First Game of 'Alala! - Spartans versus Athenians

 

Armies deployed from the Athenian side

From the Spartan side

Spartans advance

'Alala! rules and QRS

Athenian light cavalry shoot

Heavy cavalry shoot

Last Wednesday afternoon Craig came over and we played our first game of 'Alala! with Spartans versus Athenians in the Peloponnesian War. The 'Alala! rules are written by Simon MacDowall, published by the Society of Ancients and are designed for battles between Greek city states during the Peloponnesian and Boeotian Wars of the fifth and fourth centuries BC. The rules are in colour, 24 pages, include a QRS sheet and a God Pack of cards. 'Alala means battle cry in Greek. They use a turn sequence of dicing for Initiative, Command Actions, Control Tests, Skirmish Actions, Phalanx Movement, Charges, Combat and After Combat Moves. Movement is variable with average dice and shooting and combat is resolved with D6 dice. Command and Control is managed by leaders attached to individual hoplite units, who must deal with Disorganisation Points and Causes while trying to raise Agression Levels and Morale.

Craig's Athenians and allies had three leaders, four Class B hoplite units, a heavy and light cavalry unit, a unit of peltasts and three units of psiloi. My Spartans and allies were very similar with three leaders, three Class A Spartan hoplite units, one allied Class B hoplite unit, a heavy and light cavalry unit, a unit of peltasts and two units of psiloi. I had the Initiative for most of the early turns in the game and the Spartans advanced with the psiloi, peltasts and cavalry shooting. The Spartan heavy cavalry and Athenian light cavalry charged on separate flanks, after combat both sides rode through their opponents. After advancing for quite a few turns the Spartan and allied hoplites charged on the flanks and the Spartan hoplites eventually charged in the centre. 

Hoplite combat was attritional with hits on 5 and 6 with a maximum of 12 dice and various modifiers including support, Eager, Ready, Disorder Points and Shaken. Results of combat are then worked out depending on the differences in hits for each side. In the end we ran out of time, the Athenian allied hoplite unit on the right was shaken and two Spartan hoplite units in the centre were retiring but a result still seemed a fair way off. I like how these rules are written for a specific period instead of the usual vast 4,000 thousand year time span of most ancient rules. No doubt as a first game we got a few things wrong. They have a number of interesting and innovative features and invoking the God Pack of cards is a lot of fun. Whether you would like them depends a lot on your personal taste in rules and the mechanics used. Personally I'm not a big fan of variable movement with dice and prefer combat where there are modifiers for the quality of troops involved.

Side view

Spartan heavy cavalry charge

Athenian light cavalry charge

Peltasts charge in the centre

Hoplite units charge on the flanks

Athenian allied hoplites are shaken,
Spartan hoplites retiring in the centre

Anglo-Saxon Ceorls

 

Here are some Anglo-Saxon Ceorls that I've just finished painting. These are all old Gripping Beast metal figures. I don't think they're still available but I really like the shield wall poses they are in. Their shields are a mix of LBM transfers and hand painted. As ceorls they're more likely to be part of the Great Fyrd rather than the Select Fyrd who were usually armoured thegns.

Carthaginians versus Republican Romans ADLG Game

 

View of the table from the Carthaginian side

From the Roman side

Side view

Carthaginian left flank

Carthaginian centre

Last Tuesday afternoon Craig came over and we played a Second Punic War game set in Spain out in the shed. Craig commanded the Roman defenders with Celtiberian allies and I commanded the Carthaginian attackers also with Celtiberian allies. The Carthaginians advanced and attacked while the Romans held back. There was a marsh near the river on the Carthaginian left flank which hindered movement and prevented the Carthaginians from exploiting their cavalry advantage. 

Both flanks and the centre of the two armies were engaged in combat and slowly but surely the Romans ground the Carthaginian forces down as usual. On the Carthaginian right flank a single unit of Roman allied Iberian cavalry tied up three units of Carthaginian Gallic cavalry and routed two of them. However the infantry combat on this flank went the way of the Carthaginians with the Spanish Scutarii out performing their Celtiberian rivals. In the centre and on the Carthaginian left flank combat favoured the Romans. In the end both sides were still a fair way from breaking but the Romans had the best of the encounter to claim a minor victory.

Carthaginian right flank

Roman commander

Carthaginian commander

Combat in the centre

Combat on the Carthaginian right flank

Scipio Africanus

 

Here's Scipio Africanus with an attendant releasing a dove. Another Warlord Games resin figure from their monthly Soldier of Fortune series. We have a Second Punic War ADLG game set in Spain next Tuesday afternoon, so both he and Hannibal may see action then!

English Civil War ADLG Renaissance Game

 

View of the table from the Royalists' side

From the Parliamentarians' side

Parliamentarian right flank

Parliamentarian left flank

Royalist left flank

Royalist right flank

Side view of the forces

Last Tuesday afternoon Craig came over with his lovely Peter Pig 15mm ECW armies and we played a small ECW ADLG Renaissance (ADLG-R) game out in the shed. This was our first ADLG-R game, so we were not sure about some things, but the QRS was very good and it proved to be a fun game. Craig commanded the Parliamentarians, who were the attackers and had an advantage in infantry and artillery. I commanded the Royalists who had a big advantage in cavalry.

The armies closed and after some artillery and musket fire, there was cavalry combat on the flanks and infantry combat in the centre. The Parliamentarian cavalry were routed but their infantry had the best of the combat in the centre. The Royalist cavalry were able to roll up the Parliamentarian infantry on their flanks but in the end both sides were broken in the same turn for a draw.

Armies close

Cavalry combat Royalist left flank

Cavalry combat on both flanks, shooting in the centre

Parliamentarian infantry charge

Parliamentarian infantry are rolled up on their
right flank by Royalist cavalry

Both sides break in the same turn for a draw

Irish Chieftain, Galloglass and Light Horse

 

Here's an Irish chieftain, some galloglass and light horse that I've just painted. The figures are by Redoubt Enterprises, except for four Perry Galloglass. A big thanks to Andy Grubb, the owner of Redoubt who included seven free additional figures with my order! They're excellent figures and I will definitely be ordering more as I paint up my Irish armies.

Two excellent new books on this subject have been published this year, both are beautifully illustrated and worth getting. The first is Of Kern and Gallowglasses Irish Armies of the 16th Century 1487-1587 by Robert Gresh published by Helion and Company. The second Galloglas From the Western Isles to Ireland by Dave Swift, Maximilian Bunk and Hagen Seehase published by Zeughaus Verlag.