Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 6

 My Erie tribe had a "bonus battle" this turn. After initially confirming they could attend on our arranged date at the pizzeria, three players had something come up. Two of them obligingly matched up against each other in the strategic phase, and were able to schedule a makeup game. The third I fought with my Erie on another date, as well, despite also fighting a battle on the regularly scheduled meeting at the pizzeria against a different opponent. I reasoned that since I did not fight a battle due to the odd number of players last turn, that no one would mind if I made that up with an extra one this turn. In fact, my players have been incredibly flexible during this playtest. If two players can't make it, the others leave their tribes alone so that they can match up against each other. It would be a disadvantage to fight fewer battles over the course of the campaign, although the rules will have mechanisms to make that fair.

Rival Shawnee and Susquehannock warparties close beneath the trees of the Eastern Woodlands of Ohio

The first and second place tribes continued to roll, both winning major victories this turn. The Neutrals were the tribe I fought on our Saturday morning at the pizzeria. The battle was going well, at first. I was using my warriors with the Marksmen trait and our matchlocks to good effect. The turning point came, though, in one of those cinematic moments that seem to occur so often in games of Song of Drums and Tomahawks. One of the Neutral warriors dashed forwards towards my warriors to collect a scalp. One of my matchlock men fired at him and knocked him down. Another of my warriors rushed forwards to dispatch him with a "Powerful Attack" (using two actions in one attack, which makes the opponent -1 to its die roll). Despite having a +4 to +1 advantage, Keith won the die roll and knocked my Erie brave down! It was still my turn, so I had another warrior rush forward. Once again, I had a +4 to +1 roll on opposed six-sided dice. Another loss. A third warrior ganged up on the heroic Neutral warrior and also could not finish him off. I had just lost three straight six-sided dice rolls with an advantage of +3 to my rolls! I don't even want to calculate the odds of that occurring. The heroic warrior popped up on Keith's next turn and finish off an attacker. Soon, all three of my attackers lay dead at the mighty warrior's feet.

Susquehannock hunters race to rescue one of their brothers who has been captured by the Shawnee

Just as you would expect, my warband was demoralized after this display of ferocity. We had gone from being ahead on enemy casualties to faltering fast. Keith ended up winning 15-3 in scenario victory points -- another major victory for his tribe, and yet another defeat for mine.

A raiding party from the Neutrals tribe is surprised and strung out by an unexpected ambush by Erie hunters

Other battles raging at the pizzeria included a bloody clash across a creek between the Seneca and Kickapoo. The Kickapoo continued their run of success, winning their last three engagements. They notched a major victory, 12-6. The Miami tribe finally recorded their first win of the campaign. They fought against the Honniasont "All Youth" force. Bruce, our newest player, has been trying out new tactics. This one saw one veteran chieftain leading a force of 16 Youths. The Miami were outnumbered, and despaired of being able to kill enough of their enemy to force a morale check (where Youths are at a disadvantage). It took more than two hours -- which is actually a long game for thees size battles -- but eventually the persistent Honniasont fell below 50% losses. Within a turn, all their troops had fled the field. The exhausted Miami howled in triumph, victorious 19-10.

Warriors from the Neutrals tribe fearlessly close with my Erie warparty

One of the rescheduled battles pitted the Susquehannock against the Shawnee. Joe, who has not lost a battle yet, has a completely different strategy than Keith -- whose Neutrals are in first place. Joe uses his upgrade points to make his warriors Marksman, and tries to gun down his opponents at range. Keith's Neutrals have settled in on the opposite strategy -- upgrading his warriors to Strong so that they are +1 in melee. Doubtless, the two will clash again before the end of the campaign. However, in this battle, Joe managed to win more of the melees against the Susquehannock. The battle was fairly even, with each player taking out one of the opponents on each of their bounds for several turns in a row. On one disastrous bound, though, Steve's Susquehannocks engaged in three melees -- all of them at an advantage. Two of his three braves fell to adverse die rolls, though. After that point, the Shawnee began to steadily grind their opponents down until they began to take morale checks and withdraw from the field.

This hero of the Neutral tribe would fight off all three of my Erie warriors who surrounded him -- even when he'd been knocked to the ground!

My "bonus battle" saw my Erie warriors ambushing the scout leading a Mohawk raid on one of our villages. Dave's troops were strung out and relatively vulnerable, according to the scenario deployment. I concentrated on the forward end of his column, but my activation rolls failed me and he was able to regroup without any losses. In fact, his warriors shot and killed two of my Youths who had unwisely advanced to the forefront of my force. The Mohawk strategy in the Beaver Wars campaign has been to use Hunt cards as opposed to War cards. In six turns, he has played only Hunt cards. The effect is that he leads the tribes in the number of Beaver pelts obtained over the course of the campaign. This translates directly into the number of figures you can upgrade from Bow to Matchlock. With this turn, Dave reached the point where all nine figures in his force (he took a Chieftain and all Warriors, no Youths) carry a Matchlock. This is a major advantage, and one he made good use of in our game. I was able to kill three of his Mohawk and force a tight battle, but once things began to collapse, my Warriors and Youths were falling left and right. The end result was yet another Major Defeat for the Erie.

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Neutrals	1st	26 points
Shawnee	2nd	23 points
Mohawk	3rd	22.5 points
Kickapoo	4th	17.5 points
Seneca	5th	13 points
Miami	6th	11 points
Susqehannock	7th	10 points
Erie	8th	9 points
Honniasont	9th	3 points

Our top two stay in the same place, but the Mohawk make a jump into 3rd place

It is a source of amusement for my friends that I wrote the rules, but have a long history of struggling to win games with them. I point to the fact that my dice rolling is notoriously bad. Witness the three consecutive losses with a +4 to +1 advantage against Keith. In fact, my first attack against one of Dave's Mohawk that I had knocked down -- another +4 to +1 roll -- saw me come up short again! I joke that I'm not supposed to win my own campaign playtest, so having a tribe at the bottom of the standings doesn't bother me. Plus, you could always say I am just being a gracious game master, and letting my players win the laurels of victory. However, I know the truth is I DO try to win. It is just those little incidents in the game that inevitable turn the tide of battle against me.

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	16 (5 MajV, 1 MinD)
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	15 (3 MajV, 3 MinV)
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	10 (3 MajV, 1 MinD)
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	10 (3 MajV, 1 MinD)
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	9 (1 MajV, 3 MinV)
Erie (Mike Demana)	5 (1 MajV, 2 MinD)
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	5 (2 MinV, 1 MinD)
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	4 (1 MajV, 1 MinD)
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	1 (1 MinD)

 
Still, everyone continues to have fun with the Beaver Wars playtest. The scenarios continue to provide new and interesting challenges to the players. I scrupulously ask players for feedback on every scenario, and we are making tweaks to each as we agree are needed. I'm particularly happy that no major changes in the campaign rules have been required. This second "reboot" of the campaign rules seems to working like a charm. I will probably try to have a post-game session soon, though, and if no changes appear to be needed, begin putting the rules into the publication process.

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	97
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	86
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	61
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	60
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	59
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	55
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	45
Erie (Mike Demana)	38
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	15

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	41
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	33
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	32
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	29
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	25
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	22
Erie (Mike Demana)	22
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	20
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	19

Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 5

Inside the friendly confines of Jenny's house, the living room hosts two games (from left, Keith, Dave, Jenny, Mike)

The local pizzeria where we'd been doing our Saturday morning playtests was booked with birthday parties all month, so we had to look elsewhere. Jenny (Miami tribe player) offered up her place, and threw in a nice spread of chili, veggies, and more, to boot! What's more, we added a ninth player last turn -- Bruce, who would play the Honniasont tribe. This would be the first meeting he could actually show up and get in a game. That meant my Erie tribe was the fifth wheel. We had four battles, and as GM I'd volunteered to be the odd man out on days that everyone could show up. The good news is it meant I had more time to wander from table to table and photograph games. So, I hope you enjoy the pictures in this update -- there are a lot more than usual!

While the dining room hosts (from left) Steve, Andy, Bruce, and Joe (not pictured)

Once again, my players were very accommodating and send in their strategic card play by email. We ended up with the following order (taking my Erie out of the chain):
Susquehannock > Kickapoo > Seneca > Shawnee > Honniasont > Miami > Mohawk > Neutrals

Close up of some of my 28mm Indians

Humorously, the Susquehannock decided to attack the Kickapoo, who'd thought by playing a higher War card they'd get to be the Attacker for a change. The two had fought last turn and Andy's Kickapoo had "kicked the poo" out of Steve's Susquehannock. Steve wanted revenge, and the scenario they rolled up was "Hold Them at the Gates." The battlefield centers on the winding, palisaded passageway that was the entry to a Kickapoo town. It turned sharply against the Susquehannock early when their leader was shot down and a momentary panic scattered their forces. Steve's warriors bravely regrouped and tried to force their way into Andy's town, but the Kickapoo's blood was up and they slew their enemy mercilessly. The Kickapoo scored a Major Victory, racking up 14 Scenario Victory Points (SVP) vs. Steve's 2.

Neutral trading party escorts pack horses through a narrow defile, ready for an ambush

Our next battle saw my two co-authors on Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules slugging it out. Mike's Seneca tribe had yet to lose a battle, and attacked the campaign leader, Keith's Neutral tribe. The only battle Keith had lost so far was in the opening turn, which was actually a tie, but I called it based on the scenario outcome in his opponent's favor. They rolled up "Ambush the Traders," and Keith brought over a couple special terrain pieces to recreate a defile for his Neutral trading party to be marching through with a column of packhorses. It looked great, and added a lot of atmosphere to what was easily our most brutal, blood-soaked game of the day.

Another closeup of native Americans painted for war

Mike's Seneca crept up on their Iroquois cousins and began sniping at them, picking off a few of Keith's warriors. He made his mistake when he decided to charge in and take the fight to the hand-to-hand stage. Keith had purchased many of his warriors on his roster with the "Strong" trait, which gives them a bonus in melee. This turned the tide in Keith's favor, but not before many warriors fell on both sides. For a more blow-by-blow account of the game, check out Keith's blog here: OrcaFinn's Basement

The wily Shawnee hold the confined space between two bark-covered longhouses

Our third battle only proved the wiliness of our second-place Shawnee. He chose to attack the new guy, Bruce's Honniasont, knowing not only would he be less familiar with the rules, but his forces would be less built up from accumulating SVPs and Beaver Pelts. In the campaign, players receive a higher proportion of troops armed with firearms the more Beaver Pelts they accumulate. They also receive more upgrade points for traits depending on how many SVPs they've accumulated in the campaign. Bruce decided to throw Joe a curveball, though. He took his entire force (minus his leader) as Youths. This meant the Honniasont outnumbered the Shawnee 17-10 in figures. Bruce confessed to me that his plan was to swarm the enemy. Either way, he would certainly be throwing Joe off his game. None of us had faced an opponent who used this tactic, yet.

Honniasont Youths advance towards towards the more experienced Shawnee raiders

They'd rolled up the "Slaughter Among the Lodges" scenario, which has the battle take place entirely within the palisade of the Honniasont town. Seeing the teeming hordes, Joe took a page from Thermopylae and placed his smaller number of warriors in the gap between two bark-covered longhouses. He decided to snipe away at the enemy at long range. His plan looked like it was working, as one or two of Bruce's warriors fell. But there was a flaw in Joe's plan. The Shawnee are no Greek hoplites. Each time a Shawnee gunned down an enemy, he would have to make a scalp check. Failure meant he would move uncontrolled towards the spot of his downed foe and attempt to scalp him. This was a facet of Eastern Woodlands warfare. Indian braves would commit acts that Europeans thought foolhardy. Honor and prestige was incredibly important in Native American society.

The Honniasont gather to move en masse towards the Shawnee, who are sniping at them from long range

So, guess who failed the first Shawnee scalp check? Joe's leader! The Shawnee tried their best to follow up their leader so that he would not be swarmed under by a pack of Honniasont Youths, but that is exactly what happened. The game could have been lost for Joe right there, but he rolled very well on his Morale checks. He was able to re-engage the Honniasont and began to whittle away at their numbers. The Honniasont gave it a good try, but the more experienced Shawnee warriors came out on top with a 18-5 Major Victory.

A moment of drama as the Shawnee leader in the green shirt charges into the midst of the Honniasont Youths

The final game I got to see very little of (I confess, I was enthralled by Bruce and Joe's game, and wanted to be there to help the newbie with advice if he asked). Our host Jenny and her Miami were still unable to notch a victory. Her forces have been frustrated in the first five turns, and she fell in the "Who's a Thief?" scenario to the Mohawk, 16-3. Everyone was appreciative of Jenny's pot of chili, though, if not earning a win, she received ample praise for feeding 9 hungry gamers!

Kickapoo race to block off the entrance from the Susquehannock raiders

I plan for this playtest to go 10 turns, so we are at the halfway point, now. Here's our Leaderboard, which shows the Neutrals continuing to dominate the contest for the Ohio Valley in the late 17th century. A surprise rise in the ranks to third came from the Kickapoo, who'd racked up two Major Victories in two turns.

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Neutrals	1st	26 points
Shawnee	2nd	24 points
Kickapoo	3rd	19 points
Mohawk	Tied 4th	18 points
Seneca	Tied 4th	18 points
Susqehannock	6th	11 points
Miami	7th	10 points
Erie	8th	8 points
Honniasont	9th	3 points

Another shot of Keith's cool-looking defile as mayhem gets ready to unfold

These points come from three categories: Prestige Points, which come from Major and Minor Victories or Minor Defeats; Beaver Pelts; and Scenario Victory Points (SVPs). Here are the leaderboards in each of these, in case anybody is interested.

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	13 (4 MajV, 1 MinD)
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	12 (2 MajV, 3 MinV)
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	9 (1 MajV, 3 MinV)
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	7 (2 MajV, 1 MinD)
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	7 (2 MajV, 1 MinD)
Erie (Mike Demana)	5 (1 MajV, 2 MinD)
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	4 (1 MajV, 1 MinD)
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	3 (1 MinV, 1 MinD)
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	—

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	82
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	72
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	54
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	47
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	42
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	41
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	36
Erie (Mike Demana)	32
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	5

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	34
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	30
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	24
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	24
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	21
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	18
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	18
Erie (Mike Demana)	15
Honniasont (Bruce Adamczak)	14

Our next game should be April 23rd, so stay tuned for that!