OGAM Uji 2 Once more onto the bridge!

“Once more with feeling!”

Why do the same game twice? Depends on your players and your rules. 

 Back int' day when I attended a local club, 2 players would happily bring the huge mound of figures, set them up in 2 lines just out of shooting, then send one lot against the other. A third party was always dragged in for rule clarifications and with only 4 hours to play they never reached a conclusion.

Rules, figures scenery exactly same as before, although there was some difference in sobriety. I forgot to do this last week, apologies.

Goblin Warriors Drunk Sober

Goblin Followers Drunk Sober

Goblin Followers Sober Sober

Goblin Follower archer1 Drunk

Goblin Follower archer2 Drunk Sober

Goblin Follower archer3 Sober Sober

Mounted Goblins Drunk Drunk

The games – game 2 I take the Minamoto (we had a nice fish supper). Last week faced by a horde of pissed participants Tony piled in. That left me the defensive option like the original battle, defending the river and bridge and using local advantage to overcome greater numbers.

Despite the large number of units I had room to deploy in a double-crescent formation able to respond to any threat. The (Celtic supplement) states legend or god on ford, so I did the same as Tony, my 3 Sohei Heroes on the bridge. This proved a wise move!

The Bridge. This proved the decisive area. I expected my Heroes to go down fighting, and that's what they did! But it took crushing them between 2 units to kill them, and not even every time. As in the last game, a successive wave of nasties came against them.

Now you've all seen those films, the hero is in the middle of the enemy with a captured polearm, knocking down and killing whole groups? There was a lull when the Oni's were dead and everyone was pushed back. So I sent them against greater numbers, out from the +1 defending. Not the sensible move, but these are heroes! Plus Tony had 3 units of archers there, if not in contact, my lot were going to get pin cushioned. First one went down, pinned between 2 followers. Second got the same treatment, but always managed to shove the fronting unit back. Third took on the skeletons. I didn't kill many, other than Oni!, but I tied up a large percentage of the force.

As I'd left the enemy side of the bridge undefended (heroes! You give them ONE job, but oh no-) Tony sent a follower unit crashing other, hitting my blocking Sohei blockers hard. They probably would have won, with the Dai Oni in support, leaving the bridge open, but a nasty reception party would have been waiting.

This would have been the end fight, pulling everyone in-

On my left, I was expecting the flank attack. Tony sent the spider over into my archers, these did very well, didn't kill the legend as Tony was able to turn the result into a knock down.

Then the cavalry arrive, well 2 of them, the goblins turn up a bit later, crash into my monks- but even with a double ambush plus (they are ambush specialists) they got repulsed.

I'd been bringing up Minamoto Yorimasa who earned his position that day, he shot a goblin archer on the far bank, dispatched the spider as it gets upn then shoots the Bake-Neko dead. *

I managed to get a solid line of Samurai blocking the rest. Hah.

My right and rear. My archers on the bank did good service, killed a couple and pushed back some. The Dai Oni, once most of my forces were commited and Minamoto Yorimasa was out of range did a sneaky attack on Amatasu and is repulsed. He then teleports to Prince Mochihito and his Sohei bodyguard but being outnumbered he gets pushed back.

From Museum Miniatures, the August Prince.

Eurika Lady, tried for a 28mm one - there isn't.

That's where we left it, our 4 hour window expired! Sort of stalemate. Any involvement by the gods and remaining legends could be countered by the other sides mortals, who could not assault over the water.

Tony lost 2 Oni, spider, Bake-Neko, 4 goblin warriors, 4 goblin archers

I lost 3 Sohei heroes, 1 Samurai archer to the spider, 3 Sohei monks.

What a difference! The Gods did just about nothing, the Dai Oni was very cautious. Very sensible. This game calls for a follow-on. Tempted to make it into a 3 game mini campaign.

*I hadn't considered this before, but if this was a campaign- the Bake-Neko raised the skeletons, so the unit could/should have deactivated when it was killed, which would have left me with a hero facing a depleted unit of goblin archers--.