Monopolis first session (MillCon Day 2)

The second day of MillenniumCon, I ran two games (afternoon and evening) of Monopolis, my Ogre scenario using the boardgame rules, miniatures, and 3D terrain on a huge hex map. We got there at 9 a.m., not realizing that the game my brother wanted to play had started at 8. So we wandered around the dealer room (where I scored big; more on that in a later post) and looked at other games that morning, grabbed an early lunch, and started setting up before the 1:30 events started.

The first game, all eight slots had been claimed in online preregistration, but after cancellations and substitutes, we ended up with seven players--and that was fine. This time around, I decided to get all my cybertanks on the board, with around eight for the attackers and five for the defenders, plus conventional armor. I also included the mobile laser, the ekranoplan, and other nonstandard units.

The attackers' Doppelsoldner and defenders' Ogre Mark VI went after each other in a clash of titans in the plains to the east of the city, and the ekranoplan didn't get its troops very far. There was plenty of back-and-forth at the other end of the battlefield as well, including some aquatic action between GEVs and armored boats.

Then the cruise missiles started flying. I'd given the defenders plenty of lasers (and the attackers their own portable energy weapon) for this reason, but eventually one got through, detonating above the main highway into the city, and levelling the terrain for kilometers around. 

I was prepared for this, as rereading the previous Monopolis batrep had reminded me to place the rubble markers first when setting up, then put town and forest on top, to make applying the effects of the nuke quicker and easier and not break the flow of the game. And the players on both sides enjoyed seening the fruits of this nuclear destruction.

This came in handy when the second cruise missile detonated just up the road, taking out the bridge and some of downtown Monopolis across the river--along with some unfortunate nearby conventional units.

By then, it was just about time to end the game. While the attackers made some incursions into the city, the defenders still held Monopolis. It was a good time, and thanks to Steve Jackson Games, I even had some prize support to hand out when we were done.

Between events, I had a chance to wander around some more. Here's a shot of the Circus Maximus setup--a 28mm scale adoption of that classic boardgame. This event is a fan favorite and always fills up within minutes of preregistration starting.

So it was a good afternoon on day two, with my evening Monopolis game still to come. Stay tuned!