Rumbling on the Mean Streets of Columbus at Origins 2023

    The presence of the police doesn't deter the Mohawks from some mayhem on the streets of Columbus

The streets of Columbus were packed with punks, warchiefs, and gang bosses during our two games of Mean Streets at Origins 2023. Jenny ran two sessions and both were completely full of players, some of whom had stayed up the night before to watch "The Warriors" to get inspired for the game! Plenty of street warriors "came out to plaaay," and there were lots of laughs and fun around the table.

    The Hilltop Highlanders prowl the streets of Columbus, looking to rumble with rival gangs

We used a similar setup to previous convention games, with a downtown jumble of streets, buildings, market, park, etc., depicted in 28mm. Six gangs entered at various points, each with several missions they wanted to complete. A primary mission involved some sort of illegal mayhem, such as stealing a car from the service station, shaking down a restaurant owner, shoplifting, etc. In addition, each gang owed another "payback" for a previous beat-down they'd inflicted on their gang. Players were awarded double points for knocking gang members out of action of that specified gang. Finally, gangs received victory points for "tagging" buildings with their gang logo.

    Bobbie, of the Eastmoor Kings, is jumped by a posse of clowns from the Franklinton Flippos

I like to give players a lot of choices in my games, and especially in Mean Streets. I think player choice is a big part of an enjoyable scenario at a convention. Personally, I am not a fan of games where the troops are all deployed and all I can do is march forward and roll dice. With Mean Streets, I give players both a Gang Boss and a Warchief, who both can exercise command and control. This gives a player a chance to split his gang members up to accomplish more than one mission. Alternatively, he or she can keep their gang members together for better protection in case they get "jumped" by rival gangs.

    Hearing Bobbie's cries, Gang Boss Tyrese and others of the Eastmoor Kings come to his rescue

Although I have had scenarios where players went about their various missions without fighting rival gangs as much, most games end up with several sprawling brawls breaking out near the gas station or some other centrally located spot. This is partly be design, with all gangs having it in their interest to beat up on a specified rival gang. I also nudge the players that way by making sure their starting locations and destinations for their primary mission intersect with the paths other gangs will take, too. So, one gang may need to cross to an opposite corner of the table, for example. Getting there will mean they encounter more than one rival gang, so the chances of punches being thrown increases as more gangs intersect. I definitely plan it out so most gangs will end up "meeting in the middle."

   Several gangs converge on the streets of Columbus - a rumble is sure to break out soon!

I feel this gives a nice mix of mission completion and combat. I always remember an old gamer friend growling to me during a convention game where little was happening, "I just want to kill something!" I think that conflict is a big part of our miniature wargames, so a game about gang warfare needs to have fighting to be accurate. So, I set the players up to rumble and they usually oblige.

    Friday evening's crew of players had a great time and were soon locked in sprawling brawls

Both sets of players were a lot of fun and seemed to enjoy themselves. All but one or two players were brand new to the system. Everyone picked up the rules quickly and were able to adjudicate their combats without too much assistance from either Jenny or myself. Jenny did a great job running the game, while I hung around, elaborated a few points and mostly provided color commentary. I like to joke about what is happening on the tabletop in the context of the world of street gangs -- or at least the romanticized vision of the streets in the movie, "The Warriors."

    Kira of the Mohawks snatches open the patrol car door and lands a punch on the officer driving it

Another thing I like to do in my convention games is to keep players involved whose forces have been whittled down to almost nothing. So, when a gang is down to just one member left, they are given a police car and two cops. They can bring it in on any street board edge and send the police after any gang members they choose. This usually involves a little "payback" against the gang that took out their own members. Saturday's game was particularly raucous. Two players were brought down to one and both police car converged on one corner where the Indianola Mohawks were getting ready to steal from Sams Mini Mart. The Mohawks were full strength and had been busting heads, so had no qualms about wading in and fighting the cops. 

    Five of 6 gangs on the table converge on the gas station, throwing punches and laying a beatdown

Mayhem ensued, which involved an officer ramming two punks who were attacking policemen with his patrol car. A punk snatched open the door and punched the cop, who promptly threw the car in reverse, whacking the punk with the door. A couple Mohawks went down, but the gang didn't give up, and kept throwing punches until the game was finally called. It was a great, cinematic finish to the game and I think Jenny's players all went away happy and having enjoyed themselves. 

    Julio, boss of the Santanas, is surrounded and pounded by a trio from the Eastmoor Kings

    Several of Saturday night's players had stayed up the night before to watch 'The Warriors'

 

    Clown down! Emmett of the Franklinton Flippos is knocked down by Highlanders Snake and Juan

    Linden Daos and Hilltop Highlanders scrapping by the pumps of the gas station

 

    The Santanas and the Flippos battle it out in front of an apartment building in Columbus

Katanga Secession Crisis Fights to Stay Alive at Drums 2023

    White mercs employed by Katanga hurry along the road, hoping to deliver their ammo on time

I wanted to run a tweaked version of my Congo civil war game set during the Katanga secession crisis at Drums at the Rapids this past weekend. I was running it both Friday night and Saturday morning at the Fort Meigs visitors center, where Drums is held every year. Luckily, I had a my full complement of six players both games. I felt even more fortunate that my players were all veteran gamers, and picked up the rules very quickly. By the second or third turn, I had little to do but usher the game along, letting players know whose turn it was to move.

    Full table on Friday and the players fought down to the wire, with a narrow Katangan victory

After running "Congo, Bloody Congo" once at Cincycon 2023, I made two main changes. First, I toned down the power of the white mercenary force, giving them fewer figures in the back of the open armored personnel carriers. I also adjusted the terrain of the village where the Katangan militia start the game. I pushed most of the buildings off-table, with only a few left on the table edge mainly for eye candy. I felt the previous setup made that encounter between the militia and the Congolese paratroopers too static. I wanted them to be mixing it up among the jungle and farm fields of the villagers.

    The tabletop before troops deploy, showing where each force will arrive (Katangans in blue)

The main idea remained the same, though. Three APCs crewed by white mercenaries that the Katangans have hired are trying to cross diagonally from one corner of the table to the other. They are carrying crates of ammunition desperately needed by the Katangan forces to keep their revolt alive. Their main allies, a force of Katangan gendarmes, begin at the destination corner. The gendarmes' goal is to push forward and keep the attacking Congolese and UN forces at bay. The further forward they extend their lines, the less dangerous of a gauntlet of fire that the APCs have to run. On the gendarmes' right, a force of Katangan militia advance out of their village to meet the Congolese and UN pincer attack. Their goal is to keep their families safe by preventing any enemy from shooting inside the village. They lose points for each figure killed, so they are likely to be less enthusiastic for victory. However, those points lost are doubled if the loss occurs inside the village. This represents family members being killed by stray rounds. So, the militia are encouraged not to hunker down in the village, and instead advance reluctantly into battle.

    Congolese paratroopers arrive on one corner of the table, intent on crushing the Katangan secession

 

As for the attackers, the Congolese paratroopers deploy opposite the arriving mercenaries and next to the Katangan village. The United Nations force moves on-table diagonally opposite from the paratroopers, with the local Congolese army unit (ANC) on the U.N's left. The ANC is closest to the road edge where the mercenaries arrive and would dearly love to get their hands on one of the APCs and some of that ammunition! The central government and army command has been starving their garrison of supplies. 

    Katangan militia rush through the gates of their village, vowing to protect their family from invaders

As you can probably tell, each faction has their own separate victory conditions, but they activate as two sides. This moves the game along much quicker, but still gives a twist to the game as no player really knows exactly what their allies (or enemies) are trying to accomplish. Both Friday and Saturday's games moved along quickly and finished within their three hour game limit. The Friday night game came down to the wire and was very close on total points. Saturday's was more of a clear victory for the Katangans, as the mercenary player did a great job on tactics, decisions, and (of course) die rolls!

    UN troops, galvanized by the death of the Secretary-General (at the hands of Katanga?), move out

 

I am thinking I may stay with these type of scenario setups for convention games. Much as a I like a multi-faction free-for-all, this increases wait time for players as we cycle through the initiative order. That said, it is usually possible for two of the six players in a game to be moving simultaneous if, for example, the next player in order is far away from the active player and unlikely to affect their units. The command and control system of my Wars of Insurgency rules, keeps the action flowing and it is rare that it bogs down with the other five players waiting too long for one to finish their turn.

    Katangan gendarmes march forward, hoping to clear the way for the arrival of the APCs with ammo

In both games, a steady firefight erupted between the Congolese paratroopers and the Katangan Militia. In the first game, the paratroopers got the better of the militia. However, the villagers held the paratroopers up long enough that the APCs were well on their way to their destination before the paratroopers were free to attack them. The militia spoiling attack was costly, but it did its job. On Saturday, the militia were able to hold out until the end of the game. The paratroopers did fire long range RPG shots at the passing APCs, but were unable to knock any of them out. Once again, the militia had done their job and ensured that the mercenaries were able to cross through their sector of the board.

    Congolese soldiers, UN troopers, Mercs, and Katangans battle across the war-torn Congo

The mercenaries themselves did a great job of wearing down the Congolese army faction in both games. Getting caught out in the open by Professionals armed with heavy machine guns is a deadly prospect. The ANC (Armée Nationale Congolaise) players in both games suffered severe losses at the relentless machine gunning of the APCs. On Friday night, the Congolese player did a good job of sniping away at the gunners themselves, and even blew up one of the APCs. However, the Congolese were unable to stop the progress of the other two Friday, and they reached the opposite table corner with their precious ammunition. On Saturday, two APCs suffered only minor damage, and all three made it off-table.

    Katangan militia cheer as the mercs' APCS roar past them on the road, spitting gravel and mud

 

I may tweak the terrain a bit when I run this scenario at Origins Game Fair next month. I may give a sheltered corridor of bush to allow the ANC to rush closer to the center line and set up ambushes in the jungle near the road. This will certainly make the mercenaries job more challenging. I may also tweak the victory points to encourage the paratroopers to more actively target the mercenaries. As of now, retaking Katanga (i.e., defeating the enemy and taking their village) is more of the goal. We shall see!

    The Belgian-trained paratroopers close in on the Katangan village, taking heavy fire from the militia

Finally, at the destination corner, the Katangan gendarmes did a solid job advancing quickly and spoiling the attack of the United Nations troopers. Both sides inflicted losses on each other throughout the game, with the UN actually eliminating the gendarmes on Saturday. However, the gendarmes constant fire forced the UN to make the APCs second priority. This ensured they would arrive at the table edge in good shape, and score enough points to cement down victory both games. 

    White mercs run the gauntlet across the table, suffering occasional casualties or minor APC damage

Even though the Katangans won both games at Drums, I like this scenario. It forces the players to attack their opponents and mix it up right away. If all six players hunkered down and sniped at each other at extended range, I think it would make for a boring game. Instead, the victory conditions had forces quickly moving to seize cover, taking shots at their enemies, and pushing forward to achieve their objectives. Will I make other tweaks to increase the chances of victory for the Congolese? We shall see. I have some things in mind, but want to ponder them some more.

    Using the thick bush for cover, UN troops from Ghana pour fire into the Katangan gendarmes

If you're interested in playing "Congo, Bloody Congo," I will be running it at Origins Game Fair in Columbus, OH. It is scheduled for Thursday at 7pm and Friday morning at 9am, June 22-23. Our company, First Command Wargames, will actually be running all of our rules sets at the show. So, in addition to my Wars of Insurgency games, there will be Mean Streets gang warfare, American Frontier action with Song of Drums and Tomahawks, Seven Years War battles with For King or Empress, and Victorian Science-Fiction/Colonials with For Queen or Planet. Come and join us as we dip our toes back in the water of running games at Columbus, Ohio's, biggest multi-genre gaming convention!

    In both games, the Katangan gendarmes actively pushed their lines forward to link up with the APCs

    The militia suffered a worse fate on Friday night than Saturday morning, eliminated to a man

    The Saturday morning players had a great time, as well - quickly picking up the rules and having fun

APCs cross the midpoint of the table, clearning the militia's line and heading towards the gendarmes

Congo, Bloody Congo - Wars of Insurgency AAR from Cincycon 2023

    The Katangan Merc's armored personnel carriers roll along the road carrying vitally needed ammo

For Cincycon 2023, I wanted to play around some more with the number of "sides" in a six-player game. For many of my Wars of Insurgency games, I have done an "every man for himself" scenario with each player controlling their own faction with wildly different objectives. At Advance the Colors 2022 I ran a three side, 6-player South American game with Leftists, Narcos, and Paramilitaries. For the Cincycon scenario, I reduced this to two sides, but each of the three members would have different victory conditions and objectives. They wouldn't be shooting at their so-called allies, but they may different goals in mind. One of the advantages of this type of scenario is it will move much faster than every man for himself. All of Side A will be activating one of their units followed by all three players of the other side.

    For this 6-player game, I had two sides, but each faction had their own separate victory conditions

The "Congo, Bloody Congo" scenario was taken from the 1961 U.N. Operation Morthor, when ANC Congolese and U.N. troops attacked Katangan gendarmes, militia, and mercenaries to end the Katangan Secession crisis. This is all the operation that saw the more well known Siege of Jadotville. The mercenaries would appear in this one as one of three players on the Katangan side. They controlled three armored personnel carriers loaded with vitally-needed ammunition for their Katangan employers and allies. They would seek to move diagonally from one corner of the 6'x4' board to the opposite corner. The Katangan gendarmes awaited them at the destination corner. The road the APCs would take passed in front of a Katangan village, filled with militia who were much more concerned about protecting their homes and families than the fate of any white mercenaries!

    A player no-show put me in command of the local ANC, hurrying to get a shot at the APCs

Meanwhile, the ANC/UN side also had three players. The Belgian-trained paratroopers came in on the corner directly across the table from the mercs. Their goal was to simply to crush the rebellion, getting most of their VPs for killing enemy. The local garrison of the ANC (Congolese Army) was aiding them, but were upset with the central government. They felt starved of ammunition and equipment, and would dearly love to seize the APCs or their ammo. The UN was itching to take out the mercs (as they seemed to be historically). All point totals for the side were identical except for the mercs, who were given a supplement because they had to move from one corner to the far corner with lots of folks gunning for them with abundant RPGs on the table.

    Meanwhile, my ally, the Belgian-trained paratroopers, advance towards the Katangan village

The player controlling the Mercs had no qualms about shooting up the opposition. He immediately got into a firefight with the ANC, which deployed to his right. However, as soon as any of his APCs saw a long-range shot on the paratroopers, he was not shy about engaging them, either. Although this may seem somewhat unwise when you weren't really sure what each player's real objectives were, the Mercs had luck on their side. As it turned out, a LOT of luck. Their dice were consistently hot all night long. I ended up playing the ANC as I had a no-show player. My dice were the polar opposite and were ice cold, which also helped the Mercs.

    When one APC veered off the road, my ANC pounced and blazed away to little effect, unfortunately

The paratroopers and the opposing Katangan militia in the village were controlled by husband and wife players who delight at going to a convention and getting out their aggressions against each other. They blazed away at each other merrily all game. The militia ended up better off in the long run. They stayed hunkered down inside their huts and sniped at the paratroopers through windows and doors. Meanwhile, the paratroopers had to advance across the light cover of fields and medium cover of the bush. Whenever the heavy machine guns of the APCs opened up on them, they lost a couple troops. This turned the tide in the militia's favor in the long run. The paratroopers seemed unable to mount an effective enough assault to breach the village's thorn and wood fences.

    On my right, the Ghanaian UN contingent ran into pinning fire from the Katangan gendarmes

Meanwhile, the APCs progressed steadily across the table. The ANC fired shot after shot from their RPGs, but were unable to score a hit. The Congolese troopers did manage to slow whittle down the number of mercs, though. The machine gun required repeated re-manning in all three of the vehicles. Other shots picked off the crewmen riding in the open toppped APC, as well. However, the hope of stopping the vehicles seemed to be fading as the three APCs passed midpoint of the table. Perhaps this would not be the day the under-supplied garrison troops scored a bounty, after all.

    The Mercs' APCs begin to run the gauntlet, rolling incredible saves and dishing out stinging fire

On the right side of the battlefield, the Katangan gendarmes and the UN were locked in a long-range firefight. Each scored successes against their enemy, but casualties were relatively low. The harassment by the gendarmes kept the UN from effectively lining the road to take shots at the APCs as they came into view. The Katangan fire was keeping the UN pinned down in cover and unable to advance quickly to the roadside. Meanwhile, the UN's allies, the ANC troopers, were being worn down by the constant barrages from the mercenaries on board the APCs. The last ANC RPG gunner scored a minor hit on the trailing APC.

    Katangan gendarmes await the arrival of the APCs, providing effective covering fire against the UN

The ANC/UN's greatest moment followed that. A long-range RPG shot from the UN hit the slightly damaged APC. The player rolled maximum damage. The Merc player picked up his dice -- which had yet to really fail them significantly all night -- and whiffed all his saves. The APC went up with a flash of flame and rebounding explosion that echoed through the bush. When the Merc player rolled the saves for the men on board he failed all of those, too. We theorized that the RPG round ignited the stored ammunition, which caused a devastating secondary blast that killed everyone on board and destroyed the APC.

    Did I make the Mercs' force too strong? Or was their player just rolling too well?

The first two APCs had reached the cover of the Katangan force shortly afterwards. They gunned their engines and roared off-table to the cheers of the gendarmes. We decided to count up victory points at that stage. It would still be possible to rack up more VPs by killing enemy soldiers. However, the main action had occurred, and any losses would probably be relatively balanced on each side. Once totaled up, it was a resounding victory for the Katangans. Operation Morthor -- or at least this skirmish -- had failed to quell the secession crisis. The Katangan gendarmes had been resupplied and a victory gave them fresh heart to face down the central government. They would hope that the UN and ANC would deem their losses as unsustainable and would return to the negotiating table.

    One APC takes minor damage, but then suffers a catastrophic explosion from a UN RPG round

I was fairly satisfied with how the scenario went. All the players said they had a good time. I felt that perhaps I'd placed too much terrain on the table, which meant player forces were slower to engage. I also may have made the Mercs too powerful. Still, they suffered significant losses in men, so perhaps not. Their die rolls were incredible for most of the night. So, maybe they don't need to be cut down too much. I do think I need to do something to speed up the engagement between the paratroopers and the village militia. That was a little slow and static for what I like in a convention game. It certainly is a scenario that could use some tweaking and another running. Perhaps at Drums at the Rapids, this May? Stay tuned, and we shall see...

Throughout the game, the Katangan village militia remain hunkered inside their huts, sniping away

    Too many paratroopers died crossing the fields of millet -- both from the defending militia & APCs

    Katangan gendarmes cheer as the first APC rolls past their defenses, bringing much-needed ammo

Picts Triumph in Cincycon 2023 Saga Tourney

Opening stages of my Picts' Round 1 game against the Normans -- their cavalry attacking my right

After playing last month in the Ft. Wayne Saga tournament, I went back and forth a bit on which army to take to Adrian John and Jim Beegan's Cincycon 2023 tourney. On the drive back from Ft. Wayne, Jenny and I hashed out how her Eastern Princes and my Picts had performed. I floated the idea of taking a unit of mounted hearthguard with javelins to be able to shoot at armies that were keeping their distance from my Pictish levy occupying the terrain. Ostensibly, I could send them a Long distance away (12"), then they would toss their javelins a further Medium (6"). If I make sure they're close enough to terrain, they can get the bonus three dice from the "Stalking" ability on their battle board.

Jenny suggested squeezing a half army point out of my two units of Pictish levy. Instead of making them two full units of 12, instead field them at 9 figures each. Use that half point (and the new FAQ rules) to bump 1 army point of hearthguard up to a 6-man unit. My warband would be composed of those six cavalry, two levy units of 9 figs each -- one crossbow and one bows, three units of warriors, and my warlord. I honestly felt it would be a more flexible army than my previous list. Not only could those Pictish cavalry shoot, they could also charge in a pinch. The idea of using that army list convinced me to settle upon the Picts as my army for Cincycon.

    The Pictish left and center held in force, as the Normans do likewise across the table from us

The first scenario was a popular one for Saga tournaments, it seems: Desecration. Each player places three objective markers on their half of the board and is attempting to destroy the opponent's markers while defending their own. I used to like this one as a tourney scenario, but it is beginning to sour on me. Recently, I have seen very defensive armies place all their markers on one side edge and then draw a line across the table diagonally with their troops to protect them. If the opponent does the same, the game ends up being a tie (or an unexciting one). The scenario victory conditions cap your points at how many enemy markers you've destroyed. So, scores tend to be low in this one.

    One of my objective markers guarded by my center - warriors, archers, cavalry & warlord himself!

Thankfully, my opponent and I did not do that and we had a fun, much more freewheeling game. As the Picts, I placed as much terrain on the board as I could. The scenario has you place the objectives at various distances from your table edge. The furthest forward objective I hid inside an area of rocky ground occupied by my levy crossbowmen. The middle one was next to an area of ruins that my levy bowmen and a unit of warriors were holding down. And the one nearest my baseline had another unit of warriors hanging out nearby, in case my Norman opponents used their mounted troops to make a run for it.

    Dennis L's Norman mostly-mounted army deployed for our Round 1 battle, "Desecration"

 I was matched up against Dennis L from Newark, OH. They have a modest-sized group of Saga players there, although we don't get to see them that often. His army was composed of five units of mounted troops (three 4-man knights and two 8-man warriors with javelins) and one foot unit -- levy bowmen. I have played against a number of Norman armies and they often like to sit back and use their "Volley Fire" ability, which enables archers to fire at double range. They will pelt you with arrows and try to force you to come forward and attack them at a disadvantage. 

    Dennis's Breton cavalry hurl their vollies at my Pictish crossbowmen sheltering in the rocky terrain

Dennis did something a little different, though. He sent both of his mounted warriors, which represented Breton skirmishing cavalry armed with javelins, forward to hurl their spears at my crossbowmen in the rocky ground. This counts as "heavy cover," so I was expecting to be able to survive it with few casualties. My typically poor saving die rolls meant we lost two crossbowmen immediately. This took my already smaller 9-man unit down to 7 figures. I was very surprised to see that he did not pull the warriors back, and they remained in place for my return volley. My Pictish hunters fired back at the Bretons and caused a few casualties. This was only to soften them up, though. I sent a unit of warriors forward with "Scouts," then charged them in with "Swift as the Wind" (which allows a charge move with no fatigue). This is a combo I have used over and over in my games with the Picts, effectively giving infantry as 18" charge range.

The warriors wiped out the Breton skirmishing cavalry, which encouraged him to pull back his other unit of warriors on his half of the turn. Meanwhile, on my left, my two other units of warriors began edging forward across the table, their lines providing a screen for the Pictish cavalry behind them. My plan was to get the cavalry within range of his furthest forward objective marker and charge it. I could probably also get a second marker with my long range movement combos, but it would likely leave the unit on the opponent's side of the table and vulnerable to a counter-strike by his knights, which he was holding in reserve.

 

Screen by Pictish warriors, the mounted nobles line up for a charge against Dennis's sacred objective   

This was Dennis's first time facing the Picts, so he wasn't as aware of some of their tricks. One that I have finally begun to be able to use more lately is called "Secret Ways." When one of my units is shot at or charged, the unit (after suffering the enemy attack) can be picked up and redeployed near any uneven terrain on the board, as long as they are at least Medium away from enemy figures. Dennis planned to send one of his units of knights against my infantry that had cut down his Bretons. However, he decided to soften them up first with his archer's Volley Fire. I played Secret Ways and redeployed them in the woods on the flank of his levy archers. 

This left my crossbowmen all alone guarding my objective that was placed furthest forward. The remaining unit of Breton cavalry showed up, hurling javelins at my crossbowmen. Dennis decided to charge them into the rocky ground. He debated whether to go after my objective marker or the crossbowmen. He ended up deciding to take on the crossbowmen, who were a much lower armor class than the pagan wooden idol. The crossbowmen, sheltered by the hard cover, drove off the Bretons, and won the melee. On the next turn, the crossbowmen shot down the remaining cavalry men.

 

    After being shot at by the Norman archers, Pictish infantry reappears near the flank of the bowmen

Meanwhile, it took two Pictish cavalry charges against the Norman's center objective before we were finally able to destroy or "desecrate" it. I immediately pulled the cavalry back, so that they would be safe from his knight's counter-strike. The two units of infantry continued to screen the horse troopers, which was doubtless frustrating Dennis's archers and his knights. Finally, the impetuous Norman knights charged one of the warrior units, loading up the immense number of attack dice that the Normans can dish out. Five of the eight Picts were cut down. Luckily, I had Secret Ways queued up, and pulled the crippled unit back to the ruins in my center, behind the archers.

We had our own revenge on the knights on my half of the turn. The Pictish archers shot volley after volley into their ranks, turning their mounts into pin cushions and eliminating the unit. At this point, I felt my Picts had to the game firmly under control. I could potentially take out another objective, but since he hadn't taken any of mine, the maximum points he could score would be 10. I would be capped at 16, which I had already scored. That would be enough for a victory, so I played it a bit safe and let the Normans lick their wounds. The game ended with a Pictish victory, and I was off to a good start in the tournament!

Round 2: Change of Plans vs. Baltic Crusaders

 I knew I was in for a tough game when I was matched against Dan N. The winner of our Shore Wars tournament this past December, Dan is an avid Saga player who has been getting in a lot of games, lately. He was my co-host on the Saga Ohio podcast analyzing the 2023 FAQ changes, and knows the rules inside and out. In fact, I would probably say he's the top authority in our group on the rules, even though he has been playing the game less time than myself and several other players. Dan is a frequent contributor on not only the Saga Ohio (and other) Facebook groups, but also on the Discord channel. Plus, he was playing his Baltic Crusaders, which he had won with at Shore Wars.

    The Pictish battle line ready to advance and seize the terrain in the center & enemy side of the table

Our scenario was Change of Plans -- one that our tourney host Adrian enjoys. I am less enthusiastic about it in a tournament setting because you have to count victory points three separate times. The players are competing for Massacre Points through the end of turn 3, Survival Points in Round 5, and Conquest Points at the game end. Luckily, both Dan and I were playing relatively quickly and we were just able to get our game in within the allotted two hours of time. In fact, all three of my games ended on time, though none ended early. Dan was first player, which he felt was a disadvantage three times over since we'd be counting victory points at the end of the second player's turn three times. I'm not sure, though I agree that in Saga the "first player" often seems to be at a disadvantage.

    Not wanting to engage the Picts in the terrain, the Baltic Crusaders shift left to more open ground

Dan knew the Picts wanted uneven terrain, so immediately placed a large, gentle hill near the center of the board. I countered with a ruins even more dead center. Surprisingly, he then placed a swamp on his baseline in his left corner. That allowed me to place the other hard cover -- rocky ground -- on my left near the center of the board. He then chose to drag my ruins just across the center closer to HIS side of the table. I was permitted one final piece, so placed a large forest on his baseline in the right corner. I planned to use "Secret Ways" to redeploy units into that woods because the final turn victory conditions are based off of units being on the opponent's half of the table.

The Baltic Crusaders deployed a little back from their permitted 12" from their baseline. Only his crossbowmen, who were just touching the ruins I'd deployed, were the full Long distance forward in the center. The rest of his army hung back a bit. Dan had mirrored what I had done with my two units of levy. He had 9 crossbowmen in the center and 9 bowmen in the woods I'd deployed. The remainder of his army was hearthguard -- elite troops. All but five of the 18 were on foot. That, added with his defensive battle board abilities, meant my missile fire would struggle to cause casualties in his ranks. Still, I deployed forward aggressively. My three warrior units were stretched across the center, flanked on the left by my levy archers in the rocky ground. On the right, they were supported by the crossbowmen and mounted nobles in reserve.

    Baltic foot knights move back towards the ruins, hoping to take out my crossbowmen, but spearmen black their path

My plan was to advance forward and seize all three pieces of uneven terrain (woods, rocky ground ruins). The crossbowmen would follow the warriors into the ruins and begin firing into the enemy from that hardpoint. Surprisingly, his crossbowmen abandoned the ruins and pulled off to their left. In fact, his entire army seemed to be edging in that direction, except for the archers who would remain in the woods throughout the game. After my spearmen and crossbowmen had occupied the ruins, he advanced one of his 4-man foot hearthguard in a beeline towards the crossbowmen. On my half of that turn, I stretched one of the warrior units across the flank of the terrain, blocking their path to my levy. Dan wasn't dissuaded, and after softening them up with a volley from his crossbowmen, charged into the warriors, heavy weapons slashing to the left and right.

    Although the foot knights shattered the spearmen, the Pictish noble cavalry rode them down to a man and then pulled back behind a new line of spearmen

We both made mistakes in that melee. I had my Picts close ranks instead of trying to take out some of his hearthguard with their lower armor class. Dan forgot to play an ability that would remove the fatigue he would get from our combat, enabling him to charge a second time, fresh, into my levy crossbowmen. His foot knights shattered my tartan-clad spearmen, cutting down seven of eight, and sending the survivor fleeing. However, he thought better of pushing his luck, and charging in with a second fatigue against my crossbowmen in the ruins. This gave me a chance to take advantage of the foot knight's fatigued state. I ordered in my mounted nobles, playing "Ambush" to give us 4 bonus attack dice (it would be my 16 dice against his 8), each of us getting +1 to our rolls with my javelins and his heavy weapons. The foot knights were ridden down to a man, while my own troopers rolled my greatest saving roll of the day -- shrugging off ALL of their hits!

    Although used sparingly, the Pictish noble cavalry played key roles in winning my 1st and 2nd games

At that point, I honestly think Dan's morale broke. He felt that placed him on a downward slope. I was losing Warriors and he was losing Hearthguard. The game was still very close (I was up by one point at the end of turn 3). Even though my shooting was not being particularly effective, I kept picking off his own levy and targeting (unsuccessfully, for the most part) his knights. Meanwhile, Dan was rolling a LOT of rare dice, allowing him to use "Activation Pool" and getting to his maximum Saga dice turn after turn. It was an amazing display of rolling. It encouraged him to send his mounted knights on an end run. I knew he was gunning for my fatigued mounted nobles (who I had pulled back after their successful charge). However, I drew another line of infantry in front of them. He pulled out every trick in the Baltic Crusader book to remove fatigue from multiple moves, but in the end, didn't feel strong enough to charge the fresh warrior unit guarding the cavalry. Instead, he picked off the sole survivor of the shattered spear unit, causing a major "fatigue bomb" (as it is called in Saga when a unit within Short (4") of a destroyed unit receives a fatigue).

    Baltic Crusaders begin pulling back, away from the center, and moving to their left

In the meantime, my own Saga dice were failing me and I wasn't rolling Uncommon Dice, which I needed for Secret Ways. So, I began to move my force forward with activations, knowing we would have to get across the center point by our final turn. My archers loosed volleys into Dan's archers in the woods. My crossbowmen continued to shoot at targets of opportunity. I had my own failed charge late in the game when my warrior spearmen charged from the ruins to attack his depleted crossbowmen. Though rolling three times as many attack dice at an easier-to-hit target, we did little damage. I considered charging into his depleted archers in the woods with my other units of spearmen, but felt that I would be better off simply using them to screen his archers from shooting my horsemen. 

The game ended anti-climatically with both of us simply moving in a Yin-Yang towards the opponent's left side of the battlefield. Dan assured me that I was ahead, and when we counted up the points, I did come out victorious. A lot of that was due to edging him out just slightly in all three of the VP counting phases. I killed more points worth of troops, had more alive during Survival Points, and finally scored more Conquest Points with my larger units at the end of the game. It was a close game, but the Picts were now 2-0 and had a chance at another tournament victory!

    A closeup of my foe for Round 3 -- the Goths and their 12-man warrior infantry blocks

 

Round 3: The Crossing vs. the Goths

I had a couple "firsts" on tap in my final game of the tournament. I had never had the pleasure of matching up against Rob S, the son of a veteran Cincinnati area gamer I had known for decades. We had both entered in the same tournament before, but just never played. I had also never fought against my opponent's army, the Goths. Still, I felt I had a lot of advantages going into this game. Number one, our scenario was The Crossing. In this game, you are attempting to reunite your army which is split by deployment in opposite corners separated by a river. People who first play against the Picts are often astonished by the speed of this mostly foot army. I felt I would be able to use Secret Ways to move my units to my chosen side of the battlefield where we would reunite. Also, I would be able to use "Scouts," which allows a unit to move Long Distance (12") and cannot be slowed down by either terrain or an opponent utilizing their fatigue.

    A view of the right half of the board with two Gothic infantry blocks and my "moving force" opposite

Not only did I think the Picts would be able to muster together much more easily than the typical foot army, I found I had another advantage at deployment. Rob deployed his Goths into five units, while my Picts had seven units, counting each of our warlords. Each unit that ends the game within Medium (6") of their general receives 2 bonus victory points. If the unit ends on the opposite side of the river from where it started, that 2 points goes up to six. My goal would be to cross four units to join the three units. If I could do that, and keep the battle relatively even on destroyed enemy, then I should win simply by having more bonus points.

    The other half of the board, with my archers, crossbowmen and warriors. Opposite, Rob's large cataphract horse, archers & warlord.

That being said, I was wary of the reputation of the Goths.  I had heard that they are able to use their own and enemy fatigue to pile up impressive numbers of attack dice. I would have to weather Rob's blows, and dish out damage in somewhat equal numbers. Rob's army featured two large units of 12 warriors, one 8-man mounted hearthguard (cataphracts), one unit of 12 levy archers, and his mounted warlord. His infantry deployed on the bank opposite from my four unit command which would be attempting to move across the river. That wing was composed of my foot warlord (a mistake -- I should have mounted him for this game), two units of warriors, and my mounted nobles. The rest of my army was sheltering in the terrain on the opposite corner of the battlefield.

    One of my warrior units cross the river and move along behind the woods and Gothic infantry

Once we were deployed, we made what to me was the most critical roll of the game -- how difficult would it be to cross the river? If I rolled a "5" for the section next to my warlord, I would be screwed as it would be impassable. Luckily, I rolled "Dangerous," which means a unit ending their turn in its waters takes a fatigue. Rob rolled "Uneven" for the side opposite his warlord, cataphracts, and archers. The movement game was on, and my battle plan SHOULD work...! I was first player for the only time in the tournament, and limited to three Saga dice. I queued up Secret Ways and moved one of my warrior units in a screening line in front of the rest of the force. The other warrior unit moved to the river bank and the mounted nobles did likewise. The warlord moved into the woods towards the edge of the table, wondering why he'd left his horse behind in that battle!

    By the end of my turn 3, five of my seven units were assembled in the target corner of the battlefield

Rob obliged my plan and moved up his archers to shoot at the screening warriors. We used Secret Ways, and after taking two casualties (other than the roll last game with my cavalry, my saves were my usual terrible all tournament). The slightly depleted Pictish spearmen redeployed into the opposite corner, safe and sound in the ruins. They were effectively done for the game. On my next turn, I used a Rare dice on Scouts, which allowed both the cavalry and the other unit of warriors to cross the river. I had a line of activation dice ready to race the nobles all the way into their destination corner. Two of four units in position, two to go!

    The Gothic cataphracts begin to cross the bridge as our archer's arrows bounce off ineffectively

At this point, Rob may have surmised my plan, or simply wanted to do some fighting. Both his warrior units forged their way through the frozen woods towards my warriors who had crossed the river. They couldn't reach them this turn, but would easily next turn. On my half of the turn, I queued up Secret Ways again. When the Gothic foot warriors charged into my spearmen, they closed ranks to minimize casualties and were pushed back to the board edge. They were then picked up and redeployed to the destination corner. Three units in place! The only unit remaining was the most important of all -- the warlord. The way the scoring is set up in this game, if you lose your warlord, you effectively lose this game. You will receive zero bonus points because no one is within Medium of him.

    The first Gothic attempt to batter through to my warlord protected by a line of Pictish spearmen

It then became a cat and mouse game of me trying to move my warlord via Scouts and other moves to the corner where the rest of the army was waiting for him. Rob's cataphract cavalry came thundering across the bridge to try to ride him down. First, a unit of spearmen formed a battle line in front of their warlord. The Gothic heavy cavalry charged in, but I had many of the Picts' defensive abilities ready for the melee, and we lost only one figure. On our turn, we continued to fire at the cataphracts with our archers. At one point, Rob had shrugged off nearly a dozen hits (50% chance of saving a missile hit) in a row! Although his attack rolls were abysmal with the cataphracts, his saving dice were odds-defying. 

    The Pictish army is assembled, but the warlord is still in danger - not all the way inside the fields

Meanwhile, the warlord shunted along the back edge of the battleline towards the corner. Now, it was the turn of the archers to draw a line in front of the warlord. It was Turn 5, and Rob felt this was his last chance to catch my general, who was only partially within the frozen fields. Rob's cataphracts slammed home and drove back my archer unit. Rob then declared a follow up charge on the warlord, whose base edge projected out of the fields. I felt horrible to do it to him, but I used his cataphract's fatigue from the melee to shorten his move. He came up about a half inch short or the warlord's base, so his activation cancelled. He had no further dice to activate them, plus his warlord (being a cataphract) was too far away to dash forward and give them a "We Obey" command.

    Attempt #2, this time the Gothic cavalry thunders down upon my levy archers

On my Turn 6, the crossbowmen eyed the cataphracts, overjoyed to finally have an enemy within range for the first time in the game. The bolts flew, struck home, and broke the veneer of invincibility the cavalrymen had enjoyed all game. Four troopers tumbled from their saddles. Meanwhile, the warlord moved to the back edge of the fields, while the rest of the army collected around him. On Rob's half of the turn, he decided the best course was to start collecting his own army together. All of his units were able to successfully gather round their commander, and it was time to count up victory points. 

    Rob's Gothic cataphracts were near invincible in this battle, shrugging off hit after hit

As I had projected, my higher number of units offset his slight edge in kills. The Picts had emerged triumphant in all three battles. As it turned out, I was the only player in the field of 10 that went 3-0. So, for the second time in a year and a half, the Picts won a tournament for me. I really like the flexibility and speed of this Saga army. Their battle board gives them the ability to compete in many different kinds of scenarios. I think they are indeed more potent with the addition of a 6-man mounted hearthguard unit. Although they did nothing in game three except run for the opposite edge, they were a big part of my victories in round one and two. Thanks to Adrian and Jim for running the tournament, and to all of the players who came to Cincycon to play. My opponents were all gracious and tough adversaries, which makes the victory that much more satisfying.