A new gamer

One of the things I've been hoping to do where I live is build a little group of people to get together for occasional multi-player wargames. After many fine intentions but little opportunity I finally had a chap from work who is keen to get involved over and introduced him to ancients.

I'd wanted as a starter to familiarise him with troop types, their strengths and weaknesses, and play around with the general tactics of the period. Commands & Colors: Ancients being a fairly gentle introduction we set up a modified, open-handed Ilipa scenario. 

It was quite successful. E is a very clever fellow so picked up the concepts fast and was almost immediately into third-order questions of the why and how varieties. He liked the game and the era and thinks he knows one or two others who might also be interested, so the ball appears to be rolling.

Aside from being good fun today's experience reinforces yet again for me that the Ancients version of Richard Borg's Commands & Colors system is simply outstanding. The man is a genius. 

Raphia, with Commands and Colors: Ancients, epic version.

The battle is an impressive affair, and the account in Polybius, book 5, provides a description of the historical event. The armies met near Raphia to decide control of Palestine: Ptolemy of Egypt leading 70,000 infantry, 5000 cavalry and 73 elephants against Antiochus of the Seleucids with 62,000 infantry, 6000 cavalry and 102 elephants. 

Although fought in the same year as Lake Trasimene, Gaza in 217 BC seems a world away from northern Italy, closer to the time of Alexander than the time of Hannibal. 

The two armies are fairly even in Commands & Colors: Ancients Epic. Both sides have 31 units and three leaders. Ptolemy has a slight edge in line infantry, with twelve units to Antiochus's ten, but Antiochus has four elephant units to three and ten light infantry to nine. Cavalry numbers are equal, with Antiochus' having more oomph in the charge and Ptolemy an advantage in missiles.  

To win requires 13 banners, with banners won by destroying units or killing leaders. 

Set up has the Seleucid leaders concentrated in the centre and right zones; the Ptolemaic leaders are spread one to each zone.

Scenario from Commandsandcolors.net

According to commandsandcolors.net, Ptolemy wins 61% of the time to 39% for Antiochus. Let's see how our fight got on.

Turn 1:

Antiochus starts with an order two left and order two right. He advances lights to screen his own elephants from unwanted attention and to fire pot shots at the enemy. With one fortunate volley he inflicts a hit on Andromachus's guard unit, weakening it to three blocks. 

Ptolemy plays order light troops, activating troops on both flanks. Daring attacks cause two elephants to rampage, scoring a total of five hits on the surrounding troops. A strong start!

Translation - both sides activate units on the flanks to skirmish for local advantage, aiming particularly to harass elephant units in the hope that they rampage, or to screen them to prevent such attacks on their own forces.

Initial dispositions, looking from Ptolemy's left.

Turn 2:

Antiochus plays outflanked to activate units on each wing for more skirmishing and order medium troops in the centre to begin the slow process of advancing the infantry line.

Ptolemy shuffles units into positions on both flanks to minimise enemy options. The movements are still watchful at this point.

Translation - neither side is in a strong enough position to commit to an attack at this stage. Early manouvering focuses on creating or denying opportunities on the wings while preparing for a decisive clash in the centre. 

Early skirmishing, looking from Ptolemy's left. 

Turn 3:

Antiochus activates units in the central and left zones. 

Ptolemy advances units in the centre and right. 

Translation - both sides are trying to get their heavy and medium infantry units into line for advances into charge range.

Turn 4:

Antiochus advances units in the centre and plays darken the sky on the left. Despite bucketloads of missile dice thrown, little damage is caused - units just retreat.

Ptolemy plays order medium troops and consolidates in the centre.

Translation - both sides are still getting into position. 

The centres are edging closer to each other.

Turns 5 and 6:

Both sides continue to jab at each other on the flanks and advance in the centre.

The two lines of infantry about to meet.

Turn 7:

Antiochus plays order two right to bring an elephant into contact with the left of Ptolemy’s infantry line, line command to bring the infantry lines into contact, and order four left for missile attacks. One light unit is killed, three units of heavy infantry and Ptolemy himself are killed. Three other units are hit badly and pushed back. Antiochus's men only take one hit in total. Five banners are gained and the integrity of the line is maintained.  

The Ptolemaics play two left to attack the elephant, line command to fight back in the centre and order mounted on his right. The elephant is killed but another infantry unit is lost in the centre. 

The score is 1-6 to Antiochus.

Translation - Antiochus's attack causes monstrous damage. Ptolemy is dead and his centre is in pieces. It is hard to see how the Ptolemaics can come back from this.

The phalanx about to go in.

Ptolemy (leader top of screen) loses his unit and his own life in the initial clash.

The aftermath, looking from behind Antiochus's right centre.

Turn 8:

Antiochus orders clash of shields centre. Two more units are destroyed, giving him an 8-1 advantage.

The Ptolemaics play move-fire-move and order two in the centre and eliminate a unit of heavy unit. 2-8

Translation - Antiochus continues to apply the pressure. The Ptolemaics, now under the command of Andromachus, scramble to avoid defeat and attack where they can.

Turn 9:

Antiochus plays order three centre and order one left. An elephant unit attacks the leader and kills the heavy cavalry. 10-2

Ptolemaic remnants  attack on each flank. One skirmisher unit is killed on the left and a light cavalry on the right.  Attacks on the elephants are unsuccessful. 4-10

Translation - the end is near, and the gods favour the mighty.

Turn 10:

Antiochus plays I am Spartacus to kill two more units. 12-4

Ptolemaics play counterattack for an I am Spartacus of their own. They kill three, and miss out on two kills more. The enemy elephant is killed by bowmen! 7-12

Translation - I am Spartacus an gives additional attack dice to units activated. For a moment there was a glimmer of hope for the underdogs, but the dice are capricious. 

Death of the elephant, killed by bowmen.

Turn 11:

Antiochus plays inspired leadership left, move four centre, and inspired leadership right. Two more hits are scored and 14-7 is enough to confirm the victory. 

Summary:

In this case the initial attack in the centre by Antiochus decided the battle. After that it devolved into local clashes with the Seleucids holding the advantage in numbers, leaders, and battlefield agency. The final positions showed a chaotic scene and the photos do not present it to advantage! 

An enjoyable solo outing but it was over as a game after the first major clash, and went very much against the historical victor.

There shall be rumours of things going astray

As I get older, with house moves, hobby re-organisations, and household purges in increasing numbers behind me, I am often beset by a sense that I used to have a thing - and may still, somewhere - but can no longer find it.

In previous times I was able to maintain an accurate mental catalogue of wargaming items owned, and by some strange unconscious mnemonic know which room, shelf, cupboard or drawer to look in for it. Not so now. 

Nowadays, the conversation with self goes something like this: 

"Hmm, where is that old rusty-stapled copy of Phil Sabin's Legion? I would like to try adapting it for use with my current set-up." 

"Spare room, top shelf, second bookcase from left, in yellow envelope. Held upright by the large candle given to us THAT Christmas."

"You are thinking of the old house."

"So I am."

"So where is it now?"

"It could be anywhere."

And it's not just rules that go astray: it can be whole boardgames, or whole troves of figures. I recently re-found a game I'd given up on ever recovering. I had scoured the house, mentally retraced every interaction with it, and still been left at a total loss. Had I given it to someone after a few beers and not remembered doing so? Unlikely, but are my faculties more damaged than I know? Had I left it in Japan? Surely not. 

I went through everything again. A year or so after I had entirely given up on it, it was found while cleaning under the passenger seat of the car. Once recovered, memory returned: I'd stowed it there for a weekend away in Christchurch, just in case a game might be called for.

And digitisation has not proved to be quite the boon it once appeared to be, either. Initially, digitisation felt like having something etched in stone. 

"Now that I have those rules and army lists in PDF form I will have them forever!" 

There was a sort of euphoria. You could be careless of paper copies, throw away manila folders, ditch ringbinders. Why take up space when you can print it off again any time you want? And anyway, you can always download the latest latest latest version from the yahoo group. 

But all was not as it seemed: three computer meltdowns later, the CD-ROM* you might have backed it up to is no longer accessible on any device you own; the yahoo group dedicated to the rules is long defunct; the cost of home-printing anything lengthier than the essential items list for your kid's school camp is such that it's cheaper to buy (and ship in) a hard copy. 

So what do you do, when you're idly gazing at a safely unplayable War in Europe (or similar) on your shelf and are suddenly stabbed with a "but what about that set of 6mm rules that you got ten years ago for D-Day and Beyond?"

1) Give up on thinking about wargaming. If it is not until I am reminded of something that I remember I used to have it (and can't then remember what happened to it), avoiding the possibility of being reminded in the first place circumvents the whole process! 

2) Recognise that if you'd forgotten about it until now, it probably hadn't assumed any huge importance and finding it / not finding it** is unlikely to derail future enjoyment of the hobby.

3) Accept that these things are going to happen and - while hoping that the thing you are thinking of might turn out to be a) somewhere accessible and b) useful - use the enthusiasm caused by reminder of said item to fire you up for something you already have. 

And so, by extremely roundabout ways - most lately via option 3 - we come to introduce a future refight of Raphia, using Commands & Colors: Ancients Epic rules, played using 15mm figures, on Memoir 44 boards.

To be continued... 

*if one could find it

** I've since lent off the game I 're-found' because it was not one I was likely to play anyway!

A most excellent Commands & Colors blog

I happened to be browsing a wargaming page on Facebook the other day and came across a few photos of a Commands & Colors: Ancients game and a link to a blogpost. I made a note to self to take a look at the blog later on, and did so.

Lo and behold, it turned out to be a magnificent specimen of blog-hood. Commands & Colors game reports, Commands & Colors campaign rules, Commands & Colors modelling tips and much more.

I would urge you to go and have a look!

The mighty Keith's Wargames.

Boots on the Ground

A while ago I picked up Boots on the Ground by Worthington Games in a trade. It had been sitting in a trunk for the best part of 2024, but while I was searching for something quick-ish to play in order to test out my new plexiglass sheet, I wondered if it might be a good time to give it a try.

The rules are about six pages long, which is always a good start when you are looking for 'quick-ish'.

The game is designed to be played solitaire against a card-activated opponent, co-operatively against the same, or competitively, but I have not properly digested how the latter format works.

The system is simple: set up map of generic city; cover with your new plexiglass; populate map with markers (civilians, vehicles, items, insurgents) as per scenario instructions. Deploy your squad; activate the whole squad with limited action possibilities or activate an individual to use their special abilities; draw card for instructions on insurgent actions, perform actions. Repeat.

I chose the first scenario, requiring my squad of six to navigate their way down a long street to reach their objective, and to do so with at least four of the squad still alive. It's a 30 card (30 turns, in effect) scenario.

The first thing you notice is that the game's components are not especially appealing. The map has a sort of grainy 'satellite view' aesthetic with superimposed square grid. The counters are functional rather than artistic. But my set has already been clipped tidily by the previous owner, so that is an improvement on my own irregular clipping habits!

Game flow is similar to a first-person shooter. Insurgents suddenly appear in doors and windows to shoot at your team. You respond. You move close to a vehicle; you can't avoid it. Is it useful cover, or does it contain an IED? You approach civilians - are they harmless or insurgents in disguise? You flip the counter and see. There are lockboxes. Do you want to risk opening it? If yes, flip the counter and see.

And this one is an IED! Fortunately, our demolitions expert was able limit its effect. Can't say the same about the insurgent who appeared in the window; he has wounded the squad leader.

A wider view of the map. 

Player input is mainly about positioning your team so that they can respond to threats while also looking to work towards the objective. Combat odds favour the player - your soldiers are elite - but with opposed die rolls and situational modifiers the advantage is not certain. It is only my first game but tactics here were not particularly sophisticated. Move towards the objective, shoot anyone in the way, keep your medic close by to treat wounds. 

The card pull is the fun part. What will it be? Will it be an insurgents move and shoot card? Will it be an insurgents appear and shoot card? Will it be an insurgents take cover card? Will it be something else? 

Two thirds of the team wounded and still two blocks from the objective. Do we halt and patch wounds,  hoping for a lull in insurgent activity, or do we press on? 

In this scenario there seemed little need to use individual counter abilities. We wanted to keep everyone together and move then as a group if we could. The only one I activated individually was the medic,  who was called upon to deal with the wounded and get them back on their feet.  

At times it is brutal.

Another ambush. Our sniper killed!

At this juncture we are fortunate enough to get some air support (two card-pulls in a row) which forces the insurgents to keep their heads down long enough for our medic to get around the rest of the team.

We keep moving. We have killed or wounded the visable insurgents, but then find the civilian in front of us is not a civilian after all. Oh dear!

Insurgent revealed.  Another man wounded; we are lucky it wasn't worse. 

As we approach our objective the tension rises. Just half a block to go. We leave one of our wounded behind and press on with the four who can move as a group. Metres from safety disaster strikes.

An insurgent appears in the last doorway and shoots our demolition expert dead. 

The leader. medic and scout move to the objective; they call to the wounded heavy weapons expert to join them. He is wounded again in the sprint; the medic has to go and carry him to safety. 

They make it, but only just.

Four survivors at the objective. 

The long road travelled. 

So what of the game? It is light and a little cartoonish. But that is good for me. I prefer it to be non-specific and based on generic situations rather than real events. I don't want to play a serious game on this topic; it is still too close and too many people are still affected. 

As mentioned earlier, the play in this scenario was not sophisticated. The other scenarios will add complexity and no doubt the special abilities of the various squad members will come to the fore when there are different objectives and problems to surmount. 

On the whole, it was a nice little diversion, and a great way to start two weeks off work.

I will look to play it again and will try the next scenario and see how it goes. 

As for the plexiglass sheet, it really did the business!