Other People's Swords, Sorcery & Squares (PW Fantasy)

Martin Smith has very kindly sent me some pictures of his recent game using my Swords, Sorcery & Squares rules (the PW variant that appears in Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame Compendium)! Martin also provided me with loads of feedback which has provided a lot of food for thought.

The game report appears on Facebook so any reader that has access to FB could track it down on either the "15mm War Gaming and Painting" account or the Portable Wargaming account.

Looks like it was a fantastic game Martin.

The following images are Copyright Martin Smith and appear with his permission.

Of Wights and Wraiths

 No games to record I'm afraid, though a little purchasing has been afoot. 

I'm very happy to report that I made a small purchase from Broadsword Miniatures and very nice figures they are too. By the time that Hinchliffe released the fantasy range that Mike McGuinness has resurrected (1980), I had stopped Wargaming (having discovered beer and girls). Consequently these are new to me and the "new toys" level of excitement is up at 11 of 10.

I've even painted one of them already! (Apologies for the brush work) - only a couple of colours necessary...

FA28 Follower of Evil (Wraith)

And here he (it?) is in comparison with the Minifigs Barrow Wight (ME42) and Ghoul (SS38) from the 1970s.

 Hopefully more to report in the near future.

Spring Update

 Nothing much to report other than a couple of recent rule-set acquisitions. As Bob Cordery has recently uploaded PDFs to Wargame Vault, I made a couple of purchases there, and my copy of the Portable Wargame Compendium has arrived!

King Elessar (aka Aragorn / Strider) calls the Army of Gondor to arms

The Portable RISK Campaign - Summer 1845 (2)

 A little more action has occurred in the Portable Wargame Campaign being fought with RISK figures (see HERE for the first part of this Season's turn).

Although Rubiria's invasion of Northern Amethysia had got off to a shaky start, the Red General pushed on.

Here's a reminder of the Map for Summer 1845 (note Amberil is allied to Amethysia and mobilized forces in response to the invasion by Rubiria)

I played two short games this morning.

In game 1 the objective for both sides was to take and hold a village.

Early position with Amethysia having possession of the objective

Luck was against the Amethyisian General and by Turn 9 his force was in bits and was forced to withdraw

In game 2 the remnants of the Amethysian Army established a defensive position; their objective being to hold the hills until the end of turn 15.

Start of game 2

 

By the end of turn 10 the Amethysian force had been all but destroyed

At the end of Summer 1845, Rubiria's successful Army 2 has been allowed to withdraw to rest and been replaced with the fresh Army 3. The new force will be straight into action as Autumn starts as Amberil has launched their second Army into the fray in support of their allies. The remains of the Amethysian Army has withdrawn to the Capital.

I'll have two pints of lager and a packet of crisps* please

 (* aka Chips)

"Just stick it on my tab would you Barliman, there's a good fellow"

Apologies for the absence of posts recently. I must confess, since Wanna-Be-Tsar Putin sent the Russian Army to murder, rape and loot (and in many cases die) in Ukraine, I have been somewhat put off my wargaming. Hope to be back again soon with a few ideas for the 3x3 PW. Until then, stay safe and well (you're still better off wearing a mask!)

(In case you're wondering, the Minifigs are (from L to R) SS81, ME4 and ME8).

Sacred Place Scenario Re-Do

Yesterday I re-played the Sacred Place Scenario with a smaller defending army. Here's the Scenario briefing written in the style of Neil Thomas's One Hour Wargames Scenarios.

The smaller Elf Army is at the bottom of the picture (and for those of you watching in Black & White, the Elves are dressed in green).

Once again an Ent was summoned from the forest and the Orc Army queued up at the bridge

The Troll has pushed across the bridge

This time the Orcs have made it onto the hill

Only to be repulsed 

The Elf Army resists the attack once again

Casualties are high on both sides (Exhaustion Point is set at 50% for my Fantasy games) but the Orcs waver and flee the field leaving the Sacred Place undefiled. 

The game was definitely improved for having a smaller defending side and at some stage I intend to try it again with a different configuration for the attackers. Thanks for the interest in the rules; I am doing a bit of a re-work on them at present after receiving despatches from Tradgardland! 

A Sacred Place - Play testing a scenario

 The following is the first play test of a scenario for my Fantasy Variant of The Portable Wargame (Swords, Sorcery and Squares). 

The idea is that one side must defend a location from a numerically larger opposition, who are themselves hampered by having to first take a river crossing.

For speed I used my little 10mm units, Elves defending a Standing Stone from the attacking Orc army.

The Orcs send their Troll to capture the crossing while the Elves move their Archers into position covering the river bank.

The Elf Guards stubbornly hold the bridge for some time while Orc and Elf archers exchange fire across the river.

 

The Elf Magic-User calls an Ent from the nearby forest who is able to wade across the river and attack the Orcs.

The Orcs are forced to draw a Chance Card!

The Troll finally makes it over the bridge but is surrounded and taking hits - orcs are queuing up behind to cross.

The Ent has wandered back into the forest leaving the Elf archers to mop up the remaining Orcs on the river bank.

The Troll's last stand - The Orc General finally makes it onto the bridge in time to reach his Army's Exhaustion Point

The Play Test has shown that the defending side needs to be smaller still and possibly there should be another crossing point! The Orc General is looking for a Giant to join his cause (like Ents, Giants can wade rivers!).