War & Conquest Gaming Day

War and Conquest is a rather splendid set of rules so what better way to spend a pleasant Sunday than to enjoy a few games of the aforementioned rules? A dozen gamers descended on the sleepy village of Iron Acton to re-enact battles of the ancient world. Rome clashed with Rome, and with British Celts, and with hairy German types, whilst Greeks traded blows with Spartans and Persians, and vice versa.

Yes, this was the first (of many I hope) War & Conquest gaming days! Naturally I took along my EIR to impose the Pax Romana on the unwashed, hairy hordes. One of the great things about these gaming days is the opportunity to play against someone new in a very relaxed atmosphere where simply rolling a few dice, pushing some toys around the table and having fun is everyone's main aim.

My first opponent was Ken. He was leading a compact band of Roman legions against my rather mixed Legion/Auxilia force. Here's a pic early on in the game.

The very evenly matched armies clashed and ground against each other for several turns before my slight advantage in numbers began to tell.

By the end of the battle I held the advantage - but only just! Given that it was Ken's first 'proper' game of W&C, he played very well indeed, with a strong sense of good sportsmanship, so I look forward to another game soon.

Lunch ... kindly (and very generously) provided by Scarab Miniatures elite sandwich brigade (a.k.a. Barbara) was next on the agenda. Very good it was too, with most of us heading outside to enjoy a spot of warm, fresh air.

Game two saw my Legions face off against the German barbarian horde of Kevin. Now, I've fought against German ba-ba's a few times and believe me they're a fearsome bunch! So when Kevin deployed a large warband of noble cavalry on his left flank I knew I needed to deal with them or risk my flank being crushed and rolled up.

Here's our deployment.

I had planned to fight a refused right flank using my auxilia to hold up the barbarian horde whilst my elite legions (on the Roman left) dealt to the enemy. But like most military plans, it didn't quite work out!?

Here my Legion prepare for the onslaught, with their commander looking on.

On my right the Auxilia were very hard pressed to hold off the German horde. But supported by a smaller skirmishing unit of Auxilia they held their ground for several rounds, destroying the cavalry, before their depleted ranks were overwhelmed.

With time marching on, the games were halted so it was technically a draw, but it was clear that one or two more turns would see the Germans victorious. Another splendid game.

With barely moments to re-order the ranks we launched in to game three. This time it was a "grudge match", Dave's British Celts against my invading Romans. Last time they met it was a narrow win for the British so this time I was determined that Rome would be victorious. However, with time of the essence (I didn't want to miss dinner back at HQ) I decided on a very aggressive plan of attack, mainly on the left flank, with the idea that I could knock half of the British out of the battle before the others got a chance to get stuck in.

Here's the deployment.

You'll notice that the British left flank consists of lots of chariots and cavalry, when I was counting on lots of slow moving infantry ... oh dear!

Above we see that whilst Rome pushes her advantage on the left, so does Britannia - on her left. Those Legion recruits and Axulia suddenly found themselves embroiled in swirling melee of horse and chariot.

Dave has made some interesting little extras for his army. Here's one of them ... nice chest eh?

At this point I feel it moot to point out that Dave has more than a few scantily clad types in his army. I assume this is to try to put the enemy off? Here's the same chest from a different point of view.

Hmmm?

Anyway, at 4:30 we called a halt and it was clear that once again the British had thwarted Rome's plans. Another close and very enjoyable game with a splendid opponent. But rest assured Mr Stone, your Celts will get a damned good thrashing next time!!!

As I mentioned earlier, there were lots of other lovely armies in action, mainly with a Greek / Spartan / Persian theme, so here's a few pics (apologies but I simply can't recall which army belonged to which player)

So, another splendid day of gaming!

W&C seems to offer a more complete gaming experience than some other rules. After the first set of games (which I should point out were the first 'proper' game of W&C for some) the rules queries were fairly few and far between. This suggests to me that the basics are quick to pick up, which is ideal. The general atmosphere of the day was very laid back with everyone focussed on simply enjoying the battles. I look forward to the next W&C gaming day.