Re: 7th May face-to-face game at Little Gaddesden - Bloody Vikings!

Many thanks to Steve P for a well-presented game yesterday.  Lovely period-style maps, produced using a mapping program, really added to the immersion.  Plus a neat display for fighting the battles.

The poor Saxons really had their work cut-out, trying to cope with 4 separate Viking raiding forces.  Tows and monasteries as far away as Kent, the upper Thames, Gloucestershire and Devon were sacked.  Many insults were hurled back & forth.  Several battles were fought, mostly indecisive.  The Wessex boys had their revenge however when one Viking band was caught with its back to a river and heavily defeated.

The system gave rise to lots of battles, which is apparently quite historical.  Given this, the general feeling was that the battle module could be streamlined, so engagements are resolved more quickly.

Well worth playing again.

Martin (J)

Next game is a traditional Prussian Kriegsspiel with tactical maps, and troop blocks representing infantry battalions, cavalry squadrons and artillery batteries.  This one in just 2 weeks on Sunday 21st May.

Doodle here http://doodle.com/poll/r6i2wxu9uu38i2sn

Adding my thanks to Steve for what must qualify as the Kriegsspiel game with the best presented materials ever – the Anglo Saxon font and margin decorations were incredibly impressive! The map was done in Hexographer apparently, which is freely downloadable from HERE.

The elements borrowed from FRPGs – leadership ratings etc – were also an interesting innovation, though they were not used as much as they could have been perhaps.

Unfortunately, I was the Viking chieftain who was caught with his back to the river despoiling monks, but at least I went to Valhalla with my weapon in my hand!

All in all well worth a replay but with streamlined resolution of individual battles and I would also have 3 players against 3 next time – you could add the Ealdorman of Devon, Odda, as the third Saxon, SINCE historically he operated quite independently in any case. There were indeed seven battles inside a single year of Alfred’s reign – I think the year of Ashdown, Basing, Wilton, Reading and three other battles. Check out THIS SITE

Could the Danegeld ransoms be worked in somehow, as they were a favoured (if not altogether effective) means of defence?

Chits could have been used for slaves and treasure, transferring to the Umpire map when not accompanied by a player?

And any chance of getting a copy of the map sent? I have had thoughts of adapting it for an Arthurian game set in earlier times when the Saxons were still embroiled with the Romano –British, over the same ground?