Operation Market Larden IX – 3rd June 2023

Saturday 3rd June 2023 saw the ninth gathering of gamers for Operation Market Larden – a gaming day dedicated to having fun gaming with good friends using various versions of rules published by Too Fat Lardies.

As ever, a large and varied array of beautiful looking games were available for play during the day, with rules including Chain of Command, I Ain’t Been Shot Mum, Sharp Practice, What A Cowboy, Kiss Me Hardy, Infamy Infamy, Strength & Honour & Midgard.

This year I was participating in games rather than umpiring, and was fortunate to participate in two epic encounters – epic being the active word as it’s not often you get to play both Star Wars and Lord of the Rings in a single day!

The morning saw a battle between the glorious forces of the Empire and the Rebel Scum as we played a game of Chain of Command with the Star Wars variant rules – hosted by Jeremy Short, based during the period of the Galactic Civil War. As well as the usual task of reducing your opponent’s Force Morale to zero, each faction had a number of objectives to complete. The total victory points achieved during the game determined the winner, rather than Force Morale alone.

After a topsy-turvey battle which saw a wandering Rancor devour half a Stormtrooper squad, Darth Vader defeat Luke Skywalker and drag him off to a waiting shuttle, rampant Wookies tearing Stormtroopers limb from limb and Princess Leia absconding with a rogue Medical Droid, the Imperial Forces totally failed to destroy the satellite relay station they were sent to disable, were routed from the table and lost the scenario by 4 VPs to 2VPs.

In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to play the forthcoming Midgard Mass Battle rules, using a scenario from Lord of the Rings – namely the battle at the Fords of Isen, with the valiant Rohirrim attempting to hold the fords against the hordes of Saruman, in a game hosted by John Savage.

This was a titanic struggle across the river, with the fortunes of battle swinging back and forth on multiple occasions. As you can imagine, with most of the fighting confined to two areas of river fords, the bodies around the crossings piled high, and the waters of the Isen ran red and black with human and Uruk blood.

It was a battle that contained everything – heroic stands of humans against mighty Trolls, Warg Riders charging Rohirrim cavalry, horses charging into the ford to drive back the Dunlendings and numerous heroes in single combat. As the fighting came to an end, the battlefield was littered with the bodies of the fallen, including all the heroes of both sides…but the forces of Saruman had crossed the Isen and snatched an unlikely victory.

A great game using what looks to be a very promising set of mass battle rules.

A hugely enjoyable day of gaming was rounded off with an evening of good company whilst sharing curry and beer, and an excellent cooked breakfast this morning in a local cafe.

OML is my favourite event of the gaming calendar, and once again Ade Deacon organised and excellent event. Great games and good food, shared with friends – what more could one ask for?