Back to Stalingrad

Andrew and Stefan successfully take a block of the ruins of Stalingrad from Karl and Stephen.

Clearing one building and getting ready to dash to another.

While the other Germans hold on in the factory.

More Dark Age reinforcements

These are very much intended to be generic Dark Age figures, but also, I just painted what felt right.

DNA6 Heavy archer form the Tin Soldier Norman Range.

DSA4 Select Fryd from their Saxon range.

Pretty sure these are Old Glory.

I was inspired by a mannequin I saw in the Army Museum in Toledo of a Visigoth knight.

One Sided Miniature Wargaming Discourse: Museum of the Army Toledo Spain

Tobago and Francis Drake

Two new and to me unknown games played in a few hours with Richard and Stefan (who had put in the effort to guess the game based on clues provided).

First there was treasure hunting on Tobago.  Fun and easy to pick up (the rules that is, not so much the treasure).  Both Stefan and I suffered from cursed treasure which impacted Stefan particularly badly.  

Then there was Francis Drake.  A more challenging game and it took me a while to figure out what to do.  As there are only three voyages this made it hard to catch up especially with some bastard moves that blocked me from getting indigo.  As it was Stefan (blue) and myself (green) finished very close together in terms of VPs.  Richard had romped home to win this game as well the previous one.

This game had some nice player aids, like the little treasure chests in which to store any gems that had been looted from the Spanish colonies.  Although a few things were rather dull in comparison (gun and crew markers for example).  But with this game it certainly helped to know the rules. 

Charming games.  Played quickly although not without lots of thought.

Nubian versus New Kingdom Egyptians

Could my Nubians repeat their victory against Karl and the Egyptians? 

No... :-(

The Nubians won the scouting and found the Egyptians defending a low hill 

with some broken ground on one flank.  

They decided to drop their large formations 

and went for filling the horizon in order to intimidate their opponent.

It didn't work.

Both sides start to advance.

The Egyptian chariots surge forward protected by their skirmishers against Nubian bow fire.

Some Nubian warriors decide to charge before they are charged, but it is a stand-off.

The Egyptian chariots prevail.

The Nubian centre realise time for waiting is over and start to advance.

The Egyptian foot has pulled back to defend the hill.

The triumphant chariots still have to contend with hordes of Nubian skirmishers.

The Nubian warriors charge, but it fails to have an impact.

The fighting drags on...

The Nubian attack has failed.

The Egyptian chariots have also broken free of the Nubian skirmishers.

Some Nubian warriors fight on, but it is all over.

Defeat!

Viticulture World

This cooperative version of Viticulture makes for a pleasant family affair.  Zoe and I completed the game in one session, it looked impossible to win until the final turn.

Note wine themed coaster which is not part of the game.

Nubia versus Palmyra

My cobbled together Nubians were expecting to face Karl's Egyptians but ended up fighting Palmyrans (on loan from John as the Egyptians stayed home in the belief that it was to be Stalingrad again).

Deployed on the club's fancy terrain with a wood on the left and some broken ground in the centre.

The Palmyran cavalry advance, while the Nubians spread out.

The Palmyran cavalry quickly come under a telling fire.

The Nubians might only be armed with sticks,

but they know how to make them fly.

The Palmyran left is in trouble and their right is in somewhat of a disorder.

The Palmyran cavalry bravely press on.

It is not going well for them.

The minor success against the Nubian left flank is totally offset by the disaster on the right.

The Nubian warriors charge but fail to make contact.

The destruction of the remaining Palmyran cataphracts causes their morale to break.

The Nubian warriors had finally come to blows with the Palymran centre

but didn't do as well as the Nubian archers.

1989 Dawn of Freedom

Another week and another new game, although the system was familiar.

I was the Communists trying to hold onto power in various Eastern European countries in 1989.

Unlike the Europe in Turmoil games this one loses a bit of momentum when you lose power in a country: once they have freedom there is no going back.  A Power Struggle occurs before scoring and can be quiet volatile.  If the Communists lose the struggle that's it for that country.

We stopped after the Communists lost power in all six countries, but with a better understanding of the rules we should have kept on playing, although I was under some misconceptions about a few things which had crimped my play plus I made one or two mistakes.

Will be interesting to play again.