DBA Roman/Carthaginian Game

Remember those Roman/Carthage 6mm armies we bought at St Helen's? Well here they are, or part of them at least, I think there's about three times the figures shown here. We thought we'd keep it simple, and have an easy 12 point DBA game. We haven't got any Baggage, we realised, so that's going to be a small order to Irregular Minis I think. These figures are Baccus, on a TSS tile, tea and buns supplied by Peeler, fresh from the packet, and the game was played a week or two ago.
The Carthage Army deploys, with two Pisoli in front, and Cavalry on the flanks. Spears formed the main block, along with a base of Auxilia. (In DBA, the General is meant to be in with an element, but we used these as they came based up, and it worked ok).

The Roman Army, deployed with Spears in the centre, Cavalry to the flanks and just the one base of Pisoli to the front. Those shields stand out well I reckon.

The two sides go to it, with the main bodies moving toward each other, and each side attempting flank movements.

Out of focus, or is that a touch of mist over the distant Carthage horde? (Yeah, ok, it's my photography skills, or lack of..)

Then again...

On the Carthage right, the Cavalry are confronted by two bases of Spears and one of Cavalry. This was a learning game, both for the rules and tactics, and I think we picked it up pretty quickly.

Whilst on the Left, the two flanking forces met, and had a long set to, with neither side having much advantage for a while.

The Romans having lost their Pisoli in a slinging contest, the two main bodies met in a crunch of shields, spears and tears. Especially for the poor Carthage Pisoli, being stuck in the middle. They didn't last long either, poor fellows.

On the Right, the Romans pushed forward, continually outflanking their opponents, forcing them to retire slowly.

Bit of a lull in the Centre as both sides took stock of the situation..
..and the players enjoyed tea, buns and a yabber. The lines reformed.

And the Right flank continued to retire, perilously close to the main melee. The Roman Cavalry had trotted off to out-flank the flanking Carthaginians flanking force. A right bunch of flankers they were.

The Spears went to it again, and both sides suffered Recoils, while Carthage suffered another loss in the Centre as well as on the Left.

On the Right, the out-flanking Roman flankers charged in, and minced the Carthage Cavalry, effectively winning the game due to Elements destroyed. The remaining Carthaginians would certainly have been in a bit of a pickle had the battle continued, being held in front and with Romans on both flanks.

So a small but enjoyable game was had, and we got to know the rules. Although DBA has been around for years, I haven't played it for at least ten years I reckon, and it was good to have a simple easy game, without record keeping or casualty markers being needed. The 'recoiling' bits do seem a bit tedious at times, but then suddenly an element or two gets destroyed, and from then on it's mostly downhill for the loser. In short, these rules make sense, and give an easy flowing and enjoyable game. Bearing in mind the figures are 'only' 6mm, I think the photos came up pretty well too.

Thanks to Richie, Gareth and Doug for a pleasant and entertaining game.

(Note to self...next time I'm playing Carthaginian, I should use some of those big stomping elephant things...).

Treasure Island Board

Here'a few photos of the Treasure Island Board, it's a simple layout, so that at the school fete the kids can stick pins in the islands, in a bid to pinpoint where the treasure is hidden. I've no idea what the prize will be, but no doubt it wil be something to do with chocolate and eating. The water parts do actually look better in reality, a bit more sea-like and covered with a gloss paint with glitter in it. I didn't think this would work, but on seeing it dry, it does look pretty good and sparkly. (Honest!)

Together with a few pirate ships, it should be ok. And it made me think of a naval game we could play, so I may have to ask to borrow it back sometime..

As said below, islands were supplied by TSS, and they donated the volcano, so thanks again to them.

General Wittering..

In Praise of Traders..
I read a post on a Wargames Site a while ago, complaining (rightly or wrongly, I don't know) about some Company or other. And I thought to myself, we can all be quick to complain, but slow to praise, so here's some praise and thanks to some Traders I've had dealings with lately..

East Riding Miniatures-I ordered, by phone, some pre-cut bases, and recieved them in two days-before I'd even paid for them. I ordered somemore, by email, and the second order and the cheque crossed in the post, again received within a few days. The bases have a very clean and accurate cut, and that is a swift and trusting delivery each time.

Old Glory-many moons ago I ordered a Prison Wagon, for use with my Village Wars project. After a fair bit of effort, OG managed to obtain one from the US supplier, and also took the time to find another wagon which fits my project perfectly. Once obtained, they were swiftly delivered. Good memory, effort, and thoughtful too.

S&A Scenics-I phoned them, discussed their various road systems, and after ordering, mentioned that I needed them quickly for the Elvington game. I received the set within three days. Helpful, and a swift delivery too.

TSS Terrain-I'd been talked into making a 'Treasure Island' board for a local school fair, so I turned to TSS, and after a pleasant chat (as always), I'd ordered various hills (to use as Islands), and they offered to 'chuck in' a volcano too..free of charge, and in what was a busy week for them personally, I received said parcel within a week.

I'd like to thank and recommend the above firms, for the quality of their products, their helpfulness and swift deliveries. Their efforts make the hobby all the more pleasant and enjoyable.

Cheers one and all!

Phalanx Show & General Wittering.

A month..that's far too long! But these things happen...too busy at work, too busy at home, too busy helping out with a mates gardening business (he's had a stroke & thankfully he's getting better slowly), and just not enough hours in the week really. I haven't even been to the pub as much...yep, I've had so little time!!
Mind you, we have had a fair bit of hobby time over the last month as well. A few of us went to Phalanx on 20th June..(http://www.phalanxshow.co.uk/). It's a smallish show, but what a friendly place!!There were some lovely games on, and the B&B...well, I just wish we'd had more cash on us. We did buy a couple of Roman/Carthage 6mm armies, and although "too small & I can't see them" as some say, having used them, they're more than ok! Good to play a different period too, using DBA rules..easy to use and fun to play. Also, I found my particular 'Find of the Month'...saw an A4 box on the B&B, I opened it, my wallet opened, and there they were...painted 20mm plastic Zulu's and Brits....with a Donald Featherstone book, (At them with the Bayonet), and rules and sandbags, all for a mere £30ish. Well, you can't just leave that can you, so they were bought too, and I've based them up for DBColonial rules, which again having had a couple of games, are nice and easy to use. The sight of these plastic figures, (not everyone's cup of tea I know, but heck, cheap and available, and have a certain childhood happiness about them), sent me searching through my garage, where I found some long forgotton plastic ACW...not so forgotton now, and soon to be used I'd say, with DBACW rules..! It was good to meet up with some people I haven't seen for a while, and naturally a good day was had by all. Here's few pictures of the show games..

As you can see, there was some quality there! There's some more pictures up on DarkLord's Site that are worth a look at too (http://dlwarspace.blogspot.com/).

June 27th was Armed Forces Day as you'll know, and happily in nearby Scarborough there was a fine display on. Among the display of Machine Guns, I saw the usual, and then saw one that was just a lot bigger..I enquired, and it was a GMG...a Grenade Machine Gun...fires 40mm grenades up to two miles, at @30 a minute. Have that, Mr Taliban. It was good to see such a large turnout by the public, and such a show of support for the Forces. There was a small and largely ignored 'Peace Table' nearby, and only one loutish abuser who shouted out as the parade marched past...he didn't get to say too much before he was swifted away by the local Peeler's, hopefully to recieve some strong advice on his future behaviour toward people who deserve our respect and support. The two minute silence was well observed, and it was good just to be there and show support for our Armed Forces. Young Jordan and chums looked the part in their CCF uniform too, very smart, they showed that not all today's 'youth' are a feckless listless bunch. There is in fact hope for the future with people like that growing up so well. (And that's from a cynic such as me).

On the gaming side, we've had Napoleonic, Ancient and Colonial games this last month, mostly at my place, with myself, Alex, Richie, Doug and Gareth and Ben. I'll post some pictures up soonest. I have to say, the variety of games and periods we can do now does make a difference, and the ease and good nature of my fellow gamers makes these games all the more enjoyable.

For the near future, I need just a few more plastic Zulu war boxes...wagons and cavalry and suchlike...just a few more boxes...and I need to base up my Village War stuff..and..!

A warm welcome to Jake Bullet, who's just started a Blog with lots of potential on his D&D Adventures (http://jbdandd.blogspot.com/2009/07/our-first-adventure-a1.html) and to GreyStreak, who I've known for a while and finally met up with at the South Mimms Waterloo game. Good to see you both on here, you're more than welcome.

Heck, is that the time? It's time for the pub, first time in far too long!