This is a grid based system, so first I needed a playing field with a grid. I bought a 2x3 yard cloth of the tannish variety and sprayed versus shades upon it after I marked it up. Here it is with some troops arrayed upon it.
I'm about 3/4 of the way done rebasing my collection of Hittites and New Kingdom Egyptians - plenty for a battle.
I gave the rules a test drive. The Egyptians have a camp, none for the Hatti...yet. Ramses wants to invite the Hatti back to his tent. Preferably in chains. Nice tents!
The Egyptians advance aggressively:
Hittite chariots charging some bald Egyptian bowmen.
The Hittite high command (Muwattalli?) kills an Egyptian Prince.
Rules seem to be working. Time to take this show on the road to the house of my long time friends Richard and Cheryl.
Peeking through the palm trees.
Guard spearmen gearing up for battle.
And Hittite chariots.
Egyptian bow and spearmen on a hill prepare to receive the charge.
A clash of spearmen about to happen.
All types of flanking as a Hittite chariot unit tries to sneak in on the backside.
On the other side of the battlefield, Hittite spearmen flank Egyptian spearmen.
Ramses is not concerned.
These are "Super" bowmen as they vanquished Hatti spearmen.
These Hittite troops - chariots and spearmen have charged across the Egyptian backside and are about to attack these Nubian bowmen.
A prince of Egypt goes down in this game also.
All for naught as the Hittites hand over their last victory medal. The Egyptians had one left. I forgot a couple of rules, but we had time for a second game (a first in our decades of miniature gaming together.) The Egyptians narrowly won that one also, and I believe no rules were missed.
I like the command and control system of these rules. The combat feels a little shallow, and I'm not a big fan of the ammunition rules. Definitely a fun game and robust enough to add your own little tweaks to add your own flavor. I plan on definitely playing this one some more. I'm particularly eager to try it with my Romans and Carthaginians...as soon as I'm done rebasing them also.
The Egyptian List
| Cmd 1 | # | Save | Pts | Tot Pts | VP | Total VP |
| Chariots Vets | 2 | 7 | 13 | 26 | 2 | 4 |
| Spearmen | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 2 |
| Bowmen | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Sardana Guards | 1 | 6 | 10 | 10 | 2 | 2 |
| Ramses Heroic & Senior | 1 | 3 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Camp | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| VPs | 17 | |||||
| Cmd 2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chariots | 1 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Spearmen | 2 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| Bowmen | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| General Attached | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 0 | 12 | |||||
| Cmd 3 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chariots | 1 | 8 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Spearmen | 2 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| Bowmen | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| General Attached | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 0 | 12 | |||||
| Heroes | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 0 | ||||||
| 0 | ||||||
| Total Points | 155 | 41 | ||||
| Victory Medals | 14 | |||||
The Hittite List
| Cmd 1 | # | Save | Pts | Tot pts | VP | Tot VP |
| Veteran Chariot | 1 | 6 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 2 |
| Chariot | 1 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Guard Spear | 2 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| Javelinmen | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| General Senior | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 0 | 0 | |||||
| Cmd2 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chariots | 2 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 2 | 4 |
| Spearmen (Raw) | 2 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Slingers | 2 | 8 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| General | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 0 | 0 | |||||
| Cmd3 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Chariots | 1 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 2 |
| Spearmen (Raw) | 2 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 4 |
| Bows (Veteran) | 2 | 7 | 8 | 16 | 2 | 4 |
| General | 1 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| 20 | 0 | |||||
| Heroes | 2 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 155 | 40 | |||||
| Medals | 13 |
Hi there- you have some lovely minis! There is a free supplement that you might enjoy called "Even Stronger"; this as some extra rules that might be relevant for the period (combined light units and chariot runners). Best, Simon
ReplyDeleteThanks for the post Simon. I'll take a look at the supplement.
ReplyDeleteIf you use the Rallying rules etc, the combat system is adequate for its goal, a fast playing game where your decisions matter.
ReplyDeleteThe ammo rules are a bit of a nuisance to track, hence the dials I used in my Historicon games.
I suspect that in TTYS 2nd edition this will be simplified ion the fashion the the forthcoming ECW rules are using, but we will see. The ammo is a bigger deal with Chariot period armies with lost of bowmen, less so for Punic wars where missile fire is a minor matter indeed.
How did you rate the Hittite chariots vs the Egyptians?
PS - I love your Egyptian Camp!
ReplyDeleteBoth Egyptians and Hittites had 2 hits. The Hittite chariots had a save of 7 vs the Egyptian save of 8. Both were bow armed - I find Drews arguments persuasive. The Egyptians I gave the "shoot and scoot" trait. It played very well.
DeleteHeck, I like the ammo rules! :-) I hate it in films when archers fire off endless darken-the-sky volleys. My eldest some and I call these "Elven Archers" after LotR; I love to cramp their style.
ReplyDeleteBut the evidence...
DeleteHaving an ammo rule for those few occasions where it might of been an issue, sure. But is there enough evidence to suggest that an army didn't usually bring enough ammo to last the entire battle?
I only give these bowman 3 ammo markers and use the reload rule. I just don't currently limit the number of reloads available.
Well I think of Carrhae; the Romans were expecting, based on experience, that the Parthians would out of ammo, but gutted when the latter turned out to have brought extra ammo along on baggage camels. I suppose that argument could work either way... :-) As well as physical ammo, the chits also reflect the tiring of the firers. Your idea with the reloads sounds like quite a good approach, though.
ReplyDelete