Come Fly Away: a Spectre Operations scenario

Last week we played a number of Spectre Games on my new airfield table. 

The scenario was in all cases the same: Cartel boss Nastasha had to escape the table shown above by helicopter or by All Terrain Quad and the Federal policemen had to capture or eliminate her. 

The first time we played the game with 20 gangsters and 8 Elite federales. It was a walkover for the Federales, who also employed a grenade launcher. As it turned out I would need at least 30 to 40 gangsters to balance that. That would mean a real long game not very suited to the demo I had in mind so I decided to downgrade the Federales.

The Federales start in the far corner of the table hidden in the Woods (below in the picture above). Boss Nastasha starts in her office in the upper corner of the table as shown above, doing some bookkeeping. There are actually 4 essential scenario points that about form a diamond. Cartel boss and federal starting point are on opposite corners and the quad and helicopter on the other two.  

The eventual scenario included 8 Professional Federales, 1 Professional Cartel boss, 6 Trained mercenaries and 2x7 Militia gangsters. Federals are armed to the teeth with carbines, sidearms, laser sights/red dots and hand grenades just like the mercenaries. I ditched the grenade launcher.  Gangsters use whatever is on the figure. 

There is also a pickup truck with driver and gunner sporting a .50 cal heavy machine gun supporting the gangsters. This made an intimidating impression on all Federales players and turned out to be their favorite target! 

The Feds may use a number of turns to change their starting position. In these turns they simply move undetected through the jungle to their preferred staring positions. 

Each of those turns Nastasha rolls a d6 and adds the turn number. On a 7 she closes her laptop and starts moving towards her chopper at a relaxed pace of 6"per turn, followed by her right hand crook. 

To complicate things the gangsters may nominate 3 random guards each turn that move d6 in a random direction. Quad and chopper can not be destroyed.

Federales clearing the edge of the forest, starting their assault

Players and audience at Ducosim pondering the next move

Gangsters outflanking Federales through the hangars side door. 

Nastasha and her LMG gunner

Bullets fly everywhere and gangsters fall like ninepins

In one game several hand grenades were employed to kill the .50 cal

All games were fun but perhaps the most memorable game was the one where I played the gangsters and the Feds were run by a kid about 10 years old and his dad. I cunningly snuck Nastasha towards the quad under cover in the hangar when the kid ran through the hangars side door and blew up Nastasha with a hand grenade! It can't have been any later than turn 3.... 

Hangar interior