Multi report - ECW - Pikeman's Lament - Infinity

Welcome to my multi report blog post where you will need a multipass to read further!

Don't leave home without it!

So I have been busy of late and thought I'd catch up the ole blog and the happenings of said business.

First I did finish my final Cavalry unit for the small force I was doing of English Civil War in time for my friend's visit. This was a major undertaking. I don't like being under a time constraint (30 infantry and 12 Cavalry completed, pretty fast for me), but I must admit had I not been they would have never gotten done. Sadly the humidity here just won't quit and I haven't been able to put on a coat of dulcote to take the shine off the gloss I place on the figures first. But it's proof I wanted to show, so here are some pictures before I proceed on to next subject.

Definitely taking off the shine will help greatly in seeing the colors better.

Okay my friend Skip flew in to have a visit with me over this past weekend where we played lot's of miniatures games. It was almost like being at a gaming convention.

First on Friday we went over to our friends house to play Pikeman's lament and played two games with our freshly painted English Civil War armies against the dreadful Turks. For a report check out my friends blog  antonswargame for pictures and such. By the way his site is awesome to check out for all the crazy scratch building terrain projects he does. They will blow you away.

Saturday had me hosting a mini Saga tournament based off the Age of Crusade army book. We had three players who played Saga 1 before but no one had played Saga 2 yet (other than myself). There were two Crusade Armies, Eastern Princes, and a Spanish army. I set both boards up exactly the same way and let everyone play each opponent. In the end Anton came through and like a beast unleashed (his first time playing any Saga) he tore up the competition. My friend Skip came in second though, with my other friends bringing up the rear.

Sadly I was so busy being the gamemaster, making sure things ran smoothly, that I completely dropped the ball on taking any pictures. Everyone said they had a good time and left with smiles on their faces, so I felt that I had won too.

Sunday, Skip and my last day together was spent playing Pikeman's lament using Samurai figures and then a game of Saga.

In the Saga game I played Skip's Spanish, and he played the Mutatawwi'a. After watching Skip play with the Spanish the day before I had a good idea of how to make them take advantage of their battle board. Skip falling into the "I remember how the Mutatawwi'a worked in Saga 1", was surprised by how different they are in Saga 2. Needless to say he took a hammering. Which of course made me smile ear to ear, but then sometimes I wonder if he just doesn't let me win..... naaahhhhh.

Next the Pikeman's lament game was a blast. I'll just show our setup first below.

My troops are at the bottom of the picture with Skip's at the top. The three six man foot units you see in the upper left hand were Skip's Samurai and we counted this unit as Aggressive Forlorn Hope, the unit next to those are Ashigaru Pikemen (the long Yari's), and then echoloned to the rear are a group of ashigaru shot (bow armed).

My troops from left to right are Ashigaru Pikemen (the long Yari), Ashigaru shot (bow armed), then in the super cool movement stand Anton made are some Ashigaru Command shot (armed with Teppo). What you don't see are my two 6 man Samurai Cavalry that are off board. We treated these as Aggressive Elite Gallopers. Oh and the one man you see between my large units is a prisioner of the enemy that Skip is trying to rescue without loosing half his troops.

[Above another picture of start positions]

[above my two Cavalry units arriving off board]

I won't go through all the details, but let's just say the battle was brutal and we lost lot's of figures on each side with me squeaking out a victory by turn eight. In Pikeman's Lament you dice for each unit to be able to do something. If you fail then your turn ends immediately, regardless if no other troops have moved or not. We played exactly like this, but at conventions this would suck as people want to play, so we normally just say that unit can't do anything and they can keep trying with other units until they've all had a chance to do something. I mention this because around turn five both Skip and I pleebed our first rolls and did absolutely nothing for that turn. But it's still a fun game to play. Simple and easy to learn. 

Here is the last picture (below) of how the game ended. My last few cavalry smashing through his depleted ranks. Ahhh, it's good to be a Samurai Lord taking my opponents heads for trophies!!!

We've reached the last part of the article. I drove Skip to the Airport on Monday, both of us completely exhausted from gaming. But we had a grand time gaming and visiting. Georgia is a long way off, so getting together once in a while is a good thing. 

This week being pretty much burnt out from all the gaming and painting that I've done the last four weeks, I did do a little painting on some bases for Infinity that I plan on mounting my Yu Jing on. 

Otherwise it's been sitting on the couch and vegging, and I couldn't possibly tell you what I am watching on the TV because my eye lids get droopy and I fall asleep.

Cheers
Kevin