On July 18, 2015, we took a trip deep into the Peruvian jungle of the 1930s (courtesy of FiveCore), where Professor Lashwood and his expedition had discovered a legendary lost temple. When the locals began muttering about sacrilege and threatening to murder the archaeologists, the US embassy sent marines in to escort the expedition to safety. Little did they know that the Germans have learned of the discovery. They have sent their Zeppelin Troopen in to capture the archaeologists and any artifacts they have discovered. Larry, Fred and Sean played the Marines, while Phil, Jim and Ed played the Germans. Photos are courtesy of Jim. Figures are from Pulp Figures, except for two Marine BARs I borrowed from Jim.
The temple complex, a pyramid looming over the ruined buildings.
The Marines and the Zeppelin Troopen first had to locate the expedition's campsite and the archaeologists. The Germans set up on the right side of the table, while the Marines set up along the stream feeding into the river on the left and the narrow track toward the far end of the table. The camp lies near the pyramid, directly behind the rightmost of the two trees near the river in the foreground.
Zeppelin Troopen advance toward the camp.
The early game had quite a few "Scurry" turns for both sides. The Germans rolled more, allowing them to move into the camp while the Marines were getting into position. They held onto that advantage throughout the game.
Zeppelin Troopen enter the camp.
On the other side of the pyramid, the Germans take position in cover near the camp as Marines advance.
A Zeppelin Troopen lies dead.
Both sides exchanged gunfire for several turns with little effect. Then the dice turned hot. One German was shot dead in the center.
Marines advance while Zeppelin Troopen search the camp.
On the German left, the Marines engaged the Germans taking cover in the brush while other Germans searched the camp.
Marines take fire.
In the center, the Germans returned fire, killing two Marines. To the left, one of the archaeologists (James Lawson) was found in one of the ruined buildings.
Several turns later…
Lawson took cover in the ruins as the firefight raged around him. The Marines tried to pull him out, but were cut down by the Germans. Here they have surrounded the ruin and are ready to assault the last Marine defending the building.
Dan is captured.
In the camp, the Germans captured another of the archaeologists, Dan Davenport. Marines prepare to rush in and rescue him.
The bloody ruins.
Marines and Germans fought and died around the ruins hiding Lawson.
Lawson captured.
Eventually, the Germans won out and captured Lawson.
Off camera, the Marines found Professor Lashwood and his daughter Sam, and led them to safety. Unfortunately, they were unable to stand up to the Germans. They were steadily driven back until the Germans had control of the entire temple complex.
In the end, this was a win for the Germans. The Marines rescued two members of the expedition, but the Germans captured two others and were able to take their pick of the artifacts and documents in the expedition camp.
Overall the game was a blast to run. The players seemed to enjoy it as well. To run it for a group, I gave each player five figures and two activations per turn. Each side rolled one action die and followed the results accordingly. After a few turns, play moved quickly and required little assistance from me. I definitely plan to run it again some time. And maybe then I'll get to play.