A Marathon Marathon!

Tuesday saw an interstate trip over to Scott's in Coeur d'Alene for some Commands & Colors: Ancients and lunch. Kevin and I joined Scott a session in refighting the Battle of Marathon.  Games were played using Scott's fine 28mm figures played on a five-inch hex grid.  Scott mentioned that he was glad he finally decided to build this Persian Army to add to his already large Ancients collections.  I am too!

Using CCA scenario as his guide,

CCA Marathon scenario deployment

Marathon greeted us on Scott's table when we arrived. 

Marathon in 28mm

After the customary pleasantries, Kevin and I dived into the first game.  Kevin took command of the Greeks while I commanded the Persians.  I did not fare well as the Persians in this game.  Kevin played two back-to back Double Time cards to bring the Greek heavy infantry on the left smashing into the Persian Right that was hemmed in between the woods and the river.  To add insult to injury, Kevin also slapped down a First Strike card on one of my attacks!  I lost that first game 6-2.  Ouch!  

After seeing the destruction wrought by the Greeks in Game #1, we wondered if the Persians would have a chance.  CCA website shows this scenario as favoring the Greeks 70%/30% across 205 games recoded.  I will add our games into the mix.

We would soon find out if the Greeks were unstoppable.

In Game #2, Scott's Persians defeated Kevin's Greeks 6-4.  Then in Game #3 my Persians defeated Scott's Greeks 6-2.  In the final game of the session, my Greeks defeated Kevin's Persians 6-2.

Scott, the Happy Host..

at least until my Persians stormed across
 the table to destroy his Greeks! 

We managed these four games in about three-and-a half hours including a trip to a local Thai restaurant for lunch.  Greeks came away with two victories (6-2, 6-2) and the Persians came away with two victories (6-4, 6-2).  All four of the games played out differently with the last game of the day seeing the Persians driven back to the river.  From there, any momentum the Greeks maintained in the advance was lost once fighting occurred along the banks of the river.  Still, the Greeks managed to take out the Persians to see victory.  Hmm.  A handy tactic to keep in mind next time Marathon comes out on the table.

Now, there was discussion about the location of battle and the army alignments but we went with the published scenario. Surprisingly, Marathon turned out to be an interesting and even contest.

Good games, good company, and good food.  Who could ask for anything more?