Sunday 29 December 2013

Liberty - Test game 1 for PAW 2014

Deadwood, Tombstone and Dodge City pale into insignificance when compared to the chaos that is Liberty. There is more lead on the streets of this town that in the Cannington mines in Australia.
Various unsavoury gangs appear from nowhere, causing mayhem by robbing the bank, freeing prisoners from the jail, looting the gold mine, gunning down towns folk and delaying the 3.20 to Yuma train. Even the old Indian burial ground isn't safe - but that's another story

Over the Christmas period 3 gangs, The Mysterious Al Clan, The Twang Gang and the Cinco Esquiladas, rode into town looking to make a few dollars
Word was out that the miners at the Liberty gold mines had struck a rich seam and were yet to bring the gold into town. What could be more tempting.

The 3 gangs each numbering 5 very bad men, started at the far end of Liberty. For some bizarre reason the Liberty Town Council had issued an Ordinance that no shooting was permitted this side of the railway tracks.
Due to low movement cards the Mysterious Al Clan lagged far behind the other 2 gangs so they decided to form a line overlooking the gold mine
After a brief shoot-out with the Twang Gang the three surviving members of the Cinco Esquiladas pushed up to take the gold
The gold mine - one miner has taken several wounds and the other looks mighty worried as the Twang Gang sneak up on him
The Twang Gang advance towards the Cinco Esquiladas looking for a showdown
A fist-fight breaks out between the Cinco Esquiladas and the Twang Gang leaving several dead or wounded
Mysterious Al, having seen the rest of his crew shot down, takes up a position on the Water Tower waiting for the 3.20 to Yuma
Right on time the train arrives along with Pat Garotte and his posse of lawmen
Mysterious Al, now wounded, jumps on the train but so does Pat Garotte who finishes Al off
The sole surviving severely wounded member of the Mysterious Al Clan looks down on the shoot out between the lawmen and the Twang Gang and dies in a hail of law-enforced lead
The last two members of the Twang Gang way up their chances of taking out a lawman and getting the gold
Law and order prevail in Liberty - Pat Garotte stands astride the now delayed 3.20 to Yuma knowing that the gold is safe - resting in his bank account

Train, terrain and figures by Shaun. Buildings by 4Ground and Whitewash city

We will be putting this on as a participation game at PAW 2014 in Plymouth on 1st and 2nd February

Friday 27 December 2013

Liberty - There's gold in them there hills

The wild west town of Liberty is an enigmatic place at the best of times. Various unsavoury gangs appear, causing mayhem by robbing the bank, freeing prisoners from the jail, looting the gold mine, gunning down towns folk and delaying the 3.20 to Yuma train.
We use a simple set of rules that someone else wrote several years ago. The game uses two decks of cards so it is possible to have 5 Aces!.

Each player controls up to 5 figures and is dealt a hand of 5 cards.

Each player  in turn plays a card which for shooting or brawling affects 1 figure or for moving affects a group of figures

Spades - 1 figure can take a shot
Diamonds - 1 figure can brawl or 1 or more figures can move
Clubs - 1 or more figures can move
Hearts - 1 figure can defend against shooting or brawling

The card value indicates either the number of  inches a figure or group of figures can move or the accuracy of a shot or the strength of a punch. Ace = 11, King, Queen and Jack = 10

In order to shoot a Spade card must be played. The target must reply with a card. If the target plays an Heart that equals or beats the value of the Spade then it is a miss otherwise it is a hit

Each figure can take 4 hits before they die. Each hit reduces the value of any card they play by 1

Everything else is sort of made up as we go along
The game, There's gold in them there hills, was played with 3 players, Mike, Shaun and myself controlling 3 figures on a 2 foot square table. The objective being to steal the gold from the miners and leave town on the 3.20 to Yuma.
My plan was to sneak up on the miners, shoot them, steal their gold and run for the train. I have no idea what the other 2 varmints had planned but my gut told me it was something along the same lines
I should have got worried when the 2 other gangs started sneaking around together
Leaving one guy, PacĂ­fico, to provide covering fire my two remaining guys, Tuco & Benedicto, snuck round the back of the camp, past the Bean Master no doubt sleeping off a quart of cooking sherry in the chuck wagon
Meanwhile the other two gangs had started taking pot shots at the miners wounding one of them
Tuco found the miners' stash in a tent and headed back to join up with Pacifico
At this point the 2 gangs started to try and head me off at the pass
Somewhere along the trail Benedicto and Pacifico were shot down leaving Tuco to get on the train alone - hey that's life - they weren't relatives. The opposition had other plans though
Having made it onto the train Tuco found himself the target of every ne'er-do-well between here and the Rio Grande and died in a hail of lead.
The 2 other gangs broke their alliance gunning each  other down in a mad frenzy trying to grab the gold. By this time my only living gang member, Benedicto staggered onto the scene
As the train thundered through the canyon the 3 gangs fought a terrible duel....
leaving Mike's single Apache to claim the gold and clamber onto the train. Benedicto looked on helpless with 3 wounds and no Spades. Hey at least there was a clean pair of pants on the miners' washing line

All of the terrain was made by Shaun. All of the 28mm figures,various manufacturers, were painted by Shaun, The Train is Shaun's. The Chuck Wagon is by 4Ground

Watch out for more posts from Liberty

Thursday 26 December 2013

The Oasis at Kalab - Romans vs Blemmye using BFE2

This is the third scenario in our Romans vs Blemmye "campaign" using our variant of the 19th Century colonial ruleset Battles For Empire 2. (BFE2).

The game is set in Upper Egypt circa 400AD. The figures are 15mm and based for Armati. Each figure represents about 5 men so a Roman Legionary unit represents a Century
The Scenario
Following their defeat to the Romans at the Temple at Kalabsha the Blemmye responded with a series of vicious raids. Much booty,including many slaves, was accumulated and the raiders headed south towards towards their tribal lands to enjoy the rewards.

The Blemmye have stopped for a brief overnight respite in the deep southern wastes at the Oasis at Kalab believing they are safe from Roman attentions. The Romans, however, have other ideas and have force marched to catch them.
The Terrain
The oasis is surrounded by low sand dunes that block line of sight. The booty and slaves are held in a temple compound. and a building, a few tents and clumps of palm trees are scattered around the oasis. The temple and the building can each hold one unit that always fights as skirmishers. The Temple compound is placed 30" inches from the southern edge so that it will take the booty/slaves 6 turns to exit the table moving at 6" per turn

Roman Objective
Retake the booty, rescue the slaves and destroy the Blemmye raiding force

Roman Forces
1 Commander+1 12" Command Radius, +2 if attached to unit
2 Leaders+1 if attached to unit
6 x Century LegionariesInfantry, Elite, Spears / Javelins - treat as Pila
1 x Egyptian AuxiliaInfantry, Foot Bows
2 x Egyptian AuxiliaSkirmish Foot, Foot Bows
1 x Equites Ala SecundaCavalry,Spears / Javelins
1 x Ala GermanorumCavalry,Spears
may add +1 to a UCC roll once in the game
1 x Auxilia SagitariiSkirmish Horse, Horse Bows

Roman Deployment
The Romans have surprised the Blemmye at dawn and caught them napping.
Upto 3 units of any type plus a Leader can enter anywhere on the East table edge 15” from the South East corner point. They may enter on Turn 3 or any subsequent turn.
All other troops must march on table anywhere along the northern table edge.

Blemmye Objective
Get the booty off the southern edge of the board

Blemmye Forces
1 Commander+1 8" Command Radius, +2 if attached to unit
2 x Leaders+1 if attached to unit
1 x Retainer CavalryCavalry, Spears / Javelins
3 x Light HorseSkirmish Horse, Javelins
1 x Camel troopMelee weapons
On contact enemy cavalry become Shaken on roll of 1,2 or 3
1 x Guard WarbandMelee weapons
Can ignore 1 Shaken result once per game
3 x WarriorsWarband, Melee Weapons
3 x Light footSkirmish Foot, Foot Bows
2 x Light footSkirmish Foot, Javelins

Blemmye Deployment
The Blemmye have been surprised at dawn and caught napping in their camp
Secretly deploy units within the oasis area.
Pack Mules/Camel Baggage/Slaves must be in the Temple compound area.
1 unit of any type may be placed in each building/tent
1 skirmish Foot Unit may be placed in the Temple

Blemmye Activation
All Blemmye forces are asleep at the start of the game - they are activated by rolling the Turn Number or less on a D6 ie on turn 1 a 1 is required, on turn 2 then a 1 or 2 is required. If a unit is caught asleep then they are immediately destroyed 
The dice roll has the following modifiers:
-2 if Heavy Unit
-1 if Skirmish Unit
- leader bonus if attached

The Game
Steve and Shaun were the Romans and Paul and I took the Blemmye. The Romans kept 3 cavalry units off table for the flank march.
The Blemmye arranged the warband as the frontline with foot skirmishers on the flanks and cavalry at the rear of the oasis in the hope that everyone would wake up very quickly
The Romans arrived on the northern edge at the crack of dawn. Our activation rolls only woke up two of the Light horse units and the Slaves
Due to their elite rating the Roman Legionaries moved swiftly towards the camp spotting a sleeping warband which failed to activate
With the exception of this warband and the the booty, the rest of the camp woke swiftly and started organizing itself to face the Romans
The Romans sent a Auxilia unit in to give the warband a rude awakening. This warband fled leaving only the Guard Warband to take on the might of Rome
Although Blemmye light troops had got onto the wings and the rear of the Roman force, the latter were unstoppable and stormed the camp
However the remaining Blemmye warbands advanced to join the Guards and managed to hold the line
The Romans decided to bring their cavalry flanking force on into the back of the skirmishers on the Blemmye left flank. Regular readers will note that smiley faces are now only used for the Blemmye. The Romans have proper casualty markers and use Cornicines to indicate Shaken units
Whilst the Blemmye left flank and centre grimly held on, it was a different story on their right flank where a Legionary unit attempted to storm the temple. This was held by a javelin skirmish unit aided by light horse that charged the Shaken Legionaries. Rule - skirmishers can only charge shaken units or other skirmishers
In the centre the Blemmye warbands looked like they might hold up the Legionaries but as the Roman rear was cleared of Blemmye Light Horse the pressure started to mount
Eventually the remaining booty got organised and started to leave the compound covered by the warbands and skirmishers
From the far south the Blemmye camelry went into action on the left wing against the Roman Cavalry and Legionaries in a vain attempt to save the skirmishers
Gradually though the Legionaries wore down the warbands one by one leaving a huge hole the Blemmye centre
At the temple the fight raged on until the Legionaries were rescued by Roman cavalry attacking the Light horse in the flank. The Light Horse fled the field but not before seeing the Legionaries worn down by kills and destroyed.
As the slaves and booty headed south the Roman pursuit was bravely thwarted by the Blemmye Retainer cavalry.
With the slaves and booty gone the Romans were masters of the oasis. Although they had beaten the Blemmye force they had only recaptured 1 of the 3 items of booty and the slaves were nowhere to be seen.

I must apologize for the Roman end of the table in the above photo - it is an utter tip

The Epilogue
After the battle a Roman officer discovered a necklace in one of the tents. Only one such necklace exists in Upper Egypt and belongs to Chlamydia, eldest daughter of Flurus, Roman Governor of the Province. She must have been one of the slaves that got taken south - dan! dan! daaan! - looks like the set-up for the next game

This game was based on the San Lorenzo scenario from Tim Tilson's Colonial Campaigns book Maximilian in Mexico. It worked extremely well and certainly gave the Blemmye players an edge-of-the-seat game. It's a mark of a good scenario when it can be played across different periods

Once gain the rules came through with little or no Rule Debating or Recrimination phases

Well done to Rodge for another enjoyable evening

More pictures can be found at photobucket

Thursday 28 November 2013

The Temple of Kalabsha - Romans vs Blemmye using BFE2

This is the second scenario in our Romans vs Blemmye "campaign" using our variant of the 19th Century colonial ruleset Battles For Empire 2. (BFE2).

The game is set in Upper Egypt circa 400AD. The figures are 15mm and based for Armati. Each figure represents about 5 men so a Roman Legionary unit represents a Century

The Scenario
After the Romans failed to poison the oasis at Nikhab, they desperately needed to retain their hold on Upper Egypt in the face of  more Blemmye raids. At Kalabsha, near Aswan, stands one of the largest temples in Upper Egypt. Both it and the temple at Philae on the Nile form the twin pillars of Blemmye religion. Therefore units from Aswan, Abydos and Cusas were ordered to meet at Kalbasha and defile the temple. Word of this got out to the Blemmye clans who came together to defend their holy site.
The Terrain
The Temple sits in a large shallow valley running north-west to south-east surrounds by dunes and a few areas of rocky ground large enough to hide a unit.

Roman Objective
Secure the Temple by defeating the Blemmye and by having 1 unengaged legionary unit in contact with the Temple by the end of the game.
Roman Forces
1 Commander+1 12" Command Radius, +2 if attached to unit
2 Leaders+1 if attached to unit
Force 1: Aswan Detachment
1 x Century LegionariesInfantry, Elite, Spears / Javelins - treat as Pila
2 x Centuries LegionariesInfantry, Spears / Javelins - treat as Pila
1 x Egyptian AuxiliaInfantry, Foot Bows
1 x Egyptian AuxiliaSkirmish Foot, Javelins
1 x Egyptian AuxiliaSkirmish Foot, Foot Bows
Force 2: Garrison Troops from the Fortress of Abydos
1 x Century LegionariesInfantry, Spears / Javelins - treat as Pila
2 x Egyptian AuxiliaInfantry, Javelins
1 x Auxilia Light HorseSkirmish Horse, Javelins
1 x Auxilia SagitariiSkirmish Horse, Horse Bows
1 x Limitanei ArchersSkirmish Foot,Brittle,Bows
Force 3: Cavalry Detachment from Cusas
1 x Equites Ala PrimaCavalry, Elite,Spears / Bows
Well armoured, -1 to enemy fire at effective range
1 x Equites Ala SecundaCavalry,Spears / Javelins
1 x Ala GermanorumCavalry,Spears
may add +1 to a UCC roll once in the game
1 x Auxilia Light HorseSkirmish Horse, Javelins
1 x Auxilia SagitariiSkirmish Horse, Horse Bows
Roman Deployment
One of the three forces can be deployed in the northwest corner on Turn 1. From Turn 2 roll separately for each remaining force. On a 4,5 or 6 the force arrives on the table edge up to 24" from the northwest corner. 
1 Skirmish unit is allowed to be placed in ambush in any rocky area.
Blemmye Objective
Secure the Temple by defeating the Romans and by having 1 unengaged warband in contact with the Temple by the end of the game.

Blemmye Forces
1 Commander+1 8" Command Radius, +2 if attached to unit
2 x Leaders+1 if attached to unit
Agwezat Clan: "The Horse Lords"
1 x Armoured Noble CavalryArmoured Cavalry, Spears / Horse Bows
-1 to any enemy ranged weapon fire at effective range
2 x Retainer CavalryCavalry, Spears / Javelins
4 x Light HorseSkirmish Horse, Javelins
Yeha Clan: "The Desert Lords"
1 x Camel troopMelee weapons
On contact enemy cavalry become Shaken on roll of 1,2 or 3
1 x Retainer CavalryCavalry, Spears / Javelins
1 x Young WarriorsWarband, Brittle, Melee Weapons
3 x Light HorseSkirmish Horse, Javelins
1 x Light footSkirmish Foot, Foot Bows
Sereyah Clan: "The Warrior Lords"
1 x Guard WarbandMelee weapons
Can ignore 1 Shaken result once per game
3 x WarriorsWarband, Melee Weapons
1 x Light footSkirmish Foot, Foot Bows
2 x Light footSkirmish Foot, Javelins

Blemmye Deployment
One of the three Clans can be deployed in the southeast corner on Turn 1. From Turn 2 roll separately for each remaining clan. On a 4,5 or 6 the clan arrives on the table edge up to 24" from the southeast corner. 
1 Skirmish unit is allowed to be placed in ambush in any rocky area.

The Game
Steve and myself took charge of the Romans and Dave, Shaun and Chris played the Blemmye.

The Romans deployed the Abydos Garrison Troops on Turn 1 and hid the Limitanei Archers in rocky ground south of the temple.

The Blemmye deployed the Warrior Lords as their initial force and placed a Light Horse unit in rough ground north of the temple

Turn 2 saw all the remaining forces arrive on the table. The Romans deploying the Cavalry Detachment on the right flank and the Legionaries on the left. The Blemmye sent the Horse Lords against the Roman Cavalry and the Desert Lords towards the Legionaries.
As the Romans advanced the Blemmye Light Horse ambushed a unit of Sagitarii in the rear kicking off a savage cavalry battle on the Roman right flank
This part of the battle continued for most of the game with the Blemmye camels, cavalry and light horse wildly charging into the Roman forces
The Blemmye started feeding light foot and warbands into the cavalry battle
The Blemmye started feeding light foot and warbands into the cavalry battle
The flexibility of the Light horse on both sides led to several flank and rear attacks
The Roman right flank started to look very shaky when the Clibanarii recoiled from a warband
The Roman Light Horse suffered badly and started to disintegrate before the Blemmye onslaught
However the Roman Equites and the Germans rallied and the tide began to turn
In  the centre Roman Auxilia units advanced to take the temple
However the Blemmye warbands had the same idea
The threat of the Roman right flank collapsing forced the Auxila back causing them to become Shaken
However the right flank recovery allowed the Auxila to reform to protect the rear from Blemmye Light Horse
On the Roman left flank the Legionaries advanced in a very loose formation
Facing them was a mixed bag of Blemmye troops - cavalry,skirmishers and warband
The Blemmye charged the Legionaries without a moments hesitation
All along the left flank the Roman units became engaged
However the Legionaires and Auxilia held their ground wearing down the Blemmye attacks
It was only a matter of time before Roman steel overcame Blemmye courage
And the left flank closed in for the kill
As the Blemmye turned and fled the field the Romans marched into the Temple

The Blemmye lost 14 of their 21 units and the Romans 6 out of 17.

This was essentially a stand-up fight in which the Legionaries did very well. The remainder of the Roman forces left a lot to be desired and came pretty close to being overrun in the centre and on the right flank.

If the Blemmye had avoided the Legionaries or engaged them only with missile weapons then the outcome could have been very different.

Again the rules worked very well although we still need to iron-out the skirmisher-specific rules

Thanks to Rodge for a most enjoyable game

A few more photos can be found on at photobucket