Altar of Freedom test

Always looking for innovative sets of rules, I bought Altar of Freedom (by Greg Wagman, published by Iron Ivan Games) and the scenario book All quiet on the Potomac, that contains all major battles of the Eastern front in the American Civil War. After trying the rules solo (which is not the best option considering the secret bidding procedure) last saturday I invited my friends Diego and Diego from Rome to give it a try.
I set up the Champion Hill scenario, explained the rules, and we finished it in 3 hours - just in time for lunch.

AoF is a game about commanding quite great bodies of troops (the basic unit is the brigade) that does not care about formations, and has very simple rules for movement and combat. As the author stresses in the designer notes, it is all about Command and the Generals' attributes (that DO change from battle to battle).
The heart of the system is the procedure for taking control of the clock (i.e. a sort of initiative that allows the player in control to set the pace of the battle) and I must say it works very well, as you have endless possibilities of trimming your bid for Priority points. The game has been designed for 6mm miniatures with the classic 6x3 cm. bases, but we played with my 15mm figures, based for Fire and Fury, on magnetic, 8x4 sabots. Above, you can see 2 US brigades "in column" and below the table after a couple of turns, with the Confederates defending the bridge on the Vicksburg road.

Knowing nothing about the rules, the US player was maybe too timid in his approach and surely I made a mistake adding Forney's brigade (an optional rule) to the rebel roster, because the Confederate won easily after the 8 turns of the scenario, avoiding the capture of the bridge by the US forces.
In AoF, small arms fire is quite ineffective if you want to break your enemies: close combat - and a wise use of supports - is what you need. You always (ALWAYS) need to have a reserve and this is something I like a lot, as players of my games know very well. Below, a Confederate Division deployed for an attack.

In all, a very good game in my opinion. NOT for those players who like the details of micromanagement, formations, wheels and "you can't do that", but great if you want to play all major battles of the ACW (the second scenario book will be available in 2014) in few hours, on a 120x180 table, and with a relatively small amount of figures.

Black Powder in Rome!

After 5 months from my enrollment as a Member of the ARSM Club in Rome, I took the opportunity to take part in a Napoleonic battle organised by Maurizio in the club HQ. Using Talavera as a guideline, Maurizio and the other lads built an impressive table (about 4x2 m.) with lots of 20mm miniatures. I asked - and was given - the Command of the Spanish brigades, deployed near Talavera. Above, the initial deployment of my forces (1 Infantry and 1 Cavalry brigades). We started at 10.30 AM, took a break for lunch and finished about 6 PM (even if I had to leave at 5 because of my train timetable). I was later told that our enemies (the French) won the day, even if marginally. My Spanish Infantry fought gallantly for 6 hours, but then - under heavy pressure - broke. In all, 8 players and a Referee (something I almost forgot) around a fantastic table, surrounded by other gorgeous tables and miniatures: a remarkable day.

To Do list

After returning from Koper, I had a very tough couple of weeks at work, but now - hopefully - I will have some time for my ongoing projects. A brief list includes:
- some more playtesting of 100 dice
- basing my 10mm French and Austrian Armies, to play a BIG battle with DSLB on my 120x180 cm. table
- an interesting experiment:  a small battle in double blind on a hexed table (I'll need 2 volunteers for this)
- paint some more medieval 15mm figures for 100 dice
- keep writing the DSLB supplement for Minor Countries' Army lists
I'll try hard to bring all the above tasks to completion.

Back from Koper (Eurobasket 2013)

A fantastic week of basketball in Koper (Slovenia) for the qualifying round of the European Basket Championship: Italy went well over the happiest expectations, winning 5 games out of 5 against Russia, Turkey, Finland, Greece and Sweden. No words can describe my satisfaction. With 4 top players (2 of them playing in the NBA) injured, I left hoping just to win a couple of games and MAYBE qualify for the next round, but our boys played really hard, and Italy is the only unbeaten team so far in the tournament.

And now, the heaviest task: win another game (at least) to enter the final round, that will give Italy a slot in the next World Championship in Madrid (2014). Spain, Slovenia and Croatia will be our next opponents.
Let's keep fingers crossed....

Time to go to Eurobasket 2013

Tomorrow morning I'll leave for Koper (Slovenia) to assist to the preliminary round of the European Basket Championship. My friend Diego will come with me. Even if our possibilities to reach the Final stage are low, we hope to see good baskeball and to enjoy the Region. We plan to visit some nice places in the mornings and spend the afternoons in the Sport Palace of Koper.
I won't probably post anything for the next week or so.
Arrivederci a tutti!

Medieval warriors are back

After many years painting (or should I say NOT painting?) Napoleonic miniatures I returned to medieval figures thanks to 100 dice. In other words, I'm painting a couple of Armies for some playtesting of  the game.
Looking for usable figures in the tonn of lead I have I found a DBA Army pack (Teutonic Order by Mirliton) and many packs of Essex and other manufacturers' minis. I decided to paint them as a Communal Italian Army, loosely inspired to the Army of Bologna in the Battle of Fossalta (1249).
Armed with my lamp with magnifying lens, I quick painted (base, flat colors and dipping) most of the Army pack.
Below are the results so far:

 Left to right: 3 Hordes, 1,5 units of crossbowmen, 1,5 units of spearmen, a single unit of archers, 1 unit of Light Horse and half a unit of Heavy Horse (Knights). In front, the General (a Knight).

Some closer views: the Hordes (I love peasants and priests armed with pitchforks!).

 Crossbowmen and Spearmen (with the shield design of the city of Bologna), the Big Boss and a single unit of Archers (Unformed Light Foot).

And finally the Cavalry. I still have some 14 Knights to paint, but I must paint 2 Armies to play 100 dice, so the enemy will be a Hofenstaufen Army (King Heinz's), helped by the Modenese troops. I'll use the rest of the Mirliton Army pack and add a bunch of Essex figures I found. It won't be 100% historical, but will be OK to test the game adaptation to this Period.
Not too bad for someone not painting since almost 2 years....

Pictures of last saturday gaming day

As promised (and thanks to Marco and Giovanni) here are few pics from last saturday games day in Arezzo.

 Simone (left) and Stefano (right) playing 100 dice.  They played a full battle (with complete rules explanation) in about 2,5 hours.

Simone planning his next move. He won a decisive victory, with an astonishing dusk turn in which he destroyed 2 enemy units and badly damaged at least three.

 Being two expert DBA players, their deployment was a long, uninterrupted line, that in 100 dice can be quite risky due to the breakthrough phase.

And finally, a pic of the other table where Giovanni (Marco's son - left ) played against Filippo (Right) a couple of OGAM battles (Andrea's new game "Of Gods and Mortals", soon to be published by Osprey).