Giving Saga Dark Ages skirmish a try

Andy's borrowed Viking army

One of our friends, Andy, offered to run a big, learner game of Saga -- a Dark Ages skirmish set of rules -- for us this past Sunday night. It must have struck a nerve as 8 of us showed up to game. I brought along my own 28mm Dark Ages figs, which had not seen the tabletop in a long time. Typically, I've used Song of Blades and Heroes for them. But I was not averse to trying a new rules set.

I was a bit worried how it would work, as the rules are set up for a one-on-one game. However, with four players per side, and each of us having our own "battle board," it worked just fine. I had actually played it once before at least a year or more ago at the home of one of Andy's friends. So, I was familiar with the basic concepts. Andy did a great job giving us a primer, and for the most part, the players understood how to use the game's dice allocation system. That's the trickiest part, actually. Most experienced Saga players say it takes a while to "learn" your chosen army's board. You roll a handful of special dice (although you can use normal 6-siders) and allocate them to certain spots on your battle board. This becomes your command and control and dictates what you army can do. You don't simply move or shoot a unit. You must spend the dice to do so. The only "automatic" is if you are engaged by an enemy unit in melee, you fight back.

My troops (bottom) and Joel's mix it up in the field of crops

Andy's scenario was four Viking armies (one of which was mine) are caught after a raid by 3 Norman and 1 Anglo-Danish one. I was matched up against the very similar Anglo-Danish one and we fought in a field of crops on our army's left flank. There was a minimum of shooting and mostly charging. I was getting the better of Joel, my Anglo-Danish opponent -- but we were wearing each other down. The other sides of the field saw us getting crushed in the center and winning on the right flank. The crushing was outnumbering the winning, and after a couple hours of play, it was obvious the Vikings had lost.

I think a lot of the players were interested in Saga, and I would not be surprised if some of the eight players pick up the rules. I've been looking for a set at the flea markets at conventions for some time. I just haven't felt like parting with $40 for a rules set I may not use much. However, if it is going to be a regular feature of our games, I'll probably shell out the money. I have quite a few 28mm Dark Age miniatures already from the Viking period in Britain. So, who knows? Andy may have made a sale in our group...!