Wednesday 30 January 2013

Scipio dies

Faced with the prospect of over a whole week without games due to the tue-to-thursday transfer of regular GNN fixture, I have been exploring Commands and Colours: Ancients on my own. It's a tactical level 2 player game similar to Manoeuvre, but replaces that game's chess-like 8x8 grid with a much more dynamic, sweeping sense of battle.

The game comes with a a huge number of grey blocks (the armies of Rome) and brown blocks (Carthage), and a book of scenarios based on real battles; while there's nothing to stop you setting up your own games from scratch, these scenarios offer a real two (or one) player challenge.

Infantry units are made up of four small blocks, while cavalry are three. So infantry can take four hits before they're destroyed, cavalry one less.

Hannibal's heavy cavalry, and Hannibal, a leader block peeking out from behind . . .
Both foot and mounted units come in three strengths, light (green circle), medium (blue triangle) and heavy (red square). Light cavalry can move four spaces a turn, but only hit with two dice, heavies move two but hit with four. Infantry have similar firepower, but can move half as fast.

Scipio with some medium cavalry, and light infantry in front.
Leader blocks aid the units they're attached to, making them less likely to retreat, more likely to hit.
Like Manoeuvre, you play a card from your hand to order a certain number of troops. Those troops can move, and then attack - you roll the custom dice, and hope to roll the symbol associated with the units you're attacking, and purple helmets if you're attacking with a leader.

The order cards . . .

. . . and the dice.
The scenario I've been playing a lot is Ticinus River, which pits Hannibal and his light and heavy cavalry against Roman Scipio with his light infantry and medium cavalry.

Scipio (grey) facing off against Hannibal (and two other Carthaginian leaders), ready to go.
That's the Ticinus river in the foreground - it's all quiet apart from the babbling brook . . .
Most scenarios are skewed in favour of the side that won the actual battle, which in this case is Hannibal. For each unit or leader you defeat you win a banner, win six banners and you win the game.

Carthaginian and Roman banners in the dice tray. And a box of horses.
The idea is that you play two games, switching sides. The player who wins the most banners over-all is the winner. Games of this scenario last about 30 - 45 minutes, so it's easy to play two back to back - but playing alone I just play one - I always win anyway!

In the first three rounds, Hannibal swept in with his light cavalry on both flanks, and the Romans met them head on with their six light infantry units. Both sides took damage, but no banners were won.

Hannibal's right flank sweeps in, and Scipio's light infantry rises to the challenge.

Hannibals left flank, which Scipio blocked with more light infantry.
Then things got interesting. Hannibal played Darken the Skies, allowing his light infantry to unleash several waves of nasty arrows. Two infantry units were lost, the rest driven back against the Roman edge of the board. 

A great card to have with the right units in the right places.

Roman infantry in tatters.
Rome retaliates with his medium cavalry, trying to hold back the advancing cavalry. They successfully take out a weakened unit, but the leader escapes.

Rome recoups. A bit.

Round 5, and Hannibal unleashes his heavy cavalry - but they can only move two spaces, so they're not within combat range yet - perhaps he has something up his sleeve. Scipio plays counter attack, allowing to copycat Hannibals order for his own men - he brings the rest of his medium cavalry up to meet the Carthaginian heavy cavalry. One of Rome's units got in a pop at Hannibal himself.

He got two hits in, but then Hannibal battled back and took him out completely!

Round 6 - Hannibal plays the Mounted Charge card he had up his sleeve, allowing five ordered units to battle with an extra die. This could well be game over for Rome.


But amazingly, the Roman cavalry fall back without a single hit! Unfortunately Scipio's out of good cards, and has to order his straggling infantry. Thy manage to take out a wounded cavalry unit, but the Carthaginian leader escapes again. Score is now Carthage 3 banners, Rome 2.

Round 7
Hannibal orders his left flank, which successfully takes a fourth banner, and sets up his line for a commanding push next round. Some of the cards allow you to order troops that are adjacent, so it is imperative to hold your line. And it is equally imperative to try and break your opponent's line if you think they're gearing up.
Rome has picked up one such card, but need manoeuvre Scipio in to position to be able to use it. So he plays an otherwise useless card to move Scipio . . .

Round 8
Hannibal plays his Inspired Leadership card to drive his heavy cavalry against Scipio - they take out a unit for banner five, and have Scipio pinned. 

The final push

Scipio's attached cavalry unit is destroyed for banner five,  leaving him defenceless.
When a leader's attached unit is destroyed, he has to roll a Leader casualty check. One purple helmet and he's done for. They think its all over . . .

Purple helmet!
. . . it is now.

Final score Carthage 6, Rome 2.

So that's how I've been filling the gaming void. Whether you like a bit of direct conflict or not, you've got to admit, it makes for a better play by play than Tinners Trail.

21 comments:

  1. This excites the old war gamer in me and it probably feels a little less geeky to say I'll move my heavy cavalry than say Rubium Dragons as you do in Nexus Ops.

    Are the moves simultaneous or turn based?

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  2. Turn based. Yes it feels like history-nerdness rather than fantasy, which appeals to me more. There's a lot of luck in the cards you get dealt, which dictates what orders you can give your units, but that is the fog of war, baby - you know what you want your men to do, you're shouting at them but they can't quite hear you and they do something different.

    It's by Richard Borg, and it's a similar system to both his WW2 Days of Wonder game Memoir 44, and fantasy-based Battlelore. But the wooden blocks beat plastic miniatures for me, as well as the ancients theme. It's ace.

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  3. I think we can safely say Joe has his mojo back.

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  4. And well done everyone for not going for the easy purple helmet gag.

    Eww . . .

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  5. Ew indeed. You'll get yourself disbarred with that sort of thing!

    I'm not sure I have the equilibrium for straight-on combat games, I prefer being ousted subtexturally. But it does look good, to be sure.

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  6. I find 2 player direct conflict generally far less stressful than multi-player games, personally.
    I mean, you know from the outset you're going up against each other, so it's consensual.
    Whereas when someone spots my plan in Agricola or Railways of the World and takes a break from their plans to mess me up, that feels far more personal.

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  7. But Joe that's one of the 7 (or 10) deadly sins of gaming, along with AP, sandbagging, coffee housing, king making, get the leader, free advice, narration and Sally Decker. Surely nobody would do that!!!

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  8. In the unmade final episode of Police Squad, Adam Hillmann ends up in the slammer just like the rest of 'em. - That was who you were talking about, right Joe?

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  9. Ha ha, yes indeed. And maybe sometimes you Sam - though you tend to look away as you stick the knife in; Ad looks tight into your eyes!

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  10. Sorry Adam - 'right' into your eyes . . .

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  11. I only look away because I feel guilty.

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  12. By the way, did anyone get the reference in my headline? There's a prize for the winner!

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  13. Unless it's Serpico, in which case it's a spoiler

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  14. No it's just a bad pun. There's a much-feted book from a year or so ago called Skippy Dies. Okay it's not great ...

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  15. I'm still laughing too much at the purple helmet joke to get any clever references.

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  16. Wait... Skippy the kangaroo? Is that the reference?

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  17. Yes I think so.
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0141009950
    But Scipio was the Roman leader in the battle I played. And he died. So it's...

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  18. Chris I'm definitely guilty of the free advice and narration sins.

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