So if the first year was not a barmy enough idea, lets do it all again. Except this time it’s D-day, so that means 45 ft of bespoke beach terrain. I’ve included a couple of pics of the British section of beach here, one with the ‘attack arrows on’ and one without.
What still makes this game stand out for me is that not only did we want to play the landings in the British and most of the American sector (we did not include Utah as there was a limit to the space) but we wanted to include the breakout too. So the logical conclusion at the time was.. play for 2 weeks. And that is what some guys did. A 2 week wargame…Fab
Of course this time the problems with the chalets would be sorted as the camp was under new ownership. Sadly that proved to be anything but. The food was worse, not helped by a food venue which was flooded at high tide, as the place earned the nickname Millendamp. Again the only option was Wargame, eat, drink. And again some great games came out of the experience. These included an American flanking attack to take a hill which 5 days later became a 2 Division offensive, just to take the same hill. The original plan had seen it being skirted as I recall. I had the happy experience of being hit by Naval templates from my own side and then a full RAF bomber strike at the start of the second week. Perhaps they were trying to tell me something. Somewhere during that game a attempted to ‘kill’ a plucky German platoon racing across Pegagus bridge. 23 attacks needed just 4 or more with any one hit. 23 attacks with no higher than 3 on a D6. What are the odds. High it seems, ridiculously high.
After D-day every new megagame seemed easier because they only lasted a week. I’ve never been so mentally tired. I always felt sorry for the players who turned up in week 2. The ‘veterans’ from week one barely had the energy to speak to them.
D-day was a turning point. After this we looked at producing our own rules set, and finding a new warm venue.
Millendamp closed later that year. Environmental health could well have been involved.
What still makes this game stand out for me is that not only did we want to play the landings in the British and most of the American sector (we did not include Utah as there was a limit to the space) but we wanted to include the breakout too. So the logical conclusion at the time was.. play for 2 weeks. And that is what some guys did. A 2 week wargame…Fab
Of course this time the problems with the chalets would be sorted as the camp was under new ownership. Sadly that proved to be anything but. The food was worse, not helped by a food venue which was flooded at high tide, as the place earned the nickname Millendamp. Again the only option was Wargame, eat, drink. And again some great games came out of the experience. These included an American flanking attack to take a hill which 5 days later became a 2 Division offensive, just to take the same hill. The original plan had seen it being skirted as I recall. I had the happy experience of being hit by Naval templates from my own side and then a full RAF bomber strike at the start of the second week. Perhaps they were trying to tell me something. Somewhere during that game a attempted to ‘kill’ a plucky German platoon racing across Pegagus bridge. 23 attacks needed just 4 or more with any one hit. 23 attacks with no higher than 3 on a D6. What are the odds. High it seems, ridiculously high.
After D-day every new megagame seemed easier because they only lasted a week. I’ve never been so mentally tired. I always felt sorry for the players who turned up in week 2. The ‘veterans’ from week one barely had the energy to speak to them.
D-day was a turning point. After this we looked at producing our own rules set, and finding a new warm venue.
Millendamp closed later that year. Environmental health could well have been involved.
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