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Sunday, June 13, 2021

To the Strongest! F2F Punic Wars

After more than a year hiatus, Scott hosted a game in his Game Room on Saturday!  Yes, there was much rejoicing.  When Kevin and I arrived from our interstate journey, we were greeted by the battle sight shown below:
Now, it has been a very long time since we last played To the Strongest! so a bit of a learning curve was expected.  The battle set out was a hypothetical contest in which the point totals were nearly equal.  The Carthaginians had an advantage in number of units so the Romans would be required to earn 12 Tokens for victory whereas the Carthaginians needed only 9 Tokens to claim a win.  Kevin chose the Carthaginians.  Carthaginians move first.

From the starting gun, the Carthaginians began working the flanks while pressing forward in the center.  Actually, pressing the flanks is a bit of a misinterpretation since the Carganinian right wing moved off to take the center almost immediately.
With the Carthaginian right wing quickly moving off toward the center, their right seemed open for possible exploitation once these troops got stuck in among the troops vying for control of the center.  Something to keep in mind for the mid-game.
As both lines closed, the center became a large shoving match as the more nimble Roman Legions tried to out-muscle the larger Gallic hordes.  Both sides began taking casualties.  Note that the Roman Hastati and Princepes have the option to line-swap when needed. 
Fighting is hard in the center but notice that the Roman cavalry (in the background) is beginning to outflank the Carthaginian army.  The Carthaginian camp is under threat of attack.  Quickly the Carthaginians respond by sending their light troops back to protect the camp. 
Grinding in the center continues while Roman cavalry on the Roman right attempts to outflank the Carthaginian left.  A lot of move and counter-move activities while each jockeys for position.  The Carthaginian cavalry is pushed back and nearly forced off-table.
Control for the center continues.  The Romans in the left-center have gotten themselves into a position to launch coordinated attacks against one of the large Gallic hordes.  Horde #1 is scattered!
While the initial attack upon the Carthaginian camp was repulsed by a well-timed occupation of the camp by Numidians, Gallic Horde #2 is attacked from the flank by cavalry.  Carthaginians on the right-center have turned in to threaten the Romans.  Casualties are accruing everywhere.
In the center, The Roman CinC slips by an advancing enemy to attack Carthaginian spearmen in the flank.  Can this cavalry defeat the spearmen before they, themselves, can destroy the legion they face?
Yes, they do!  In addition to the slaughter in the center, Roman cavalry occupies the enemy camp.  The Romans win 12 Tokens to 4.  Hooray! 
That was a good fight!  Fun too!

While we were all out of practice with the rules, the mechanisms came back relatively quickly especially with Scott's quick adjudications and rulings.  By mid-game, the outcome could have tipped either way.  In retrospect, the Carthaginian movement into the center with the right wing was crucial to Roman victory.  Abandoning the right allowed a Roman strike toward the camp.  Once the danger was apparent, it became a footrace to see who would occupy the position first.  Worth four tokens, this was definitely a high priority target especially for an objective left so wide open.  Having to return to defend the camp cost the Carthaginians valuable time and resources.  In the end, the camp was lost and the Carthaginian army destroyed.

This would be an interesting battle to refight.  Kevin and I departed in the evening satisfied with an enjoyable day of gaming and well-fed.  Always a pleasure to push Scott's beautiful troops across the battlefield and spend the day in the company of good friends.

51 comments:

  1. That looked like a fast-paced game and the figures look great. I particularly like the darker armour Scott has used on the Republican Romans; it looks very effective.

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    1. The game was fast-paced but still took about three hours. Three hours of non-stop action. Scott sure can paint.

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  2. Wooooow! Incredible battle Jonathan!

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  3. Congratulations on being able to travel interstate again Jon. Strange coincidence that we also had an FtF game of TtS recently! It's not been as long between drinks for we lucky people of course, but for a variety of reasons, our Friday night games at Julian's have been much reduced in the last year or so...from virtually every week, it's more like once every couple of months now......

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    1. Thanks, Keith! We have been able to travel for a while but this was our first opportunity to make a game day at Scott's. You have been some of the luckier ones during this pandemic. You got it under control quickly and managed it effectively.

      Do you expect F2F gaming to increase on your front?

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    2. Hopefully so - in fact, I had the opportunity for a game last night (Friday) and another with the larger group on Sunday - but real life plans got in the way - hopefully doing a small fantasy game next Sunday though!

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  4. A fine looking game and good to see relatively 'do-able' forces giving 3 hours of solid gaming.

    In the UK, we were due to come out of full lockdown (so no masks, clubs open etc) on 21st July, but due to rising cases mainly generated by the new variant, today he government announced a 1 month delay for lifting the final lock down limitations.

    Even so, the UK is fairly open at the moment, we can do bars and coffee shops and gamers can meet again in homes and clubs. We can also get free self test kits, so gamers who plan to meet can self test before doing so.

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    1. Yes, fine looking and enjoyable game. It was very good to travel to Scott's for the first time in more than one year.

      I read about your recent setbacks. Hopefully, the situation will get back in control and life will return to normal. I cannot imagine taking COVID tests simply to play a game. Yuck!

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  5. Lovely Punic Wars game Jonathan!

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  6. Congrats for this beautiful report...and congrats on the Roman cavalry, well done!!

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  7. Good to see Jon live gaming and an interesting battle and impressive collection 👍

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    1. Very good, indeed! Scott has many fine collections. Unfortunately for us, he has been so busy on painting commissions for others, his own collections are not expanding much.

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  8. A fine looking spread together with FtF gaming, joy! What boon Zoom and the like games have been in these trying times and trust we will all continue to enjoy them but one can't beat this.

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    1. A real pleasure to gather with friends in the same room. I am hopeful that remote gaming via Zoom continues even when the world returns to normal. I have met many new friends through these exercises.

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  9. Sounds an excellent day - good photos. That's an unusually elegant game of TtS - the glass beads(?) are classy, and the square grid is very subtle - like it! I must check out these glass beads...

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    1. Most excellent day, Tony! Well fed too.

      The photos were mostly snapped after the cards were picked up off the table following the turn. The grid is very nice and subtle too. I think Scott said the cloth was from Cigar Box Battles. TtS! can be a visually messy game.

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    2. The glass beads are commonly used for dry/artificial flower displays (in the vase to stabilize the stems), and are widely available in many colors. Here in the US Michael's craft stores has a wide selection.

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  10. A lovely looking game and great to see you guys able to get some FtF games in again. As Norm has said, it looks like we are having at least a 4 week delay before lockdown is fully lifted. With our daughter the only one yet to have a jab and in the age groups most hit by the new variant, a while yet before we feel comfortable to have visitors indoors.

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    1. Thank you, Steve. A four week delay may not seem so long after what has been endured thus far but still, you were so close. Must be disheartening.

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  11. Not my cup of Java but I enjoyed the report and the troops looked very nice. Glad you are back to some kind of normal.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the report, George! Back to some kind of normal. Hope it sticks.

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  12. TTS are some of my favorite ancients rules that I've never yet played :) good looking game and great to see face to face gaming occurring.

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    1. TtS! is an elegant system and can be played very quickly. Yes, very good to be back among friends for a day of gaming.

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  13. Looks like it was a solid game - I still need to try out these rules.

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  14. Good to see a great write up of a TtS! AAR grids are the way!

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    1. Thank you, Tony! Glad you enjoyed it. Grids simplify a lot, do they not?

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    2. They do greatly and take nothing away with linear warfare, I'm working on and off on some homebrew rules which are, you guessed it grid based :-D

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  15. Hoorah for being able to play a ftf game again and another for a victory on such an auspicious day!

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  16. Nice to see you ftf gaming again Jon!

    Congrats on the win as well - very cool looking game that was fun to follow.

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    1. Good to see a return of F2F! Glad you enjoyed the report.

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  17. Great looking and fun game, I always feel it's worth leaving a low cost unit in the camp under most circumstances!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain! Yes, leaving your camp open to invasion is not a decision to be taken lightly.

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  18. What a wonderful sight of excellent looking Ancients, Jonathan!

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  19. A very solid and simple table. Thank you for your report. I'm really much impressed by the size of battle. Cheers.

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  20. I’m very happy for you that you had a such a good time. I think these ‘getting back to normal’ games have a special flare to them. 😀
    Great report. TtS seems to be a really fun game and a nice choice.

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    1. This game was special, for sure. TtS! provides a fast paced game. Good fun!

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  21. Thanks for the kind words in your great write-up, Jon! That was indeed a bundle of fun. It was great to have you and Kevin over. Let's do it again soon!

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    1. You are welcome! Thank you for hosting a very fun gaming session and providing a delicious BBQ. We will do it again soon.

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  22. Great looking game. oddly, I have my first FTF game since October, with two gaming friends who both retired the past year, here a week from today. On the menu? TTS! Punic Wars!

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    1. Thanks! I await seeing the results of your first F2F game, Peter. I have another F2F game on the schedule for the 27th.

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  23. Fantastic game with lots of beautifully painted miniatures. TtS system supports a quite fast pace. It's good if you don't plan to spend the whole day in a game room :)

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    1. TtS! can play at a very fast pace. Often, we can get in two games of this size in one gaming session.

      Thanks for your comment, Dmitry!

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