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.

Qugong

New and delightful game today: "Gùgōng. Exchange gifts, send servants, and visit the Emperor in a luscious 1570 China".  (That description is from here and is a good summary of what the game is about.)

Not even going to try and pronounce it,

I just hope I have the orientation right.

The game at start.

I am the red player.

Aim is to get an audience with the emperor (central track)

and amass Victory Points (outer track).

Thinking back red is a lucky colour for the Chinese I believe,

it certainly worked for me.

Stalingrad - Practice

It has been my intention to at least play this scenario once a year around this time.  I know I missed last year, but it is rather embarrassing to find the last time I played was five years ago!  

This session was very much a practice game to get Karl up to speed with the rule's mechanics.  We played without hidden setup, and I think that takes all the magic out of the game.  

The setup.

Knowing where and where not the Soviets are enabled the Nazis to mop them up with some ease especially given some excellent die rolling on my part.

Great Western Trails - Argentina

New game built on Great Western Trails which I had enjoyed playing last year.

Beautiful game and the introduction of farmers makes it different from its predecessor and although they present hazards, they can become very valuable works.  Also new are ships and ports which offer additional and alternative ways of obtaining VPs.