Saga Tournament at Huzzah Hobbies Dec 1!

Hi guys!  Our pal Joe Moore is running a Saga tournament on December 1st at Huzzah Hobbies in Northern VA.  The tournament will be 6 points, and you are allowed to use the special leaders available in the books.  To sign up e-mail Joe Moore (joemoore78@aol.com) or call Chris at Huzzah.  We hope to see you guys there!

Norman Archers

At long last, I have a full 6 points of Normans!   It's only taken me how long?  Anyhow, as usual I'll mostly let the pictures do the talking here!  All of these are Gripping Beast metals.  Norman Archers I and II, with a Norman Unarmored Infantry Advancing blister thrown in for good measure... Actually Architects of War was sold out of all but the two Norman archer packs so I decided to just use the unarmored guys and gave them some spare bows I stole from Jon's plastic viking sprues.

Dux Bellorum Review

Dux Bellorum Review

Osprey's latest , Dux Bellorum: Arthurian Wargaming Rules 367-793, skillfully blends traditional wargaming mechanics with elegant resource management and simple-flowing army design.  Although it covers a slightly different period than Saga, I think it will appeal to the same player audience looking for a quick-playing Dark Age game.

The Basics

Dux Bellorum is a scale independent game -- the photos and illustrations show everything from 10mm to 28mm.  Likewise, you can play in either inches or centimeters, since all measurement is in multiples of the standard Base Width you have chosen.  That said, Dux Bellorum seems strongly to prefer rectangular-based stands containing multiple figures, with the number of figures depending on unit type.  Most ancient games already follow such standards, but those of us playing with 28mm figures on round bases would probably have to make some movement trays for our figures.

Normans vs Welsh in Clash of Warlords

Thursday night at the NOVA Open, Alex brought his Welsh to face my Normans! We played Clash of Warlords. By this time, Tom and I were pretty deep into a bottle of rum, so I apologize if my images are a little blurry! We played at 5 points.

Normans vs Vikings in Homeland (5 Points)

With my recently completed 4Ground Games buildings, I knew it was time to try the "Home Land" scenario. Jon bid 4 to defend, and came up defending. I knew this was going to be a very tough one with my Normans since they aren't exactly good with buildings, but I was ready to give it a go!

Hastings Castle Visit

Hastings Castle Ruins

Yesterday I was finally able to fulfil a childhood desire: to visit the Battle of Hastings. I forgot just how much 12-year-old me really wanted to visit this site and I was surprised by just how giddy I was leading up to it! So we travelled to Hastings and set up our headquarters. The battle took place several miles to the north, so for the first day we toured the city and had a look at Hastings Castle, which lies in ruin a top the seaward cliffs. 

Mounted Welsh Warriors

Any Welsh player who has faced the Norman Crossbow knows the pain of long range death.  A good levy bow unit can be just as bad when welsh get hit at one less for lack of armor.  My thought on solving the Welsh bow target problem was a good unit of mounted Welshmen who could cross the ground fast and put those pesky bowmen to death. 

Baggage Train

Just a quick post today to show you guys my new baggage train! When we were at Historicon, I picked up the Cart, Handcart and Two Ponies blister. We need three pieces for the Escort mission, so I am 2/3 of the way there!