Monday, June 26th, Hammer of the Scots

Things were growing a little hectic, with the wedding approaching. Kristin's mother, Eli, arrived late Sunday night. I spent Monday chatting with the two of them, and building my playtest set for FFG's Tide of Iron. After some hickups with getting dinner coordinated, I made my way over to Coralville for an eagerly anticipated parcticipation in the Scottish rebellion.

Kurt and his family are moving to a new house soon, so he had his share of stuff going on also. I think the two of us were happy to sit down and focus on a game. I know I was...

I really liked the look of the map and pieces for this game. Of course, the map could be a sturdier board, and the pieces could be, at times, a little easier to differentiate. We sat down and casually selected Kurt to direct the English forces and myself to lead the Scotts.

The first turn was a little rough for me. I ended up with, I think, a three, a two, and three ones. Kurt managed to draw the Hobelar (sp?) and Edward. I tried to make an early push with the bigger cards to combine forces and take some territory. This had limited success, but was followed by the decimation of Wallace and the forces with him, as they were unable to escape the rapidly advancing King.

After a sorry first turn, I tried to get to grips with the wintering concept, finding a balance between strengthening existing units and bringing new units to play. I had great luck on my draw, bringing the vikings to play.

The second and third turns saw me trying to consolidate my hold on the North, while Kurt kicked me out of the South and felt out the maneuvering of infantry up the board. He was able to draw quite a few units that would stick around, and he started moving a wall of English swords up the island.

Special cards made quite a difference. I think Kurt drew the one that changes a noble's allegiance twice. That said, although it looked like I might be able to bring the North together and expand slowly, my inability to bring forces to bear and win a major victory against his threatening units. This was partially due to cards, partially due to bad luck, and certainly to some sub-optimal decisions on my part.

I think we played five or six turns total before I conceded, with very few units remaining and Kurt presenting a strong front line with plenty behind it. There was just no way I was going to be able to get back in the game.

Overall, this was a fun time. I liked the game, and would love to try the system again. It seemed like it would have failry high replay value. For games in this broad category, Commands and Colors: Ancients stays on top of my buy list, however. Hopefully, I'll have another chance or two to game with Kurt before leaving the state.