Dominion of the Spear

I picked these rules up last year when they were getting quite a few nods of appreciation around the traps, and while I haven't done them to death I have played a few games, mainly using scenarios from the 36 Battles for Dominion of the Spear expansion.   

Last time I played I scribbled down some notes for a future blog post but lost them in a fit of organisational ineptitude. 

Monday last week I pulled the rules out again and decided to run through Marathon. I have only the beginnings of an Achaemenid army painted, but there are enough for these rules, so I set the figures up. 

Then it was all over in 14 dice rolls.

I left the figures out and started writing up a post about why I probably won't play these rules enough to warrant getting all the various iterations. The battles, I wrote, are simply over too soon.

But I couldn't get the post to where I was happy with it. I had a couple of goes over a couple of nights without it working so I let it be. 

Tonight I went down to the den to pack the figures up, but decided I would play Marathon again, and then have a go at Plataea. Why? Well, I have a day off work on Friday. Why not?

Marathon. The Athenian army is composed of four units of armoured spearmen for the Greeks. The Persians have four units of ordinary archers and one unit of elite armoured archers. The Athenians have the initiative.  

Start - Persians at the top

Turn 1: the Persian archers take out a unit of the Athenian hoplites, but the hoplites drive off the archers on the other flank leaving things even after the first three rounds of battle.

After the first turn

Turn 2: The Persian archers strike twice to leave the Athenians with just one unit on the board, meaning they will be running home to announce a defeat, not a victory. 

Marathon at game end - a Persian triumph in 9 dice rolls

Plataea. The Persians have the initiative, and an army made up of two units of ordinary archers, one of elite archers, a unit of cavalry, and a unit of armoured spearmen (mercenary hoplites). The Greeks have a unit of elite armoured spearmen (Spartans), two units of armoured spearmen, and one of ordinary spearmen.

Plataea start. Greeks to the top. 

Turn 1: the Greeks beat the archers in the centre but lose the Spartans to Mardonius's cavalry. Talk about going home on your shield. 

After the first turn

Turn 2: the Persian archers destroy another unit of hoplites and open a gap to be exploited.

After the second turn

Turn 3: Mardonius and his cavalry win again.

At game end - another triumph for the Achaemenids, this time in 14 dice rolls.

By this time I am having fun, and am about to go to Gaugamela, but what is this, a scenario for Thymbra? I go back in time to the battle between Cyrus the Great and Croesus of Lydia.

Thymbra. The Lydians have the initiative and an army made up of two units of armoured cavalry, a unit of elite armoured spearmen, and a unit of ordinary spearmen. Cyrus's Achaemenids are comprised of two units of armoured archers, one of ordinary archers, one of scythed chariots, and one of cavalry. 

Set up with Lydians at the top. The field is fuller!

Turn 1: Cyrus's archers are effective against one of the cavalry units but Croesus's archers deal with the scythed chariots without breaking a sweat.

In war things can get blurred...

After the first turn

Turn 2: Cyrus's archers are unstoppable. The Lydian cavalry drives off one unit in its own turn but it cannot avoid defeat for the army. 

At game end - a Persian triumph in 9 dice rolls.

For the fourth and last Achaemenid battle in the scenario book we go to Gaugamela. Three battles, three wins for the men of the fertile crescent. Can Alexander reverse the trend?

Gaugamela. Alexander and his Macedonians have the initiative and an army as follows: a unit of elite armoured cavalry, a unit of ordinary cavalry, a unit of elite armoured spearmen (the phalanx) and a unit of ordinary spearmen. Darius III has three units of cavalry, a unit of horse archers, a unit of scythed chariots, and a unit of archers.

At game start. Who could ever tell which army is which?

Turn 1: the Companions and phalanx strike immediately to knock off the horse archers and the chariots. The Persian cavalry pulls one back for the team by defeating the Thessalian cavalry at the other end of the field.

After the first turn

Turn 2: the Companions and the foot companions are again victorious. Darius's men have no answer.

After the second turn

Turn 3: the Companions are deadly once more, and the phalanx turn into the flank of the remaining Persian cavalry and drive them off as well. 

The field is clear - a Macedonian triumph in 12 rolls

The Companions have three rolls and produce three sixes. Perfection!

And so I am glad that I did not publish my half-formed negative take on Dominion of the Spear. As a one-off game with miniatures, it seemed to be a waste of time. As a four game exploration of Achaemenid battles on a week night with no work the next day it was a something entirely different.

Going back to my original thoughts:

"Part of the issue is that I'd got figures out for it. The figures probably took about fifteen minutes to find and to set up. The game itself was over in about two minutes, or as long as it took to make 14 dice rolls."

But this was the wrong way to look at the game. 

Will I buy the other games in the series? I'm not sure. I have the ACW version and that will certainly lend itself well to a themed evening of gaming like the one tonight. I think I might look at the horse and musket ones. I will see. I don't think there is any need to worry either way: I've had my money's worth in games from this series tonight already, and anything that helps to inspire a blog post is doing well given my recent output! 

In other news, I got to see a band play this week in Nelson, and they were brilliant. New Zealand's efforts in the arts can often lead to a sort of cultural cringe: you take a peek and want to slink out the door. Not so with Auckland's The Beths. 

Here's a solo acoustic version of their song Mosquitoes. They are a four piece and all excellent musicians but Liz Stokes is the songwriter in the band. She is quite a talent. If you get a chance to see them, take it!

Asculum for beginners

As mentioned in my last post, I was fortunate enough recently to get four players together for a crack at my old favourite, Lost Battles. 

Right up until the night before I was unsure of what scenario to use. The need for Romans was obvious. But should I go with homogenous forces to cut down on rules shock - Pharsalus? No, we needed elephants. Should I go for Hannibal? Trebia? Cannae? Zama? No, these three splendid affairs need to be reserved for when players know the rules enough to savour them.

In the end, the decision was Asculum. The triple advantage of aesthetically pleasing troops, closely-matched armies (by the standards of Lost Battles), and a mix of different types to show the rules to advantage won the day.

The goal was to play a first game to run through the rules and a second to give players a chance to put their knowledge into practice. This was probably a little ambitious.

The day started with a brief outline of the armies and Lost Battles rules concepts. The best way to learn these rules is to play, so we tried to get into it as quickly as possible.

View from behind Pyrrhus's left flank after the deployment turn.

The Greeks moved first and elected to reinforce their right flank with a unit of veteran heavy cavalry, giving them a significant advantage in that area. The central zones all advanced, but not before a hit had been scored on the Roman light infantry.

The Romans refused their left and left centre, but advanced elsewhere. 

On turn three, amid command problems (low command die roll) the Greeks made the decision to not advance their right centre or right flank into contact, even though the latter had been reinforced. Battle was joined seriously in the centre and centre-left and the cavalry of the other flank exchanged charges.

Initial advances, shown from the Greek side.

These positions were maintained for the next few turns. Hits were scored on both sides, forcing players to choose which units to put into the lead, which units to give combat bonuses to, and, on the Greek stage, how best to employ the special characteristics of the phalangites. 

With the Greeks still not advancing their right, they were able to put a lot of command points into combat bonuses, which sped up the attrition on the Romans. Nevertheless, it was the Greek cavalry who gave way on the left, buoying Roman morale.

The day was racing by, and the Greeks realised the need to get their right into contact. As this was happening Sulpicius staved off disaster by rallying three hits out of four, saving the Roman right centre from rout. Pyrrhus got himself into the action in the centre, but in doing so exposed himself to risk. As the battle went on, Pyrrhus's zone broke, carrying the man himself off the field.

The Greek right flank swept the Roman cavalry away, but it was too late. 

Gleeful Romans spoke of superior tactical acumen; resentful Greeks cursed those fickle mistresses, the dice.

With neither side able to completely rout the other by the end of the tenth turn, points were tallied up. Rome this time was victorious.

As there was only an hour left, we had a quick debrief instead of the ideal second game to 'consolidate knowledge' (what was that about being too ambitious?).

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the players new to Lost Battles are keen to do it all again. 

A successful day then, and I chuckled to myself during the post-mortems: by turns they all gloated, grizzled, moaned and what-iffed like wargame veterans!

Great to get people together for some good old fashioned figure gaming. 

300: Earth and Water

Between purchases on Amazon for Memoir '44 expansions (yes, I have gone deep down the rabbit hole - free shipping to New Zealand is a big draw!) and picking up various books and things I came across a little game on the Persian invasions of Greece called 300: Earth and Water. 

I have always been interested in these campaigns, right from when I was a youngster reading about Leonidas at the Hot Gates, or Themistocles at Salamis. I think I borrowed the Peter Green book from the library when I was at Intermediate school, and even wrote a poem in an 'epic' style for English class, which amusingly enough relied entirely on a (mis)pronunciation of Thermopylae (Therm-o-PY-lae) for its meter. 

It is a nice package. An attractive mounted map which extends to a little over A4 size, well-produced cards, and coloured wooden cubes and rounds representing armies and fleets make up the playing area and pieces. The rules are only a few pages long, supplemented by some historical commentary.

The cards - just sixteen of them - drive the game and are used either as events or to activate armies or fleets for movement and/or combat. 

There are five campaigns (or turns if you like) during which players purchase armies, fleets and cards to play, play them, and then score points for areas occupied at turn's end. The Persians have greater purchasing power and a larger stock of armies, but the Greeks have advantages in combat and more efficient lines of supply.

The object of the game is to occupy the two enemy home cities or else win on points at the end of the five campaigns. The rules are simple, but offer wide scope for different strategies to be employed by both sides. 

I have played one test game so far, which was won by the Persians. I was just learning the rules and the cards rather than playing optimally, so I wouldn't read anything into the result. 

Once you know what you are doing I think you could easily finish a game in half an hour. If you had the armies in miniature it could work well as a campaign game battle-generator. 

The board at end of my learning game.

I'm quite pleased with it. It is compact, clever, and will require thoughtful play. I hope that the system will be used for other campaigns as well, and it could be used to generate home-made scenarios with a bit of tweaking. 

Now I just have to convince someone to play it with me!

Tunis 310 BC, the battle.

Before we get to the action, there are two points to note. One is that for this game I am playing Lost Battles pure; that is, without the Favour of the Gods rule that allows players, when conditions are right, to demand the re-roll of an attack result. Suggested by Charles Vasey, this rule variation was adopted by Phil Sabin for the deluxe board game edition of Lost Battles. Since I am playing solo and feel there is a chance I will use the Favour rule more in aid of one side than the other I have decided this time to play pure, to reduce the chance of - shall we say - authorial intrusion.

Lines meet in a grassy area of North Africa....

The second point is that I will be mentioning lead units. Lead units are a Lost Battles game mechanism requiring one unit to be nominated to take the point position for each zone in the battle line and remain there until either the unit suffers a hit or is replaced by a different lead unit on a subsequent turn. 

This mechanism allows advantageous match-ups in attack, but as the lead unit will be the focus of enemy attacks on the other side's turn it is key in defence as well. While in attack, for example, it may seem like a reasonable idea to have a levy heavy cavalry unit in the lead position, it can seem quite unreasonable when it comes time to defend! Decisions around which class of unit to put into the lead position when are part of what makes Lost Battles such an engaging game. 

Anyway, enough of that. To the action! We have already seen in a previous post the initial deployment positions (turn 1), so let us move on from there.

Turn 2 - Carthage. 10 commands plus those of the two generals. 

In the right centre the chariots take the lead and attack the opposed Syracusan unit of veteran hoplites. Usually requiring a 9 on two dice to hit heavy infantry, the lead unit bonus and a combat bonus purchased from army commands reduces this to 7. A roll of exactly 7 sees the chariotry decide to prosecute an all-out attack (a hit to both the attacking and defending units) to hurt the precious veteran hoplites. Agathocles must attempt a rally. The rally fails, and his own veteran guard, being the only other unit currently in the zone, now takes the lead position. A Carthaginian light infantry attack follows in support of the chariots, but is unsuccessful. 

View from the Syracusan side.In the picture above a spent marker is visible next to the veteran hoplites. The Carthaginian chariots, also spent, have retired from the lead position they held at the start of the attack and are now at the rear of their zone. Since the attack the reinforcing infantry have moved up.

In the left centre no attacks succeed. The levy heavy cavalry in the central zone demonstrates only in order to allow the more defensively capable infantry to come up and move into the lead position. This was a tricky decision: if Carthage had used the cavalry to attack, they could have scored a hit on a 9, or all-out attack on an 8, but would then themselves be hittable on the Syracusan turn on a 7 (or 6 for an all-out attack) and an increased chance of a double hit (a score 4 above what is needed for a single hit). In this instance caution prevailed.

After the attacks are complete the infantry is brought up into the line in all three central zones.

View from the Carthaginian left after their turn. Each carpet tile is a separate zone.

Turn 2 - Syracuse. 12 commands plus those of Agathocles.  

The Syracusans are slow to action. Attacks by the forward units in the centre and centre right fail. On the centre left, Agathocles declines to attack so as to preserve himself fresh for later in the battle. If he had attacked, he would have been in the lead position in the next Carthaginian turn and with a corresponding increased risk of being hit or even killed. 

The rest of the infantry comes up into line. 

View from behind the Syracusan left center as the lines close. Agathocles can be seen on the left, having left the lead unit duties to some less valuable troops.

Turn 3 - Carthage. 8 commands plus those of the two generals. 

An attack in the centre yields a successful hit. The next attack roll is 12 - 3 above the required 9 - and it is converted into a double hit by an all-out attack. From five fresh units Syracuse is down to two - both hoplites - and Carthage has four of five units fresh. The Syracusans are somewhat rocked by the onslaught.

The attack from the left centre hits the Syracusan veteran light infantry. The roll is actually a double hit, but as the defending lead unit is light infantry supported by wholly fresh heavy infantry, only the first hit counts. No other attacks from this zone are successful. The veteran lights have done their job.

On the right another hit is scored against Agathocles' zone. If he had been in the lead position he would have taken the hit and been forced to attempt a rally. 

Five hits to one over the turn. Carthage is inflicting damage.

Spent markers litter the field after the ferocious Carthaginian attack.

Turn 3 - Syracuse. 9 commands plus those of Agathocles. 

Agathocles' left centre attacks, scoring a double hit on the vulnerable levy light infantry in the lead. Being levy, and with a spent unit in the zone already (meaning they are unable to ignore the second hit like the Syracusan light infantry could the turn before), they are automatically shattered rather than being able to pass the second hit to another unit in the zone. The morale roll is a 2 - safe so far.

The right centre and its formidible hoplites score three hits. The centre scores another. Six hits to none over the turn. 

The Syracusans are settling into their work, but there is more to do. Carthage still has three fresh units in its centre left and centre, and four fresh units on the right centre, where Hanno leads the veteran Sacred Band. Syracuse has four, two, and three respectively in the zones opposite.

Spent units now on both sides.

Turn 4 - Carthage. 10 commands plus those of the two generals. 

The Carthaginian left centre attacks. The average grade units are all spent, so a unit of levy grade infantry is put into the lead role. The attacks score two hits, leaving only two fresh units for the Syracusans in that zone, but the levy will be vulnerable when attacked themselves. 

In the centre another two hits see the whole of the Syracusan central zone now spent. All five units spent in just two rounds of attacks. Future hits there will cause units to shatter. Is it time for the Syracusan centre to pull back to buy some time? This will be a question for next turn.

The Carthaginian right then attacks. Tension is high, but the attack fails to score any hits. Carthage has managed four hits to none this turn. Agathocles' army is running out of fresh units, but his own zone is still relatively intact. 

Hanno and Bomilcar are in a strong position.

Turn 4 - Syracuse. 11 commands plus those of Agathocles. 

Agathocles loads up on attack bonuses where he can. His right centre attacks the lead levy heavy infantry and scores a double hit, shattering the unit outright. The morale test this causes sees the spent light infantry in the same zone rout. Elsewhere, morale holds. No more attacks on this zone succeed.

View of the Syracusan right centre on the attack.

In the left centre, Agathocles decides that it is now time for his guard to take the lead position. With his centre in danger he decides to force the issue. His guard unit is assigned a double attack bonus. He is hitting on a 6 (9 for a double hit) or 5 for an all-out attack. He rolls a 10 and a double hit is scored. The next attack also succeeds by converting it to an all-out-attack. The remaining attacks are unsuccessful, but even so there is now only one fresh unit - Hanno with the Sacred Band - left in the zone. It will be a fight between the two leaders' guard units next turn.

In the centre, the Syracusans ponder whether to stay in place or pull back. If they were only facing infantry, pulling back would be a good option. They would about-face and retreat one zone. The enemy following up next turn could move into the vacant space but would not be able to attack; in effect, this would buy a turn's grace for the left and right to try to win the battle. But in this case Carthage has fresh cavalry, and cavalry can move and attack in the same turn. Cavalry attacking spent heavy infantry from the rear would not be a happy proposition. Moreover, to about-turn and move the hoplites out of the zone would require four commands (they don't like to turn around in Lost Battles), so they decide to stay and fight it out.

Their opponents in the lead role are levy heavy infantry. Once more they are vulnerable: another double hit is scored on the lead unit, which shatters the levies outright. A poor morale test then sees the other levy units in the zone flee the field. A subsequent attack also scores a hit, shattering one of the remaining average quality units. 

The Carthaginian centre is now reduced to a single spent unit. The decision to stay in place has been vindicated!

Turn 5 - Carthage. 4 commands plus those of the two generals. 

With the centre melting away, the chance to defeat the Syracusan there is gone. For Carthage to win now, the formula is simple: Hanno must kill Agathocles. A roll of 1 for commands does not, however, give too many options for attack bonuses.

The left centre attacks first. Two hits are scored, leaving the Syracusan right completely spent. A third hit, which would have caused a unit to shatter, proves elusive.

It is now Hanno's turn. He is in the lead position and needs a 7 to hit Agathocles' guard. He rolls an 11, a double hit! Agathocles is forced to make a rally roll. A high score will cancel the hit; a low roll will kill him. The roll is high and the hit is cancelled. He makes a rally roll for the second hit. The dice are shaken in the hand... again he rolls high. Again the hit is cancelled. Fortune has a favourite! The remainder of the attacks from this zone fail.

There is just the centre to activate. The lone unit there makes its attack. Success! At last a Syracusan unit is shattered. 

Carthage is left to rue what might have been.

The field after Carthage's attacks.

Turn 5 - Syracuse. 11 commands plus those of Agathocles. 

Leading off the with right centre, Syracuse mounts its attack. A double hit is scored on the levy unit in the lead. The unit shatters. As there are four or more Carthaginian units shattered now, the morale test is taken at a -1. A 1 is rolled; there is is a catastrophic morale failure, and the entire army streams from the field.

A double six does the trick!

Results:

Carthage scores 6 points from units shattered, 38 from units spent, 18 from the handicap.

Syracuse scores 22 points from units shattered, 42 from units routed, 12 from units and leaders withdrawn.

62 vs 74 - it is a narrow victory to Syracuse. 

Thoughts:

Initially the battle seemed to be favouring Carthage, but once Syracuse had punched through the better infantry, the poor quality of Carthage's levy second-line troops told. A succession of double hits allowed Syracuse to quickly reduce Carthage's fighting fitness. The brutal dismantling of the Carthaginian centre in turn 4 turned the battle, but another key moment was Agathocles managing to rally both hits scored against him on turn 5. 

It was interesting to see how many double hits were scored across the game. When playing with Favour of the Gods, many double hits are cancelled and re-rolled. Here, playing 'pure', the double hits had a noticeable effect and the battle finished more quickly than I have been used to.

It was enjoyable to play a lesser-known battle in a lesser-known war, and to have such an interesting mix of troops on the table. Fresh hoplites are deadly against heavy infantry!

I might leave the table set up and see if SP and I can find time for a game this coming weekend. 

** with thanks to Duncan Head, the original account of the battle can be found in Diodorus, here.

Clusium 225 BC with Commands and Colors: Ancients.

I've had a hankering to play some C&C: Ancients recently. I went for a Gallic scenario, Clusium (or Faesulae as it's also known) 225 BC, pitting Gauls against Romans in the decade before the 2nd Punic War commenced.

While describing ongoing Roman / Gallic struggles for power in Italy, Polybius tells us that in the year 232, during the consulship of Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, the Romans divided Picenum, previously a territory controlled by the Senones, amongst its own citizens.

Gaius Flaminius was the originator of this popular policy, which we must pronounce to have been, one may say, the first step in the demoralization of the populace, as well as the cause of the war with the Gauls which followed. 9 For what prompted many of the Gauls and especially the Boii, whose territory bordered on that of Rome, to take action was the conviction that now the Romans no longer made war on them for the sake of supremacy and sovereignty, but with a view to their total expulsion and extermination. (Polybius's Histories, 2.21)

Against this backdrop of Roman expansionism the Boii and Insubres made common cause with 'Gaesatae' tribes dwelling in the Alps and near the Rhone to make war on the Romans. Not needing too much convincing, this coalition gathered a combined force of 50,000 foot and 20,000 cavalry and chariots under the command of the kings Concolitanus and Aneroëstus and prepared to descend on Etruria. Fearing the consequences of such an incursion, Rome sent a Consul to Ariminium, a Praetor to Etruria, and levied troops both citizen and allied. 

On every side there was a ready disposition to help in every possible way; 12 for the inhabitants of Italy, terror-struck by the invasion of the Gauls, no longer thought of themselves as the allies of Rome or regarded this war as undertaken to establish Roman supremacy, but every man considered that the peril was descending on himself and his own city and country. (Polybius's Histories, 2.23)

The Praetor in Etruria appears to have been commanding allies from the Sabines and Etruscans, presumably in addition to whatever citizen force he led. This force amounted to 4000 cavalry and above 50,000 foot, says Polybius. The rest of the Roman troops were with the Consuls Lucius Amelius in Ariminium and Gaius Atilius in Sardinia. In reserve was a force stationed in Rome itself.

The Gallic army made its way through Etruria, laying waste the countryside and gathering spoils. Three days march from Rome, at the town of Clusium, the unnamed Praetor caught up with them. The Gauls left cavalry in a forward position and retreated north overnight towards the town of Faesulae, seemingly hoping to draw the Roman force into a rash assault.  

According to Polybius the Romans moved on the cavalry at daybreak, at which point the rest of the Gallic force 'left their position' and attacked. The Romans had the worst of it, losing some 6000 men in casualties, and the rest fled to a nearby hill, where they made a stand and drove off the pursuing Gauls. It had been a long day: too fatigued to continue the attack, the Gauls settled in for the night and waited for what the next day would bring.

As it turned out, the next day brought the arrival of Lucius Amelius and his consular army. He had force-marched from Ariminium to bring assistance to his countrymen. Seeing the campfires of the newcomers, the Gauls held a council of war and decided to move north, taking their booty with them. 

Rome had been given a bloody nose, but Lucius Amelius's timely arrival had warded off further immediate danger.

So where was Clusium? If you look at the map below, draw an imaginary line between Volsinii and Arretium, then find Perusia and draw another imaginary line due west. Where those two lines intersect is about the site of the town. 

Link to map.

The Commands and Colors scenario presents us with the first day's battle. With not a lot to go on in the ancient sources, the scenario is necessarily just an impression of events. The map below shows the terrain and dispositions.

Map taken from the commandsandcolors.net site.

The Gauls have a numerical advantage but they are positionally compromised: there is a camp forward of their main line, garrisoned by cavalry only, and their forces are scattered. The Romans are formed in a solid line with a formidable centre of medium infantry and leaders supported by a heavy infantry reserve. If the Romans can take the camp hexes it will yield a victory banner, and their proximity to the central ridge also gives them first opportunity to take the high ground should they want it.

Both sides have five cards in their hands, and the game is played to six banners. At first glance it appears to be quite a balanced scenario, with the central tension being whether the Gauls can coordinate their forces well enough to challenge a Roman advance through the centre.

The Gauls move first. 

The battlefield at game start, viewed from the Roman side.

The Gauls begin by pulling back one of the exposed cavalry units to the right centre, moving a leader to join them, and advancing a unit of auxiliaries towards the closest camp hex. The plan is to have leaders positioned to make use of the initial card hand and to provide options for attack on both ends of the Gallic line.

The Romans use a Move-Fire-Move card to drive off another unit of cavalry from the camp, occupy a camp hex, and take the hill on their right centre.

The Gauls use an Order Two Units Centre card to get their auxiliaries into a camp hex and the last of the vulnerable cavalry out of the way.

The Romans use a Coordinated Attack card to bring the Heavy infantry into contact with the main line and reinforce both flanks. 

So far there are no losses on either side.

 

The situation after two card plays each.

The Gauls pull out a big play - an Inspired Right Leadership card, which they use to attack the auxiliaries and light infantry of the Roman left. A combination of missile and melee attacks damage two units and force the left to retreat. 

The Romans respond with a Double Time card. They bring forward their centre, occupy another camp hex, and attack the lead units. There are casualties on both sides, but no banners are taken as yet. The auxiliaries in the last camp hex under Gallic control fight hard and hold on despite taking heavy losses.

The situation after the Roman Double Time play.

An Order Medium Troops played by the Gauls brings warriors and cavalry into action. Attacks on the Roman position on the hill are futile, resulting in more damage to the attackers than the defenders, but on the other flank the Gauls destroy a unit of medium infantry and an auxiliary unit to take two banners, damage but can't finish off another medium infantry unit, and drive the light infantry back to the Roman baseline.

The unnamed Praetor and his assistants survey the damage.

The Praetor does not need to survey too long: a Clash of Shields card is produced, allowing all Roman units adjacent to Gallic units to melee with plus 2 dice! The Gallic groan is audible. Two units are destroyed, and three others take damage, but it could have been worse. Banners are even at two each, but the Romans have now occupied the last camp hex, so will gain an extra banner next turn unless dislodged.

After the Clash of Shields. How you like that, as Blackpink might say.

Gallic plans have gone awry. With few good options, a Double Time is used to activate the weakened warriors on the Gallic right to drive forward against the light infantry on the Roman baseline. It is a 'pick off the vulnerable' and 'distract the enemy' move, but it gets the warriors out of immediate danger, evens up the score to 3-3, and gives the Romans something to think about. 

The unnamed Praetor uses a Line Command to keep the pressure on in the centre where the Gallic cavalry has nowhere to retreat to, but is not able to add any further banners to the tally. 

The Romans press forward against the vulnerable Gallic centre. Note the warriors in the foreground who have pushed through to the Roman baseline.

The Gauls have some good cards, but given that they need to destroy three units in the next turn or two, they go for immediate effect - an Order Four Units Left which they use to attack the Romans on the hill. They kill off the auxiliary infantry, and drive off the cavalry, but can only take one block off the light infantry. 4-3 to the Gauls.

 

The Gauls are on the hill and the Romans are disordered, but the Gallic centre is pushed back right to the baseline and has no room to retreat.

The question now for the Romans is what cards they have in their hand. With vulnerable units across the board, there is a sense of urgency. They play an Order Medium Troops: it gives options to get the three banners needed for victory. 

Cavalry is moved into position to attack the warrior unit in the Roman rear; the centre moves forward to threaten the weakened unit in the woods and the cavalry on the Gallic baseline. Lastly, the medium infantry is activated on the hill. 

The first attack is against the warrior infantry. Two hits are needed, or else a hit and a retreat, which can then be followed up with another attack. Disastrously, only one hit is scored, and no retreat is rolled. The warriors battle back, forcing the cavalry off the map. 5-3 to the Gauls!

The next option is the centre. The unit of weakened medium infantry attacks the auxiliary unit in the woods. One hit needed; two dice. Success! 5-4 to the Gauls. The Roman medium infantry with leader attack a unit of medium cavalry on the baseline. If they succeed, they can use their leader to advance into the emptied hex and attack again. The result? Two retreats. The cavalry are forced off the board. 5-5. The leader and unit advance into the gap, and attack the chariots to their left. 

Attack to come - how will it go?

A roll of two light (green) hits is good enough! 6-5 to Rome. 

A good final roll!

And in a reversal of the historical result it is a victory for the unnamed Praetor.

Board at game end.

The win was a good example of the Commands and Colors: Ancients principle of playing what is in front of you. A conservative play by the Romans on the final turn may well have cost them the battle; but you never quite know. In this case they took the risk and it paid off. 

The cards played each turn, in order, Gauls to the left.

It was a most enjoyable game. I had hoped by this time to be able to play with figures on the 4 inch mat I ordered some time ago, but as it has not yet arrived, I decided to just go ahead and play with the board game version. 

To close, I must salute, once more, the great Richard Borg, designer of not only this superb game, but a superb family of the things. He is a legend of the hobby! 

Sentinum 295 BC with Lost Battles

SP came around tonight for another session of Lost Battles. Our last ancients game was, looking at blog records, late last year, when we played Zama and SP carried off the Washbourn Trophy in triumph. This time around we would play Sentinum. 

SP elected to play the Romans. They have an advantage in fighting value, 69 as against 60 for the Samnites and Gauls, but most of that is taken up with superior Roman generalship. The armies themselves are pretty even - five units of cavalry for the Romans - one veteran, the rest average; five units of mounted for the coalition, four heavy cavalry, one chariotry.

In infantry the coalition has fourteen units of heavy infantry against the Roman ten legionary units and two levy light infantry units. The numbers favour the coalition, but the Roman legionaries have better morale and when fresh are harder to hit.

The Romans have an average commander in Fabius and an uninspired cavalry leader in Decius Mus. The coalition has Gellius Egnatius as an uninspired infantry leader.

So far there is not much between the armies, but at Sentinum the coalition is classed as fatigued: that is, their staying power is compromised. Once a Gallic or Samnite unit has taken a hit, it attacks thereafter at -1, meaning in effect that all things being equal a fatigued heavy infantry unit up against a legionary unit will need 11 or 12 on two dice to to score a hit, so the coalition troops have to try to make an impact early and keep as many units fresh as possible for as long as possible.

Looking from behind the Roman right.

As it eventuated, there was not too much need for deep strategy: it was one of those rare games when everything went right for my side and nothing for my worthy opponent. 

Our right wing engaged immediately, and the infantry in the three central zones advanced. I kept the cavalry on my left refused. They were outnumbered and I felt it was best to be circumspect at the outset.

One wing and the centre engaged. My refused left can be seen on right of the picture.

The Gauls on my right quickly made inroads and the chariots burst through after just two turns of combat, shattering one unit and routing the guard for the unfortunate Decius Mus and denuding the Roman left of any meaningful defenders.

A double hit is scored, Decius Mus is unable to rally either of them, and the Roman left is lost.

Why did the Romans not invoke Favour of the Gods and force a re-roll, Lost Battles afficionadoes may ask? The reason for this is that I had already had such frighteningly good dice in the centre that SP had invoked the gods there, and with the token now in my hands, could not do so again until I had issued an invocation of my own. 

The action continued apace.

Galvanised by the early loss of his left wing and cognisant of the need to fight fire with fire in the centre, SP put as many command points into combat bonuses as he could. This paid off with hits against the Samnite left centre under Gellius. But in doing this he neglected to make use of his cavalry superiority on the right.

 

The refused Samnite cavalry wing is left unmolested.

Gellius Egnatius leads the Samnites as the centres continue the fight. The victorious Gallic cavalry and chariotry can just be seen in the distance in behind the Roman left.

The Roman rear is now exposed and with three units to use for this purpose, the Gauls focus on getting deep in behind the Romans to interfere with their morale and prepare to strike in future turns. SP pulls two units of cavalry out of the line on his right to respond to the threat.

A double hit by Gellius on the Roman right centre sees another unit shattered and the levy light infantry flee.  

With options running out for Rome bold attacks are initiated by the cavalry, now split across two zones to meet threats from two directions, and by the legionaries in the central zones.

Black arrows show direction of Roman attacks in turn 6.

The chariots are hit, but do not break. The other cavalry fails to hit at all. In the right centre, a mighty effort smites Gellius's unit, but in a scene which epitomises SP's luck tonight, Gellius rallies the hit. There is another successful attack in the central zone, but not enough to turn the tide. 

A series of attacks by the coalition sweep away the remaining Roman cavalry and Fabius's sector of the infantry line. The rest of the army holds on for the remainder of the turn, but Gellius administers the coup de grace on the turn after.

Final attack: Gellius rolls up the Roman line, already beset front and rear, with an attack from the flank.

It was a rather unfortunate game for SP. He stuck at it but you can't do much when the dice are your enemy.

From my perspective The Gauls and Samnites were able to keep just enough units fresh to avoid the worst effects of fatigue, and seemed to manage to align their most important attacking moments with their most potent dice rolling. The luck went entirely my way, but it was interesting to see a Lost Battles Roman army unexpected defeated on the table: beat the cavalry, surround the infantry, wear them down until morale starts to fail. 

It was pretty much the historical formula.

Victory Points:

Rome: 

The coalition spent: 3 x average heavy cavalry, 1 x average chariot, 9 x average heavy infantry equates to 52 points

Samnites & Gauls:

Roman shattered: 2 x average legionaries, 2 x average heavy cavalry, 1 x veteran heavy cavalry equates to 32 points

Roman routed: 2 x levy light infantry, 8 x average legionaries, 2 x average heavy cavalry equates to 46 points

Withdrawn: 1 x average commander, 1 x uninspired leader, equates to 9 points. 

Handicap: 18 points

Fatigued: 20 points

Total points for Rome: 52; for Samnites & Gauls: 125, for a major victory.

I now get to keep the Washbourn Trophy for a spell, which makes a bit of a change!

A Game of Empire

 As a break from painting I got out my copy of Phil Sabin's Empire to play a solo game. Empire is a light wargame set in the ancient era covering 200 years from the time of Alexander through to the demise of an independent Macedon. The map covers Iberia to India, with areas connected by land or sea. It starts with the Achaemenid Persians pre-eminent in the east, controlling eight areas, and Carthage (three areas) dwarfing the foundling Roman Republic (which has to meet consolidation conditions before it can begin to campaign) and Macedon, both of which control just one home area to begin with.

There is a revolt phase (die rolls to find which area throws off the yoke of its oppressor) then a campaign phase in which each of the four powers look to expand their territory or reassert control over territory lost. Three 'great captains' (you can probably guess who they are!) allow five campaigns on the turn(s) they are active instead of the usual single campaign per power.  

There are two scoring rounds, turn 10 and turn 20. Carthage and Persian start with 12 VPs each; Rome and Macedon start with 0

We pick up the action in 350 BC.

350-341 BC. Bactria revolts. Carthage conquers Sicilia. Rome bickers with its Latin neighbours. The Persian Empire moves on Aegyptus but is defeated. Macedon conquers Graecia.

340-331 BC. Persia revolts. Alexander rampages through the east, taking Thracia, Asia, Pontus, Syria and Aegyptus. Rome continues to bicker. Persia takes back the province of Persia. Carthage fails to take Magna Graecia.

330-321 BC. Aegyptus revolts. Alexander continues his campaign, taking Armenia, Mesopotamia, Persia and Parthia. The Persians attempt a revolt in their home territory but fail. Carthage again fails to find a foothold in Magna Graecia. Rome is still embroiled in internecine conflicts. 

320-311 BC. Macedon fails to take Bactria. The Parthians successfully reclaim their capital. Rome consolidates Italia and now has a presence in the Mediterannean. Carthage fails to make any headway in Magna Graecia.

Alexander's conquests and Parthia reclaimed for the green team.

 

Carthage dominates the western sea as Rome emerges.

310-301 BC. Pontus revolts. The Parthians fail to take Bactria. Rome fails to take Magna Graecia, and so fails Carthage. The Successor kingdoms reassert control of Pontus.

300-291 BC. Thracia revolts. The Parthians again fail to take Bactria. Carthage takes Magna Graecia; Rome promptly takes it off Carthage. 

290-281 BC. Persia revolts. Carthage tries another futile expedition to Magna Graecia. The Successors fail to bring Aegyptus into their orbit. Parthia fails to take Bactria. Rome fails to take Cisalpina. Failure is epidemic!

280 - 271 BC. Macedon takes Thracia. Rome fails in an expedition to Sicilia, Parthia fails to take Bactria, and Carthage fails to take Magna Graecia.

270 - 261 BC. There is a revolt in Numidia. Rome takes Sicilia. Successors fail to take Aegyptus. Carthage fails to retake Numidia. Parthia takes Bactria at last. 

260 - 251 BC. Thracia revolts. Carthage brings Numidia back into the fold. The Successors again fail to take Aegyptus. Rome fails to take Cisalpina. 

Rome and Carthage with their spheres of influence (251 BC).

Rome and Macedon (251 BC)

The east (251 BC)

This is now the first scoring round. Parthia controls Parthia and Bactria for 2 points, taking them to 14. Carthage controls Africa (2), Numidia, Iberia (2) for 5 points. This takes them to 17. Rome controls Italia (3), Magna Graecia, Sicilia for 5 points, giving them 5. Macedon controls Macedonia, Graecia, Asia, Pontus, Syria, Armenia, Mesopotamia for 7 points. 

At this stage I thought that Rome looked to be in a strong position to push for a win in turn 20. 

250-241 BC. Revolt in Graecia. Rome tries to attack Africa, unsuccessfully. Carthage attempts to take Sicilia but fails. Macedon takes Graecia again.Parthia fails to take Persian. 

240-231 BC. Rome takes Cisalpina. Carthage fails to take Gallia. Greeks fail against Aegyptus; Parthians fail against Persia.

230-221. Revolt in Magna Graecia. Rome fails to retake it. Parthia fails to take India. Legacy Successors take Aegyptus. Carthage fails to take Gallia.

220-211 BC. Hannibal sweeps through Gallia, Cisalpina, Italia, bringing Rome to its knees. Macedon fails to take Thracia, Parthians succeed in taking Persia, Rome, forced to consolidate again, fails. 

After Hannibal's devastating campaigns against Rome.

210-201 BC. Revolt in Iberia. Scipio consolidates Rome and retakes Magna Graecia, but three other campaigns fail. Carthage fails to reclaim Iberia. Macedon takes Thracia. Parthia successfully conquers India. 

200-191 BC. Pontus revolts. The Roman expansion continues: they take Cisalpina, Gallia, Iberia, Numidia, and just fail to take Africa. Parthia fails to take Mesopotamia. the Successors retake Pontus. Carthage reclaims Numidia.

The Roman revenge is swift, but they do not expand east into Greece.

190-181 BC. Revolt in Syria. Carthage fails to take Iberia. Parthia fails against Mesopotamia. Successors take Syria and Rome fails to claim Sicilia.

180-171 BC. Revolt in Syria again. Parthia takes Mesopotamia. Carthage fails to take Iberia.  Successors claim Syria. Rome takes Sicilia. 

170-161 BC. Revolt in India. Macedon fails to take Illyria. Rome takes Numidia. Parthia fails to claim India. Carthage can't wrest back Numidia.

160-151 BC FINAL TURN: Revolt in Asia. Rome takes Africa. Carthage's attempt to revolt fails. Parthia is unsuccessful in India again and the Successors fail to take Asia.

Last turn scoring: 

Rome: Italia (3) Magna Graecia, Sicilia, Africa (2), Numidia, Iberia (2), Gallia, Cisalpina for 12 points, taking them to 17.

Macedon: Macedonia, Graecia, Thracia, Aegyptus (2), Syria, Pontus, Armenia for 8 points, or 15 all up.

Carthage: no territories remaining, it rests on the 17 it had at turn 10.

Parthia: Parthia, Bactria, Persia, Mesopotamia for 4 points, taking them to 18.

Parthia takes the win with 18. 17 for Rome and Carthage and 15 for Macedon.

Views of the board at game end.

Final positions. 

It was another interesting play of a Phil Sabin game, and surprisingly close. With two turns to go any of the four powers could have won mathmatically. By the last turn it was down to Carthage and Parthia, though I didn't know that until I tallied up the final score. If Carthage had held Africa on the final turn they would have taken the game.

Thoughts: Rome was fighting Carthage all game and never got a chance to expand east. Macedon could not hold Alexander's conquests, with vital revolts depriving it of a stronger result in the first scoring round. But it did manage to stay competitive. Carthage had a worthy fight with Rome and was only just short of victory. Parthia got back into the game with an early successful revolt against Macedon in its home area, and did just enough to take the win.

I wonder if Rome slightly underperforms in Empire. I don't recall a Roman victory in the times I've played it, and the need to risk a sea attack to get a foothold in Greece seems to result in a 'Carthage first' policy when an attack east earlier is probably necessary to achieve a win. 

Good, thoughtful fun anyway, as is usual with Phil Sabin's designs.