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| Egypt (foreground) v Hatti |
Biblicals.
After clearing off the gaming table from a multiple week engagement of the SYW Battle of Moys, the table is set for a return to Biblical gaming in the Levant.
Late last fall, the Biblical armies saw an increase in exercise as playtesting for Ian's Rein-bow Warriors commenced. "Increase in exercise" is a vast understatement. These Biblical armies had rarely been seen on the gaming table and the newly-raised Hittites had never seen action. My recollection is that at least a half-dozen games were seen in fourth quarter. That is a lot of concentrated gaming in one period. Necessary, though, to get me up to speed on the rules and design philosophy. We made good progress in refining the mechanisms and processes. Last seen on the table in December, we return for a few more playtests this week.
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| Battle lines drawn up |
In this battle, skirmishers are deployed front and center as a screening force to the main battle line. Since skirmishers interact with chariots differently than close order units, will the skirmishers be able to muster an effective screen or will they be run down where they stand? I suppose we will find out. While these are relatively large armies deployed for battle, the testing session may not make it to the point of contact with the two main battle lines. Handling more than a half-dozen chariots takes time and finesse. Since the session will be played remotely with two UK players, I must remember to take some game photos in the heat of battle.
In other gaming news, Commands & Colors: Ancients in 6mm hit the kitchen table this past weekend. The Battle of Caralis was refought twice with Rome losing both battles. Game 1 was a close win for Carthage. In Game 2, Carthage came roaring back from a 4-0 deficit to win handily at 8-4. Miraculous. The Carthaginian heavy infantry advanced in the center and destroyed much of what lay in their path. Shocking to witness this well-coordinated attack. Oh, I played Rome in both games. I went 0-2 for the weekend on my home field. I think Kevin has been practicing.
On the painting table, continued work on SYW French, Samurai archers, and the sight of a few more Sumerian battle carts.
Look forward to seeing this battle play out
ReplyDeleteI look forward to it too although I must refresh my memory on the rules before the game.
DeleteA nice mix of stuff you have going on there Jon. I've tried to get into Ancients and Biblical gaming, but try as I might, it never really floats my boat. Shame as the Armies do look good.
ReplyDeleteGlad you appreciate the mix of activities. Something different always keeps popping up on the game table or workbench.
DeleteWhat is it about the Ancients/Biblical periods that are holding you back? It cannot be linear warfare since you enjoy 18th Century wargaming.
For me I think it's the lack of good historical info on which to base how the armies fought, especially the chariots. I struggle to equate Onagers and especially Oxen drawn chariots/battle carts moving much faster than a jogging man alongside how they were actually used in battle. Charging in, battle taxis or mobile archery platforms or a combination of all three?
DeleteIt may be out there of course, but I remember chatting to the chairman of the Society of Ancients at Colours one year, and he freely admitted the sparsity of info was an issue for an Ancients gamer. At least with say the SYW there are enough good first hand accounts to get an idea of how the armies moved, fought etc upon which to base rules, battles and so forth. This sort of background info I much prefer as it helps me understand a period.
Hope this makes sense?
Perfectly! Defensible too! Thank you.
DeleteNice to see something different Jon 👍 sounds like a frustrating turn of events on the Cand C front but we know they can change very quickly
ReplyDeleteAs I mentioned to Steve, above, there is always something I can pull from the boxes that has not seen use in a long time. Three months since the last biblical game is not so long ago in game-years. Now, my Reconquista figures have not seen the light of day in many years. Actually, I have a number of collections gathering dust. I must get more of these out on the gaming table.
DeleteCCA always provides an enjoyable and entertaining game. Saturday's games were no different with the exception that I lost both! Kevin was quite happy and even seemed a bit embarrassed by his luck.
I'll look forward to the report on how the skirmishers fare in this game Jonathan, especially given how appealing the chariot rules are. It must be a difficult thing to get the balance right.
ReplyDeleteI will make a report-out on the results of this latest trial. Getting the skirmishers to interact in the way in which the designer wishes may be an iterative process. Really, design and development work require multiple trials and experimentation.
DeleteExcellent! Two Mighty Hosts ready for a trial of strength.
ReplyDeleteYou’re certainly busy Jon, what with your painting output, games in different periods and cycling.
Always interesting to read about rule development.
Busy, for sure. Too busy to congratulate you on your two recent Hubbardton battles. I will get there…
DeleteI am reacquainting myself with the Biblical rules today and hoping not too much has changed since last time.
Rules’ development interests many of us, I wager.
PS will we see those splendid 1890s US trooos in action.
ReplyDeleteGood question! Another collection gathering dust. I will make point to get them out on the table soon. Which rules? Still unknown.
DeleteThey deserve an outing in those cool looking uniforms. Puts me in mind of 55 Days at Peking!
DeleteNow if you would request a Spanish-American War remote game, well, this might jump up in the queue!
DeleteLooking good Jonathan. I'm interested in seeing how the rules play out and the ideas that shore up the design.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, where do you find the time to do all you do?
Thanks, Richard! How this plays out interests me too. One downside to umpiring and hosting these remote games is that I am tempted to make suggestions to the active players to nudge them into a particular direction to better exercise the rules.
DeleteWhere do I find time? I am retired and do not sleep do much.
Look forward to seeing how the skirmishers interact, I never know what to do with them in the later periods 🙂
ReplyDeleteMe too! I often have using skirmishers properly. Mine tend to become temporary speed bumps only.
DeleteYes it will be interesting to see how Ian has worked his rules to give skirmishers some meaningful role - I guess the aim is to make them significant to the enemy but not too powerful - you want them to be able to slow down and harass an advance but not be powerful enough to stop it....making their offensive capability relatively low but making them quite hard to kill would seem to be the way to go
ReplyDeleteIn previous trials, the skirmishers tended to engage each other on the flanks. Typically, they went down in mutually assured destruction. I stuck them front and center this time to force the issue. Who knows what will happen? Whatever it is, Ian will have some data to consider. At present, skirmishers are hard to hit with opposing skirmishers but relativity quick to dispatch if hit.
DeleteThanks for your insight!
Those armies look very nice when deployed. I find using skirmishers an art, not one I have mastered I might add, I usually try to kill off the enemy skirmishers, then problem solved.
ReplyDeleteYes, they do. I have Assyrians awaiting their turn at the table. Using skirmishers is an art. Using skirmishers well is an art and science.
DeleteIf we ever face each other on the table, I will know you are gunning for my skirmishers.
Skirmishers and skirmishing generally get treated as a bolt on in many sets of rules. I cannot offer help in the period per se, not an era I am conversant in. I will enjoy watching this unfold. To quote a friend...so much lead, so little time!
ReplyDeleteYou are correct. Skirmishing is often considered as an afterthought unless the rules focus on small unit tactics.
DeleteMy corollary is, "So many interesting periods, so little time."
Interesting to see the developments regarding skirmishers - I think they're often one of the more difficult elements to pin down in a rule system. Will also look forward to seeing the 6mm ancients C&C - I've been playing a lot of this on vassal, and we've been tossing about ideas for a project along those lines.
ReplyDeleteHi Markus. Skirmishers and skirmishing pose difficulties in many rulesets. In my own works, I tend to favor abstraction to speed play.
DeleteUnfortunately, no photos of the recent CCA games. I have not tried VASSAL for CCA. Are you paying in real time of by email?
Planning for a new project is always an exciting time.
Grand scale Ancients gaming, Jonathan. Looks great!
ReplyDeleteThanks! For me, this will be a large engagement.
DeleteGood luck with the play testing.
ReplyDeleteI think we’ve all got those collections of miniatures that end up not seeing the table for long periods of time. Shame really. 😀
Thanks!
DeleteWith the advent of remote gaming and retirement, my collections are seeing much more action than in the days of old. Still, more dusty collections to get out onto the table. Let’s see how many I can get out in 2022.
Having seen those armies develop unit by unit on these pages over time, it is a pleasure to see them fully deployed for battle. A wonderful collection Jonathan.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Mark! Still need to get the Assyrians into battle.
DeleteVery nice setup Jon and I look forward to reading how this rules-test game goes.
ReplyDeleteWho'd want to be a skirmisher? In almost every setting they just end up becoming speedbumps... bloody messy speedbumps.
Thanks, Dai! Well, you will not be surprised by the fate of skirmishers in this battle. Bloody messy speedbumps, indeed!
DeleteAn overlooked era (ancients, yes, but the age of chariot/biblical is a different animal). Getting skirmishers right, striking the balance between irrelevant window dressing and effecting outcomes too much is one of the great challenges of system design. Looking forward to seeing how you manage.
ReplyDeleteEd, you make a good point on wargame design and the intent of the designer which may be different from the developer. After yesterday's playtest, I may have to put my philosophy on wargame design into a blog post with respect to the current Rein-Bow Warriors testing.
DeleteSounds like an interesting set up, I've enjoyed watching you build the armies, can't wait to see them in battle!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Iain, the armies are still in "Build Mode" here!
DeleteTable looks wonderful. All set for another fine game. We'll look forward to another of your enjoyable reports in due course.
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
Thanks, James!
DeleteHopefully I can make time to collect my thoughts and write them down before the next game.
Very impressive lines of battle.
ReplyDeleteAnd a good fight too!
DeleteThere certainly has been a lot of Biblical gaming on the Palouse!
ReplyDeleteIndeed! Lots of other gaming too.
Delete