Monday was a holiday. Given an opening in schedules, Scott invited Kevin and I to Coeur d'Alene for a gaming session and BBQ lunch. Kevin and I cheerfully accepted!
In the Cunaxa scenario, the first army to score six banners wins. The table was laid out according to the GB14 scenario. Cunaxa is the SoA's Battle Day for 2026. We are getting an early start.
Including a lunch break of grilled bratwursts and all of the trimmings, the three of us managed to complete five games in about four hours.
The results of the five-game series were:
Game #1: Cyrus (Jon) defeats Artaxerxes (Kevin) 6-4.Game #2: Artaxerxes (Scott) defeats Cyrus (Kevin) 6-1.Game #3: Artaxerxes (Jon) defeats Cyrus (Kevin) 6-4.Game #4: Cyrus (Scott) defeats Artaxerxes (Jon) 6-4.Game #5: Cyrus (Scott) defeats Artaxerxes (Kevin) 6-0.
Cyrus won three of the five battles. Scott came away the big winner on the day (as usual!) going 3-0 while I managed a respectable 2-1. Kevin, however, could not see his way to victory and fell 0-4!
 |
| Persian chariots attacking the Greek line |
Great day out! Hopefully, we can return to the table and Cunaxa again soon.
Spectacular looking forces there Jon and good to see you at least getting a 2-1 win ratio:)! When I read the title I imagined you were referring to 'kids', rather than some form of food, which is bratwurst...?
ReplyDeleteYes, yes, yes. Bratwursts were on the grill. No children were in harm's way. Scott is a fine painter and terrific game host.
DeleteHi Steve Bratwurst is a German sausage similar to a Hotdog, but with some actual meat in it! They are very nice!
DeleteVery tasty especially with a bit of crunchy char on the outside.
DeleteA splendid gaming session indeed, fantastic looking toys, good food and to add icing to the cake good company. The joy of wargaming!
ReplyDeleteThe joy of wargaming, indeed!
DeleteCan't keep up with your comments Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteLovely eye candy!
It's a shame the C&C scenario is off with the OoB - I cannot recall if there's an alternative. It's a bit like the scenario for Gaugamela with multiple elephants - there were only 15 and may have been kept in camp!
Here we have Xenophon supplemented by Artaxerxes Greek physician. Xenophon describes 500 cavalry under Tissaphernes on Artaxerses left flank then Egyptians with large shields, then infantry with wicker shields (probably Sparabara) then possibly Takabara peltasts ( 2 kinds of wicker shields were found post battle) then 6000 cavalry in front of the king. The rest is guesswork but probably slingers and archers, horse archers from what was encountered marching back. I think there were 150 scythed chariots.
Cyrus had about 1500 Greek and Thracian peltasts / LI, 10,000 hoplites, 600 guard cavalry with horse armour and a host of natives, much less than the king, even 50 chariots IIRC. This is from memory but Artaxerxes side isn't very accurate in C&C.
Neil
The scenario used for these games is one of the scenarios on the CCA website. There is another scenario present that could be considered too. I am hopeful to see an "official" OB by the SoA as Battle Day approaches. That may be a long way off, though. If you were tasked with building OB for Cunaxa to fit into CCA, what would it look like?
DeleteWhile this OB may be inaccurate, it did provide five very enjoyable games.
I'd have to dig out all my research for that. There are three alternative scenarios:
DeleteMF02 Cunaxa (401 BC)
https://www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/scenario-list/the-spartan-hegemony-404-362-bc/mf02-cunaxa-401-bc.html
MM04 Cunaxa (401 BC)
https://www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/scenario-list/the-spartan-hegemony-404-362-bc/mm04-cunaxa-401-bc.html
JD28 The Ten Thousand (401BC)
https://www.commandsandcolors.net/ancients/scenario-list/the-spartan-hegemony-404-362-bc/jd28-the-ten-thousand-401bc.html
The last is closest to my view of the battle but there's problems. Too much cavalry on left wing, not enough in centre.
Neil
We may try one of these next time especially if JD best fits your research. The problem with JD is that it looks unwinnable for Cyrus.
DeleteJonathan, that's one of the problems with the real battle. The Persians had nothing that could stand up to the Greeks, but there was little to support them. Hence Cyrus attempted to kill Artaxerses to resolve the matter, banking on the majority of nobles accepting the situation (as happened to those who had supported Cyrus after the battle). Hostile nobles such as Tissaphernes could either be disposed of, or forced into exile.
DeleteGetting game balance is another matter, but historically Cyrus probably needed to kill the king to win.
Neil
You provide much to consider for future recreations, Neil. Thank you!
DeleteStunning looking armies and what looked a thoroughly enjoyable day.
ReplyDeleteCorrect on both counts, Richard!
DeleteNice looking battle Jon and some good wins 👍
ReplyDeleteThanks, Matt! I botched my chance at defeating Scott in Game #4 due mainly to misidentifying one of my units deep in his line as one of his and did not activate it. Darn!
DeleteWow…lovely looking miniatures.
ReplyDeleteScott does great work.
DeleteSee https://macpheesminiaturemen.blogspot.com/.
Those Persians look superb. Nothing better than gaming with beautiful armies
ReplyDeleteBeautiful armies are certainly a plus!
DeleteGreat looking game.
ReplyDeleteAgreed!
DeleteScott's miniatures look great. I am sure you have mentioned this before, but is game play exactly the same as the Command and Colors rules or are there some tweaks required?
ReplyDeleteThe game is RAW Commands & Colors. No changes from the original.
DeleteJon
Great looking table and figures, Jon, and that is A LOT of games to get through in a few hours!
ReplyDeleteScott gets all credit for the look of the game. Since we are all very experienced with CCA, little time is wasted in making moves and resolving combat.
DeleteA fantastic sight, those ancients (and the chariots: gosh!). Games and Brats: sounds like a good day to me!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great day out, Ed! The chariots are cool, are they not?
DeleteSuperb looking collection, really look quite superb. I always like seeing Scott's work, he is a top painter.
ReplyDeleteScott is a top painter with a long list of satisfied customers.
DeleteGreat looking battle Jonathan!
ReplyDeleteMuch appreciated, Michal!
DeleteGreat looking game, Jon, and good to see a string of battles in a short space of time ✔️. (I was intrigued by the title - in UK English ‘brats’ is a dismissive term used for young children, or badly behaved older children 🙃).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Martin! CCA plays quickly and we regularly squeeze five or six games into a four hour session.
DeleteSounds like a wonderful way to spend a holiday. Great looking armies.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great way to spend the holiday!
DeleteGreat looking game. The chariots are inspiring. Always a fan of C&C, especially when done with figures.
ReplyDeleteScott’s armies are inspiring, for sure. CCA is even better when played with figures.
DeleteSplendid looking game and a respectable result, did the Anabisis ( Xenephon's book ) in school, he came across a bit smug I always thought, maybe it was the translation!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
These were five satisfying games. In a couple of the games, Xenophon and his Greeks were absolutely smashed. No Greek smugness in these battles.
DeleteWow! That's a great looking game with equally great looking minis - best Persian force I've seen. Without this battle (and loss by Cyrus), we'd never have heard of Xenophon. :)
ReplyDeleteScott sets a very fine table!
DeleteGood miniatures and good food? Great way to spend the holiday. 😁
ReplyDeleteAnd good company!
DeleteGreat looking games Jonathan and a good win loss ratio. Poor Kevin, at least he got lunch 😁
ReplyDeleteYes, at least Kevin got lunch and was entertained by our stimulating company. He is a good sport.
DeleteWhat a fabulous day! Great games, mates, figures and grub! Gotta feel for poir Kevin though. I hope he got the extra sausage!
ReplyDeleteKevin did take an extra sausage but then we all did!
DeleteI love all these colours. I so much miss to play myself.
ReplyDeleteYou need to get back to the gaming table!
DeleteBeautiful. The speed of Command&Colors is intriguing.
ReplyDeleteKevin at 0-4 - my how the mighty have fallen!!
We can get through a CCA game in 30-45 minutes. Kevin is on a bad streak.
DeleteLovely figures and board, and a great game too, of course. Are you thinking of doing Cunaxa to coincide with the SoA's Battle Day at all, Jon?
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Aaron
We may bring out Cunaxa again for Battle Day next year. In the meantime, still plenty of Cunaxas to fight now.
Delete