Ah, too many projects on the go, when will I learn? (Smiling...). Here's the other half of my starting effort for a first game - the Arabs. It's taken a while for me to get them to the camera simply because I needed to add some bushes to the bases, it would probably have been quicker to grow them! Anyway, here's their basic list and some more piccies
It's been great fun to introduce some friends into the 'geeky'world of boardgames. We have had a couple of sessions together with games such as Thunder Alley, Fury of Dracula and Game of Thrones. I decided to take a risk and introduce them to a slightly 'hardcore' experience of 'Command and Colours' Epic. This game strikes a great balance between theme, complexity and interest when there are lots of players. Here is a quick review of how it went...
After an a quick short play, without cards, the basics of moving and firing were grasped by everybody, at which time the pizzas arrived! After everybody was fed and watered, we sat down for a six player game. The Carthaginians released that the battle was going to be won or lost with the elephants. The initial attack was repulsed in the centre, yet gained more success when the elephants were reinforced with auxilia to support the attack.
On the Roman right flank, ther slight superiority in light cavalry came to nothing, as the Carthaginians used light foot troops to bolster the line. For the whole battle the light cavalry of both sides continually pushed backwards and forwards, with no real affect on the result of the battle.
The Roman left played little In terms of gaining the upper hand, however the casualties incurred certainly would. The Romans initially had success with defeating the Carthaginian cavalry, but we're then repulsed by Gallic warbands pushing forward to fill the gap. Heavy casualties were incurred on both sides.
As is usually the case, the battle was decided in the centre. With support, the elephants certainly began to shake the Roman light and medium infantry; two elephant units broke through right to the back line of the Roman position. The timely intervention of the Roman heavy reserves finally pinched off the surviving elephants and mopped up the remnants of the Carthagininian first line of troops. Hannibal's veterans tried to stabilize the situation, but their timing was too late. A Roman victory of 14 banners to 9 banners; certainly not a run away victory.
After a slow start (and the digestion of lots of pizza), the players began to understand the different types of troops and their relative effectiveness in combat. As time went on, and it got later, play really speeded up; this however did not stop the player's understanding and led to a climatic surge to complete the game.
Thanks to Becky, Anna, Martyn, Adam and Ryan for entering into the spirit of things. This was certainly something they had not experienced before, being somewhat heavy in theme and complexity. They did go away with a sense of what ancients can be like. For me, yet again, it showed how several players can focus on their own action, whilst being oblivious to what is happening elsewhere; and all completed in under two hours!
Adam now has a new nick name - Scipio!
My gridded playmates arrived today which has provided just the impetus to get ready for a game of 'To The Strongest'. I'm not going to rush this, as you can (or I do) burn out quickly. So I thought I would break these postings into several parts. This one shows a quick army list that I have put together for my Byzantines;
These are some close ups of the troops on muster.
Next up will be some Arab Conquest, just need to add some finishing touches to their bases...
The distraction continues with some more touching up and rebasing. First, some Assyrian medium infantry
I have often found getting a bright white quite difficult to achieve, so I used some of the thicker acrylic 'artiste' paints found in most retail shops. Using a block technique on the most visible, raised areas just seemed to have lift the colour. These gents also had their faces and weapons re-visited too.
Also finished some Hittites being used as vassal allies to the Assyrians. Didn't do the before picture on these as I forgot! They received the same treatment as the other miniatures mentioned. Just got a couple of chariots and infantry left to do. I've already done most of the remaining infantry at an earlier date. The army will have to muster to get some group photo shots.
Fancied a break from current projects and needed to finish some half finished ones. So here's just a photo recall of the last two evening's revamps.
Some Foundry Assyrians and some initially poorly painted First Corps Greeks. Rebased the figures on 10x5cm bases to fit neatly on my Hexon boards. Will probably do some more Assyrians next...
Along with a Confederacy of other Greeks. I particularly like the Spartan Phalanx; they look so tough that they are totally relaxed. Well, it's all in a day's work.
I think!!! Looking at the shield designs and troop types, a little bit of deduction has been made...
Spartans next time...
Phil has just sent a batch Of photos of his newly completed Ancient Greeks. Hopefully the armies will be going on campaign to British shores for a weekend of Summer gaming. I'm intrigued to see that the minis will translate well into the impetus ruleset and that the game is a little more than a simple push and shove affair. Looking at the range off troop types on offer this should not be a problem. It looks from the pictures that we have a classical match up of Athenians versus Spartans. Here there are a few pictures of the two armies together, I will do another posting of the two separately. By the way, thank you to Katherine for providing a lovely backdrop to the game!
The lost posting showed a few of the completed bases, so I thought it would be useful to show the complete army. There are 18 bases and 3 generals.
There are seven bases of bow armed skirmisher, with the remaining eleven bases being medium to heavy cavalry. The force is definitely short of some vassal foot soldiers and skirmishers; yet another painting opportunity!
It's now time to try them out against my Byzantines!
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