Darkest Africa: Return to Obi Thumpi, 4 August 2010

Inspired by a 'now I'm on summer leave' conversation with Andy at James' Birthday BBQ last weekend, I couldn't resist dusting off the jungle terrain and laying on a Darkest Africa session on Wednesday for 4 Rivals plus Fred and Felix. For the game we used the very fast play 'Obi Thumpi' rules.

The set up was a terraced table, the ground rising from the river where the European forces entered, to the ruined village from where the natives emerged.

In the centre of the table was the Mission House, a new terrain piece painted up for the game, and over which the fighting raged.

As per usual in these skirmish games, the players had some victory conditions in common (killing enemies, being the first to the Mission House) but then a unique victory condition which would serve to ensure a good knockabout game.

Thus, Andy's Italians found themselves sprinting headlong for the Mission House - Andy's Hero (Major Ravioli) making it there alone only to be confronted by natives, 'tharsands of 'em' (well, over 50 in fact).

Happily for Ravioli, help was at hand - his Askaris taking up firing positions alongside Orhan's French (see second picture above), while Fred's Belgians and David's British took the right and left flanks respectively. So, James and Felix's cannibal commands swept down the hill.

Battle was rapidly joined in the centre as a lone Belgian trooper, taking up a firing position on the far right was set upon and killed by a monstrous gorilla that had broken cover. The gorilla, moving randomly and attacking any figures within 6" of his final position, did extremely well, taking out several Europeans and Natives and finally overpowering Ravioli in an epic man/ape hand to hand combat. The irony here was that the Italian scenario specific objective was to bag the gorilla - we all explained to Andy afterwards that this could have been done through rifle shooting rather than trying to take him on in fisticuffs...

As to the plot, the Mission House saw brutal hand to hand fighting all throughout the game, with Orhan's French - despite losing all their troopers to native spears and poisoned arrows - taking out James' cannibal prince with their hero and sidekick. This earned Orhan his scenario objective: holding the Mission House at the end of the game to honour the memory of his uncle, the pastor who had been eaten there by the natives the week before.

On the left flank, the thin red line of British faced off a horde of James' warriors - 2 soldiers of the 24th foot succumbed, but by the time David could move off his men towards his objective (King Oga Wana's shrine at the top of the hill, thus gaining him his objective on the last turn) a veritable pile of dead native spearmen lay scattered on the hillside.

Fred's Belgians had a bit of a rum game. Their scenario objective was to keep their troopers alive - their hopes rudely dashed by the gorilla on turn 3. So Fred then flung his men into the fight, only to turn tail and run back down the hill as Felix's main force overran them. Having lost a couple more men, Fred's leader and sidekick rejoined the fray but it was all too little too late. As for Felix, from having had zero points for most of the evening, he saw his fortune change as he charged down the hill, with the Italians (allegedly preparing to shoot at the gorilla) not opening fire on his men. This respite meant that his warriors could crash into the Belgians, bagging one of the troopers for the cooking pot - thus fulfilling his victory condition. His rampage then took in the Italians and the French, who were livid that the Italians had not supported their flank.

When the jungle dust finally settled, the French retained possession of the Mission House, the British had arrested the cannibal King, the Italians were all dead (their leader killed by a gorilla), the Belgians were still fleeing in circles from half the native warriors, with the remaining half in heaps on the field. All good clean fun. The final scores were close at the top: Felix first on 25; David and Orhan on 24 apiece; James on 19; Andy on 13; and Fred on 6.

James kindly videoed some of the action at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jq9WtAElYs

The soundtrack records the moments as Felix's natives swept away the last of the Italian Askaris...