Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 3

My players keep getting better and better at emailing in their strategic orders (choice of War 1 through 8 or Hunt 1 through 8 cards). We were finished with our group email within a week, allowing me to publish the "Order of Play" in plenty of time to pre-select our opponents. Those with the highest numbered War cards declar first, followed by the lowest Hunt cards. Typically, it means the top four attack one of the bottom four, but since the Susquehannock player could not make it to our chosen Saturday to game out the battles, I had my Erie tribe (second in order of play with a "War 3" card) attack his tribe (third in order of play). I told him we would pick a time to fight out our battle, letting the other six players who showed up all get their game in.
Our Order of Play and scenarios for this round were:
Order: Seneca > Erie > Susquehannock > Miami > Mohawk > Shawnee > Neutrals > Kickapoo
• Seneca attacked the Kickapoo, rolling  “Give Them Time”
• Erie attacked the Susquehannock, rolling “Hold Them at the Gates”
• Miami attacked the Shawnee, rolling “A Shot Rang Out”
• Mohawk attacked the Neutrals, rolling “Tracks in the Mud”

    Kickapoo hunters at bottom and left flee before the Seneca onslaught, after their leader is killed

A couple of the battles were slam dunks, so to speak. In fact, Mike S and Andy were finished with their game so quickly that they set it up and played it again! In "Give Them Time," a Kickapoo hunting party detects the approach of a Seneca warband intent on attacking their village. The swiftest runners are sent back to warn the village, but the leader of the hunting party decides it must circle around onto the rear of the raiders and attack, causing them to halt their advance and turn and face this unknown threat. The board is completely forest covered, except for a path snaking from one side to the other. The Seneca turned on the surprise attack fiercely, killing the brave Kickapoo leader early in the skirmish. The Kickapoo quickly lost heart and many fled the field.

    Miami hunters, right, cross a creek and brush-choked ravine to close with an intruding Shawnee hunting party. In the top center, a horse figure stands in for the deer carcass (I *do* have to get around to painting a deer kill one of these days!)

The next game was a long, bitter struggle between two rival groups of hunters. A Miami hunting party is investigating the sound of a matchlock shot in what they consider their hunting grounds. They find a Shawnee hunting party across a creek, beginning to cut apart the deer carcass for carrying. That shout out their war cries, telling the intruders that this is their hunting lands, given to them by their fathers. The Shawnee are defiant, and matchlocks are loaded, arrows nocked, and the two bands of hunters closed in on each other looking for larger game than deer. Joe, the Shawnee player, had deployed cleverly so that the Miami would be slowed down and disordered crossing the creek and a ravine. He kept his braves in a tight line, hoping that the Miami would be forced to attack piecemeal. The struggle raged back and forth, with both sides suffering losses. Both Shawnee and Miami had to pass morale checks as their numbers dropped below half. Eventually, the Shawnee simply outlasted the Miami. Three battered Shawnee stood guard over the deer, for which much blood had been shed. The lone surviving Miami hunter raced off to tell his tribe about the trespass and the brave attack his companions had made.

    The closing stages of the fight -- much Miami and Shawnee blood is shed over the deer. The skirmish rages until only 3 Shawnee and 1 Miami are left.

The third battle fought on a frigid Saturday (but we were warm inside the pizzeria!) was called "Tracks in the Mud." A hunting party from the Neutrals tribe returns to where they've hidden their canoes in the brush by a creek. One of the hunters notices strange moccasin tracks in the mud. A ripple of alarm goes through the hunters' ranks, and they quickly fan out to face possible ambush from the forest. Within seconds, they see a Mohawk hunting party stalking towards them through the trees. For a more detailed report on this battle, I highly encourage you to check out Keith Finn's gaming blog. He is blogging a turn by turn report of his participation in the playtest. The link for Keith's blog is here: OrcaFinn's Basement

    On the right, the Neutral hunting party fans out to face the forest after discovering strange moccasin tracks near their hidden canoes. Mohawks stalk towards them on the left. Sad to say, I forgot to bring my canoes -- it would have been only the second time they made it to the tabletop!

Unfortunately, this was another "slam dunk" battle. Our leader after the first round of the campaign, Dave's Mohawk tribe, has fallen on hard times in the last two turns, suffering two major defeats. His strategy to maximize the number of beaver pelts his tribe obtains each turn is keeping him in the middle of the pack despite the losses, though, in 5th place out of eight.

    The Erie attacking force: Four Warriors armed with Primitive Weapons and bow in the front, three with matchlock in the second rank, two Youths with bow on the flanks to beef up my numbers slightly, and the Erie chieftain with matchlock in the back.

Two days later, Steve and I got together to fight out the Erie-Susquehannock clash. Going in to this round, Steve's tribe was in the lead. He would have double the number of upgrades that my tribe had. This is tracked by the number of Scenario Victory Points (SVPs) each tribe has accumulated from its battles. These points -- Steve had eight, I had four -- can be used to buy Traits from Song of Drums and Tomahakws rules, such as "Marksman," "Strong," etcl. Players do know which scenario they will play before selecting their roster, so I knew it would be "Hold the Gates." My Erie raiding party has slipped close to a Susquehannock town and are racing for the gates. Word of our attack has just been shouted by women racing in from the fields. So, a force is quickly collected to hurry and stop us at the gates before we enter. Knowing that I would need to close quickly, I used all four of my upgrade points to give "Primitive Weapon" to four of my warriors. They would be my spearhead and seek to engage in hand to hand -- not taking time to shoot.

    My spearhead of warriors with Primitive Weapons races through the winding passageway that was the "gate" of many early Native American towns. Beyond the palisades, you can see the Susquehannock force mustering to dispute our entrance.

As for shooting, Steve's level of Beaver Pelts meant he had 4 upgrades of Bow to Matchlock. I had only three, but the attacker in a scenario always gets a bonus one, so we'd be even on that. As it turned out, there was a minimum of shooting in our battle. Like I envisioned, it would be settled in melee at the gates of the Susquehannock town. However, it was a desperate struggle. I would be on the losing end for most of it, until a final, fatal blow turned the tide in my favor.

    This is where nearly all of the fighting and killing would take place, between the palisades and a birch bark lodge, beneath the scalp poles that celebrated the triumphs of the men of this town.

My activation rolls were subpar the first few turns, as I managed to move only three figures before "crapping out" -- as we call it -- on the first turn, and two figures on the next. However, those first three figures boldly raced into the entranceway of the palisaded town. They were met by about half of the Susquehannock force. Some lingered back in Steve's deployment area (the leader had raced ahead and he was having trouble ordering them to move up), while two matchlock-armed braves circled to catch me in the flank as I began to pour through the entrance. Even though I was outnumbered, I thought I would have the advantage. The force meeting me at the entrance was mostly Youths, along with a couple braves and his Leader. However, the Susquehannock youths knew that the town was watching them, and that their deeds would be sung around the campfires if they triumphed. Steve's youths gave as good as they received from my warclub wielding warriors. When Steve's leader entered the fray, things began to swing in his favor.

    A good overview of the battle: Two Susquehannock warriors with matchlock seek to flank my raiders as they enter the town, while my force continues to trickle forward in the passageway to reinforce the first raiders to arrive.

We were killing some of our enemy, but were losing more. The Erie warleader knew the crisis point had arrived when five of his 10 raiding party had fallen. One more loss, and the men would likely begin to break. So, he shouted a warcry and charged into the fray, confronting the Susquehannock leader, who had just cut down one of his braves. Throughout most of the game, my combat dice had been subpar -- with Steve's youths consistently holding off my stronger warriors. It was payback time, though, as Steve rolled a "1" and I tossed a "6"! This sparked an immediate morale check for his entire force. One disadvantage of selecting the cheaper Youths on your roster is they have the trait "Wavering." This means they are -1 when rolling morale checks. Seeing their chieftain cut down, the Susquehannock youths raced for the rear. Enough ran offtable to force Steve to immediately take the "Below 50%" morale check that I had been dreading. Two checks in a row meant almost all of his force fled offtable. Somehow, miraculously, the Erie had won the battle that had been going steadily against them. Our tribe's first campaign victory was all the more sweet because we were in last place going in, while Steve had been in first!

    The bloody and brutal battle for the gates of the town rages

One of the things I am really liking about this campaign is that each scenario gives you a chance to tailor your force for the mission. Players are given 20 campaign army points to spend on their force: Leaders cost 4, Warriors 2, and Youths 1. We have seen forces that featured lots of Youths, and those that featured mostly Warriors (like mine in the last battle). Also, it allows the players to use some of the Traits in the rules that we might not in a straight-up, convention event. The Beaver Wars campaign is allowing players to experiment with tactics and weapon combinations. It is all part of presenting players with a tactical puzzle. If a game is simply about who rolls better dice, then its attraction may fade after awhile. One of the best features of Song of Drums and Tomahawks is the players are constantly presented with decisions and choices. Which figure do I activate first? How many dice should I roll -- balancing out the chance of "crapping out" and losing my turn against the objectives I need to accomplish on this turn, and overall. Players are constantly wondering, "What's the most important thing for me to do at this moment?" The campaign setup is complimenting that without adding in complicated or time-consuming logistics.

Here is the leaderboard, showing where each tribe is at if the campaign were to end on this turn:

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Neutrals	1st	20.5 points
Shawnee	2nd	18 points
Susquehannock	3rd	15 points
Seneca	4th	14 points
Mohawk	5th	12.5 points
Erie	6th	10 points
Kickapoo	Tied 7th	9 points
Miami	Tied 7th	9 points

The points come from their rankings in three categories: Battlefield victories (Prestige Points); Scenario Victory Points; Beaver Pelts collected. I've pasted below each of the three separate tables showing the rankings in each category.

Prestige Points (3 for a Major Victory, 2 for a Minor Victory, 1 for a Minor Defeat, 0 for a Major Defeat)

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

Beaver Pelts (these are obtained by your position in the Turn Order -- the least aggressive stance, or highest numbered Hunt card played, receives 8 pelts, next 7, then 6, and so on. You also steal a pelt by defeating an opponent with a Major Victory)

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	18
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	17
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	16
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	16
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	14
Erie (Mike Demana)	10
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	10
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	7

Scenario Victory Points (these are obtained from each scenario your tribe plays in)

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals (Keith Finn)	44
Shawnee (Joe Merz)	43
Seneca (Mike Stelzer)	37
Susquehannock (Steve Phallen)	36
Miami (Jenny Torbett)	28
Erie (Mike Demana)	25
Mohawk (Dave Welch)	18
Kickapoo (Andy Swingle)	15

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of the battle rules we use for the campaign, Song of Drums and Tomahawks, click here: First Command Wargames website

Our next turn will be in two weeks, so keep checking back here for more reports on the playtest of the Beaver Wars in Ohio campaign rules!

Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 2

Eight players gathered on a cold, January morning to refight the clashes that, centuries ago, could have occurred not from from where we sat. The Beaver Wars in Ohio simulates the late 17th and early 18th century struggles between Native American tribes for dominance over hunting and trapping lands in what is now Ohio and surrounding states. A local pizzeria graciously donates their side room to us every three weeks or so, and we reciprocate by enjoying a post-game lunch of pizza, subs, or salads.

The campaign for Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules uses strategic card play to determine a player order and the number of beaver pelts each side obtains that turn. Tribes also fight a skirmish with an opposing tribe each turn. The battles are rolled from a list of 18 that will come included in the campaign rules. Triumphs over opponents, scenario victory points, and beaver pelts will determine the campaign victor. We are playtesting not only the campaign rules for balance and fairness, but also the scenarios to make sure they are enjoyable, present interesting tactical challenges, and are not one-sided.

    My Erie traders prepare to move out and engage the Seneca who had stolen items from our trading bundles at the European fort

This turn's clashes included a rum-induced brawl between opposing Seneca and Erie trading groups inside the walls of a European fort (entitled, "Who's a Thief?"), a Shawnee ambush of a Mohawk traders portaging their goods past a rapids ("Attack at the Portage"), and angry Kickapoo villagers chasing down a band of raiders from the Neutral tribe -- who'd seized captives while the men were off hunting ("Rescue the Captives"). And finally, Miami warriors lay in wait for a Susquehannock trading party escorting pack horses along a forest path ("Ambush the Traders").

The players' forces tend to improve after each turn. Although they are given the same basic campaign army points to buy their force for each battle, they are given a number of free upgrades depending upon their progress in two categories. The first category, beaver pelts collected, determines how many matchlocks they receive to replace their bows (which come standard). The second category is Scenario Victory Points. Their accumulated total throughout the campaign allows them to purchase Traits from the Song of Drums and Tomahawks rules for specific figures in the force. These can include Marksman (+1 to shooting), Strong (+1 to melee), Primitive Weapons (think Chingachgook's club in The Last of the Mohicans), Sprinter, Steadfast, and so on.

    The enemy Seneca boldly advance out between two log cabins, stung by our accusations against them of theft

I am playing the Erie tribe in this playtest. Our skirmish for this campaign matched us up against a party of thieving Seneca that had stolen goods from our bundles inside the European fort (of course, they were making the same claims against us!). I decided to give one of my two matchlock swaps to my Leader since he has a higher combat score. The other matchlock went to a Warrior. I was at the lowest level in Scenario Victory Points (dead last, I must confess), so I received only two points of upgrades. I decided to spend both to make my Leader a Marksman. With a higher Combat score than rank and file Warriors or Youths, I figured he could be fairly lethal. As it turned out, my leader slew three Seneca all by himself, but then I'm getting ahead of my story...!

My opponent set up the wooden stockade walls and log buildings that made up our battlefield. It would be fought wholly within the confines of a French trading post. He also placed various piles of firewood and stacks of barrels throughout the open areas to provide cover. I placed my campfire and bundles in one corner, and my opponent placed his in the opposite one. The battle opened with us advancing cautiously, using the cover of the buildings, barrels, and woodpiles.  I kept my two youths to the rear of my force, thinking to send them on an end run to loot the Seneca bundles once our forces joined. My bow-armed warriors led the way, the two Indians with firearms close behind.

    A Kickapoo blocking force and pursuit force catch the Neutral raiders on a forest path along the lakeshore

My chief and his companion with the matchlock found a good firing position behind a stack of firewood, and blazed away at the Seneca. When one of the enemy with matchlock darted forward and shot down one of my Warriors, he was charged in turn and dispatched with a tomahawk. Both of us were proving rather deadly, and our losses began to mount. I was happy that we were killing as many foes as the we were losing ourselves. I thought the battle was won when we forced him to make his first morale tests upon losing over 50% of his force. The Senecas withdrew only a short distance, though, forcing us to go get them to drive them off.

A turning point came when two of my warriors darted up to attack two Seneca sheltering along the corner of a cabin. My opponent rolled a "6" in both battles, which knocked my braves down, leaving them vulnerable to be finished off on his turn. Both died, and our numbers dropped below 50%, forcing us to give ground back to near our original position. The last few rounds were tightly contested, but I had only my chief and two Youths left, while the Seneca had their leader and three warriors. It wasn't long before only my chief was left, who knew the fight was lost, and escaped over the walls of the fort.

My own game was so gripping that I really did not have much of a chance to watch the others. Keith Finn, the player controlling the Neutrals tribe, has written up a good account of his attempt to evade pursuit by angry Kickapoo villagers who were seeking to recapture the captives he'd taken. Check that account out on Keith's website here: Orca Finn's Basement

Otherwise, the Susquehannock were able to blow by the Miami ambush and win the turn's most overwhelming Major Victory. This enabled them to take the campaign lead on total points in the three categories we are competing over. The turn's other ambush, a Shawnee attack on a Mohawk hunting party at a portage site, was as big of a success as the Miami one was a failure. All of the Mohawk ended up fleeing the battlefield, giving the Shawnee their second victory of the campaign (and second place on total points).

After two turns of play, here is the Leaderboard in total victory points:

Tribe	Place	Victory Points
Susquehannock	1st	20.5 points
Shawnee	2nd	17.5 points
Neutrals	3rd	17 points
Mohawk	4th	16 points
Seneca	5th	12 points
Kickapoo	6th	11 points
Miami	7th	8.5 points
Erie	8th	5.5 points

If you're curious, here are the leaders in the three individual categories, as well:
PRESTIGE POINTS (Major Victory = 3 points, Minor Victory = 2 points, Minor Defeat = 1 point)

Tribe	Prestige Points (PPs)
Shawnee	5
Neutrals	4
Seneca	4
Susquehannock	4
Mohawk	3
Miami	2
Kickapoo	1
Erie	1

BEAVER PELTS

Tribe	Beaver Pelts
Mohawk	15
Susquehannock	13
Kickapoo	11
Erie	7
Miami	7
Neutrals	7
Shawnee	7
Seneca	5

SCENARIO VICTORY POINTS

Tribe	Scenario Victory Points (SVPs)
Neutrals	31
Susquehannock	31
Shawnee	29
Seneca	23
Mohawk	16
Kickapoo	15
Miami	15
Erie	13

Beaver Wars in Ohio playtest: Turn 1

It has been more months than I'd hoped, but the Beaver Wars in Ohio are being re-fought once more. The Beaver Wars were a series of conflicts fought in the late 1600s and early 1700s between Native American tribes over hunting and trapping lands. The campaign seeks to recreate that struggle in the Ohio Valley, the area of my home state. At the close of the first phase of our playtest, I'd re-tooled the rules to make them simpler. I also changed or eliminated the mechanics I didn't like, and worked to head off tendencies I was seeing that I saw would create trouble. I listened to playtester feedback and incorporated some new ideas.

    Gaming The Beaver Wars at a pizza shop in Central Ohio -- where some of the action historically took place!

The newer, simplified Beaver Wars rules were sent out to my batch of playtesters (mostly new to get a wider variety feedback) to read over, and we started up an 8-player campaign the day after Christmas. This campaign would cover the earlier of the three phases of the Beaver Wars (the last one covered the middle phase). The tribes participating would be the Seneca and Mohawk from the Iroquois Confederacy, along with their traditional enemies the Erie and Susquehannock. The dubiously-named Neutral tribe would participate, along with Ohio native tribes the Miami, Shawnee, and Kickapoo.

    My Erie tribesmen move up to attack the much better-led Mohawk hunters

Strategic orders went by the wayside. No longer would players have to choose between "Invade," "Raid," etc., in this campaign. Instead, players have a series of cards that they play which characterize their actions between two poles. One extreme is almost total mobilization for war, while the other extreme is almost total dispersal to hunt and trap. This effects not only how many beaver pelts they obtain (one of the campaign objectives), but also the order that players select their tribe's opponent for this turn. The cards chosen by the opponents determine which chart they will roll on to see which scenario they will play in their battle. The Beaver Wars in Ohio campaign rules will contain 18 scenarios, complete with maps, terrain layout, special scenario rules, deployment, and scenario victory conditions. For those that are less interested in refighting this fascinating conflict, the scenarios will also hopefully provide a lure for purchase the set.

    Angry villagers from the Neutral tribe advance through the fields to stop the Shawnee horse thieves

In my first turn, most of the tribes leaned towards the hunting and trapping end of the spectrum. The less aggressive stance means they obtain more beaver pelts as a result of the turn. This raises their level on a chart which determines how many figures on their battlefield roster may be armed with firearms as opposed to bow. All tribes receive pelts, but the difference between the tribe that chooses the most warlike stance and that the chooses the most hunting-focused actions is fairly significant. There are bonus to the player who chooses warpath, but I filed this observation away as possibly in need of tweaking.

    Shawnee warriors and youths escape into the woods with their stolen horseflesh!

The players produced four battles on turn one. That is another change from the first version of the campaign. Under these rules, every player who shows up fights a battle (unless there is an odd number, when the least aggressive becomes the odd-man-out). I didn't like how we would sometimes have 6 players show up, only to have two people fight battles and the other four relegated to watching, or playing something else. So, eight players meant eight battles.

    A bloody running fight developed between rival Kickapoo and Miami hunting parties

As insurance against players who had something come up and prevent them from attending, I am playing as the eight player, this time around. If I have an odd number, I will be the one who doesn't play -- not one of my players. This will probably disappoint the players if it happens, as I am renowned for my horrible dice rolling, making me an attractive target! Incidentally, we are meeting at a local pizza shop which has a side room available. We arrived the day after Christmas and moved the tables around to suit our needs. Not only do they have good food, making a tasty lunch a bonus, they have free soda refills.

    Seneca raiders advance through Susquehannock cornfields intent on captives and scalps!

My scenario that my Erie tribe rolled up was "Trapper's End." I had captured a Mohawk trapper and was holding him as bait to lure in the Mohawk trapping party. That was about all that worked in my plan. My dice rolling was true to form, and every time I closed with the enemy, my activation rolls would go south. Meanwhile, the Mohawk player was cautious, kept his forces together, and overwhelmed my unsupported attacks on his firing line he'd set up. I kept at him, though, and had a couple successes, but soon my forces dropped below half and we were running from the battlefield. I ended up with a Major Defeat, the Mohawk with the turn's only Major Victory.

    A Seneca youth knocks out a Susquehannock woman in the fields...has the young man found his bride?

Next to me, the Shawnee had sent a raiding party to steal horses from a Neutral village. Yes, there really was a tribe called the Neutrals in America (so-named for their not taking sides in the bitter fight between the Iroquois and Huron confederacies). Otherwise, they were every bit as aggressive as other Indian tribes. The Shawnee deploy in or near their enemy's corral, and quickly began shuttling horses towards the woods on the opposite corner of the board -- their objective being to exit there. Keith had a hard time marshaling his braves, who show up on board in small bits, but nevertheless advanced bravely into the village cornfields to contest this thievery. What followed was a close, hard-fought battle that actually ended up with both sides equal in Scenario Victory Points (SVPs). The tie-breaker that I came up with gave Joe and his Shawnee the Minor Victory, but both earned Prestige Points (PPs) for their battlefield valor and success.

    Susquehannock women and children pound towards the gates and safety while their men boil out of the palisade entrance to defend them

Our third battle saw a Kickapoo hunting party being pursued by a much larger Miami one. The Kickapoo goal is to run the gauntlet of a blocking force of Miami before overwhelming numbers show up behind them. I saw the least of this game, but I heard it was the most bloody of the turn. Both eschewed shooting and waded into hand-to-hand combat. The Miami warleader had to balance bringing up reinforcements with leading his men to engage and cut off the retreat path of his enemy. Once the Kickapoo fell below half strength, they scattered and soon ran off-table, giving the Miami a Minor Victory. The Kickapoo caused enough casualties to ensure the Miami remembered the engagement, though.

    The campaign rules we are using...written by yours truly!

The final battle was one of my favorite scenarios I'd written for the campaign: "Bring Them in Safely." The Seneca were raiding a Susquehannock village and surprise them, meaning that some of the tribe's women and children were still in the fields outside their stockade. Their goal is for them to scurry back through the entrance before being taken captive by the Seneca raiders. The Susquehannock defenders arrive in three batches over the first three turns, meaning they have to balance caution with boldness to save their women. Some of the Susquehannock women proved they needed no help, as one cut down a Seneca youth who sprinted ahead of the rest of his Iroquois brethren. The Seneca soon had more than half of the women and children in their clutches, but they proved hard to hold onto, and wriggled free more than once. Arrows flew and matchlocks boomed between the opposing forces, and a warriors fell. In the end, the Seneca held only two captives. A fatal shot by one of their warriors armed with a matchlock felled the Susquehannock leader, though. This caused the defenders to retreat back inside their stockade. The Seneca were content to carry home four scalps and two captives, and withdrew, as well.

Everyone enjoyed their battles, and I took notes on suggestions they made to scenarios and the rules. I made a couple minor tweaks immediately, but the bulk of what the players suggested were simply clarifications or suggestions to their scenarios. It is my intention that we should playtest each scenario 2-3 times over the course of the campaign.  We are meeting again Jan. 23rd, so if you enjoyed this report, you can look forward to more tribal warfare beneath the forest canopy soon.

The rules we used are my own Song of Drums and Tomahawks, which are available on both Ganesha Games' website and Wargame Vault. Links are below, if you're interested in picking them up. I hope to finish the playtest by summer, and make the campaign rules available then. They will also contain extensive historical information about the tribes and course of the actual historical conflict.

Mike Demana
www.firstcommandwargames.com

Links to buy Song of Drums and Tomahawks:

• Print version on Lulu
• PDF version on Ganesha
• PDF version on Wargame Vault

"Fortune and glory, kid, fortune and glory..."

    The massive board, piles of Fortune coins, and players off vying for artifacts stashed around the world

Our first post-Christmas, Sunday evening gaming sessions saw us trying out a mega board game that Mike S had received. It is Pulp-themed game called, "Fortune and Glory." The obvious reference is an Indiana Jones reply to Short Round in the movie Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. This is a big, expensive game with lots and lots of what our friend Zeke calles "fiddly-bits." We were testing out the Basic version, which saw about half of the bits not in use.

As players, each of us takes on the role of a Pulp explorer or personality. Mine was a French, tomb-raiding "scoundrel" named Jacques. Each explorer has a card with his abilities and a figure to be placed on the game board. The card lists your statistics in Fighting, Cunning, Agility, and Lore. These are what you will use to pass various tests, such as traps in tombs, fighting Nazi or other enemies, and figuring your way out of situations like being trapped in a plane with no pilot (or parachute). Your goal in the basic game is to attain 15 Fortune points (17 for Jacques, cause he's a greedy S.O.B.), which are represented by plastic, golden coins in two values. Plastic blue coins represent your "Glory," which you can spend to get equipment, allies (not Jacques, cause he doesn't share his fortune or glory -- because he's greedy), and even to get healed up.

    Jacques' card, loaded down with Glory coins and the wounds he suffered to obtain the fabled Gauntlet artifact

On the board, which is a colorful world map divided into areas, are placed 4 artifacts. Our goal was to be the first to reach those artifacts and pass the tests to solve and obtain them. Some artifacts need only 3 tests, others required 5. Each test takes the form of a random Danger card. Often these give you a choice of using your agility to avoid it, cunning to find your way around it, or (like Jacques) wade in and punch and shoot your way through it. Each test you pass earns you "Glory" points. Failing a test, forces you to try to pass the Cliffhanger on the back. If you pass, your turn is over, and you can pick up where you left off next turn. If you fail, you take a certain number of wounds or are even returned to your starting location minus 1d6 fortune, glory, equipment, allies, etc.

Jacques began the game in Alexandria and crossed the Mediterranean on the first turn and arrived in Venice, to find the long-lost magical "Gauntlet of...(um, I forget)".  At the end of any turn where an artifact was obtained by a player, a new one is drawn and randomly placed on the board using the game's cards. It is a clever system, with the first card saying "The Eye of...", "The Heart of...", or other such titles. The second card gives the name, "Pharrah," etc., and the third the location. Jacques was able to punch his way through all five tests, and I snagged my first artifact. The other four players were doing the same, with various degrees of success or failure.

Fortune and Glory is not a quick game, and where the designers get a 90 minute playing time from is a mystery to us. It took us about 3 hours to get to the point where Jacques made a delivery in San Francisco and earned his 17th Fortune point. Of course, I was forced by the other players to make two re-rolls with cards they'd accumulated, but my luck persevered. It was a fun game, and now that we've played it once, I can see it going a bit faster. Also, we now realize the value of equipment, Allies, and other things you can acquire to help you out along the way.

The best thing about it (besides the fact somebody else spent the $90 to get it -- not me...ha, ha!), is that it accommodates a large number of players (8, I think). We rarely have only four players, which so many board games seemed designed around. I can definitely see us playing this again and braving dangers to obtain more Fortune and Glory.

Women and Children...Definitely not First!

    25mm Old Glory Indian villagers - the one on the left is probably my favorite of the batch

I think this batch of seven 25mm miniatures broke the record for sitting on my desk, half-painted. A complete lack of motivation kept them there, as weeks rolled by into months. It is not that the figures themselves were unattractive, uninspiring, or difficult to paint. The six Indian women and one child wore deerskin dresses or the occasional cloth blanket. They had not equipment to speak of and were relatively cleanly cast miniatures -- especially for Old Glory. It is just that the "painting bug" -- as I used to call it -- had fled into some hidden spot.

I rallied a week ago, though, and was able to polish them off this week. With the restart of the Beaver Wars campaign playtest looming, I would possibly need Indian civilians soon. So, it was good old deadline pressure that drove me, doubtless. Far more reliable than the bite of any shy painting bug, it seems needing to get something done for a project is what motivates me most consistently. I know that I used to treasure my hours of painting miniatures because of the therapeutic relaxation that it provided. Am I losing this? I hope not.

    I used brighter colors on the cloth blankets and more faded, dull ones on the fringed, deerskin dresses

Anyway, I had been on the lookout for suitable Native American civilians for a couple years before my friend Mike happened across these. He was looking at Old Glory's 25mm catalog online when he noticed they made a package of Plains Indians villagers. Mike had noticed they looked very similar to depictions of villagers of Eastern Woodland Indians we'd seen. Now, if you're familiar with Old Glory, you know their figures come in large packages -- 30 figures, in this case. Mike decided he didn't need 30 and offered to split the bag with me. We'd divvied them up at Cincycon earlier this Spring. These seven were the first I had prepped and begun painting for the tabletop. My motivation had stalled when their skin and the basecoat on their deerskin dresses had been applied.

I'm not the biggest fan of Old Glory. Their greatest selling point is their very reasonable pricing. However, these poses weren't bad, for the most part. Some were actually very nice. So, they were fun to paint up once I got my mojo back. For their deerskin outfits, I used a variety of medium brown to light tan shades. I applied a lighter tone to each as a dry brush, and then added accents and pattern decorations in dull reds and faded blues. The cloth blankets were done in much brighter colors -- all with a patterned border or series of stripes. Once again, I referred to my copy of The Narrative Art of Robert Griffing: The Journey Continues. It is my indispensable tome for what Eastern Woodland Indians looked like. 

    Several generations of Indian villagers depicted...the little girl looks remarkably self-possessed!

I really like how they turned out. I think the patterns and decorations on their dresses really make them pop and appear realistic. As strange as it may seem, I was actually inspired to paint up the rest of my allotment of the figures. When you think how long they sat unpainted on my desk, that's all the more remarkable. Need won out, though, and instead a batch of Footsore Miniatures Skraelings won out, and sit primed and next in line. My playtest group may be much larger for this second go-around of the Beaver Wars. So, I'm figuring I'll need more Indians who aren't armed with a musket, and instead hold bows or hand weapons, as theses do.

Still, the women and children may be next. A few of my scenarios for the campaign require civilians. So, I DO need them...right?

Ramming our way through Galleys & Galleons

    Our opponents, Tom, Joel, and Allen, bickered and laughed their way through the game that ended with a hard-fought victory for them

It is always seemed to me that there were two types of ancient naval rules sets. One is overly simplistic and provides unrealistic results. The other is too detailed, and takes too much time to learn the nuances for a game we don't play all that often. So, when Galleys & Galleons came out earlier this year, I immediately lumped it in my mind in the former category. We had played many of the "Song of Blades" engine games, and I didn't see how its activation system would adapt.

    Our side's fleet rows towards the enemy

Our group of six were pleasantly surprised by the feel that G&G gave us. We were playing an Ancient naval game (Greeks vs. Persians? There were no historical specifics in our scenario. Suffice to say, there would be three four types of weapons in our game: Ramming, catapults, "chaser guns" -- lighter catapults, and archery. Nothing really rang wrong, except maybe how archery could cause so much damage when ships got really close. G&G does not differentiate between physical damage to a ship and casualties to a ship's crew.

    Two of my quadiremes use Colossus Island to lie in wait for a larger enemy quinquireme and trireme

Those familiar with the activation mechanic of "Song of" games will be interested to see how it is handled in this game. The smaller, faster and more nimble ships have the better quality, while the larger, slower galleys will find it a little harder to activate. Flagships give a +1 like leaders do in other iterations of Ganesha rules. All in all, we weren't overly bothered by the rolling to activate ships, and the possibility of "crapping out" and losing your turn -- which I managed to do several times over a crucial span.

    The battle becomes a mess of rammed and entangled ships

One of the more clever mechanics is how damage is handled. Each ship can take damage to a certain level, then become crippled. Once crippled, there is a chance that they will sink or surrender if fighting a boarding action. There is even more elegance and depth to the damage a ship takes -- particular when it attempts to activate on subsequent turns. We all thought it was a clever effect.

    We kept track of damage with dark red dice and pretzels (oars that have been sheared away)...the black dice indicate grappled ships...pink dice a crew that has been boarded and has surrendered

We will definitely give G&G another try. Some of the players expressed the opinion that we may have found a simple system that provides realistic results. Either way, it was a fun way to spend several hours, ramming our way through a new rules set.