The three of us headed way-down south to the far side of Canberra this weekend for the monthly session run by Canberra Regional Wargamers. They're a really welcoming bunch of gamers that focus on historical wargaming, with a mixture of lighter and heavier games, including historical boardgames.
Like the Northside gaming group, they run out of a Rugby club, so it was a very relaxing day of gaming, interspersed with a lunch break.
The club has a strong following of hardy historical warmers. There was a big First World War naval game, Memoir 44, Team Yankee, Napoleonic, and a fair few ancients / dark age games going on throughout the course of the day. A head count was conducted at one stage and I believe there were over 40 people in attendance.
With this club and my local club, on the Northside of Canberra, running events throughout the month, it's looking very good for gaming in my hometown this year.
But back to the session, my son wanted a rematch with his grandad, so I dabbled a little overnight to set up a scenario and the retinues for a game of Lion Rampant.
I decided to set up for 'The Taxman Cometh', scenario twelve from the 2nd edition book. I selected a Swiss vs French scenario and used the recommend retinues from the book. Essentially, the scenario had a dismounted retinue of Swiss, tired, hungry and on the rampage looking for loot in a local French Village.
The French played by my son, had the job to prevent the looting and make the Swiss pay for their insolence.
My father-in-law set up his Swiss mercenaries on the western side of the table, while my son's mostly Mounted Elite & Mounted Sergeants would gradually enter from the East.
Both sides fielded Crossbowmen, and as per usual in a game of LR, once they were activated they were devastating.
Grandad had some very smooth activation for his early turns and managed to move his entire retinue steadily - in line formation - towards the village & the loot. He kept his crossbowmen and 'warrior' rated troops on his right wing.
His Swiss Infantrymen were rated as veteran giving him a 4+ on attack and defence, and this would prove costly for the French in the some of the grinding melees to follow.
My son had his own plan and separated his retinue into two separate formations. He is thirteen now and has been playing D&D for a year or so with a regular group, and I'm really pleased to see him taking an interest in hanging out & wargaming with us.
His far left wing held his Mounted Sergeants and his crossbowmen. He recklessly & repeatedly charged these Sergeants into his Grandad's 'warrior' rated troops, who also held the right-of-reply with the counter charge special ability.
My son's first few charges - while not entirely sensible - did manage to inflict a few losses and retreats.
It was only a bit later in the game that my son would open up with some lashing fire from his crossbowmen and inflict some really heavy casualties on both of his Grandad's warrior troops, causing enough disorientation and distress to force them to quit the field.
Somewhat maddeningly for my father-in-law his units on his right wing just wouldn't activate at the right time. To further the sense of humiliation, my son's very last Mounted Sergeant held on for another turn, made another attack...and eventually retired from the fray...more on that little incident later.
My son moved his Foot Sergeants - with his Mounted Elite Knights - into the village square to counter attack and harass the marauding Swiss. I don't know what he was thinking by moving those mounted troops into the village but my son had his own game plan going on....
Grandad did well to move those Veteran Swiss Pikemen into the village. Once they arrived and started finding 'Loot' tokens, they would soon lure the French into some costly confrontations.
Eventually, the French foot troops in the village square would get spooked, and after losing only three men they would roll poorly and flee the field. Grandad too had suffered a few losses, and with the French Mounted Elites arriving in the square, he decided to make a bold gamble.
This was the moment a challenge was issued by the Swiss leader, and unfortunately for the French, their leader was slain.
During the course of the morale checks, the sole French Sergeant decided it was time he cut his losses, so he licked his wounds, took off and lived to fight another day.
The call for a duel was a good move by the Swiss, but luckily for my son, it could have been much worse for the French, and only eventuated in these (slight) losses.
However by this time the French right wing had almost dissolved and as there was so much carnage & loss of units, the last turn was rolled for.
By the final roll, the Swiss were starting to exit the village with a sum total of 4 Loot VPs, The French were licking their wounds...but had 'held' the Village and had prevented their opponents from seizing another 7 VPs.
The Swiss had lost:
*Two units of Warrior foot.
* One veteran Pike unit was at half strength, the other just hovering above half
*The Swiss Crossbowmen had fled the field under a counter barrage of fire from the French.
The French had lost:
*One unit of Foot Sergeants fled
*One unit of Mounted Sergeants - one survivor fled
* Their Leader killed in the duel
*One unit of Elite Mounted Knights
There were an equal amount of Swiss & French on the table at the end of the game.
It was a costly and Minor Victory for the French, but we called it a draw.
All the best.
Comments
I fear Grandson is moving down Grand dad's favourites list 😊
though it's funny. You seem to play games with your family, and the almost the whole point of my games is to get AWAY from them. 😀
I mostly seem to be playing with kids...it's only once every few weeks that I catch up with my regular gaming buddy. I'm still running the weekly 'Tabletop Games Club' at the school I work at. Every Friday, we have a big dust up of a Fistful of Lead game. I would typically have about six or seven students playing those sessions...and they are so much carnage and chaos that I never had enough time to take photos but I will try this week.