Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 4

We're getting into a groove cranking out the turns for the Beaver Wars. I send out an email with the order for players to declare which strategic card they will play this turn. My players have been quick to respond with their choice. Once the turn order is established, it takes even less time for the tribes on the most aggressive footing (War cards) to declare their targets for the turn. This turn, my Erie tribe ended up being attacked by the Shawnee. Joe had won every game, so I knew I would be in for a challenge. His force would have more upgrade points than mine would. Nevertheless, I had to make a plan to maximize my chances in the battle. That is one side benefit of this campaign that I've noticed the player seem to be really enjoying. They like the chance to try out different combinations of Traits. My Shawnee opponents even fielded their leader with the "Running Blow" trait -- one I've never seen utilized in a Song of Drums and Tomahawks game before. He was never able to use it, though, because of the clustered nature of our melee.

 

    My Erie warband fans out as they notice "Tracks in the Mud" around our canoes

I decided to go with one of my favorites tactics -- arming my Leader with a matchlock and giving him Marksman. I gave one of my other matchlock-armed Warriors Marksman, as well (which gives a +1 to shooting). I spent the rest of my upgrades on Primitive Weapons for Warriors. They would form the front line, with my firearms behind them firing through the gaps. Interestingly, after the game, Joe and I reflected that those Marksman purchases were all wasted points this time. That was because every single one of my shots missed! Despite that, the Erie warriors gave a good account of themselves. We were actually winning until we had a run of fatal luck.

    Another full house at Taranto's Pizzeria, as eight players fight out battles in Turn 4 of our campaign

I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Our scenario, "Tracks in the Mud," was one of three that were being playtested for a second time, that week. This time, though, I remembered to bring my canoe models! The idea is that my Erie hunting party was returning to their canoes when they noticed strange moccasin tracks around them, which they'd hidden in the woods not far from the creek. We immediately fan out, almost immediately catching sight of the Shawnee advancing stealthily through the trees towards us. Our game was one of four being played at the pizza shop on a chilly Saturday morning. It is my goal to eventually playtest all 18 of the scenarios that will be included in the Beaver Wars rulebook multiple times.

    A Kickapoo village was the scene of a fierce counterattack by fresh defending forces against the scattered, Susquehannock raiders in "Save Our Brothers!"

On the other boards, the Kickapoo were counterattacking a Susquehanock raiding party that was looting the center of their town, in "Save Our Brothers!" The Neutral tribe -- who went into the week in the lead -- attacked the Miami in "Trapper's End." And finally, the Mohawk had attacked the Seneca in "Drive Them Like Game." We'd actually picked up a ninth player between this turn and the previous one, bu the had a prior commitment for this weekend and would join us next time, he said.

    Miami warriors bravely advance towards a Neutral warparty to rescue their blood brother in "Trapper's End"

Back in our game, the Shawnee advance rapidly, with one of their warriors being a bit out in front of the rest of their warparty. On our turn, I had one of my warriors armed with Primitive Weapon dash out and attack him. The Shawnee outnumbered us, haven taken an extra pair of Youths. Since most of his warriors armed with Matchlock were also bought as Marksmen, I did not think exchanging shots was the way to go. Each time I felt one of his braves was overextended or could be pounced upon by more than one of mine, I charged. My strategy was winning slightly, despite the fact that my Erie couldn't seem to hit the broad side of a barn. I guess we're too new to this whole firearms craze!

    A close up view of the Neutrals warparty -- the tribe that so far is dominating the struggle for the Ohio Valley in this playtest of the Beaver Wars

The Shawnee were one casualty away from a morale check when I decided to take a risk. I had one warrior already in contact with one of his. My Leader charged in, so with the extra man he was up on the score 3-to-1, before we rolled. Of course, my luck deserted me at that moment. Joe not only rolled three higher than me on the six-sided die, but he also rolled an even number which meant my Leader was knocked down. The next turn his Leader rushed in and brained my chieftain with his warclub. Losing your leader in Song of Drums and Tomahawks means all of your surviving figures must take an immediate morale check. Enough of my guys fled off the board to drop me below 50%, which necessitates another morale check. This meant my entire force pretty much fled the field. One brave warrior was a bit slower, and suffered the indignity of being chased down by a Shawnee Youth and killed. Otherwise, the rest of my force got away. This was actually good, because it minimized the Shawnee victory points. I'd killed and scalped enough of his Shawnee that it counted as only a Minor Defeat for me. The mechanics stipulate that players whose opponents earn are doubled or more Scenario Victory Points suffer a Major Defeat.

On the other table, the Neutral tribe continued their recent run of success. Keith had experimented with a force that had a significant number of warriors bought as "Strong" (+1 to melee). He slaughtered the Miami, 14-5. Meanwhile, the Kickapoo picked up their first victory of the campaign in a blood-soaked victory fought in the midst of a Kickapoo town, 18-14. The Mohawk and Seneca ground out a game that was tied in SVPs, but victory went to the Seneca, who held the field. These results meant that we had two clear front-runners: Neutrals were in the lead at 26 points, followed by my opponent of this turn the Shawnee at 21.5.

Here are the scores, followed by the individual breakdowns in each category.

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Neutrals	1st	26 points
Shawnee	2nd	21.5 points
Susquehannock	3rd	17.5 points
Seneca	4th	16.5 points
Mohawk	5th	15 points
Kickapoo	6th	14 points
Erie	7th	11.5 points
Miami	8th	10 points
Honniasont	9th	3 points

Note the brand new player, the Honniasont, a tribe that dwelled in Western Pennsylvania during this period. They will struggle to make up the deficits on missing four turns of games -- but hey! They just want to play, and who am I to deny them?

Here are the scores for Prestige Points -- which are obtained by Major Victories, Minor Victories, and Minor Defeats.

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	10 (3 MajV, 1 MinD)
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	9 (1 MajV, 3 MinV)
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	9 (1 MajV, 3 MinV)
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	5 (1 MajV, 2 MinD)
Erie (Mike Demana)	5 (1 MajV, 2 MinD)
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	4 (1 MajV, 1 MinD)
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	3 (1 MinV, 1 MinD)
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	3 (1 MinV, 1 MinD)
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	—

 Here is the number of Scenario Victory Points each tribe has earned.

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	58
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	54
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	50
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	44
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	33
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	33
Erie (Mike Demana)	32
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	25
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	0

And finally, here is our tally of Beaver Pelts. The amount of these obtained each turn comes from where you are on the continium from most to least aggressive (the higher the value of Hunt card you play, the more beaver pelts you generally obtain).

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	25
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	20
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	19
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	18
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	17
Erie (Mike Demana)	15
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	15
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	15
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	9

Expect another update relatively soon. Our pizza place was booked up for March, as were most of the players. We could squeeze one weekend in, though, and it is this coming Saturday! Thanks for reading, and remember, you can purchase the game rules Song of Drums and Tomahawks by following the links on the First Command Wargames website.