Nuts! Final Edition : Some Pictures and Reflections

I already see the point of the 10 games, 10 times challenge : it's all too easy to miss things in the first second, or even third play. It is not enough to just read rules, you need to PLAY them. 

And play I did - 3 more games of Nuts! - bringing my total to four, so far. 

Because I know I'm playing ten games, there is incentive to play the next one and make sure I fix any mistakes I made previously. I want to make sure that I'm not assuming things, so there was a lot of page flipping, with games taking around 2 hours to play and document. 

There is definitely a learning curve, as with all but the simplest rules. I missed things each game, mostly related to the control of the non-player force, but by the fourth, I had much of it committed to memory, or at least knew where to look when I wanted to be sure of my understanding.

Patrol Mission Setup. '44. France Somewhere.

I even found the rule I was hoping for regarding multiple groups and the In Sight test on what would be page 104, if it was numbered.   Unfortunately, it only made the matter a tiny bit less foggy.

Germans pinning down my men in the yellow farm house. Sarge and Pvt. Harry move up to lob grenades.
I'm not sure about the logistics of tossing grenades over hedgerows, but it sounded right.

Looks like things might go my way, right? Nope.
Despite their losses, Germans would kill or capture the entire team in the yellow farmhouse.

Second game.
Mission : Defend
Enemy Objective : Exit from my edge of the table.
I took my squad (dubbed 1st squad) and another squad, aptly called 2nd squad)
I made the Sarge a Star, and rolled up attributes per the rules for all of 1st squad.

I had the bright idea to send 2nd squad's BAR team up to identify the last PEF.
Turns out there was one in the ruined building.
(all buildings automatically contain a Potential Enemy)

The figure top center lobbed a grenade up over the hill and that was followed by the remainder of the Germans charging into melee. Melee is brutal, as seen here.
Red 6s are Dead, Red 3s are Out of Fight.

A chaotic and deadly melee at that.
You can see 1st squad, bottom left, trying to join the fight.

On a combined score of 7 for initiative, the higher rolling side gets to roll for reinforcements. Germans rolled high:
It's only a squad because I ran out of figures for the "rest of platoon" called for.
I decided my forces would fall back with the wounded.

The biggest thing I have learned so far is: 

If i had been in charge of the US forces in WWII, Hitler would have conquered North America.

Setup for 3rd game.
Mission : Defend.
Enemy Objective : Eliminate us.
I took a whole platoon sans HQ this time.

Everyone in the clear is actually prone (both sides), except the guys on the road.
They are running, but they are sitting ducks.

His last moments caught on camera.

This is just the 2nd turn! Do not get caught in the open!

This game lasted all of 4 turns before 2nd and 3rd squad retreated off table (by my decision, not game mechanics) and first squad was reduced to 2 men as they tried to flank the Germans in the woods.

To that I would also add, I need to throw out all of my six-siders, because clearly they have a pro-German bias

Make no mistake. These games have been enjoyable - full of emotion high and low, and I'm looking forward to the next game. 

Speaking of, the next game will be a patrol on the Eastern front; perhaps my Soviets will fare better. 

But, first, I should probably read up on small unit tactics, because clearly, I have no idea what I am doing!