Vikings Invade Pictland at World at War Convention

    Pictish Cavalry gallops towards a line of armored Viking raiders ready to hurl their javelins

We hadn't gotten a chance to play Lion Rampant lately, so I figured I would get my fix in by running two games of it at a regional convention. World at War is a two-day con, so I ran it in the afternoon on Friday and the morning on Saturday. Each game took slightly more than two hours, with six players each commanding a 17-point force (instead of the rules-recommended 24AP). The reason for this was I would have only a 6'x4' gaming surface because of the table sizes. This translated to each Viking command being composed of four units and each Pict one five units.

    I had a full table of players for both Friday & Saturday - here, Jenny assists new players with rules

As the convention neared, a moment of panic set in. How would I ever get all of those individually based 28mm figures out of my box and organized into commands on the tabletop in a reasonable amount of time? Personally, I have always disliked movement trays. However, I wanted the commands to be able to trade units before the game started. That way, they could weigh one flank heavier with missile troops, or mass their cavalry on one wing, giving the players more control over the battle. I hate convention games where the GM deploys all of the troops starting close to each other and all the players really do is march forward and roll dice. So, movement trays would make swapping units more logistically possible (and minimize wear and tear on the figures, weapons, etc.).

    Pictish army arrived in time to prevent the Vikings from looting the Celtic monastery!

 My friend had recently purchased a Bamboo Mini 3-D printer, so I showed him some examples of what I wanted. He did some searching and found an STL he could modify with the dimensions I gave him. I asked him to print it in brown filament to match my basing. In addition, I ordered a pack of paper steel and lined the bottom of each tray with that. I found some scrapbooking paper that looked like muddy ground and cut and glued a rectangle of it atop the paper steel and hide the bright white gaps between figures and edges. The new trays worked great, and I even added magnetic material to the bottom so the figures could stay inside the trays -- and the trays themselves would not slide around -- in my tin-lined boxes.

    Arrows & javelins fly as the two warbands approach, ready to settle the issue hand-to-hand

I had six players for each game, and others standing by who wanted to play. So, it obviously was popular. One gamer said he drove two hours mainly to participate in my game! That made me feel good, of course, as did all the praise on my paint jobs on the 28mm figs (especially the checks and tartans on the Picts). I added some eye candy to the tabletop with a scratch-built Pictish tower broch in flames on the Viking side of the table, and a Celtic monastery with beehive huts on the Pictish side. Otherwise, it was a fairly basic table set up with a fleece mat, trees, rocky areas, hills, and such. 

    Band of Pictish spearmen stand to receive the fierce charge of Viking housecarles (Elite Infantry)

In both games the Picts did some "horse trading" with units while the Vikings held firm with their one unit each of Elite Foot, Heavy Foot, Light Foot, and Archers. I think swapping around units helped the Picts, who won both games. In the first game, the Picts were aggressive and marched out to meet the Vikings. The Pictish Light Cavalry was particularly aggressive, even charging the Viking Light Foot and Archers. In the second game, the Picts held back, for the most part. They massed one wing of all missile troops. The poor Viking command opposite them did their best to minimize the shooting, cutting through a big woods to reduce casualties. However, their Courage Tests were poor, and time and again, they failed and would have to rally in place, giving the Picts another turn of shooting at them.

    Ground level view of the battle on Saturday as a huge Viking Jarl challenges his Pictish adversary

The fact that both games went the Picts' way, makes me wonder if something I did was wrong. The typical Pictish force had three units of five that could shoot, though two of those were shorter range javelins. Maybe 60% missile armed troops vs. 25% unbalanced the game? Or perhaps the one extra unit per command made things unbalanced? One thing that my friends and I do in all of our games in the Rampant series is use the rule from Rebels and Patriots that one activation failure does NOT end a player's turn. All units are given a chance to roll to activate every turn. If they fail, they stay in place, but the player can go on to the next unit until he has attempted to activate all of his troops. 

    'Bigger they are, harder they fall...!' proven by a tattooed Pictish leader about to deal the final blow

I realize that this perhaps over-values cheaper units, and certainly gives an edge to forces with more units. They will get a chance to activate all of their units every turn, unlike in a game with the standard rules which would end their turn on their first failure. That said, though, it could easily be the unit with fewer units that "craps out" on its first roll. I simply don't like a game hinging on this mechanic, and certainly not a multiplayer game at a convention. Imagine the poor player who fails on his first unit's roll and has to sit and watch while the other players on his side finish their turn. Then he sits while the opponents activate and move all of their troops. Imagine if when it is finally his turn to do something, he craps out on his first roll, again. "This game sucks!" is going to be going through their mind, and in my opinion, rightly so -- at least for a convention game!

    Even MORE full table on Saturday, with a look at the full gaming area & other events in progress

So, seeing as how I intend to stick with the no turnover modification of Lion Rampant at conventions, and also at home games because our group prefers it that way, should I change anything? I think that in the future I will ensure each side has a balanced number of missile troops in this system. And I also will give them the same numbers of units per command. There is a definite chance that the Pictish players had better tactics or even simply better dice rolls. The Rampant system is a very dicey one! It is very easy to pick up, though, and I think works fine for teaching it quickly to new players at a convention. I think I will also make sure I have a larger table. I think the forces were a little cramped on the battlefield. Turns out that the convention also had eight foot wide tables -- d'oh! All of my years attending cons at Fort Meigs and I just realized this past weekend there are both six and eight foot wide tables...ha, ha!

    Friday's leader of the Pictish Light Cavalry was very aggressive, charging Viking Heavy Foot here

It was good to see the spectacle of all those Picts and Vikings on the table. The movement trays were a definite success. I think I will store most of my Dark Ages troops in those trays, too. Note that the trays are only for 12-figure units, not the 6-figure ones. It is easy enough to move those around on the tabletop, as well as handing them out to players. I'm contemplating whether I want to have my friend print up more so that I can put my Orcs and Goblins inside of them, as well as my Elven spearmen. I do have leftover paper steel (the most expensive part of the process). Maybe I'll count out how much I have and get him to print up enough trays to fully utilize my six sheets of the material.

    Pictish javelin men (Light Foot) form up to face a charge of armored Viking raiders (Heavy Foot)

Running Lion Rampant was a nice change of pace at a convention. Normally, I run skirmish games on smaller, but highly scenic tabletops. This was so easy to run it almost seemed like I was "slumming it" -- ha, ha! I really would like to grow the number of folks playing Lion Rampant (and Dragon Rampant), locally. To do that, I'll likely need to provide the troops, at least initially. So, this six-player game was a good test for taking the rules to local game stores. Will anything come of these plans? Not sure. I have a few feelers out there trying to get some other Central Ohio gamers to set up a recurring game day or night at one of the stores in town. Stay tuned to see if anything comes of it!

    Another shot of the battle lines about to clash, with both Picts & Vikings fighting fiercely

So, what's on my painting desk, you may ask? I have five Gringo40s Viet Cong that are almost completed. I also am working on another batch of mangrove trees for this weekend's Surviving 'Nam game at Hold the Line convention in Camp Perry, OH. So, those are my focus for this week, though today I did pull out some packs of "old figures" to be the next ones in line that I paint. Stay tuned to see what they are!

    Another shot of the Picts, on left, about to clash with the invading Viking warhost

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 234
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 237

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 22
• Terrain painted in 2026: 48

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 50
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

    My players ponder their next move in Friday's game of Lion Rampant at World at War

Purchases from Advance the Colors 2026

    My biggest purchase (in terms of cost) was this Misty Hollow stable I bought painted from MBA

I was feeling kind of flush in my budget this year, so my purchases were a bit less restrained than they have been in more recent convention trips. Plus, as vendor coordinator for Advance the Colors 2026, I like to take care of them both logistically and with my own purchases when possible. I did not buy something from EVERY vendor, but I did my best to pick up something from a lot of them. My apologies to those that I did not buy from. I was still restraining myself to picking up things I actually plan on using -- not just buying for the sake of buying...ha, ha!

    Kirk's painter did an amazing job on the building with colorful wood tiles & excellent details

Why not start off with the one painted item that I bought at the show. My friend Kirk from Miniature Building Authority carries the fantasy/medieval Misty Hollow line of 3-D printed buildings. He labels them on his site with the keyword "Mayhem" buildings, so if you are looking for them, type in that name. It appears they 3-D printed medieval buildings were designed by Antigone Miniatures. I had picked up "The Cottage" from that line at Little Wars from a different dealer and really liked how it turned out.

    Next time you see this you will likely see little horsey heads sticking of the stables

I had done some researching of that line after I painted up the cottage, and the next building that I wanted from the line was the Village Stables (Mayem Stable on Kirk's site). Lo and behold, there was a display stable all painted up in his booth. I asked him for one, only to find that he carries them pre-painted. He said he has a good artist who paints them up for him, and I certainly agreed. The stable looked great. With trepidation, I asked how much it was painted (the display one was his only copy he'd brought). I gulped a bit when he answered, but told him that I would buy it. I offered to allow him to keep it on his table throughout the rest of the con for others to maybe order one, and he agreed. If you're curious how much I paid for it, check out his link here.

    A very cool resin fishing boat that will work great for my 28mm Vietnam games of Surviving 'Nam!

That wasn't my only purchase from MBA. I also picked up this resin Asian boat for my Vietnam games. It will join my other two MBA sampans in the waters in front of villages that the U.S. soldiers have to search. I really like its graceful lines, and also appreciate the fishing baskets and such that come with it. The boat is a bit longer than my other two sampans which I painted up awhile back. Still, I look forward to seeing it all painted up and on the tabletop.

And if you have a fishing boat, you'll need fishermen (and women), right? Kirk was selling this pack of resin "Fishfolk," so I snapped it up, too. Typically, I don't like resin or 3-D printed miniatures (but LOVE 3-D printed buildings). However, I figure they won't get the same wear and tear the soldiers get, so hopefully they will be survivable. The picture comes from Kirk's website at I didn't feel like popping open the pack and them cramming them back in the blister. 

Continuing with the water theme, I decided to pick up a couple water birds. Kirk was selling a metal Pelican on a Post and a resin Swan and Goose. I may do some Google searching to see if there are equivalent waterfowl in Vietnam and paint them up that way. Failing that, they'll be standard looking pelican, goose, and swan. They are already on my desk, honking impatiently for their turn to move up in line. This picture is also from the MBA website.

    What miniature gamer doesn't need a Police HQ? I grabbed this in Ron's 'Swedish Death Cleaning'

My biggest purchases in terms of number size (and number of items, I think) were the 3-D printed buildings from Diabolical Terrain. Ron -- who NEVER has sales -- was instead holding something called a "Swedish Death Cleaning." This is something many gamers reaching an advanced age practice as well. It is a process of de-cluttering and organizing to be considerate of your family when you die. I have been doing this (without knowing the rather bizarre name) for several years, selling things I won't use in flea markets. Anyway, part of this sale...oops, cleaning, was a 50% off sticker on a lot of things at his booth. 

    This 3-D printed broken down bus was one of the first things I picked up from Diabolical Terrain

Ron had been waiting for me to swing by and check on his during Thursday's Early Vendor Setup. He pulled out half a table's worth of buildings he said would go great with my post-apocalyptic or modern skirmishes. I had to admit he was right! Looking them over, I could imagine them on my tabletop -- especially the broken down bus! What better spawn point to ask for than a dilapidated bus on the tabletop? The roof comes off, the tires are flat, and I could easily envision it painted up. At the Swedish prices, I couldn't resist!

    This narrow 2-story building would also fit in on just about any miniature modern street scene

Although I wasn't thinking I needed modern buildings, having a fairly large collection already, Ron made the Swedish equivalent of an "offer I couldn't resist...!" The 3-story Police HQ immediately caught my eye. It could be used in just about any game from the 1900s on -- gangsters, superheros, post-apocalyptic...anything! It was a towering building that makes me wonder how I will squeeze it in to my unpainted closet AND my painted terrain closet...ha, ha! To make matters worse, he shoved another 2-story downtown building next to the Police HQ and bus and did a bundle offer. Yep, I picked this one up, too. Who knows? Maybe I will be able to clear out a MDF building or two to make room for these?  

    I was drawn to the fortified look of this small stone church that I picked up from Diabolical, too

I promised Ron I'd be back, but waited till Saturday to return to shop at his booth. I'd been eyeing two of his other Swedish-priced buildings, but more in keeping with what I am currently working on. The stone fortified chapel will fit in perfectly with my project. It looks more medieval than the more cathedral like one I use from time to time, and certainly easier to carrier around than my Saxon church on its own little hillock. It is a relatively small church but has a very gamer-friendly tower with turret on one end that I can see archers or crossbowmen manning in a skirmish. The roof comes off, which is something I insist on nowadays when buying buildings. It should be a snap to paint up compared to the other more elaborate medieval buildings I've been working on.

    This 3-D printed ruined bridge will make a great entry/exit point for exploring my abandoned town

Along the same lines, this ruined bridge could easily work with must about any fantasy or medieval game.  Although I picture my imaginary abandoned city, Moonrest -- a setting for my Four Delvers games -- as having a wider river than this one can span, it would still be fun to have an actual bridge on the table for the explorers to dash back across to safety. Like the stone church, it should go super-quick, so I could see it working its way on to the tabletop soon. Am I done yet with my Diabolical purchases? Considering Ron's diabolically low prices, NO!

    Although labeled as an 'Atlantis' line by its designers, this shrine has an obvious Byzantine look

The final item I picked up from Ron's booth at ATC 2026 was this beautiful Byzantine-looking shrine. It reminded me a lot of the ones I've seen in the Balkans -- especially on my recent trip to North Macedonia. Ron said it is from the Atlantis line of 3-D printed buildings, where it is imaginatively called Atlantic Building 2. They Atlantis line was designed by Dark Realms Forge, and can be found by clicking the Atlantic side tab on Ron's site. All of the buildings on there have a similar Byzantine look, with round tiled domes with lots of archways. Technically, this doesn't match my medieval Moonrest buildings, so far. Then again, neither did the Diabolical minaret I painted up awhile back! If I rationalized the minaret as a wizard's observatory, this could easily be a temple or church, right? I couldn't pass up on its lovely Byzantine lines, and the price was unbeatable. So, I snagged it to put in the painting queue...somewhere!

    My haul from RRB Minis included the above items & 2 green linen, 4'x4' mats pictured on this post

I told you my budget was kind of flush! On to another of my dealer friends -- Rich Brown's RRB Minis & More. The first thing I picked up from him were the two linen, 4'x4' mats created by his wife Gwen. They were payment for my painting up a 4-story, medieval tavern for him -- the Blue Crab (coming soon on a Lead Legionaries post near you!). The mats are intended to make my life easier when setting up three, side by side games of Dragon Rampant on my 12' table in the basement. I will center a 6'x4' mat on the table and partially overlap it with these on either side. Much easier than taping up my oversized fleece mats and spending a half hour engineering three battle boards. Otherwise, I picked up some odds and ends from him, including more of the 6" measuring "Sticks," a primitive looking Lean To, two Buddha statues/heads, and a gratis elephant that Rich gave to me in appreciation.

   'Half size' shipping container from Bad Goblin Games (pics from their website)

A new vendor at ATC this year, but ones I consider friends, too, was Brian & Liz from Bad Goblin Games. They were hugely popular this year and said it was more profitable than many of the other shows they attend (barring Historicon, of course!). I saw folks carrying around their white paper bags with their logo on it all convention long. I always buy things from their booth when I see them -- even if I haven't painted what I bought from them last time...ha, ha! I absolutely LOVE their scatter terrain, and the ones that light up with colorful LED lighting even more.

    This is the damaged version of the above shipping container, designed with holes & dents

Since Ron's bus had made me reconsider doing zombie apocalypse games, I decided to pick up two of their 28mm Shipping Containers. I think the full size ones are bigger than I want with all the other cool terrain and scatter I have (mostly from them). So, I picked up two of the "half size" crates. I bought one that was modeled as undamaged and another that was shown as designed to be damaged. They would fit well on the tabletop without dominating it. I will likely put a lot of rust and graffiti and such on them when I get around to painting them -- hopefully before I see them next!

    Piles of 3-D printed cinder blocks from Bad Goblin Games -- great scatter & cover for skirmishes!

The final item I picked up from Bad Goblin was a bag of Cinder Block Stuff. I felt it would be easy to paint these pieces up and they would really help clutter up my table with good cover for characters in a skirmish. When I got them home and added them to my list of unpainted terrain and scatter that I keep on my iPhone, I let out a sigh. I had already purchased this bag...whoops! Oh well, it is just MORE scatter. Plus, with two bags worth it could easily work as the tumbled ruins of a center block building, right? 

   3-D printed clumps of bamboo from Discount Hobbies -- MUCH faster than my scratch-build ones

Another new vendor to ATC 2026, and one who carries my Surviving 'Nam rules (like RRB Minis & More) is Discount Hobbies 3-D Printing. He has been enthusiastically printing 3-D figures and terrain for my game and advertising it on the Surviving 'Nam FB page. I had seen his clumps of bamboo and was planning on picking some up. I like my scratch-built bamboo, but boy it takes a LONG time to make! These would be simple to paint up, and I particularly like how he created different sizes of clumps. I know that means if I use them in a game I will have two different looks of bamboo on the table. Will anal-retentive Mike be able to handle that? Hmm...we'll have to see! I will paint them up so I can post some pictures of them in thanks for his support of my rules.

    I know I had sworn off 3-D printed figs, but these Spider Holes for Surviving 'Nam were perfect!

One thing I definitely will use are his 3-D printed figures emerging or firing from Spider Holes. These one-man concealed fighting positions are a feature of my rules. There are two 'Spider Hole' cards in the deck, which allow a Viet Cong rifleman to pop up behind or anywhere around the U.S. soldiers. I had been thinking of purchasing plastic Viet Cong figure and chopping them up to scratch-build my own. However, this is simply too easy to pass up. I bought five of them (hopefully for the American's sake, more than I need) and they are already waiting in line on my painting desk.

    I picked up more tufts because I was running out...and not so satisfied with Army Painter ones

Finally, I bought a number of tuft packets from various vendors. I believe they were from Discover Games, who tagged along with Miniature Building Authority, RRB, and Discount Hobbies. I am becoming less enthusiastic about Army Painter tufts. They've become more and more scraggly and unkempt, and require trimming up after gluing onto the figure's base. So, yes, that was a LOT of purchases...way more than I have for any recent convention (including Historicon). I hope that I can get a lot of these items slotted in and painted up soon, though. Stay tuned here and see how quickly it happens...

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 234
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 211

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 22
• Terrain painted in 2026: 37

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 50
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

Playing Zombie RV at Wargames Among the Warplanes

    My survivor Hank is mugged by three zombies in a back alley in a game of 'Zombie RV'

One of my friends on the Lead Adventure Forum, Bill from Dice, Doubloons & Random Musings, regularly attends an upstate New York show called Wargames Among the Warplanes. It is put on by a local group of miniature gamers at the National Warplane Museum in Geneseo, NY. I told him that I really wanted to make it up there for one of the shows. I enthusiastically support efforts to get our miniature wargaming hobby in front of the public at historical sites. I mentioned it to Jenny, and we decided to combine the show with a long weekend of hiking in the Finger Lakes region.

    Bill assists Jenny as he runs back-to-back sessions of Zombie RV on his amazing tabletop

We arrived early and met the show's main organizer, Boe, who'd requested that I bring him a copy of Surviving 'Nam (and autograph it for him...ha, ha). We looked around for about 45 minutes and then wandered over to where Bill was setting up his game of Zombie RV. I remarked that I hadn't played it in a l-o-n-g time (ever since I stopped running it for the Sunday Night Gaming group because...well, if you know, you know...ha, ha!). Jenny and I had signed up for it when we arrived, along with one other attendee. Bill gave us each two survivors (exactly how I would run it at conventions), and had us each start in our own corner of the 2'x2' board. It was supposed to be cooperative -- no survivors shooting each other -- but other than that, it was every survivor group for itself!

    Bill makes cards for his survivor characters, too, with a large picture of the figure on the back

I decided to have my two survivors, Big George and Hank, stick together and make sure they didn't get separated and overwhelmed individually by zombies. We sprinted over to the Pawn Shop, first. Big George opened the door and immediately found some useful supplies. Hank covered the rear to ensure no zombies were sneaking up on them. They moved to the shop's back door, forced it open, and were in a small back alley which had three buildings (with back doors) adjacent. Big George moved quickly (for his bulk) to the next shop, and was able to force open the back door. Once again, he found the supplies rather quickly and was ready to move on to the next location. Unfortunately, he heard Hank calling that they had company and to hurry up!

    Street level view of Bill's awesome setup: quiet now, but the zombies will show up soon!

Bill uses a similar zombie spawning method that I do. Each turn, there is a chance they will spawn on a random board edge instead of the central dumpster fire (a very cool Bad Goblin Games scatter terrain piece!). Wouldn't you know it, but three zombies showed up right in our back alley courtyard! Another was following Big George from the shop, and another group was closing in from a different alley way. My survivors decided to attack the two zombies blocking their way back to the Pawn Shop's back door. The plan was to hurry through that back to their card and skedaddle. Now, in Zombie RV, the odds are heavily weighted in favor of the survivors. On a 5-6 on 1d6, Hank and his friend would splatter the zombie they were in melee with. On a 4, they'd push it back 2d3 inches. In return, they could be hit by the zombies only on their activation and by a 6 on 1d6.

    Big George opens the Pawn Shop door, while Hank keeps an eye out for zombies in the 1st game

Bill had joked earlier, asking if he'd see the famed Mike D bad luck in rolling dice during the game. So far, things had gone smoothly, as Big George made his rolls to force open doors on his first try and found the supplies right away. Plus, we had the percentages on our side: two, big beefy survivors against a couple scrawny zombies. What could go wrong? Of course, I rolled two misses on my attacks! And then Bill rolled for the zombies. Big George was hit with a natural 6! G'ah!! I rolled my "grit" roll (to ignore the damage) and actually rolled the necessary 6! Hey, maybe Bill wouldn't see my famously bad dice rolling! Bill rolled for the other zombie to attack Hank, but it missed. Whew!

Exiting through the Pawn Shop's back door, Hank & George move on to the next building in the alley

On my next turn, I had a decision to make. Attack the zombies with my first action and then run away with my second or just bolt and run. I figured that if we stuck around, the other zombies coming would swarm us on their turn. Fight or run? They would get an attack as we turned our back, but remember -- they hit only on 6's. Big George and Hank decided to run. Bill rolled his attack on Big George: another 6! I tried to repeat my successful Grit roll and failed. Bill rolled for damage. On a 1-3 the survivor suffered a wound but no other adverse effect. On a 5-6, they were wounded knocked down, and on a 6 they were dead. Guess what?? Bill rolled yet another six! Big George became a Happy Meal for a tiny girl zombie in pink bunny slippers! Bill then rolled for the zombie getting his free strike at Hank as he turned to run. Another 6 -- Bill's third in a row (not counting the one last turn). Of course, I failed Hank's grit roll (which was his special ability, succeeding on a 5-6 instead of just 6). Bill then rolled for damage. Does anyone even doubt what Bill rolled next? Yup, his fourth 6 in a row! Just in case you're counting, that is a 1 in more than a thousand chance!!

    Each turn more zombies spawns in a randomly rolled location at Wargames Among the Warplanes

Bill felt so bad about it, he ruled as GM that the zombie had actually missed (nudge, nudge, wink, wink), and Hank was able to move his two actions away. Facing superhuman, 6-rolling zombies, Hank had no choice but to abandon poor Big George to be a big gorge for the victorious zombies. Well, that went south in a hurry! Of the three players, I was the only one to have a survivor die. And guess who was carrying on my supplies? Big George, of course! So, I could rename myself Big Loser after that game! 

    Slowly, inexorably, the zombies begin to surround & close in on three groups of survivors

As always, Zombie RV plays quickly. Bill suggested we play another round. Jenny and I were game. We took a quick break to watch one of the warbirds take off on the museum's C-47 Skytrain cargo planes in D-Day colors take off on the runway. Then, we were back at it for another game on Bill's amazing looking tabletop. I kept Hank, but drew Bobby -- a muscle shirt wearing character with a pistol and a Molotov cocktail in his pocket! I switched spots to enter on Jenny's corner, as she'd move to another one as well, for a change of scenery. 

    Hank & Big George decided to attack the zombies blocking their escape back through the Pawn Shop

Seeing how sticking together didn't work last time, Hank told his new partner to investigate the Donut Shop while he checked out the building they had parked near. Hank forced open the back door and dashed around, pulling a tarp off a suspicious looking lump at the end of the one of the aisles. He was shocked to find another survivor in a nurse's scrubs aiming a pistol at him. "Whoa, whoa!" he said, throwing up his hands. "I'm one of the good guys." She lowered her pistol, and said her name was Sandra, and she'd been hiding in the store for several hours waiting for the zombies outside to wander off. Hand helped her up and asked her to follow him, they'd meet up with his friend Bobby. 

Horde of zombies give chase to a survivor who tries to use the terrain to elude them

Bobby was just exiting the Donut Shop with a sack stuffed with what looked like "Long Johns" or "Bismarcks" -- cream-filled donuts. "Bobby, meet Sandra," Hand smiled. Through a mouthful of donut, Bobby said his hello. The three chuckled, and then froze in place. The unmistakable moaning of zombies preceded four of the undead -- one a huge, nasty-looking one -- rounding the corner and catching sight of them from very short distance. 

    In Game 2, Hank pulls up in his upgraded ride with a new partner, Bobby

Bobby tied the sack of donuts to his belt and pulled out his Zippo lighter. Producing a bottle with a cloth fuse, he lit it and tossed the Molotov Cocktail straight at the nasty zombie. There was an immediate WHOOSH! of flame and the monstrous zombie was engulfed. The puddle of liquid spread to where the two neighboring zombies were shuffling, but they continued to move forward. "You ain't gettin' my donuts, you bastards!" Bobby called, and then shifted position to where the zombies would have to come through the flames to get him. That seemed to work, as two more fell, their clothes and bodies catching fire rapidly. Bobby laughed. "Did you see that, Hank? First time I actually pitch one of those things and I get three strikes!" He looked back where the zombies were writhing on the asphalt, no longer moving forward.

    Hank checks out the Game Store, looking for supplies or something useful to scavenge

"Four," Hank smiled, pointing at the fourth zombie, who also entered the pool of fire and went down, burning. "Now, check out that last building and Sandra and I will guard your rear." Bobby pulled out his pistol and ran towards the final building in the back alley they'd planned to check out. Meanwhile, Sandra and Hank pointed out to each other clusters of zombies approaching from two sides -- drawn by the explosion of the Molotov cocktail. They took up positions and began firing with their pistols. After the success of the Molotov, the pistols seemed to have no effect on the zombies. I rolled miss after miss, counting at least six rolls in a row that were no higher than a "3." I was reminded of what I tell my friends in our Sunday Night Gaming club: "I don't have bad luck, I just have very streaky Good Luck and Bad Luck."

    Meanwhile, Bobby hits the jackpot finding two boxes of cream-filled 'Long John' donuts

Slowly, the zombies closed in on them. Panicked, Sandra darting away, one of the zombies following her. The other three zombies encircled Hank, who was slashing away with his machete and somehow holding them off. Sandra felt guilty, and ran back and tried to smash one of the zombies attacking him in the back of the head with her pistol. It distracted it enough that Hank's machete sliced its head off entirely. For good measure, he embedded it in the forehead of another zombie, that dropped to the ground. They heard gunfire as Bobby ran towards them. "I got the supplies -- let's go!" 

    'Bobby, meet Sandra' Hank introduces the terrified nurse he'd found hiding in the Game Store

Well, here I was again. Two survivors with a zombie in contact with each of them. Run, or fight? More zombies were steaming towards Hank's group, though. They would likely get overwhelmed if they stayed to fight. Surely, Bill couldn't roll two 6's again on Hank and Sandra if they sprinted for their vehicle? What are the odds? Yeah, yeah, I know the odds! I decided to move Sandra first. Bill rolled and missed -- she got away! Now, Hank. Bill rolled -- not a six!! Ha, ha -- my luck is truly streaky! The trio were able to outrace the zombies to their vehicle, turn the ignition, and peel out. That was close...!

    After dispatching zombies with his Molotov cocktail, Bobby moves on to investigate the 3rd store

I thanked Bill for running the game and giving me an opportunity to play Zombie RV, again. At times, the game seems "Easy" -- ordinary zombies hit survivors only on a 6. However, the rules lean heavily into the knowledge that sometimes players are going to roll badly. Jenny lost one of her survivors in the second game. So, neither mission was a cake, er, Donut walk. Each time, somebody didn't make it back to base. I had a lot of fun, especially in the second game. If you haven't played Zombie RV, feel free to click on this link which brings up all of my posts for ZRV. Scroll back and read some battle reports. For a free set of rules from David Bezio of Grey Area Games, it is a lot of fun! If it looks interesting, maybe also download the Campaign expansion I created with the author's input. They're also available free on RRB Minis & More's website. 

    Meanwhile, zombies are closing in on Sandra & Hank from several directions

It was great to meet Bill, finally. We have been reading and commenting on each other's wargaming blogs for more than a year. He's a great guy with lots of creative ideas. One that I am going to steal from him is to paint up zombie dogs as "Fast Zombies" for Zombie RV. I love the way he decorates the interiors of his buildings, too. Hopefully, you were able to get a taste of that from my photos. Expect more updates in the next few days, as I am home from our Finger Lakes & Wargames Among the Warplanes trip!

    After initially fleeing, Sandra feels guilty & returns to help out Hank, who is surrounded

MINIATURES Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Miniatures acquired in 2026: 210
• Miniatures painted in 2026: 185

TERRAIN Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Terrain acquired in 2026: 14
• Terrain painted in 2026: 36

SCATTER Acquired vs. Painted Tally for 2026

• Scatter acquired in 2026: 34
• Scatter painted in 2026: 75

    His drought of rolling 1, 2, or 3 over, Hank dispatches two zombies with his machete!

 

    Thanks to one of my posts, Lead Adventure Forum members are now keeping tabs on meetups!