Another off the shelve - Britannia

Sometimes simple things affect how a game gets to the table. A lack of grip bags, a busy work life and lack of energy left this classic on the 'must try' relegation pile. Well, having read the rules at a glance, and played my first three, Roman dominated, turns, here are some initial thoughts.

I think the idea of a grand sweeping, epic story of the formative history of Great Britain is a clear pull. Well known characters, such as Arthur and Boudicca add to the glory of the tale. When it comes down to it though, it's still quite a head scratching, deep strategic process where knowledge of the map is crucial. Seeing who is leading the race to game dominance is difficult as victory points are not evenly distributed across each player and their player controlled factions. For instance Rome gains two points for taking over a territory, whilst different tribes gain different levels of points for killing units - 6 points for the Belgaie for instance.

This inconsistent approach to point scoring is then made even more complicated to follow by having different tribes entering the game in later turns, each with their own differing victory conditions. All of this isn't a problem if you are prepared to spend time learning the map and each of the differing faction's.success factors. For me personally, I could quite get into the sweeping story telling, reminiscent of the historic film epics of the forties and fifties; for the others that I game with (mum and dad for instance), I don't see the initial rewards outweighing the learning curve...although I would like to think that I am wrong.

Alternative thoughts on this is that if you are looking for a quicker, similar experience (even though it is a fantasy setting) 'Smallworld' would be a better option; it uses similar concepts of conquest and combat, but with a much simpler approach.

 

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Impetus - Picts versus Late Romans

Well, this is one game I can comment on! A family trip to Pisa to see Phil and family (thanks for the hospitality) a couple of years ago (oh my, time goes so quickly) generated a few opportunities for a game. The game was played on a two v two basis, with yours truly taking command of some Late Roman footmen. By the way, I'm normally happier in pictures than the one above, maybe it was the 1am photoshoot matched with my lack of understanding of the rules!

From what I remember, the game slewed diagonally across the board - Marston Moor style. The Roman cavalry beat hard against the lighter Pictish equivalents, with the Pictish hordes falling onto the Roman right flank.

The game was extremely close. A unit of Roman footmen hung on just long enough on the right flank, for the Pictish mounted General to be caught in the centre, as he re-adjusted to support the winning Pictish left flank.

The rules played were Impetus. For me, there are some similarities/acknowledgements to Armati and DBM. I think with a little more knowledge, this could be a set of rules I could enjoy. Also playing In the Dark Ages is not a period I am particularly familiar with, so this game was a pleasure to consider the abilities of the different unit types - especially those ferocious Picts!

 

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Impetus - Picts versus Early Germans

Another revering report from our Italian correspondent. Again, not sure of the narrative, yet I'm sure that you can draw your own conclusions...answers on a comments postcard please!

 

 

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A message from our overseas correspondent

I'm sure that we all have long term gaming partners with whom we can share stories of our favourite tabletop victories (or more often defeats!). In the following case this gamer is not just a great opponent, but also a great friend. Phil now lives in sunny Pisa in Italy, but many years ago we gamed together during his 'student' years. What started as an exploration into the first edition into DBA lead to show tables at Partizan, games campaigns and lots of fun gaming (Phil, can you remember your imaginative use of a Cantabrian light horse circle?). We both share the passion for the hobby of bringing history to life, in the form of story telling. Even though Phil has lived in Pisa for several years, he still continues to carry the gaming torch with a small group of gamers living there.

One of Phil's enduring interests has been, and still is, the Dark Ages. He has progressed through several rule sets with a current favourite being Impetus. Phil has kindly forwarded several of his gaming adventures in picture format; the pictures here are of a Viking and Norman clash of arms. In the true tradition of story telling, if anybody wants to hazard a guess at what happened in this game...answers on a comments postcard please! Phil, if you are reading, you can adjudicate who came closest to the correct outcome...

 

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