This week Orhan travelled to Mesopotamia (oh alright, Adrian's house) with a different Graeco-Bactrian list to take on Adrian and David's Seleucids - now all finished. Orhan won the initiative and the battle was fought in reasonably open terrain with only some uneven ground in the centre and a bit on the wings. Orhan deployed with a very heavy cavalry, light horse and cataphract right wing, a phalanx in the centre, light foot screening the whole front and some more reserve cataphracts at the rear. Adrian and David kept their cataphracts back, with 2 groups of foot (phalanx, blades and medium foot) in their centre and on their right, and again a light foot screen.
The battle was one of manoeuvre. The Seleucids redeployed their mounted to counter Orhan's right wing attack. The lines of light in the centre shot lots at each other. Orhan's Cretan archers and one lot of elephants got shot up and retreated and Adrian was lapping round his left flank and encircling his phalanx when time was called. A big clash on the left saw both sides' elephants attack each others' cataphracts, other cataphracts hit medium foot bowmen (ouch) and cavalry and light horse slug it out. It was a good and thoughtful game. Orhan suffered some unlucky dice rolls and his army never quite (in his words) got it together. Although at the end I think the Seleucids were only up by 1 GB unit fragged, it was pretty clear that with another 30 mins play the Seleucids would have racked up a few more points.
Lessons? On our side the key learning point was that, when engaging in shooting and being shot at, it is really crucial to have a general in command range plus rear support - to give a fantastic +2 on the cohesion rolls. Orhan's Field Commander really came into his own here, his 8" command range allowing him to stop several units from going disrupted by his +1 bonus. Where Orhan's units broke from shooting it was in each case because they didn't get the +2 factor. Adrian, who had this bonus on all his light foot units didn't suffer a single one disrupted. (Cleary being lucky on the dice helps, but +2 is a big deal). Given also that Orhan noted that in many ways he had too many good units and not enough filler, we concluded that our future army design will probably have a Field General and be based around groupings of units that can provide each other rear support. But we won't mess with the Seleucids now that I've just finished painting them all....
Friday, 21 August 2009
Thursday, 13 August 2009
Field of Glory, 12 August
Firmly into Anderida practice season now, with David and Adrian taking on Orhan's Seleucids at Orhan's house. The Seleucids were up against a Graeco-Bactrian army (already chosen by one team for Anderida) which had maxed out on cataphracts and elephants.
Team GB lost the initiative and deployed first with a Light Horse screen that more or less covered the table width. Their elephants were on each flank accompanied by Light Foot and their cataphracts held back in the centre, waiting to see where the Seleucids would put their cavalry.
Orhan deployed with phalanx and cataphracts in the centre, his Galatian cavalry on his left wing and his elite Companions on his right. The phalanx started off in uneven going with their elephants for company.
The GBs attacked on the wings, Adrian's Light Horse and Foot sweeping away Orhan's Tarantines (unit broken in successive turns from shooting alone), David's Light Horse and Cataphracts taking out Orhan's Scythians and Galatians. The Seleucid Companions bravely charged a Light Foot unit only to realise that they were in range of Adrian's Elephants, which charged them and broke them (although they did kill the general fighting with the Elephants). Adrian's Light Horse also broke two units of Light Foot. 90 minutes in it looked bleak for the Seleucids with Orhan noting that his poor dice rolls were costing him the game - was it worth playing on?
But we did. And the struggle in the centre turned the story around somewhat. Orhan's Elephants, Cataphracts and Phalanx broke out of the rough to maul 2 units of Cataphracts, and, on the Seleucid's left a Light Horse group was taken out. The other Seleucid pike block pinned and then engaged the Elephants on their flank, which wasn't looking pretty by home time.
We played for 3.5 hours, by which time Orhan had lost 5 groups broken, Adrian/David 3. The centre was Orhan's, the wings ours. Using the official tournament scoring system this provided 13 points (where 25 points is the maximum and an equivalent of a 10-0 victory in DBM) to the GBs and 7 points to the Seleucids.
Learning points for this game: Elephants kill Cavalry and Cataphracts. Anything in column is very vulnerable to shooting (coz you only count 3 bases in the targeted group). Cataphracts really need generals to double move them for them to get anywhere early on. Light troops don't have to charge headlong into heavy stuff - they will generally stop 1" short of them (which means you can clear out Light Foot by charging them with Light Horse). Having small (4x6") pieces of terrain is useful if you want to get them on the table as the defender. You need 2 players and you need to plan your moves during the opponent's turn and move quickly during your turn to get a game finished and grab more points. Too slow and you simply won't rack up enough points coz there is no sudden death in FoG (ie. whereas you could play slowly in DBM and win a game 6-4 and still get 60% of the points of someone winning 10-0, playing slowly in FoG and getting, for example a credible 12 points, would get you under 50% of the points of a maximal victor - hence to come high in the comp requires quick play I would suggest).
Team GB lost the initiative and deployed first with a Light Horse screen that more or less covered the table width. Their elephants were on each flank accompanied by Light Foot and their cataphracts held back in the centre, waiting to see where the Seleucids would put their cavalry.
Orhan deployed with phalanx and cataphracts in the centre, his Galatian cavalry on his left wing and his elite Companions on his right. The phalanx started off in uneven going with their elephants for company.
The GBs attacked on the wings, Adrian's Light Horse and Foot sweeping away Orhan's Tarantines (unit broken in successive turns from shooting alone), David's Light Horse and Cataphracts taking out Orhan's Scythians and Galatians. The Seleucid Companions bravely charged a Light Foot unit only to realise that they were in range of Adrian's Elephants, which charged them and broke them (although they did kill the general fighting with the Elephants). Adrian's Light Horse also broke two units of Light Foot. 90 minutes in it looked bleak for the Seleucids with Orhan noting that his poor dice rolls were costing him the game - was it worth playing on?
But we did. And the struggle in the centre turned the story around somewhat. Orhan's Elephants, Cataphracts and Phalanx broke out of the rough to maul 2 units of Cataphracts, and, on the Seleucid's left a Light Horse group was taken out. The other Seleucid pike block pinned and then engaged the Elephants on their flank, which wasn't looking pretty by home time.
We played for 3.5 hours, by which time Orhan had lost 5 groups broken, Adrian/David 3. The centre was Orhan's, the wings ours. Using the official tournament scoring system this provided 13 points (where 25 points is the maximum and an equivalent of a 10-0 victory in DBM) to the GBs and 7 points to the Seleucids.
Learning points for this game: Elephants kill Cavalry and Cataphracts. Anything in column is very vulnerable to shooting (coz you only count 3 bases in the targeted group). Cataphracts really need generals to double move them for them to get anywhere early on. Light troops don't have to charge headlong into heavy stuff - they will generally stop 1" short of them (which means you can clear out Light Foot by charging them with Light Horse). Having small (4x6") pieces of terrain is useful if you want to get them on the table as the defender. You need 2 players and you need to plan your moves during the opponent's turn and move quickly during your turn to get a game finished and grab more points. Too slow and you simply won't rack up enough points coz there is no sudden death in FoG (ie. whereas you could play slowly in DBM and win a game 6-4 and still get 60% of the points of someone winning 10-0, playing slowly in FoG and getting, for example a credible 12 points, would get you under 50% of the points of a maximal victor - hence to come high in the comp requires quick play I would suggest).
Thursday, 6 August 2009
Field of Glory - 5 August 2009
Alexander (Andy, David & James) vs the Romans (Adrian & Orhan). A good slog on Alexander's right flank with Adrian's Legions breaking several of Andy & James' Medium Foot, but some progress made by the Macedonians when they brought in Alexander and a pike block from the centre and chased off a legion and its general.
On the left flank, David's cavalry engaged with Orhan's mixed command. Although Orhan broke through and took out our baggage, David used another of the central pike blocks to support his pincer movement and broke several of Orhan's battlegroups (BGs).
Final scores were 4 BGs broken and destroyed baggage (4*2+2=10) to Adrian & Orhan, and 4 BGs broken and 1 fragmented (4*2+1=9) to Andy, David & James. Since the Roman army was smaller than Alexander's, the latter achieved a minor victory - 9 points against 13 BGs beating 10 points against 16 BGs.
Key learning points were about timing the moves of commanders from BG to BG to maximise their effect at different points in the turn sequence, getting the right distance with BGs providing rear support so that they aren't over-run when a victor bursts through, and avoiding fighting uphill against better troop types(!).
On the left flank, David's cavalry engaged with Orhan's mixed command. Although Orhan broke through and took out our baggage, David used another of the central pike blocks to support his pincer movement and broke several of Orhan's battlegroups (BGs).
Final scores were 4 BGs broken and destroyed baggage (4*2+2=10) to Adrian & Orhan, and 4 BGs broken and 1 fragmented (4*2+1=9) to Andy, David & James. Since the Roman army was smaller than Alexander's, the latter achieved a minor victory - 9 points against 13 BGs beating 10 points against 16 BGs.
Key learning points were about timing the moves of commanders from BG to BG to maximise their effect at different points in the turn sequence, getting the right distance with BGs providing rear support so that they aren't over-run when a victor bursts through, and avoiding fighting uphill against better troop types(!).
Thursday, 30 July 2009
Ticket to Ride Europe and Dominion, 29 July 2009
A foursome this week (James, Adrian, Orhan and David) for Adrian's post-natal return to gaming. First up was Orhan's Ticket to Ride Europe, a shorter and denser game than the US map but in many ways more involved and engaging. The addition was stations, allowing players to use others' routes (a sort of 'leapfrog rule'). James eschewed the completing routes strategy in favour of going for top scores on individual connections. The other three opted for the more standard approach, but with Orhan collecting a fistful of route cards even before he'd looked at his opening hand. In the end, James racked up an impressive 129 and then had the agony of watching the others cash in their routes. But to no avail: Adrian and Orhan just made it to 125 and David to 124. A good win for James.
Having finished TTRE early, we went for Dominion, taking about an hour to play the standard game. Orhan had to go a bit earlier than the others so we followed up with a three player 'Big Money' variant (which was over very quickly but which had a couple of bemusing inclusions in the Action Cards - why 'Chapel' for example?). In these games the previous chaining combos so beloved of David didn't quite work out for him and Adrian snatched both victories with a money-heavy approach (acquiring decks with more Gold and Silver cards than Action cards). The scores: Game 1 Adrian 33, James 28, Orhan 24, David 23; Game 2 Adrian 48, David 42, James 39.
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Pompeji, Ra - 22 July 2009
With just Andy, David and James around, it was a good opportunity to dig out a game for a smaller number of players. Five or six years ago, James bought a small collection of card games from Salute with themes including maritime trading, railway racing (of course!) and town building. We played the latter this evening - Pompeji. Players construct buildings in a town grid system and gain points by matching building types and background colours along the connecting roads that are created. The Pompeji theme provides the Roman architecture and an erupting Vesuivius to end the game but sadly (unlike Adrian's game) no lava to escape from!
James won the game with 208 points, David second with 156 (and more than a little confusion about which buildings lined up with which) and Andy on 115 (his lower score a result of not using his Extra Turn card so essentially having two less turns than the others). A clever and short (~40 minute) game.
We then played old favourite Ra to see how it worked with three players. Slightly (only just) less Derren-ing but the game worked just as well and was a lot of fun as usual. A strong win for Andy on 51, with James on 42 and David 37.
James won the game with 208 points, David second with 156 (and more than a little confusion about which buildings lined up with which) and Andy on 115 (his lower score a result of not using his Extra Turn card so essentially having two less turns than the others). A clever and short (~40 minute) game.
We then played old favourite Ra to see how it worked with three players. Slightly (only just) less Derren-ing but the game worked just as well and was a lot of fun as usual. A strong win for Andy on 51, with James on 42 and David 37.
Wednesday, 24 June 2009
Maharaja - 24 June 2009
We'd left it a long time since we last played this game, but we soon remembered how good it was. Soon after setting up we embarked on different strategies. Kieron started putting out palaces as quickly as possible building up an early lead but running out of money. James made use of the Trader card to go first each turn and placed the central palace in several cities. David made use of the Builder card and concentrated on building a road network and making medium level scores in each city. Andy scooted around using the board using the monk, but gifted David a lot of cash for the use of his network.
Midway through the game Kieron, James and David were all with 4 palaces left to place and Andy was one behind. Then a series of fortunate events led to David acquiring some extra cash and being forced to give up the builder and take the cheap palaces card. Next turn he palced two palaces getting to a lead that the others couldn't catch.
Result: David (7), James (6), Kieron (6), Andy (5). James edged Kieron for second place on money.
We agreed it was a good game, although maybe the end game may be a bit lacking. Once someone gets ahead it's difficult to stop them. Maybe the game-end conditions need to be different from the victory conditions (like in Powergrid).
Midway through the game Kieron, James and David were all with 4 palaces left to place and Andy was one behind. Then a series of fortunate events led to David acquiring some extra cash and being forced to give up the builder and take the cheap palaces card. Next turn he palced two palaces getting to a lead that the others couldn't catch.
Result: David (7), James (6), Kieron (6), Andy (5). James edged Kieron for second place on money.
We agreed it was a good game, although maybe the end game may be a bit lacking. Once someone gets ahead it's difficult to stop them. Maybe the game-end conditions need to be different from the victory conditions (like in Powergrid).
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
Railway Rivals - 17 June 2009
A (mostly) welcome return to the game that started it all. Amazing to think we spent a good couple of years playing Railway Rivals every Wednesday night in the early nineties. This was the first play of the Games Workshop boxed version that James bought at Newbury a couple of years ago (as opposed to the home-produced roll version originally purchased by James at Duncan's recommendation from Gameskeeper in Oxford's Cowley Road in June 1993).
The GW version has been simplified in a couple of places for families with the most significant (and worrying) change being the replacement of the 2,3,3,4,4,5 average die with a standard D6. We decided we could live with most of the rule changes but not that - so the average die was retrieved from the other set.
We played the original London-Liverpool map and the final scores were Orhan 181, Adrian 173, James 171, Kieron 133 and David 131.
Like other things that one spent a lot of time on and enjoyed in the past (Risk, The Clangers), it's never quite the same on return, and difficult to understand what the original enthusiasm was all about. But it was the game that started Games Night and brought the Rivals together, so will always be held in affection (even if we don't want to play it again for another five years!).
The GW version has been simplified in a couple of places for families with the most significant (and worrying) change being the replacement of the 2,3,3,4,4,5 average die with a standard D6. We decided we could live with most of the rule changes but not that - so the average die was retrieved from the other set.
We played the original London-Liverpool map and the final scores were Orhan 181, Adrian 173, James 171, Kieron 133 and David 131.
Like other things that one spent a lot of time on and enjoyed in the past (Risk, The Clangers), it's never quite the same on return, and difficult to understand what the original enthusiasm was all about. But it was the game that started Games Night and brought the Rivals together, so will always be held in affection (even if we don't want to play it again for another five years!).
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