Well, the title tells you exactly what this is. That is a bit of a lost art in today's modern world. It is no surprise that seeing this made me interested in buying it. There is not a lot of content out there for Ancient skirmish. I can think of only a few titles, but it always seems to be an area of perpetual interest, but can never quite grab the market share. Ancient players seem to want to play the "big battles" of history. This is a true "Skirmish" game in that the operational unit is one model is one combatant. I tend to call these Model-vs-Model games.
The author, John Lambshead; also wrote One-Hour Skirmish Wargames a few years back that has been proven to be a popular ruleset. That one is focused on gunpowder weapons from the Napoleonic to modern battles. In the Introduction, Mr. Lambshead is kind enough to provide some "Designer's Notes" details about the differences between these rules and his previous work, and why he made some the decisions he did in the design. I think the most interesting statement was:
"The key to improving any work is not what you put in but what you strip out"
With that, I knew I was going to be in for a treat. Indeed, the focus on the game is to keep the game moving quickly and swiftly. In the Introduction, he wanted his game to accomplish three key objectives:
- Excitement
- Streamlining
- Chaos
So, let's take a closer look and see if we can get the review done in less than an hour too!
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| One of the rare Diagram's in the book |
Things I Liked
The game uses a very clear and simple Unified Game Mechanic. To determine the results of an action, both players flip the top card of their own deck of standard playing cards, and see who got a higher number. The more cards a model can flip at once, the better there chance of winning. There is also a Bridge based system of suits to break ties as needed. When in doubt you flip a card and compare the results!
Modifiers are based on the number of extra cards drawn for benefits, while drawbacks often force you to only be able to use 1 card in an opposed draw. You only ever use the highest card drawn.
If a Joker is revealed, all play instantly stops and the turn ends. This leads immediately to the End Phase for the turn. That is where shocked models have their injury determined, objectives are reviewed, and morale tested. This means that length of a turn is variable.
All Models have a 1 inch Zone of Control. You can not have a model pass through it without intending to attack. This makes maneuver and order of activation important, especially in dense terrain. You can also carefully use ZoCs to block access in and out of key points. This is a great way to add subtle tactics to a game with few rules. Models who are "Shocked" i.e. failed when hit lose their ZoC and are unable to do anything but fight back in combat.
This game uses Arcs! A simple front or rear arc. There are benefits for attacking models in the rear arc, and you can only shoot at stuff in your front arc! More skirmish games need this simple approach as it adds a lot of tactical depth to a game, for very simple rules.
Models that are hit by a missile or melee attack are shocked. When shocked they lose their ZoC and can only draw 1 card. In the End Phase, you determine if they are removed as a casualty or re-engage in the fight. This represents morale and injury in one card flip.
Things I Do Not Like
When a player begins their Phase of a Turn, they flip a card over. Th result is the number of Action Points they have in their Phase. A single model can move up to 3 times for escalating Points costs. They can then also shoot or fight. A model can only shoot after moving, so no moving and scooting, which I think is a bit of a missed trick; but in play-testing it must have made shooting too powerful in a melee based Ancients game. I am also not a huge fan of Action Point systems like the one listed above due to tracking and prefer 1 activation = 1 Action systems as it forces more tactical decision making. In practice, this system makes this an alternate activation system, with some pile-on abilities.
There are no pictures of models on the table. I am not a fan of this for a couple reasons:
- Wargames are inherently about spectacle and visual appeal, otherwise we would use paper counters and 2D terrain.
- Gives new players an idea of what a "normal" game should look like
- Provides aspiration to newer players to wargaming of the genre
- Generates excitement to recreate what you see in the rulebook
- There is a lot of work in getting good pictures, and if I do it; everyone should! <Stamps foot petulantly>
There are a few If This/Than That rules hidden in the game in the appropriate section. Generally, I am not a fan of those as they can easily get lost. I don't think any are game breaking, but an example is determining if you are charging into the REAR arc of an enemy before any movement is done. Therefore, no using multiple actions to run around a model and attack from the rear. Having this special rule maybe an example of how the multiple movement rules may not be the best final iteration of the rules?
There is no mention about pre-measuring or not in this game. The way it is written, I am not sure of what the author's intent would be. There are clear nods to subtle tactics where Pre-measuring would be useful, but those same nods lead me to believe the author may want clever players to be able to use maneuver to get around some of those tactics or non-measured mistakes? Not sure either way really, so you as the player get to decide!
I think there may have been a missed trick to use card flips to accomplish non-combat related tasks like move through terrain, perform non-combat actions, etc. Basically, an unopposed check to do certain tasks like help a comrade, cross difficult terrain freely, etc. at the cost of Action Points. This would have expanded the scope of the game and added more RPG-Lite elements.
The game has 6 scenarios listed in the back. This includes:
- Mountain Assault
- Punishment Raid
- On The Rhine
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Longbow
- High Medieval Tournament
These all are for a specific set of forces, place, and time. They are not generic and are intended to give a flavor of what a "skirmish" may look like at various times and places. This is one of the few sections of the book with diagrams to show you force deployments and board lay-outs.
Meh and Other Uncertainties
Mr. Lambshead deliberately reduces the effectiveness of range-weapons to focus on up-close and personal combat. I did something similar in my Roman and Greek based games, but the opposite in my Chariot based games. That is one of the down-sides of a "generic" ruleset like this covering such a vast period. Thankfully, he encourages tweaks to better fit any specific period or type of game you want to play.
The terrain rules are basic and easy to use. Very much of the broad categories type designed to not get in the way of quick game play. They are reminiscent of Daniel Mersey games, like Lion Rampant.
War Machines and Elephants have slightly more complicated special rules that relate to how they are injured and what happens. For example, Elephants can go wild, can trample, etc.
Each warband has a "Motivation" that is used in the End Phase for morale checks. These can vary based on the scenario. In addition, a model with the Leader trait can do a great job by doubling or tripling the results of a card flip for Morale. However, their loss can be a big problem too. They also cover some command units like standard bearers, religious figures, musicians, etc.
There are some optional rules about Light Infantry, special results on certain cards, and the like added in after the core rules. There are even some suggestions to speed up gameplay! That made me think of some skit I saw where I guy was pitching 8-minute abs, and the other person said, "But what if someone comes out with 7 minute abs!"
There is a lot of discussion about creating warbands from a variety of time periods. It is important to note that these are all suggestions. Mr. Lambshead breaks most groups down into Heavy infantry with armor and shields, medium infantry with shields, and light infantry that are mostly unarmored. Therefore, something like a Greek Peltast would be Medium, Roman Legionnaires would be Heavy, and an Egyptian Archer would be Light. Cavalry are similarly divided into Heavy, Battle, and Light using similar breakdowns. This includes lists of generic values and 20 sample lists to give you an idea of how it all works. The author is very clear that this is intended to be a tool box approach.
In the introduction, Mr. Lambshead recommends between 6-12 units; which in this case is models per side. The more complicated the special rules the less models that should be used. He does not really mention this in the scenario or Warband list section, so you will have to go back and look at the section in the Introduction to get an idea of game size. He also does not recommend a board size, saying 3-4 feet in a square or rectangle in his intro.
Finally, there are a couple of Appendixes that cover:
- QRS
- Mini Makers by scale
Final Thoughts
A pretty good little set of rules that has some tactical depth thanks to the Zones of Control, Facings, and simple Unifying Mechanic. There is a bit of If This/Then That but when you are covering such a vast period as Bronze-Age to High Medieval that is bound to happen. Since this uses a tool box approach, it gives you a solid, streamlined starting point to work from. As the author alludes to, less is more in these rules. I find the core of the rules and the optional rules to be solid.
I think the biggest disappointment is some of the vagueness around Scenarios. A handy generator of some basic, generic scenarios with some complications and the like would have been helpful for people new to the period, genre, or wargaming. I was also somewhat disappointed by warband creation section, but it does what it needs to do for a quick game. It is always a decision point to think about how "newbie friendly" a game needs to be. However, I get the feeling that Mr. Lambshead's target audience are not new to wargaming or the periods per se, but those new to Skirmish gaming in the periods mentioned.
Anyway, s good core set of rules for a fast game with more tactical depth that many other skirmish games I have read.... just what it says on the cover.
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