of the rules. The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:
Yes, this is a golf update! For those of you awaiting the third installment of my HUZZAH! convention 2024 recap, that is indeed forthcoming (yes, more suspense…). For those wondering what that is, you can click here or here to see parts 1 and 2 of that. On to golf for now!
Our third regular season TOB event – the June 2024 Tour of the Brookfields Tournament – the Toomey Lovett Classic – was held on Saturday, June the 15th at Quail Hollow Golf and Country Club in Oakham, MA. What great weather we had that day!
We sincerely thank Jim Lovett Still Harts Cafe in North Brookfield for his longtime sponsorship of the event. This TOB always has a big turnout, and this one was no exception.
Once again, turnout was phenomenal – as was the golf. We were maxed out at 26 teams (104 players)! The field was broken up into three divisions of 9, 9, and 8 teams respectively. Scoring was excellent across the divisions.
The competition was intense. Once again we had tight scoring as you’ll see below – with two out of the three flights ending up in a playoff and one with a narrow one-stroke win. Most teams were in sight of first place. This time, there were just 2 skins – and both were eagles!
We also awarded second place this time. Please see the results table and some photos that I took following the narrative and notes below.
In the Nicklaus Flight, after 18 holes there was a two-team tie for first place at -9. The tied teams played off on the 18th hole – and the team of Chris Depasse, Mike Kularski, Jason McCarthy, and Kristin DePasse were victorious with a par to defeat the second place team of Rick Lindsten, Rick Gemme, Tony Woodman, and Lynn Morin in the first sudden death playoff hole! Congratulations to all – shooting a -9 is a really nice score.
In the Player Flight, there was a two-team playoff on three holes – 10-18-18 holes – as both teams seriously rocked the course at -11 (the best score of any division in the tournament). It came down to the third final hole in sudden death. The team of Todd Allen, Ed McLeod, John McQuaid, and George Fiske outlasted the runner-up teamof Dennis Jennette, Paul Sanborn, Hoss Ford, and Greg Wypych. Rumor has it that John McQuaid made the winning putt on the final hole! Amazing golf by both teams – and kudos to both.
Finally, in the Palmer Flight, we had another very close competition that came down to just one stroke. The team that triumphed with that one-stroke win was the foursome of Jim Wilson, Tom Savage, Ken Burnham, and Barbara Orszulak with a great run of -10. Outstanding! One stroke behind them was team of Tom Orszulak, Mark A. Morin (yup me), Dylan Allen, and Tim Nason, Jr. at -9 (if only I had made a couple putts…). But seriously, hearty congratulations to the winners!
There were only three skins – all Eagles on holes #1 and #5 per the chart below.
Lastly – the closest to the pin on hole #17 was won by Ryan Toomey (7′ 0″).
Now for the results table. The results – and some photos I took – are below – and click on any of the photos for a bigger image. Congrats again to the winners!
2024 Toomey-Lovett Classic Results
A happy couple! Your author and my beautiful wife Lynn!Jim Lovett and Paul Wyman chat at the putting green.Jamie McShera and Beth PotvinBusy time registering all the players! Thanks to all who showed up on time!Lots of warm up on the practice greenTom Staiti and Jim Wilson ready for the courseJamie McShera and Amanda PierceTony Woodman, Tom Orszulak, and Gary WardJohn Desimone shows a masterful putting stroke.Ed McLeod arrives at the course with plans of victory – and he did achieve that!After the round – Mike Toomey, Brad Earle, Gary Donlin, and Debbie Donlin relax.Brian Leveille, Deb Durgin, Bob Weighill, Ken Dorman, and Keith Tytula having fun after the tournamentThe top team of the tournament at -11! Todd Allen, Ed McLeod, John McQuaid, and George Fiske.
The Next Tournament and some notes
Thanks again to all the players, to Jim Lovett for sponsoring this event, and to Gary and Debbie Donlin, Jim LeBlanc, and all the staff at Quail Hollow who work so hard to make the Tour of the Brookfields possible.
The next tournament is in June coming up on Saturday the 27th of July. It will be the prestigious 308 Lakeside Open.
Sign ups for the 308 Lakeside Open will come down on Sunday, July 21st at noon.
Registration starts at 7:00 AM on July 27th. This event will also likely be VERY well-attended, so sign up early at Still Harts, at Quail Hollow, or on the Tour of the Brookfields Facebook page!
REQUESTS AND FYI
Thanks for arriving on time! Thanks for getting the scorecards in quickly – these two items made things a LOT more smooth.
Please continue to come early for registration.
If you have any feedback or comments on this blog post – there is a comment section that you can use below. I will continue to put up these events on Facebook – with results posted here on this blog.
This blog is titled, “Life, Golf, Miniatures, and Other Distractions”. I do post other stuff here – mainly around miniature toy soldiers and tabletop wargaming (my other passions). Feel free to subscribe as an email follower! (and it is free and you’ll get instant updates).
Welcome! This post is part 2 of my three-part recap – and will cover the Saturday morning, afternoon, and evening games that I ran on May 18, 2024 at the “HUZZAH! Con 2024”. (To read about Friday’s games in part 1 you can go here).
As a reminder, this convention was held between Friday, May 17th and Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Portland Maine. It is run by the Maine Historical Wargame Association, a fine group of folks.
The theme for this year was “HUZZAH 2024 GOES HOLLYWOOD”, so games with an association with movies or TV shows were categorized as theme games. I ran 6 Wars of Ozzgames here, and given its association with Baum’s books and the 1939 movie, they all counted as theme games.
Once again, lot’s of photos here – and some descriptions of them best as I can remember.
Saturday Morning – Learn To Play Wars of Ozz
This was yet another permutation on the LTP format that I have run before. I had 6 player slots set up for this game – and had 4 players show up. To keep play more adaptive to the learning process, we played the game with each player just having one brigade – and left the other two brigades on the tabletop for the next game’s set up. The Saturday morning game was listed on the registration website as follows:
Wars of Ozz Battle – Learn to Play Wars of Ozz
Take part in this big battle set in the horse & musket/black powder fantasy world of Ozz. This is definitely not Kansas anymore. Various factions, including Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins, Impkins, Quadlings and others will fight for victory in this fast-paced and easy-to-learn fun game. Beginners are very welcome. Rules will be taught. Players are invited to bring their own 25-point brigades of official Wars of Ozz figures if they have them or they can use one of the several brigades that we will have available for play. Players under 13 only with a playing adult.
I used 21-22 point brigades – and the gamers were a mix of 2 new players and 2 experienced ones. The forces were, from nearest to farthest in the photo:
Red side (on the left side in photo from nearest to farthest):
One Munchkin Brigade
One Quadling Brigade
Black side (on the right in photo from nearest to farthest):
One Harvest Brigade
One Harvest Brigade
At the start of the game with three of the four players. Leif looks glum, and Brad looks happy.
As on Friday, victory is determined by scoring. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. A half-point is earned if an enemy base is still routing and not successfully rallied when the game ends.
Brad (Quadling commander) discusses strategy with Andrew (Munchkin commander).The Munchkins send their ally, the Great Owls, up into the town. The Harvest troops were advancing on the other side of the town.The Quadling 4th Infantry Regiment deploys into line. To its right, the Quadling 1st Light Battery unlimbers as the Harvest forces approach.The Great Pumpkin Heads hunger for battle. Always.The Menacing Hammerheads move forward – knocking out a fence with their, well, hammer heads. They have allied Lesser Apes on their right.Brian moves his Great Pumpkin Heads forward. Closer to the camera, you can see that a Harvest ally (Admiral Jinjur’s female pirates) is moving into the Mushroom forest for cover. Meanwhile, another Harvest ally, Professor Nitpick’s Mechanical Tin Axemen is approaching the Munchkin Sharpshooter Regiment.The Industrial City Witch, TotalCon37, successfully casts a “Fleet Feet” spell on the slow Axemen, and they manage to close with the Munchkin Sharpshooters. These Munchkins are great at using their rifles for long-range fire – but in Melee they are woefully outclassed by their metal-clad enemy here. Still, the Munchkins rolled well and gave as good as they got – until they decided to run away…The Munchkin Sharpshooters rout away from the Tinmen, and the Quadling 1st Infantry Regiment moves up to plug the gap while the Tinmen redress their ranks post-melee.Back on the Quadling’s center, the Great Eagles of the Harvest forces flies over and hits the Quadling 4th Infantry Regiment in the rear. Glenda the Sorceress can only look on in horror. The 4th would not survive the battle.The Great Pumpkin Heads try to hit the Quadling 1st Battery as the Great Eagle attack was successful.Munchkin Landwehr (National Guard) take out a base of the Lesser Apes before the simians exact a heavy toll on them in Melee.The Harvest attack was successful at driving way the bulk of the Munchkin and Quadling forces.
At this point in the game, nearly every Munchkin and Quadling unit was either destroyed or running away. Therefore, scoring was unnecessary as the Harvest forces were totally victorious.
Saturday Afternoon – Heavy Meeting Engagement (Wars of Ozz)
I had 6 player slots available for this game – and ended up having 5 players. The scenario design is similar to the last game, but with 6 brigades in the battle (3 per side). I also swapped the two Harvest Brigades from the previous game, and added a third on the Black side. On the Red side, I added an Impkin Brigade. As for the scenario description, I listed it on the registration website as follows:
Several allied brigades from the sides of good and evil are coming to blows of the open plains of the world of Ozz! Of course, who is good and who is evil is in the eye of the beholder! Both side’s forces are equal in strength, but are their commanders? That’s up to the players! This battle will be a fast-paced one using the easy-to-learn fun game of Wars of Ozz. Various factions, including Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins, Impkins, Quadlings and others will fight for victory and glory. Beginners are very welcome. Rules will be taught. All miniatures/brigades will be provided for play. Players under 13 only with a playing adult.
All were experienced Ozz players. They were as teamed up as:
Red side (on left side in photo from nearest to farthest):
One Munchkin Brigade (commanded by Brad)
One Quadling Brigade (commanded by Brad)
One Impkin Brigade (commanded by Bob)
Black side (on the right side in photo from nearest to farthest):
One Harvest Brigade (commanded by Leif)
One Harvest Brigade (commanded by James)
One Harvest Brigade (commanded by Steven)
Here again, victory is determined by scoring. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. A half-point is earned if an enemy base is still routing and not successfully rallied when the game ends.
The players ready for action.Bob’s Impkins deploy successfully into line with his “slingshot light battery” similary lined up. He also had his Guardian Swamp Fairies lined up as well. Sorceress Mother Ophelia (and her Cats) watch from behind.Steven’s Harvesters get into Melee with Bob’s Impkin’s and lose three bases to the Impkins two -and subsequently rout (red marker). Steven moves up the savage Carrot Creatures and the Mystic Crone to fight Bob’s Impkins (aka the Creepy Fighting Baby Dolls).Similar to the last game, the Great Owls (Munchkin allies – Brad) move up into the town. This time, the Harvest forces counter with their own aviation – the Great Eagles (Leif). The ensuing flyer on flyer Melee resulted in the total annihilation of the Great Owls by the Great Eagles.This time Brad’s Quadlings successfully move forward and deploy into line along the fence – with their right flank supported by the Munchkin Sharpshooters (also led by Brad). The Menacing Hammerheads (James) take out more fence and go into line formation.Brad also got his Munchkins into line – here you see his Landwehr and Sharpshooter regiments in line to maximize firepower. Leif’s Lesser Pumpkin Heads take cover behind a wall and secure his Great Eagles’ flank by the town. James has his Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates and Lesser Ape regiments moving up against the Munchkin sharpshooters.A view of the battle in the field as the James’ Menacing Hammerheads start to take fire from three defending Quadling units of Brad at close range.Back on the far end – Steven’s Carrot Creatures deploy into line and fire their bows at the Impkin infantry (Bob) armed with muskets. A back and forth firefight ensues (well bows and muskets anyways).Leif moves up his Great Pumpkin Heads to attack Brad’s Landwehr.
Notably in this game there were a number of critical spell failures – by the Harvest side – all of which redounded to their favor. One notable one was when a spell of Steven’s witch failed, but the result would cause the nearest inanimate thing to animate and leave the battlefield. This resulted in the Impkin’s slingshot deciding to head for the hills, leaving their crew dumbfounded. Another critical failure by James got him a unit of Dire Tigers added to his forces. These, and a few others were hilarious.
The Impkin Slingshot rans away to the casualty pile…And James got free Dire Tigers – which were too late to arrive to make a difference but were amusing anyways.
In the end, the Quadlings/Munchkins/Impkins were victorious over the forces of the Great Land of Harvest by a score of 24-15. It was a fun game and all enjoyed it. I believe this game also won the runner up award as the best game in the time slot.
Saturday Evening – The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz)
For the Saturday Evening game I had 8 player slots available for this game – and ended up having 7 relatively experienced players. The scenario design is my own, the Battle for Toto – and I have ran this a few times in the past. However, in the past I had a bigger table – so I modified it for playability here by deleting a few units and rearranging the deployments.
As for the scenario description, I listed it on the registration website as follows:
The Battle for Toto (Wars of Ozz)
“I’ll get you my pretty – and your little dog too!”
The two rival witch sisters – Evora (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the East) and Arella (a.k.a. The Wicked Witch of the North) have both learned that a force of Munchkins has taken refuge in a small town near the border of the Great Land of Harvest. Moreover, their spies have also confirmed that the town also harbors other notable Munchkin-lovers – such as the Kansas Farmgirl and her friends. These include the Tinman, the Lion, and the Scarecrow – and importantly Toto.
Both witches believe that possession of the little dog Toto will bring power and leverage over their enemies. Plus, any opportunity to hit the Munchkins is always enticing.
Unbeknownst to the other, the two witches have each simultaneously gathered their forces and allies to attack the town. The two rival forces are converging from oppsite cornesrs of the tabletop. Arella has a reinforced Gillikin brigade and has allied with two Harvest brigades under King Jack, the King of the Pumpkinheads. Arella has recruited King Jack in her quest.
Evora has a both a reinforced Winkie brigade as well as two large Impkin brigades as allies.
Will the two witches put aside their differences and join forces? Or will sibling and tribal rivalries win the day and the two converging attackers try to take on each other for the right to assault the town? And, will Toto be safe?
Looking at the photo below, Toto is secretly hidden in one of five buildings in the town, which has two Munchkin brigades in defence (one on the left commanded by Michelle and one on the right commanded by Vicki). Toto is represented by a secret card placement – and even I as the GM would not know where Toto is placed.
The Gillikins (Brad in the top left corner) are allied with two Harvest Brigades (Keith in the bottom right corner). For the Winkies – Leif was in the top right corner, and was allied with the two Impkin brigades in the battle bottom left corner (commanded by Sam and Matt). Understand that there is no obligation for these rival bad guys to fight – but they can decide to do so (and the Munchkins would just love that).
The Battle for Toto begins.
Victory is determined by scoring, but the points awarded are different.
For the Munchkins, one point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board.
For the attackers, one point is earned for each Munchkin base destroyed or routed off of the board. However, 1.5 points are awarded for each base of the opposite attacking force that they take out.
Additionally, possession of Toto by the Munchkins is worth 10 points at the end of the game. For the attackers, possession of Toto and getting him off the tabletop successfully is worth 10 points at the end of the game.
Keith moves up his Harvest forces – here you see one regiment of Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates approaching a Munchkin Medium battery deployed behind a fence. A follow up Jinjur regiment is behind, as are the Carrot Creatures. In the Winkie corner, Leif makes a mad dash for the town and the Munchkin Guard with his Winkie Infantry. He also deploys his Winkie Light Battery to hammer Vicki’s Colonel Tik-Tok infantry who are behind a stone wall. Great Owls, Winkie Sharphooters, and Zilk-riding Winkie cavalry are in the follow-up positions for Leif.Winkies mass for the attack!Back on the Harvest corner, the Great and Lesser Pumpkin Headsmaneuver around and through the woods to threaten the Munchkin Medium Batteries other flank.While the Winkies make a direct assualt, the Gillikins move up Dire Bears, infantry, and skeletons to hit the Munchkin’s other units. No fratricide…yet…Eric of the HAWKS shows up to briefly offer Vicki advice on her defence.The Lesser Pumpkin Heads take carbine fire from the crew as they approach the Munchkin Medium Battery outside of the gun’s firing arc.
At this point in the games, the convention organizers stop all games to announce the winners of the raffle and the best in session awards. I was honored to win the “Best of Session” award for the Satuday night game slot! Huzzah!
Hey, I won “Best in Session” for my game!Very cool! Btw, the sheets I use to score the game and a card denoting a building searched that Toto was not in are shown here.
Now back to the game!
Fratricide begins! The Guardian Fairies of the Impkins strays into a forest where Savage Apple Trees of the Harvest forces were – and fighting ensues. However, neither was able to inflict much damage on the other in the exchange.A view of the right side of the town – getting swarmed!The Carrot Creatures search successfully and seize Toto!As their Harvest allies have Toto, Gillikin forces move to hit and damage any Winkie units that they can.
The Harvest forces successfully got Toto off the board for the 10 points. The final scores were:
Gillikin/Harvest (Brad and Keith): 31 points
Munchkins (Michelle and Vicki): 25 points
Winkie/Impkin (Leif/Sam/Matt): 11 points
What a fun game with a lot of twists and turns!
That wraps up Saturday – with only Sunday left to report on in part 3. And there are surprises (yes more) for Sunday, so stay tuned!!
To all my players -THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!
Again, I MUST thank and acknowledge the great help and assistance of Bradley Gosselin and Leif Magnuson in helping me set up and take down the games. Wingmen supreme!
I also want to thank the Maine Historical Wargamer’s Association (MWHA) for running HUZZAH! and doing it so very well. Thanks also for honoring me with your “Best in Session” award for Saturday night.
Don’t forget that there are more surprises coming in part 3 (yes I said that again!). As before, please let me know if you like the post (or if you do not) in the comments section. I’ll share Sunday’s game in a few days (hopefully).
Thanks for looking!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get your own copy of the rules. The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:
The “HUZZAH! Con 2024” was held between Friday, May 17th and Sunday, May 19th, 2024 at the Doubletree by Hilton in South Portland Maine. The theme for this year was “HUZZAH 2024 GOES HOLLYWOOD”, so games with an association with movies or TV shows were categorized as theme games. I have run many games at previous HUZZAH! conventions, it is one of my favorite conventions. With that said, it was a no-brainer for me to submit Wars of Ozz games for the convention with its association with Baum’s books and the 1939 movie that they inspired.
As has been my (admittedly somewhat insane) habit this year, I submitted games to run in every time slot – that being two on Friday, three on Saturday, and one on Sunday, for a total of six 4-hour games.
I took a lot of photos worth sharing here – but to do so all at once in just one post seems a waste and probably overwhelming for you the reader (let alone for me trying to write such a behemoth-like tome).
Therefore, I will share my HUZZAH! Con 2024 experiences in three parts – one for each day. This post – part 1 – will cover Friday’s games – during which I ran one game in the afternoon and one game in the evening.
Friday Afternoon – Learn To Play Wars of Ozz
I had 6 player slots available for this game – and it quickly sold out. It was listed on the registration website as follows:
Wars of Ozz Battle – Learn to Play Wars of Ozz
Take part in this big battle set in the horse & musket/black powder fantasy world of Ozz. This is definitely not Kansas anymore. Various factions, including Munchkins, Winkies, Gillikins, Impkins, Quadlings and others will fight for victory in this fast-paced and easy-to-learn fun game. Beginners are very welcome. Rules will be taught. Players are invited to bring their own 25-point brigades of official Wars of Ozz figures if they have them or they can use one of the several brigades that we will have available for play. Players under 13 only with a playing adult.
I ended up using 21-22 point brigades – and the gamers were a mix of new players and experienced ones. There were 6 brigades facing off on the tabletop as you’ll see below. The forces were, from nearest to farthest in the photo:
Black side (on left side in photo from nearest to farthest):
One Gillikin Brigade
One Winkie Brigade
One Harvest Brigade
Red side (on right in photo from nearest to farthest):
One Quadling Brigade
One Impkin Brigade
One Munchkin Brigade
Victory is determined by scoring. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. A half point is earned if an enemy base is routing and not rallied when the game ends.
The players are ready to go – black side on the left, red side on the right.Glenda the Sorceress and the Quadlings face off against the Gillikins.Gillikin infantry and Dire Bears next to their Lesser Witch.The Gillikins maneuver their Dire Lions (with the Lion as an attached hero figure) and their Dire Wolves forward against the Quadlings.A view past the Gillikin forces shows the center of the black side – with the Winkie Brigade moving up through a field toward the Impkins.Both sides close.The Harvest Brigade was reinforced by an allied Winkie Light artillery battery – shown here with noted artillerist hero Boom-Boom Palmer attached. They faced the Harvest Brigade. They would not survive the day.Both the Dire Lions and the Dire Wolves took damage from the Quadling muskets and artillery, and found it difficult to get the gumption up to subsequently charge them. In the rear of the photo, you can see the Impkins successfully getting into line formation to maximize firepower and to hold off the attacking Winkies.The Dire Bears decided that it would be more fun to attack the Impkins instead of the Quadllings. This led to a series of morale results that led them to charge multiple units of both Impkins and Quadlings on a mad rampage across the tabletop. These bears almost single-handedly turned the tide of battle, until they were wiped out.
In the end, the Quadling/Munchkin/Impkin alliance inflicted slightly more casualties on the Winkie/Gillikin/Harvest forces. The final score was 33.5 to 27.5. The black side’s loss of both their Dire Bears and the Winkie artillery (with Boom-Boom as well) were instrumental – and not evened up by the destruction of the Munchkin Aerostat by the Harvest forces.
Friday Evening – Attack on the Munchkin Border Post
I had 6 player slots available for this game – and it also sold out. It is a scenario design that is in the rulebook. I redesigned and reworked it for 6 players, and listed it on the registration website as follows:
The Munchkin Border has been quiet, but terrifying storm clouds are brewing. The Munchkins are determined to defend their frontier by fortifying a series of small villages & positions along their border. Shockingly, their unknown enemies are launching a surprise attack! The local Munchkin commander has sent runners up to division to request reinforcements. Will the Munchkins stop their foes? Will help save the day? Will the border be protected? Beginners are welcome. Rules will be taught. All miniatures/brigades will be provided for play. Players under 13 only with a playing adult.
In a town there is one brigade of Munchkins reinforced by Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates and Admiral Jinjur’s Personal band. A relief column in the form of a sister brigade of Munchkins is on the way. Attacking are four brigades – two each from the Winkies and the Gilikins. The Munchkins and Jinjurs are all in strong defensive positions. An additional rule for this scenario is that if the attackers are routed and cross the river, an additional base is lost.
Victory is determined by scoring here again. One point is earned for each enemy base destroyed or routed off of the board. If the attackers can drive all Munchkins from the town at the game’s end AND have at least one base in the town – they would earn an additional 6 points.
The players – on the left are the two Munchkin Brigade commanders. On the right, from nearest to farthest are the two Winkie Brigade and two Gillikin Brigade commanders.Gillikins begin their movement.A Gillikin Skeleton Regiment moves up to the Jinjur’s wall and attempts to flank, while the band plays a rousing tune. The band can be shot at but not engaged in melee.The Munchkin relief column is approaching on the left, led by light cavalry.The Winkie Zilk-rider cavalry and infantry move up to intercept the Munchkin pony riders.A view from the back of the Munchkin relief column.Gillikins and Winkies swarm across the battlefield towards the town, while the defenders fire away at the attackers.The Munchkin and Winkie cavalry meet in battle. The Winkies took slightly more casualties than the Munchkins despite the advantage of the Winkies.Winkie infantry brave the dedicated rifle fire of the Munchkin Sharpshooters and assault the town.The Winkie’s advantage in Melee proves too much for the defenders, and the Sharpshooters are pushed back with heavy losses. The Winkies enter the town.Meanwhile, while trying to retreat to a safer location (away from the flanking skeleton attack), the Pirates become the target of the Winkie’s Great Flying Apes. The GFA fly over and launch a vertical envelopment to try to hit the Jinjur’s in the rear. The female pirates manage to make an about face just in time. Now they are wedged between the skeletons and the GFA. And the band plays on…The Winkie cavalry, though damaged, interrupt the relief column effectively.The best Winkie infantry – Evora’s Body Guard – hits Colonel Tik-Tok’s infantry hard. This Munchkin unit would not survive the day.Admiral Jinjur’s Female Pirates lose all taste for the fight as the Gillikin forces stream over the south side of the town. And the band played on…Gillikin troops breach the town’s defenses.Some Munchkin relief column troops (Zoraster’s Guard Infantry) reach the extreme edge of the town as the Munchkin cavalry attempt to screen their approach. The Sharpshooters have been able to stop the Winkie infantry’s progress and hold on desperately.Gillikin Dire Lions and skeletons devastate the Munchkin Medium Battery.Gillikin infantry move through the town to eject the Munchkin Sharpshooters and finish what the Winkie infantry started.The Munchkin players worriedly survey the merciless attackers savagely over-running them.A view at the end of the game – the Munchkin relief column was arriving but the defenders were badly outnumbered, though they held a sliver of the town.
In the end the Munchkin players denied the attackers the bonus 6 points for the town. They also exacted a total of 21 enemy bases, but lost 30 in the process. So it was a victory for the Winkie/Gillikin team 30-21 in the end.
After the game, I reset and prepared for Saturday’s three games, which I will share in my next post. I do believe this last game was a runner up as best in time slot at the convention.
I do want to acknowledge the great help and assistance of Bradley Gosselin and Leif Magnuson in helping me set up and take down the games.
I also want to thank the Maine Historical Wargamer’s Association (MWHA) for running HUZZAH! and doing it so very well.
There are more surprises coming – and I will pace these posts out. Please let me know if you like the post (or if you do not) in the comments section.
Thanks for looking!
Miscellaneous details and references for those interested in that sort of thing:
For all of my previous posts on Wars of Ozz games, figures, units, and other related projects – please see this page.
As you may want to check out the excellent Wars of Ozz figures’ range – there are two places to get them and to get your own copy of the rules. The game rules and the figures are available from the following two places:
Mark A. Morin 