Sigwald's Safehouse: 1/6th Scale WWII Lawn Gaming!

I finally got outside to mess around with rules and equipment to facilitate my favorite eccentric wargame project: 1/6 scale WWII lawn games! I took some pictures as well since that's half the fun. Since I didn't have a lot of time, I kept the scenario simple & small.

I used "The Sword, the Flame, Machine guns and Grenades" which is a TSATF variant by the Jackson Valley gamers (and is available online). I tried adjusting their ranges from inches to feet but the game proved I'll have to tweak this a bit more. You'll need a handful of D20s, a deck of cards and a box to roll dice in.

Also of course you’ll need some 1/6 action figures.

Most of the time the figures will be posed kneeling or prone while fighting and will stand fine on their own. When they are walking or running I made simple stands since they tend to fall over just as you want to take that perfect picture. They are cheap hobby bamboo skewers cut to 8" with coat hanger wire bent in a "Y" shape and electrical taped to the stick. I spray painted them dark brown but you can also fairly easily edit them out of pictures.

The scenario: A US infantry company is performing a general advance in late 1944. Their lead platoon has pushed a half squad of scouts way out in front and they are now walking straight at a Waffen SS patrol. The German's orders are to locate the enemy and report back. Since they do not have a radio they do not want to get pinned down in a protracted firefight (thereby making the game short and easy on me since I'm moving everything!).

The lead grenadier....

...and the rest of the patrol.

Pfc Smith is the lead US scout...

Pfc Smith sees the enemy first and signals the rest of the scouts. The squad opts to run forward into cover while popping off some shots

The grenadiers charge into into a thicket close by.

A firefight ensues. As with most TSATF variants hit percentage is very low (which I favor) so a fire fight can entail a high volume of individual shooting (and die rolling) before any serious damage occurs as both sides attempt to gain fire superiority.

In this game, both sides trade fire for 2 turns before a result:

Pvt Murphy is hit but lucks out and is only pinned.

Then the GIs manage to pin the grenadier with the sturmgewehr.

Murphy passes his morale check. The Lt howls and the squad pours on the lead.

At this point the German patrol leader sees more of the American platoon advancing towards the sound of the fighting. The pinned grenadier recovers his wits but another is hit and wounded. The patrol leader orders his men to withdraw.

After a few modifications to the rules I'll be ready to drag some friends out onto the lawn and play a bigger game.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Random 1/6 Pictures.

A static German squad