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Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Punic War BatRep - Impetvs

Saturday's contest was a game of firsts: first game of Impetvs for the Punic Wars and first game using my growing 28mm Punic Wars collection.  Jake commanded the Romans while I took the Carthaginian contingents.  Since this was our first game, play was a little sloppy as we became familiar with the rules.  While some rules mistakes were made, by mid-game the actual use of tactics emerged.  Next Impetvs game will likely turn from Basic Impetvs to the full version.

We gamed nearly six hours with a break for lunch.  Neither of us felt gaming fatigue that often occurs with longer gaming sessions.  The game swung back and forth throughout the battle.  In the end, Rome won a narrow victory but we both had an enjoyable day of gaming.  During the day, discussions included the possibility of Jake fielding EIR armies. We'll see!  I hope to see more Impetvs games on the table.
The lines close while cavalry engage on the wings
Slingers cover the the main Carthaginian battle line
Cretan archers screen the Roman cavalry
Hastati clash with Oscan FL
Spanish cavalry on right wing push back 
Roman cavalry
Spanish cavalry on Carthaginian right
Action as seen from the Carthaginian right
Carthaginians have initial success in the center
Roman legion pushed back with heavy casualties by Libyan 
veteran foot
Victorious veteran foot 
Carthaginian heavy foot press forward in a follow-up to 
initial success
Cavalry struggle on left wing for supremacy
Roman legion pushes Campanian heavy foot back behind
its skirmish screen
Cavalry clash on right continues in a hack and slash
stalemate while infantry in the center expands
Hastati vs Campanians
Carthaginian cavalry attempt to win the battle
on the right wing before Roman infantry can
 collapse the center
Heavies clash in the center
Heavies continue fighting for the center
Princepes' view of the Libyan spearmen
Triarii hit Libyan veterans while one legion scores a
one-two punch against spearmen
With battle continuing in the center, Allied
cavalry begin to win the battle on the right wing
Clash in the center
Libyan veterans push deep into the center
Roman right is turned!
Carthaginian center is destroyed and pushes Carthaginians
over  the break point.  Roman victory before Carthaginian

horse can play decisive role

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful job with those figures, and that's a fine-looking start to your Punic War battles! Seems as if the Carthaginians were a little short of oomph in the cavalry department. Does the list allow you to adjust that and get superiority there? If not, there are probably going to be more tough battles for Carthage!

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    1. Thank you! Yes, the Carthaginians are short on cavalry but I threw everything I had, horse-wise, into the game. I plan to add more horse flesh for both combatants. Unfortunately, my cavalry are all Renegade and they have stopped selling. I am forced to find compatible cavalry. Any suggestions?

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    2. Sorry, I'm no help - I'm strictly 15mm with ancients. Maybe Simon of Bigredbat or James of Olicanilad might be your best bets for advice?

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  2. You had a good game there and the figures for both sides look extremely good

    Ian

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  3. Looks damn good. The board is interesting - are those gridlines, or borders between squares?

    FMB

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    1. Thanks, Marcus! The game board is a series of two foot square tiles that I have been using for nearly 20 years. The "gridlines" are unintentional and are simply gaps between the tiles. I know, I bit unsightly.

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  4. Very nice report, and fantastic looking figures!

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  5. Great game overall. The Impetus rules are really quite simple, and allow for an entertaining game. The mechanics did not get in the way, and the game remained close throughout. If the Carthaginians had more cavalry, or had they broken through my Equites sooner, my center would have been compromised.
    As Jon noted we were getting use to the game, so we didn't use groups or large units, which could have made the action in the center more decisive and shortened the game (for better or worse).

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  6. What a fine inspirational looking table! I really need to get my Impetus armies done!!

    Christopher

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    1. Thank you, Christopher! I have enjoyed this exercise in building Punic War armies. Single stand elements a la Impetvs is the way to go for me.

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  7. This is inspirational, seeing your armies on the tabletop! This makes me want to convert my puny 15mm ancient armies into 28mm. And out of DBA/FOG basing and into Impetus. Where is that magic wand when I need it?

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    1. Yeah, great to get them out onto the gaming table. Seems like 2013 was the year to field and deploy new projects.

      Switch to Impetvs in 28! You know you want to...fly out and give it a try.

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  8. Some lovely looking units on display there, Jonathon!

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  9. Replies
    1. Thanks! It is always a bit difficult to reconstruct the entire scope of the battle from a few, random, photos but I think I maintained the general flow of the game.

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  10. Jonathan,
    Relic has some nice Numidian light cavalry and now also some Iberian light cav as well. I imagine that they'll add Gauls soon too.
    A&A has Gauls and Carthaginian horse that look good, but their horses are a bit small. I swapped in Front Rank Horses to get the stature that I was looking for.

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    1. Glenn, thanks for the cavalry suggestions! I'll start my quest with Relic and see what surfaces.

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  11. These Punic wars armies are looking perfect to me.

    I would be glad to read about your opinion about my armies.

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    1. Thank you, Andre'! I will look at your armies and offer my assessment. THank you for digging through some of my old posts!

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    2. Here we go: https://sweetwater-forum.net/index.php/topic,24136.0.html

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    3. Thank you! This is a forum I had no knowledge of before.

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