Saturday 29 April 2006

Rambling on

Hi everyone, it has pretty quiet around here since Bart decided to have a second little horror (actually number one is very sweet, and I have not yet met number two, though I can guess that he is small, incoherent and rather boring to all except immediate family - no offence, Bart, it's just one of those facts of life).

So why don't I bore everyone with a brief account of my recent gaming? Great idea, I think, so working backwards, here goes. Today, I visited our local games shop in Brussels L'Antre Jeux which has a pretty good selection of all types of games. I bought a Flames of War source book, planning to build a Soviet force, some quite nice trees for 14 euro, which I will have to base and flock but I think will be quite effective plus 'Commands and Colours Ancients' from GMT. A sort of thinking gamer's Memoir 44, for those who know the series. Quite a good series of games based on the Punic Wars.

In the week, I played DBM (this is a dangerous admission on this site and in my gaming group, who are largely anti-DBM, thinking rightly it is largely for rules lawyers and frustrated chess players). I played with my Normans against Jacques (a local Police Commissioner) who brought out his brand new Nikephorian Byzantines. Alas, I rudely and luckily dispatched them with the cream of Normandy's finest knights. we will try again next week.

I have done some painting as well. Over easter, I took advantage of the cold and grey hangover from winter to paint up some ACW troops and scenery. This was to add to the very nice painted armies that I bought recently from local NATO supremo, JP and Bart D. (the latter bought them from the former and then sold them on again). I now have enough to field two corps per side for Principles of War and have some nice woods and a homestead ready. I also painted up some 15mm Carthaginian types and some 28mm Saxons - both these armies are now very close to completion, at last.

There's not a great deal of action around here, or at least not that I'm aware of, so for the next few weeks it will be a bit more DBM (such a great game), painting and boardgames. 1st may I will try Paths of Glory again, the GMT world War One game. If I don't get too badly hammered, I may even tell you all about it!

Alan

1 comment:

  1. Well, we (JP, Stephen A, David B, David Jackson and myself) had a bit of fun with Warmaster Ancients on Saturday. JP provided the 10mm armies (Ancient Britons and Early Imperial Romans). The Britons were fairly imposing, particularly their chariots (which scored the only significant British successes of the day), but Jupiter Optimus Maximus was smiling on the legions this day.
    As the battle progressed the British, due to failed command rolls and push backs from the results of Roman archers and skirmishers, became disjointed with numerous separate commands. They were unable to mount a coherant assault. The only two charges by warbands resulted in Roman victories.
    In the last turn of the game, David B was finally able to get his chariots moving and they knocked out two stands of Roman Heavy cav. In the middle, however, Bruce charged with his veterans, who chewed up multiple stands from two separate warbands.
    Had the game progressed, David's chariots would have been nasty. That said, by the end of the game, Roman losses were limited to cav and skirmishers. Only one stand Auxilia infantry had been lost. The legionary units were intact.
    A fun game. Thanks to JP for the venue, table, armies, umpiring and the wine. (Solely for offering libations to the Gods.)

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