A Game with a Visitor

I had another visitor. Tom Mouat, noted game designer, came to talk to the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society about his experiences in Bosnia in 1995-6. He came up a few hours early and we were able to squeeze in a game.

As "It Rolls For Ivan" creeps ever so slowly towards publication it has been useful to play the game myself - instead of umpiring - with people who haven't been involved in development so far.

I set up a game with a small force of Whites attacking slightly larger Reds. The Reds would have an armoured train arrive at some point. Probably. I expected Tom to take the Whites as most visitors tend to sit on the right hand side of the table. Tom, of course, walked round to the other side so he had his back to the wall not the window. It's all that military training, I expect.

I started by pushing my armoured car up the main road, deployed my artillery and pushed out on both my flanks. As ever, when I am playing, the photo record isn't as full as I would like.

Tom moved up his cavalry and deployed his artillery and started to try and find my range. He acquired one of my cavalry regiments, that dropped back to the table edge.

The Reds made a more general advance, deploying into a skirmish line

I responded in kind. I then moved my cavalry up to close range, prior to launching a charge, and shelled Tom's other cavalry regiment.

The artillery drove one regiment back, and my charge lucked out, completely routing the Reds.

Then a Joker turned up some air support, which panicked one of Tom's conscript battalions.

A pause for breath in what has been a hectic game. It is looking good for me. My armoured car moves up to shoot up the Red infantry.

With Tom now in firing line, I press forwards.

Then Tom's armoured train arrives. Its massive guns plaster my lone tchanka, whilst its MGs exact revenge on my cavalry.

I charge Tom's infantry on the left. They fail their Nyet/Da! reaction test, then mutiny and collapse into disorder. They flee before my bayonets.

My remaining infantry drive back Tom's other unit in firing line, but at some cost (Tom was unlucky - he rolled 27 d6, looking for 6s and got 2 hits). He did just as well inflicting hits during the hand to hand. On reflection I was lucky not to lose that battalion.

Tom 's armoured train steamed off into the distance (his luck really wasn't in), but his cavalry moved up to threaten my right hand thrust. I've got him on the back foot, but there's no knowing what the next turn will bring as I may have over extended myself. My armoured car has taken some hits from the field gun, but has lucked out on the damage chart a bit. Except it is immobilised and only one of the turrets work.

We had to stop there. Tom's afternoon had been punctuated with work calls, so we didn't get in as much game time as I'd expected. I got some good feedback on mechanisms, and have made a breakthrough in thinking on armoured cars and armour combat, which has been a bit clunky. It was time to grab some dinner and then head off to the Delapre Abbey library for our monthly meeting: