Saga - Battle of Brunanburh mega-battle!

This past Saturday was the Saga mega-battle at Giga-Bites cafe, organized by Dave Parente. It was a scenario based on the Battle of Brunanburh in 937 between an Anglo-Saxon (and allied) force and an invading Welsh and Norse-Gael army. The battle (and scenario) are described in the Hail Caesar rules from Warlord Games. As an aside, one of the things I love most about historical gaming is the history. This is a battle I knew nothing about prior to this game, and I enjoyed learning about what really happened, almost as much as playing the game itself.

We (the Durand clan) had been looking forward to this for a while. I'd been able to get a couple more points completed for my Vikings, despite my arm injury. and Iya and Lucas both wanted to have a go with Saga and see what the excitement was about. (Iya had a practice game with Richard last weekend, but Lucas had never played before.)

In typical Durand family fashion, we went all in - turning up at Giga-bites in costume:

Papa Viking accompanied by Lucas and Iya.

My daughter crocheted the beard and helmet for me as a Christmas present a few years ago, and is the crafty genius behind all of our costumes. She just finished the tunic I am wearing on the morning of the big game. We did get some strange looks at the McDonald's where we ate after the game!

Dave sets up the field of battle!

In all, seven brave souls showed up with their various Saga armies, ranging from fully painted to unpainted (as you will see in the photos), and divided up as follows:

Aethelstan's Defending Army:

• Richard took the defenders' right flank, with Breton cavalry and a small mercenary Viking force:

Richard's Bretons and their warlord (right rear).

• Brian held the center, with his Anglo-Danish. (Unfortunately my image of Brian's assembled host is blurry, but I have other "action shots" further down.)

•  Sean commanded his Anglo-Saxons on the left.

Sean's Anglo-Saxons, led by Aethelstan.

Total defending forces:
Breton mounted warlord
1 unit of 8 mounted hearthguard
Viking warlord
1 unit of 4 Hearthguard

Anglo-Danish warlord
2 units of 6 Hearthguard
1 unit of 8 warriors
Aethelstan
2 units of  12 warriors

Aethelstan prepares to defend his kingdom against the invaders.

Olaf Guthfrithson's Invaders:

• My daughter Iya took the Strathclyde Welsh cavalry on the right.

• Dave commanded the center with his Norse-Gaels.

• My son Lucas and I each had a force of Vikings on the left.

Lucas' and my Vikings.

Olaf's invaders:
Owen 1, King of Strathclyde
2 units of 4 mounted Hearthguard
2 units of 8 mounted warriors
Norse-Gael warlord
2 units of 8 warriors

Viking warlord (Lucas)
1 unit of 6 Hearthguard
1 unit of 8 warriors

Viking warlord (Henry)
1 unit of 4 bersekrers
1 unit of 6 Hearthguard

The left flank of the invading force.

We chose to use alternating activations, rolling for initiative and then proceeding in order, alternating between the assaulting and defending forces.

The first couple of turns were spent maneuvering, with some rather ineffective javelin-throwing, as the various warlords moved their forces into position.

Brian measures the advance of his Anglo-Danes.

Iya measures her cavalry advance under Dave's watchful gaze.

Vikings charge!

Anglo-Danes (top) advance into the center.

Following the first few turns of maneuvering, the battle devolved into charge and counter-charge, especially in the center as units were sent into the meatgrinder of combat.

Battle is joined as the Anglo-Danes attack the Norse-Gael.

Lucas' Vikings attack (and eliminate) a unit of Anglo-Dane warriors (bottom).

Sean rolls attack dice against Iya's mounted Welsh.

Iya's Welsh cavalry charges the Angl0-Saxons in the center.

Facing the enemy across the field of battle.

Lucas' Vikings hold the center after killing the Anglo-Danish warlord.

On the left flank, my Berserkers charged the traitorous Vikings facing them, managing to wipe out the enemy unit, but being destroyed in turn. The Bretons charged my surviving Viking warlord, and while they did not kill him, they managed to isolate him by killing off some of his remaining Hearthguard. On his turn, he bravely charged the enemy Viking leader, only to be cut down. (Proving the argument that painted figures roll better dice!)

Berserkers advance ahead of their warlord.

Bretons swarm my Viking warlord.

Death of a warlord!

In the end, after all the bloodshed, the victory went to the defenders! We tallied up victory points for enemy troops killed, and the final result was 43 pts for the victors, and 38 pts for the invaders. As the sun set on a very bloody battlefield, Aethelstan's forces held the field as the invaders retreated to lick their wounds and plot revenge!

Observations: One thing that I did not like, is that what is in my opinion one of Saga's strengths was somewhat missing in the multi-player dynamic. Saga's activation mechanic encourages, I'd almost say requires, players to interrupt their opponent's actions to prevent or modify their actions. Being engaged throughout the whole turn, rather than being able to "tune out" during your opponent's activations as in many I-go-you-go games, is one of Saga's best features. In the multi-player game, when the opposing general on the other side of the battle was moving, there was a sense of not being connected to the battle. Also, the turns (with seven players commanding eight forces) seemed to run a little long. I would love to try this again with just four players (two per side) to see if fewer player makes the game more manageable, and more interactive, like the two-player games are.

Having said that, I feel the game was a huge success! Despite the fact that I was the only general to have his troops wiped out to the man (!), I had a blast. The sportsmanship and fellowship exhibited by Dave, Richard, Brian and Sean is second to none, and Giga-bites has a terrific group of Saga gamers developing

Concentrated gamers.

In fact, Richard is organizing a Saga tournament for some time in September, and I am eagerly looking forward to that.

Iya and Lucas both enjoyed themselves tremendously, and we spent much of the ride home discussing what faction each of them would like to collect and play for Saga. Two new converts to the cause! :)

Next time, I'll share some photos of what I have been able to accomplish, in terms of painting some points for my Vikings, while only having one good arm. And hopefully, now that the brace is completely off my pace will accelerate. My goal is to have all 8 points of vikings painted (I currently have five, with my warlord, 12 archers and 16 warriors left to go) by the time of Richard's tournament. I also want to have at least 6 points of a second warband painted (probably Welsh or Anglo-Saxon) for one of the kids to use.

Star Trek: Attack Wing - Tholian Web OP

I ran  the Star Trek:Attack Wing Tholian Web OP at Giga-Bites Cafe this past Saturday. It was great fun to see the players maneuver their fleets as the web closed in on them.

We had a good mix of fleets represented, with a couple of Borg fleets, a Romulan warbird fleet, and a pair of Federation fleets.

Here's the action:

Romulan warbirds close in on a Borg sphere backed up by fighters and a mine-dropper.

 

Federation starships bracket a Borg sphere prior to blasting it into atoms!

What to do, what to do?

Federation strike force.

Borg sphere!

 

Pair of Borg spheres prepare to engage the enemy!

The warbirds de-cloak to attack!

Good sportsmanship and good competition.

Concentration!

I hope that's an evade!

Measuring range.

Another Borg sphere about to bite the dust!

Dueling minefields (the disabled token is just to differentiate ownership).

Hmmm, I think you are just withing range!

Federation strike force moves into a cloaked minefield!

Good fellowship and competition among siblings.

Assigning a target lock.

Federation starships move against a Borg sphere.

That attack is gonna hurt - I think a Defiant class was killed on that roll.

Two Borg spheres vs. a sphere and a Valdore.

Romulan warbirds track down a Borg sphere that has strayed from its escort.

Measuring range before unleashing a barrage!

OK, now where do the web tokens go?

The Tholian Web closes in!

That's gonna be close!

The Enterprise can't quite make the turn and is destroyed by the Web!

It was a close event, with four players ending up 2-1, so the winner was determined on points. The winning fleet combined a strong Borg sphere with cloaked mines and fighters, and finished with 276 points to the second place finisher's 245.

All in all, this was one of my favorite OP scenarios so far. I loved the tension building as the Webs kept shrinking the playing area. The only regret is that since I was running the event, I did not get to play. But that will be remedied Friday when the store runs another event - and this time I get to play!

'Til next time!

Star Trek:Attack Wing and SAGA

It's been an age (nearly two years) since I last posted. But I felt the urge to share, so I'm back. I've spent the past two years dealing with some family tragedy (both my parents-in-law passed away suddenly) and generally not feeling much like wargaming.

But lately that has begun to change, and  it has taken me in totally different directions - from futuristic science fiction space battles to dark age man-to-man combat!

About six months ago, the kids and I discovered Wizkids' Star Trek:Attack Wing. We've been going to the organized play events at three different local venues (Giga-Bites Cafe, Dr. No's and Titan Comics and Games), and enjoying it tremendously. It's the first game that all three of us have gotten into, and the first time we've participated in any sort of officialy-sanctioned competitive environment. Despite my initial fears that the uber-competitors would make it unpleasant, exactly the opposite has been true. We've run into three groups (with some overlap) of very friendly gamers, who have been very supportive of our participation. In particular, they have been generous and gracious to the kids, who are an oddity in that environment. My son Lucas, 13 years old, is the youngest participant by far, and my daughter Iya, 16 years old, is the second-youngest and almost always the only female. We've won, and lost, our share of events, but the main thing is that we've all had a great time learning and playing the game. I am hopeful that we'll be able to use this experience to branch out into other miniature wargames that the kids and I will be able to share.

The other game that has been taking one of our local stores (Giga-Bites Cafe in Marietta) by storm is Saga, from Gripping Beast, rules for dark age skirmish gaming. In fact, the rules themselves are almost impossible to get right now, and despite that there is a growing group of gamers that are getting into the game.

I am just beginning to assemble a Viking warband for Saga. I still don't have the rules myself, but from what I've been able to gather, except for the option of fielding a unit of Hearthguard as Berserkers there is no difference between how else I equip my figures.

I had several Wargames Factory Vikings and Germanic Warriors that I had built, but never based or painted to actually use in a game. I also had a Middenheim champion from Mordheim that I thought would make an impressive Warlord. But I did not have enough for a complete warband, so I broke down and bought the Gripping Beast starter box for a 4-point Viking Warband. Between what I had, and the box, I can put together a 6-point plus warband.

I have started to assemble some of the GB figures, and form them up into units with my other figures. The photo below shows my fledgeling warband. The Warlord is at the top. Below him the unpainted metal figures are GBs Berserkers and Hirdmen. Below those are two units of plastic Vikings that will make up more Hirdmen. At the bottom are a unit of 12 Bondi with spears, and half a unit of Bondi with hand weapons. I still have the 16 metal Bondi from the starter set to assemble, as well as the Warlord figure.

I'll post more details as I get them painted and into the fray. So far though I am very pleased with how the GB and Wargames Factory figures go together. My only disappointment is the selection of Hirdmen that came in the starter set. I understand the image on the box is merely representative, but I got all four figures with the integrally molded shield who look best as spearmen. I was hoping for some of the more dynamic poses from GB such as are shown on the box image. Going forward, I think I will likely either go with plastics so I can convert to my heart's desire, or buy specific packs of figures rather than another boxed set.

My goal for the rest of this week is to get these guys based and primed, and hopefully be able to start on the painting. (Life is very full right now, with family - two teen-aged kids - and work making it difficult to find time to wargame, and I am a very slow painter as it is, so I make no promises on how long it will actually take me to get this done! Perhaps by the time I get a copy of the rules and dice I will have at least enough troops to put a small force on the table.)

Lord of the Desert!

My son (10 y.o.) invented  a new game - Lord of the Desert! We played today after lunch.

 
We used mummies and dwarfs from Lego .

The dwarfs (me) began by advancing against their implacable undead foes - the mummies (my son)! 

But the mummies struck first, killing a brave dwarf warrior...

The dwarfs retaliated, clearing a path for their leader to escape...

A dwarf victory was all but assured...

But in the end, the dwarfs fall one by one to the last mummy warrior (thanks to my usual miserable dice-rolling luck!), leaving their lord to fight on alone! Who will win?

A tie! The dwarf couldn't risk losing in combat, and the mummy didn't want to risk dying in a dwarf trap. So they both danced around their side of the board until a draw was declared. They will live to fight again!

It's a fun game, kind of a cross between chess and Stratego with a die-rolling mechanic added. Fairly basic - three kinds of troops: leaders, bodyguards and warriors. Leaders are not that good in combat (roll a d4 but can re-roll), bodyguards are better (roll a d6, but can die in place of losing your leader), and warriors are the best fighters (roll a d6+1 in combat) but have no special abilities.

I can't wait to see what else my son comes up with!

'Til next time!