In the constant quest for a gratifying ancient miniatures battle I came across Table Battles game from Hollandspiele. As ever I was inspired by Here's no great matter blog post, I was intrigued by the clever use of miniatures to give Table Battles more pleasing visuals.
In brief Table Battles has opposing armies made up of some cards, each with how many hits it can take and what dice is required to undertake an action as well as what conditions trigger a reaction. There is no maneuvering instead each card has a target it inflicts damage on. Each turn is played by taking an action then a dice roll. In the first turn no action can be taken so the full six d6's are rolled then one formation per wing can be allocated dice if the right pips are present. Furthermore if a formation has to react to an enemy action that counts as their action phase and in their own turn will have to go straight onto the roll phase. There is a print and play version available too so I'll get that once it's been updated to 2nd edition.... and a few of the expansions, Alexander and Wars of the Roses perhaps! It has simple rules but it's the interaction between the cards in the various scenarios that provides the meat of Table Battles.
I thought it would provide a quick game and a good excuse to get the miniatures out so I hastily experimented with 6 formations each side. 2 cavalry, 3 heavy infantry and 1 light infantry formation, in its own wing to allow the skirmish screen to operate as well as being able to get the cavalry engaged or prepare the Heavy infantry in reserve. In practice the composition of formations in Table battles doesn't really matter it just adds a bit of flavour in this battle.
I did write a quick roster, but some home made cards would be better! I'll probably end up doing this once I've had a bit more play testing since I made a few mistakes. It would also be better to play the original game and expansions to get a better feel for the game itself, but I' had to seize the moment and take what I can get for now gaming wise.
I made the Roman infantry better than the Carthaginians, they were able to attack without taking losses themselves, unless the Carthaginians were able to react and counter attack, the Carthaginian foot also had an extra strength point. I gave the cavalry edge to Carthage, it was much easier for the Carthaginian horse to launch attacks to the point where it was inevitable that they would break and pursue the Roman horse, at least on one flank. I also wanted to introduce an element of maneuver so gave the cavalry an ability to change their target formation representing their regrouping to fall on the Roman rear however it would cost a lot of dice in a particular roll to work.
I intended to have the other cavalry wing be a bit of a stalemate between Numidians who could screen and Italian cavalry who was also a bit slow to attack but I messed that bit up by getting mixed up. I gave them counter attack instead when I was being distracted. Never-mind, that's why some cards with info would be useful. Despite this I was able to have an enjoyable battle and all in about an hour including setting up and packing away:
The two armies deploy no need for measuring the formations target their opposing enemy formations. |
As expected the Punic heavy cavalry quickly routed the Roman horse and began to peruse only to return if they were given 3 dice rolled showing 1,2,3. |
The Carthaginian light troops stayed in place in the hope to slow down the approaching legions, sacrificing morale to keep the Carthaginian heavy foot fresh. |
The Carthaginian Right after some hard pushes managed to break the Roman Left |
Overall it produced a fairly historical result and being a close and tense battle was entertaining. It would be an ideal set to resolve campaign battles lots of food for thought. Although a very hastily put together and experimental battle I reckon it was a successful one.
Super photos, Tony! Having played Table Battles several times with friends, I was underwhelmed but my buddies thought it great fun. Perhaps I don’t catch on as quickly as some. I would play again.
ReplyDeleteThank you Johnathan! I can see where you are coming from It's certainly extremely abstract but I think it can scratch an itch when time is an issue. I also seem to hate measuring and moving bases into contact so I'm finding myself drawn to more board than table top games.
DeleteNice one Tony. Great idea. And thanks for the shout out!
ReplyDeleteAaron
Cheers Aaron thank you for the inspiration!
DeleteOutstanding!
ReplyDeleteCheers Bruce!
DeleteSorry to Phil Otep! Touchscreen and fat finger mishap accidentally deleted his comment but still have the text:
ReplyDelete"Very nice battle! Some closer views would also be interesting to add, as if we could dive deep in the battle, and with your level of painting, it would be a pure pleasure :)"
Thank you for the comment Phil! Yes definitely needed some more close ups next I will make a bit more effort to get some better pictures, it was all a bit of a rush this time :-)
Thank you Tony, no problem, but... how can you paint such detailed figures with fat fingers ??? ;-)
DeleteHahaha! You've given me an idea a detail brush touch screen stylus 😂
Delete