Cold Wars AAR: Happy Birthday, General Grant by GASLIGHT

   Saturday night at Cold Wars, I ran my GASLIGHT game called "Happy Birthday, General Grant".  In this game Rebel raiders attack a birthday celebration for General Grant and attempt to achieve three goals:  1) Kidnap the General, 2) Steal the wagonload of whiskey at the party, and hijack the train containing the huge birthday cake that had been made for the General.
     I had run this game before at last year's Fall-In, and it had been so much fun I thought I would give it another showing here at Cold Wars.   At Fall-In it had been a close run affair with the Union just managing a victory after winning a prolonged struggle over the unconscious body of General Grant.    The Rebels got the whisky wagon away, and the train stayed in Union hands.   In this running of the game, dismal Confederate dice rolling and amazingly hot Union dice rolling, meant that the Union denied all three victory conditions to the Rebel raiders.   However, everyone had fun; and that, as the GM, was the most satisfying thing.

The scene near the beginning as Rebel mole-machines pop up near the center of the table and they start disembarking their troops.

Union troops line the fence to fire on the party crashers, as the whisky wagon wagon-master begins to drag the valuable vehicle out of harms way.

Typical of the Union luck in this game, the wagon-master hurls a beer mug long range at a Rebel flame-rifle trooper and hits in an almost impossible shot.  The flame-trooper of course, fails his Save roll, and falls unconscious. 

The Rebels continue to press their attack, as a Timberclad and Bicycle Dragoons enter the fray from a nearby woodline. 

The Confederate General himself goes up and duels General Grant one-on-one, but is struck down by the Union General after only a couple rounds of melee. 

Another shot of the table at the height of the Rebel attack.