15mm Wargaming for Fun and Sanity: OAAH First games at Entoyment.

Seed change in our wargaming. We have the capacity to do bigger games, but my flat & parking restrictions/cost make them impractical at home.

So - local game shop, very well hidden (their own website doesn't include directions--) Has bookable tables & free parking.

Online booking, which is nice.

So, what-to-do?

I've just suffered a short, nasty illness and was felling both rough & low energy.

So I bunged the bulk of my 2 main Mars forces in a wheely bag (review coming) and off we go! I'd also splashed out about £5 for a lovely piece of felt from Amazon.

Here's the list we used, but the sides were not pointed.

Euxinus Lacus

General. 3 3 6 Mounted, Fast, Extra lives3.

Medium 4 3 5 Mounted, Fast, Shoot1, extra lives2.1 units of 8 = 531.

Lancer 4 3 6 Fast, Mounted, Fast, Devastating charge, extra lives2. 6 = 408

Guild Pike 5 2 5 pikes slow steadfast drilled 16 x 29 = 464

Guild Crossbow 5 1 5 Shoot 2, Drilled 8 x 30 = 240

Guild Spear 4 2 6 Drilled , Shieldwall 8 x 37 = 296

Shieldwall morale, +1Defence.

6 Guild masters Cavalry 4 3 6 Fast, Mounted, Fast, Resilient Extra lives2. 6 = 438

Resilient 5,6 save.

Herculis

General. 3 4 6 Mounted, Fast, Extra lives3. 125

Swords. Cav. 4 3 5 Mounted, Fast, Drilled, Devastating charge, Extra lives2. 6 = 426

Lancers 4 4 6 Mounted, Fast, Drilled, Devastating charge, Extra lives2. 6 x 47 = 474

Borderers 4 2 5 Shoot1, Devastating charge, 8 x 43 = 344

Heavy Infantry 4 2 6 Slow (-1 scouting) Elan (1^st turn +1 activation) 8 x 40 = 320

Crossbow 4 1 5 Shoot2 3x 38 = 114

Dragonkind 3 6 8 Giant3, Devastating charge, Trample, Tough, Extra lives 4 248

Field Artillery 4 1 6 Artillery 2 Resilient, Slow. 55

2 White Apes 4 5 6 Giant L3, Extra lives 3, Fear, Resilient 258

Beast Lord 3 1 5 Spell caster, Alter terrain, Curse, Frenzy 72

Alter terrain 1,2,3 (last per) unoccupied, clear to rough, bridge or ford, road, hill into diff type.

Curse 2 actions, 1 use, any range, target -1 A or D end of game.

Frenzy 2 actions, 1 use, any range, target +1 activation & reaction per game.

Magician Flyer 3 1 5 Airship, Fast Spellcaster Lightning bolt, Rain arrows, Eagles eyes, 76

Lightning bolt, 1,2,3 actions, 1D per action special damage, 1 area, 1 only on unit, but reroll on any extra lives personality.

Rain arrows, 2 0or 3 actions, 1D per action used. Hit at +1. 1’s rerolled.

Eagles eyes, 3 actions, +1 next shooting no range restriction.

Grenadier Flyer 3 2 5 Shoot0, Fast, Airship, Grenades 5,6

Grenades 1 use, hit on a 4, ignore resilient & tough. Against fort hit 5,6.

Scout Flyer 3 2 6 Scout, Fast, Shoot1, Skirmisher. Airship, 74

Scouts 3 3 6 Scout, Fast, Savage 210

Savage at end of melee count as I extra hit.

Game 1 There's 1 game per day. Larger games mean swapsies take a second meeting. This one used a provided mat. Problem here- bastard to get the chalk off, so that's a no. Larger areas are great, but it's a long walk for infantry.

Here's the view from Herculanium side.

Taking the central pass soon became the focus. We had some discussion about access.

More like a chess game! Move, counter move, threat-.

Crossbow fill the gap & shoot down my flyer.

The apes get extincted.

A slow inching forward, looking for advantage and not getting flanked.

Now that looks like a battle!

I'm amazed how well these 2 products from 2 different manufacturers fit together!

Lancers go against the surviving ape & crossbows.

I send in crossbow against the borderers, they do the job but get cheesed.

With that flank secure I can move up the pike.

The opposition gathers.

Crossbow make a brave stand!

Here they come--!

Ouch.

Artillery did well, but dies. Borderers did less well!

Tony's heavy cavalry threaten.

Clash of monsters! The already weakened ape goes down.

Cavalry pounds my pike, but get bounced off.

That was a win for me. Some lessons learned. More maneuvering and definitely slower.

Game 2 New felt! new chalk! We did swapsies and had roughly the same stuff as last week.

Look, a tactical reserve and sausage sarnies. I had a bit of time to set up properly. I also splurged on a box of pillars. They're small - considering they're geared for bigger figures.

Tony won the scouting roll, so his scouts can set up anywhere.

So Tony says "I hate it when you charge cavalry on cavalry" AND then he charges his heavies into my lancers! Do you SEE what I have to work with?!

Then its lancers on mediums-

And then lancer on lancer action.

And mediums against lancers!

Well we HAD cavalry!

Oh look, there's some!

Sneaky scoutses.

Just for a change - the crossbow do very well! They lose less than half, but kill half the cavalry who are seen orf!

Now its getting tight.

Confidence is high!

I'd shoved a couple of barges into the bag (as the most survivable) and we tried a flank march. One carries 3 small artillery, the second 12 borderers and 1 small piece. Here they come. Not fast!

Lancers vs heavy infantry. Not as well as I'd hoped-.

Now I have an embattled & contested flank. I start to turn and retire my pike, who are the most vulnerable target.

But there's still my previous front to worry about-.

Here they come!

My crossbow - can bring that monster down- but in charge reach of the borderers and the artillery--.

Artillery opens up, kills 3 and disorders.

In comes the borderers, the crossbow do well in the shooting, but get trounced & pushed back.

My crossbow survivors are surrounded!

Ouch! Taken from behind!

Now my spear -.

Time for my other crossbow to get thumped.

Hah, well done those crossbow!

Borderers wash over my spear, who don't have the opportunity to form shield wall.

But they do well!

Now comes the hunt. I'm trying to get my pike and general out of range of the artillery.

Meanstwhile--.

Lots of maneuvering on this flank. Beastmaster hides in rough trying to cast spells.

Ape gets enraged, but does poorly.

As does Dragonkind.

And the other ape.

Reminder-. Where cav has 2 lives, an odd result is shown by reversing one number. There's 2.5 cav here, a total of 5 lives. The figure still rolls 2 dice in combat.