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Post by colinthehittite on Dec 5, 2017 9:32:18 GMT
Martin was too polite to mention it in his report, but, in the first game, he was not only up against an army which included 7 Kn, but was also facing my lucky die. My last 5 rolls were 6,6,6,5 (how did that get in there) and 6, which completely negated the trap set by his double ranked blades. Yoooouuu were lucky, Denis. I dream of sixes. The closest I have come to that is 1,1,1,3,1,1 for PIPS at Newark! Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Dec 2, 2017 22:30:46 GMT
Thanks to Bill for organising, and the good competition with an excellent group of people. Did the Early Poles win through in the end? Yes they did! Mark’s Early Poles and their Early Hungarian ally made short work of the Leidang despite a promising Viking littoral landing and Mark charging in on not brilliant odds. A few players were still around to applaud the victor as he received his trophy and some Xyston unpainted figures. Congratulations to Mark. The turnout was good (14?), I only had one draw and enjoyed some good games despite my Feudal French (IV/4b) having to play against all the other 3 Feudal French armies in my 5 games. Civil wars are often hard work and dull but the die fell well for me at several crucial points in those games – as my opponents will, I’m sure, agree. I pondered over taking the 5 Hd or the Arty and went for the arty which served me well, placing it in my camp in one game to help counter an expected littoral landing, but it was the classic combination of Kn, Bd and Bw that brought my victories. Thanks to the PAWS team for hosting the last tournament of 2017. Runners and riders will follow, I expect, along with the results table. Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Nov 13, 2017 7:40:10 GMT
A great selection of armies indeed. My choice for the most outlandish army is Skythian with Rhodian ally. A combination I thought would never be seen on a gaming board. Kudos to Mark Skeleton. Cheers, ...and the Rhodians are littoral as were several other armies. I played with the Skythian/Rhodian mix against my own Norse Irish in the first game – we were both littoral and we both landed on the beach. I wonder how players got on with the Picts with their two allies. That must have been a challenge, particularly against some of the heavy weight armies. Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Nov 12, 2017 8:37:45 GMT
Well, that was a first. The first time I have played a game of DBA with my army in a square, rather than the usual line. I set up a wagon laager of Hussites against thousands of light horse and trundled diagonally across the field to avoid a piece of rough going. Alan played a clever game, sending in a couple of light horse elements each bound against different points, thus slowing my drive to trap elements against the edge, whilst he brought up some allied spears and positioned for an attack on my artillery and adjacent elements. An excellent game in which my massed war wagons could not destroy the LH (worst case flee) and Alan’s LH were not strong enough to successfully attack the laager. I think it eventually went to 3-3 and then I got a lucky win.
Another interesting game saw my Norse Irish looking distinctly queasy as Scott’s Crusader knights bore down on them with grins on their faces. We decided that the bar in the nearby hamlet was the only option and crowded in. The ground shook as the knights came round the flank and the Crusader infantry burst in through the front door. Then crunch! It was messy, as the knights could not quick kill the Irish in the hamlet and there wasn’t anywhere to run but out in the good going. However, with friends and enemies being so close together my fast moving auxilia did start to surround the knights and take a few down. It was close, 3 all at one point plus a Crusader horde, but I went down fighting... the bards will be singing about this one for evermore! Congratulations to all the winners of the various categories, details will follow, I’m sure. Our car full took 2nd, 4th, 5th and 10th place so we were fairly happy. The journey home never takes as long as going since we all mull over what might have been.
Thank you Martin for an excellent day. 50 minute games were appreciated (no draws for me – 3 wins and 3 losses). It makes a long day travelling from Portchester, but it is always worth it. The format is so good, the venue perfect and there's a free lunch! The only minor negative in discussions on the drive home was that all the way through the day and even at the very end we did not know how well we were doing. We have got used to a running commentary leader board of some sort from other tournaments and perhaps on balance prefer that. Not that I’m asking for a change - others may prefer not to know.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Nov 6, 2017 7:15:50 GMT
Thank you everyone, very useful. I'm now looking for a suitable Chinese wagon to get the project rolling!
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Nov 5, 2017 10:08:54 GMT
Nice looking army. I have figures for most of the elements, but what might the war wagons look like? Suggestions appreciated.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Oct 8, 2017 19:36:22 GMT
Solent Wargamers play in Fratton, Portsmouth - but I don't think they play anything you would be very interested in.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Oct 8, 2017 19:34:04 GMT
I haven’t been to that club and the next couple of Tuesdays are difficult for me. I’m happy to play whenever my diary permits, anywhere in the local area. If you are keen send me a personal message.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Oct 8, 2017 19:13:21 GMT
I’m in Portchester. English Open on 29th October in Portsmouth – bring any army for a day of DBA.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Oct 1, 2017 8:54:45 GMT
The PAWS team should be very pleased with the excellent turnout. I was pleased to get a game with Denis the Menace after a very long break and we managed to convince his son to play for the first time as well. The last time I played Denis was at his house and his son was half his present height and not yet tuned in to table top gaming – more mischievous fingers than Machiavellian moves. It’s been tooooo long Denis! Yesterday they both did well and I hope to see them at future events.
After being randomly split into two groups we played 5 games. The winners of each group went forward to a final. With 18 players there was a good range of armies from the excellent theme list, with small clumps around a few of the favourites. As always these days the option to take an ally adds unexpected combinations – unless you study the army lists more than I do. I played against West Franks, Feudal Spanish (a), Early Muslim North Africans (Tuareg ally), Lombards and Lombards (EMNAS ally). I knew it wasn’t going to be my day when in the first game I was a little reckless with my knight general and paid the price as he burst through the enemy line and suffered a fatal door closure. Knight generals – I never learn! One disaster followed another. Catching some psiloi in the open with my cavalry looked promising until my general, who had pounced on a lone spear element, threw another one to the spears’ six. I was hoping to test my west Franks against the Tuareg ‘purple haze’, but they were all in the other group. My only close game was against the EMNAS, all the others were quite one sided and I finished with 2 wins from 5. Time didn’t seem to be an issue, with few draws as far as I could see.
The dice god was certainly being fickle yesterday, but two players sailed through undefeated into the final. Andrew and Terry met for the last game and Andrew with Feudal Spanish (a) and his 5 psiloi quite quickly dispatched Terry’s Tuaregs after destroying his general. It just goes to show you can go into a knight rich tournament with an army containing 5 psiloi and do well.
The cup was still with Claudius who had been struck down by a bug and unable to attend, so a quick handshake saw the day conclude. Congratulations to Andrew and thanks to the PAWS team.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Aug 15, 2017 9:55:12 GMT
Thanks to Simon for a great day of games - having missed the last two tournaments and hardly playing since May I really enjoyed getting 'back in the saddle'. Dismounting was not allowed and I am very happy with that. My games were fun and often tense. The two fire evacuations were tedious. The venue was excellent, although it took me a whole day to drive to Manchester. There was everything to play for at the start of the last game, with several players in contention. Mark S didn't think he could win it, as he had to win, I had to win and Tamara had to beat the current leader... Great fun. I was relegated to third on a count back so missed out on a beautiful trophy and an armful of prizes. Still, my Polish won the day - Mark bought his army from me!
Just managed internet access here in the wilds of Lancashire. Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Jul 11, 2017 18:39:18 GMT
A transformation from what I remember seeing at the bring and buy. I hope to play against them soon.
Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Jul 1, 2017 6:36:27 GMT
Thanks for posting the photos, Martin. Very welcome as I missed this one. Some nice looking (non-Essex) Parthians. - manufacturer, anyone? Colin I believe Steve said they were Xyston. Thanks for this, Denis. Don't think I didn't enjoy seeing your Parthians on the table, as well! Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Jun 30, 2017 17:49:32 GMT
Album of pics on the yahoo website. Cheers Martin Thanks for posting the photos, Martin. Very welcome as I missed this one. Some nice looking (non-Essex) Parthians. - manufacturer, anyone? Colin
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Post by colinthehittite on Jun 24, 2017 10:16:36 GMT
Ah! The Minifigs figure. I had forgotten about that. It must be around 5 years since I did my Polish - soon after QR began trading and before they added extra poses to many of their packs (annoying). I haven't seen the Mikes Models figure. Compatibility between Irregular, Minifigs and Mike's Models may be an issue, but that could be eased by replacing horses more in style with the one piece casting of the Irregular figure. This may be more of a project than you had in mind - either way I hope to see your Early Polish at a tournament sometime soon!!
Colin
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