ZONA ALFA: Refinery Number 3

Large ZONA ALFA game last Friday night as a handful of the Cape Cod Wargame Commission met for Chinese take out and a quick salvage run into the Exclusion Zone. Other Pat managed to break away from baby duty to join Max, John, myself, and a visitor from Virginia, Drew K for a few hours.

Three Hot Spots with salvage. (I use dummy 7.62 rounds to mark the objectives.) Two commanders with three squads per side. Each squad was comprised of a Veteran Leader and two Hardened Troopers, with RPK and Sniper specialists in the mix.

We set a 6 Turn Limit and this being a demo game, the unit compositions were identical. The Zone Hostiles pre-determined also: Rats, Zombies and a Blood Sucker.

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Turns One and Two unfolded in a very straightforward manner; each side advanced across a wide front with squads homing in on the objective areas dead ahead. The chatter of AK’s echoed across the deserted base as squads traded fire.

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Along with the rifle rounds, Max and Drew threw bolts to trigger the Hots Spots. The intention was to have the Zone Hostiles spawn closer to Other Pat and John’s crews to keep them busy while they rushed in and claimed the loot. A good plan that only half worked.

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On one side, Rodents of Unusual Size popped out from behind a dumpster on the wrong side of the concrete wall and headed straight for Drew’s squad leader. Oops. Bad throw, comrade.

Meanwhile in the refinery a pack of Zombies lurched out of the shadow of an oil tank and began shuffling toward Other Pat’s crew. Fortunately for him, his trooper had remembered to bring grenades.

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A sweet underhand lob nabbed all four of the zombies but while Other Pat and John dealt with the undead, ( and a lucky burst of AK fire) Drew and Max scrambled in and claimed the salvage. Eyes on the prize, gentlemen.

That was the turning point. With the hour getting late and two out of three objectives claimed, everyone decided to call it quits for the night. Good game all around.

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Many thanks to Other Pat’s wife and newborn daughter who let us borrow him for the evening, to John and Max for gaming twice in one week. (oh, the sacrifice!) and Drew K for spending precious vacation time to hang out, roll dice, and push toy soldiers around the table.

That’s all for now. Remember, ZONA ALFA is slated for a Jan. 2020 release from Osprey Publishing, so clean that AK and scrounge up extra Rad Kits. See you in the Zone.

Have great day , comrade.

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PS. if you’re interested in Zone fiction, two of Yuri’s Zone Runs are available here:

Strange Treasure

A Prayer to Saint Strelok