Friend Julian has found another set of rules he wants to try so off we go again! Actually, these seemed relatively simple., we may have misinterpreted a few things but it's not football (soccer!), baseball or rugby - we can suit ourselves how we want to play with our toy soldiers! I was happy with the era choice because it let me get a portion of my "Valkyrie" army on the table!
90% of the images are from our mate John, the close-up expert. I didn't take a huge number because as with a lot of pre gunpowder games, not a huge amount changes from turn to turn. Above and below, the initial layout, my army on the left, the two J's on the right
Some lovely Romano British archers from Julians collection
Shadowforge archers from my Valkyrie army
I think John got a bit carried away with his fashion shoot!
Hairy arsed Romano British heavy cavalry
Oh, more archers, in case you hadn't seen enough of them already!
We had balanced forces of four cavalry, four archers/slingers and two heavy infantry each side - J and J obviously split their force between them.
The white dice represent the "courage" value (morale) of the units
The first clash! One of my heavy cavalry units smashes into open order archers - you can probably guess what happened next - first blood to the Valkyries! They also broke through onto the open order cavalry to the rear and pushed them back
After a few turns, the Valkyries had managed to dispatch two of Johns light archer units and were advancing in a solid block in the centre, but things weren't quite as rosy on their left flank in the cavalry clash with Julian. Each commander had also placed a unit of archers in the forest, where they contented themselves exchanging volleys of arrows
John seems to have engaged in another shutter clicking photo shoot at this point - the Valkyrie shield maidens this time!
Back to the action, and the cavalry clash on my eight against Julians heavy cavalry
Julian carelessly allowed his open order light cavalry archers to be caught in front of his heavies
They were dispatched with alacrity - and my second unit of heavies crashed into Julians second line
There is a gap in my images now - I must have got too excited, playing the game! The Valkyrie army definitely had the upper hand, when the heavy units of both commanding generals engaged in a melee in the centre of the field. The results were inconclusive but we both had to take a leader casualty test - anything but a 1would be ok - so of course, both Julian and I rolled a 1!
The Valkyrie leader really does ride an enormous mount!
We got this next bit slightly wrong - we rolled one D6 per unit and they needed a 4 to stand - we should have been rolling the normal number of courage dice apparently - but I preferred the way we did it as it was far more dramatic!
The resulting butchers bill - I lost three more units I think ....
But J and J rolled worse than me, and when the dust settled, I had five units left facing off against three enemy - we decided to call it a Valkyrie victory at this point -YAY!
Some more of Johns close ups to finish off with.
Bondi Beach, Sydney
Melbourne Cup horse racing
They are tough, too 😉😚💪😂
Loved the close-ups but your post should have carried a NSFW warning. Congratulations on the victory!
ReplyDeleteWait! I don’t work…
DeleteHaha - I had to Google that Jon - maybe it could be re interpreted as "Not Safe For Wife"?!
DeleteWonderful looking figures Keith.
ReplyDeleteI bet the Romano British couldn't wait to get to grips with the Valkyries! 😂
I wondered what all those figure sculptors were doing down at the beach.... just research apparently. 😁😮
Thanks Ben...Aussie Aussie Aussie 😘 John did say at one point " they are too pretty to kill!" (It didn't stop him rolling 4 hits on 4 dice and killing a whole unit of archers in one fell swoop though!)
DeleteA cracking collection Keith and the rules seemed to have given a good game, and a victory for you too, good evenings gaming I would say!
ReplyDeleteIt was indeed a great nights gaming Ben!
DeleteGreat looking collection sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal, glad you appreciated them!
DeleteCracking game, I wonder if those poor Romans were being distracted
ReplyDeleteYes, well, they are supposed to be professionals, so they shouldn't be getting distracted, should they?!
DeleteA smile for not getting the rules exactly right, but it not really mattering that much - a lesson for us all. The game IS the thing.
ReplyDeleteCheers Norm, that is certainly my view - and if we all agree something in the rules is illogical ir can be improved or ignored - that's what we generally do!
DeleteSplendid game, some clever research. I don't work either so no warning needed. .
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked it but I wish people would stop telling me they don't work - it makes me jealous!
DeleteFun game nice chainmail bikini types!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thank you Iain!
DeleteLooks like John and the Romans were both distracted by the Valkyrie's assets. :-)
ReplyDeleteSo, how did you find the rules?
"John and the Romans" - sounds like a lost chapter of the bible! But seriously folks - I thought the rules were simple to pick up and provided a fun game - whether they bear any resemblance to actual warfare in the apogee of the Roman empire, who knows?
DeleteLove your Valkerie warband, Keith!
ReplyDeleteThanks Dean, they were a lot of fun to paint!
DeleteOsprey seem to have lots of rulesets like these and this is another I hadn't heard of. I do like the way your Friday night group tries out so many new things. It seems like a fun game, especially if you get so involved you forget to take photos.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lawrence, yes, I enjoyed this one! One of the group did comment that Osprey seems to be churning out rulesets like a production line, a view I have some sympathy for, but if they create one a month, some of them are bound to hit the mark!
DeleteAn entertaining game by the sounds of it. The Valkyrie army is certainly an unusual army to field and very nicely painted.
ReplyDeleteThanks Peter - yes, the rules worked well I thought and a fun game - "Unusual" is a polite word for my Valkyrie army - I am glad you appreciate them!
DeleteSo many bare boobs were harmed in the making of this battle!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking armies and it sounded like pretty straight forward rules.
Thanks Dai! In reality, there are only about four units of "top less troops" in this collection, but for some reason, half the photos feature them!
DeleteYes, the rules weren't too demanding...which is always a good thing in my book.
Not heard of these rules before, but there always seems to be a steady trickle or constant stream of new releases each month or so! Great looking game and nice to see you Valkyries in action:).
ReplyDeleteThanks Steve - with Osprey in particular, there does seem to be a steady stream of rules. They worked fine without being anything I would shout from the rooftops about - the main thing for me was, they gave me an excuse to get the Valkyrie army back on the table!
DeleteVery cute Keith but you have broken my system with so many naked ladies !
ReplyDeleteOh dear, I am so sorry about that Matt!
Delete