1922 American League Championship Series

The St. Louis Browns face the New York Yankees

Game 1

• St Louis: 1 run, 6 hits, 1 error. LP - Urban Shocker
• New York: 7 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors. WP - Bob Shawkey

Babe Ruth hits 2 home runs to power the Yanks past the Browns. The Yanks led from the 2nd inning on.

Created in Chat GPT

Game 2

• St Louis: 5 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors. WP - Elam Vangilder, S - Hub Pruett
• New York: 4 runs, 5 hits, 1 error. LP - Waite Hoyt

The Browns jump to an early lead in the 1st inning on Baby Doll Jacobson's clutch hit. St Louis leads 4-1 in the 6th but the Yanks begin to claw back, scoring a run in the 6th. Then Wally Pipp adds a solo homer in the 7th. George Sisler hits a homer in the 9th to extend the Browns' lead to 5-3. The Yanks score a run on an error in the 9th but they cannot complete the comeback.

Game 3

• New York: 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. LP - Sad Sam Jones
• St Louis: 5 runs, 9 hits, 0 errors. WP - Dixie Davis

The Yankees jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a Babe Ruth home run. Then in the 5th inning, George Sisler sparked a 5-run inning. New York scratched out runs in the 7th and 8th innings but the St. Louis bullpen shuts down the Yanks in the 9th to preserve the win.

The Yankees are now just 1 game away from elimination (down 2-1)

Game 4

• New York: 5 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors. WP - Bob Shawkey
• St Louis: 4 runs, 7 hits, 1 errors. LP - Hub Pruett

Babe Ruth knocks a solo homer in the 3rd then St Louis ties it up on an error. The Yankees go back up with 2 runs on a clutch hit by Aaron Ward. Then in the 7th, the Browns get 3 runs, powered by Baby Doll Jacobson's hit. In the 9th, Hub Pruett comes to the mound for the Browns. Babe Ruth drills a double that scores 2 runs. Shawkey finishes the Browns in the bottom of the 9th to win the game.

The Yankees have now tied it up (2 games each)

Game 5

• St Louis: 6 runs, 12 hits, 2 errors. LP - Elam Vangilder
• New York: 8 runs, 10 hits, 0 errors. WP - Waite Hoyt

Babe Ruth homers again, sparking a 4 run 3rd inning. Ken Williams then hits two home runs to tie the game. In the 7th inning, Wally Schang gets a key hit to score 2 runs. The Yankees bullpen then holds onto the lead for the win.

The Yankees complete the comeback, winning the series 3-2. They head to the World Series.

The Final Battles

The last two battles using 36 Ancient Battles for Dominion of the Spear

These battles feature Mongols.

Summary

Here are the results for the battles. Battle reports below.

• Ain Jalut (1260) - Mamluks 3, Ilkhanids 1
• Kulikovo (1380) - Muscovites 3, Golden Horde 1

Battle Reports

Ain Jalut

While the horse archers on the right cancel each other out, the center Mamluks (blue) rout their opponent.

Then the Bedouins (left) rout the Ilkhanid cavalry for the victory.

Oops, the Ilkhanid cavalry was supposed to be armored. Oh well, guess they forgot to put it on.

Kulikovo

Both sides suffered losses, then the Muscovite nobles (red) launched an attack on the left. They routed some horse archers but then get routed in return.

Some more losses, then the Muscovite infantry slaughters the Mongol horde.

NEXT UP

Hurray! I finished all 36 battles! I'm not doing that for the other books.

Others have mentioned and I agree that Dominion of really shines with campaigns. I'm trying to decide what campaign to do. 

As I mentioned, I'm leaning towards 1683 - Austrians (and Germans and Poles) vs. Turks. However, I may revive a campaign from my old blog - Hans Neiman and 1666. This campaign, inspired by the Silver Bayonet and Pikeman's Lament, featured a young Austrian officer contending against hordes of monsters. I have some ideas on how to convert it to Dominion of.

And I will also use Dominion of for some Revolutionary War battles.

Battle of Lake Pontchartrain

A naval game based on this "battle."

While Governor Galvez was marching on Baton Rouge, a naval skirmish occurred on Lake Pontchartrain.

Under cloudy skies, the USS Morris (green flag), a schooner, approaches a British brigantine, the HMS West Florida. Captain Pickles of the Morris commands the West Florida to surrender. Instead, it unleashes a broadside. The Morris replies. Both are ineffective.

The clouds part and the sun shines as the Morris maneuvers behind the West Florida. 

Note: This is somewhat literal. I think the first pic is so dark because there was some cloud cover that darkened my room but the flash did not go off, The other pics are so bright because the flash went off.

Its raking shot damages the British vessel.

The Morris moves in for the kill, boarding the other ship. There is a protracted struggle.

Note: No damage for the first round of combat.

Ultimately, though, the Morris's superior numbers prevail. The West Florida strikes its colors.

GAME NOTES

I'm still in search of some good naval rules. For big battles, I'm thinking of a variant of the Dominion of series. It worked for galleys.

For single ship actions, it dawned on me that I could use the maneuver rules from my aerial dogfight / gladiator games (as seen here). I wanted some simple combat rules so I turned to Galleys and Galleons. It's a rules set I've had for years but never played. At the time, I wanted something where I could handle several ships a side solo. G&G seemed a bit fiddly for that. But I essentially used it for the above battle and it worked fine. For simplicity, I assumed that a ship struck at 3 damage.

You may ask: Why not just use G&G? The answer is that I don't really have the room. I'm playing games on a board that measures about 5 by 7 inches. Relative movement, like I've used successfully for dogfights and gladiators, just makes sense.

The big issue I have with G&G combat is that I'm not doing activation rolls, which means I'm not going to the All at Sea table. That's why I made 3 damage an automatic strike. If I play more small actions, I'll need to figure out how to incorporate that table.

Independence Day Battles

On my old blog, it was something of a tradition to play a Revolutionary War battle on July 4th. I decided to follow that tradition here, but using Dominion of Patriots and Redcoats.

Previously, I played a semi-fictional invasion of East Florida that saw the new United States annex the British colony. For my latest campaign, I decided to play Galvez's invasion of West Florida.

Using Dominion of, I was able to complete a couple of battles in just minutes.

Background

It is 1779 and the Spanish have just allied themselves with the American rebels. The governor of Spanish New Orleans, Bernardo de Galvez, decides to take action against British forces in West Florida (at the time, Florida stretched all the way to the Mississippi River).

Fort Bute

Galvez gathers his forces and marches on Fort New Richmond (Baton Rouge). On the way, he must deal with a British garrison at Fort Bute.

Notes: 

• This is a fictional take on the battle. In reality, only 23 Waldeck grenadiers garrisoned the fort. To make the scenario more interesting, I gave them some reinforcements.
• Point are not equal. Too bad

Fort Bute (top) is garrisoned by some Waldeck grenadiers (elite line) and British artillery in defenses. Native allies (tomahawks) operate outside the fort.

Galvez has 2 battalions each of militia (skirmishers) and line infantry. An artillery battery and some native allies round out the army.

As Galvez begins preparing for a siege, the British artillery fires. Galvez's artillery responds, and knocks out its counterpart. Meanwhile, the British native allies charge the militia, which blasts them with a volley.

The grenadiers take up positions on the fort's walls. Their volley disperses the artillery. However, the militia flanks the grenadiers. A hot fire forces the grenadiers to surrender.

The remaining native allies flee. Galvez has taken Fort Bute.

Fort New Richmond (Baton Rouge)

Galvez (bottom) approached Fort New Richmond with the same force as at Fort Bute: 2 battalions each of militia (skirmishers) and line infantry, an artillery battery, and some native allies.

The British fort is much stronger than Bute. Behind the bulwarks are 2 line infantry battalions, an artillery battery, and some militia.

Once again, the Spanish artillery wipes out its counterpart. Meanwhile, the Spanish native allies charge, only to be routed by the militia.

A British line infantry battalion reinforces the walls. The British unleash a devastating volley that disperses some militia and artillery.

The opposing militias clash, rendering each other hors de combat.

The same thing occurs with the line infantry in the center. The battle comes down to the left wing. The Spanish charge but the British line pours fire into the enemy. The Spanish break.

Fort New Richmond holds. Galvez must regroup for a new attack.

Note

As I write this, I just realized that I did not use the rally rule. I keep forgetting!

What's Next?

I plan to reserve Galvez's campaign to July 4th games, but I'm tempted to try again soon. We'll see.

There is also another scenario from this part of the campaign. There was a small naval battle (just 2 ships) on Lake Pontchartrain. Sounds like a fun scenario. I don't really have rules for small naval skirmishes, but I have some ideas. I may try them out soon.

Happy Birthday USA!

May God bless our nation.

Speaking of Sports

We take a short break from baseball for some gladiator games.

Latest Arena of Heroes

My previous iteration of Arena of Heroes featured teams of fantasy races duking it out. It fizzled out.

Recently, I decided to bring it back in a new fashion. I want an ultra-compact game. Not quite a wargame in a matchbox, but still small enough to play on my very cramped desk.

This is the current version. I used a small plastic box with a board, counters, dice, and rules inside.

The Rules

The rules are based on my air combat rules. You can see them in operation here.

The key aspect of the rules is that movement is relative. Each plane makes a maneuver roll. Its final score after mods determines its position relative to other planes. Roll high enough and you can attack an enemy plane. Double the enemy's roll and you get a tailing shot.

My latest Arena of Heroes rules use the same concept. In brief, here is the sequence of play.

1. Maneuver Phase - roll D6 per gladiator. Higher roller may attack, and gets bonus if doubles opponent's roll.
2. Combat Phase - Both gladiators roll a D6. Attacker hits if he beats the defender's roll. Bonus to damage if doubled opponent
3. Damage Phase - Roll a D6. 1-3 = defender knocked back, 4-5 defender wounded, 6 = defender takes 2 wounds. 

Normally 2 wounds KOs an opponents, but some may be hardier.

Test Bouts

I decided to do a 4-gladiator tournament to test the rules. I'm using some of the fantasy counters I made for the original version of Arena of Heroes.

Bout 1 - dwarf champion vs. goblin archer

The goblin managed to get a couple of shots off before the champion closed. But the champion pursued, wounded the goblin, then hacked him down.

Bout 2 - dwarf warrior vs. orc brigand

Quick bout - it was a 1 shot kill.

Final Bout - dwarf champion vs. orc brigand

The dwarf champion lasted a little longer, getting a a couple of strikes that missed. But then the orc brigand skewered the champion.

In all, the tournament lasted about 10 minutes. Just the kind of speed I was looking for.

Special Abilities and Stuff

Other than making the goblin weak (+1 on damage against it), I did not give any special abilities. But it is something I'd like to do to provide a little variety.

I also want to add some ability to level up. I'm thinking of a campaign where I follow the exploits of a particular gladiator. I would determine opponents randomly and see if the main character can excel in the arena, or die a miserable death.

1922 National League Semi-Finals

The Brooklyn Robins and Pittsburgh Pirates advance. They take on the New York Giants and Cincinnati Reds in 3-game series.

Semi-Final 1 - Brooklyn vs. New York

A battle of cross-town rivals.

Game 1

• Brooklyn: 3 runs, 5 hits, 1 error
• New York: 1 run, 5 hits, 1 error

Ray Schmandt's key hit in the 3rd put the Robins ahead. The Giants have chances to tie in the 8th and 9th innings. Both times, the final out of the inning flies out at the warning track. Dazzy Vance pitches a gem to win the game

Game 2

• New York: 21 runs, 24 hits, 0 errors
• Brooklyn: 1 run, 3 hits, 1 error

The Giants put on an offensive display while pitcher Jesse Barnes throws a 3-hitter.

Game 3

• Brooklyn: 5 runs, 8 hits, 2 errors
• New York: 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors

The Giants enter the game feeling good after getting their offense back on track. They take the early lead but then the Robins go up 3-1 on Andy High's 2-run homer. The Giants tie it in the 5th on Casey Stengel's key hit.

The Giants bullpen takes over in the 8th an immediately give up a 2-run homer to Hi Myers. The Giants get back a run on an error in the bottom of the 8th.

Hi Myers

It comes down to the bottom of the 9th. Brooklyn's bullpen takes the mound and proceeds to mow down the Giants.

It's a big upset - the 6th seeded Robins take down the mighty (1-seed) Giants!

Semi-Final 2 - Pittsburgh vs. Cincinnati

Game 1

• Pittsburgh: 2 runs, 6 hits, 1 error. Whitey Glazer LP
• Cincinnati: 11 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors. Eppa Riley WP

Pat Duncan and Babe Pinelli combined for a home run and 3 key hits to drive the powerful Reds offense.

Game 2

• Cincinnati: 8 runs, 13 hits, 1 error. Johnny Couch LP
• Pittsburgh: 10 runs, 15 hits, 0 errors. Wilbur Cooper WP

The Reds jump to a 3-0 lead but Pittsburgh scores 6 runs in the 4th inning, sparked by a key hit by Max Carey. After getting more runs, the Pirates lead 10-3 at the end of 7. Then the Reds start a comeback. They score 3 in the 8th and manage to score 2 more in the 9th. But the Pittsburgh bullpen closes the door and the Pirates escape with a win.

Game 3

•  Pittsburgh: 0 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. Johnny Morrison LP
• Cincinnati: 10 runs, 17 hits, 0 errors. Delf Luque WP

The Pat Duncan and Bubbles Hargrave show. They spark an offensive show for the Reds while Luque shuts down the Pirates.

Cincinnati wins the series 2 games to 1.

National League Championship Matchup

The 6th-seeded Brooklyn Robins take on the 2nd-seeded Cincinnati Reds

1922 American League Semi-Finals

In the play-off games, the Detroit Tigers and Philadelphia Athletics advanced. They take on the St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees in 3-game series.

Semi-Final 1 - Detroit vs. St Louis.

Game 1

• Detroit: 2 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors. Hooks Daus LP
• St. Louis: 6 runs, 9 hits, 1 error. Urban Shocker WP

St Louis built up an early 5-run lead when Daus walked in runs in the 1st inning and Baby Doll Jacobson drilled the ball down the line to score 2 in the 2nd inning. In the 9th, Ty Cobb had a chance to rally the Tigers, but he lined out to end the game.

Game 2

• St. Louis: 13 runs, 16 hits, 0 errors. Bullpen WP
• Detroit: 9 runs, 15 hits, 1 error. Bullpen LP

Detroit built a 9-5 lead thanks to a key hit by Ty Cobb and a home run by Harry Heilman. But St. Louis stormed back. In the 8th, George Sisler knocked in 3 runs. The next inning, Ken Williams had a grand slam to put the Browns on top.

Ken Williams

St. Louis wins the series 2 games to 0.

Semi-Final 2 - Philadelphia at New York

Game 1

• Philadelphia: 4 runs, 6 hits, 0 errors. Bob Hasty WP
• New York: 2 runs, 8 hits, 0 errors. Bob Shawkey LP

Tillie Walker is the hero of the game, hitting 2 home runs and a clutch hit to score 4 runs. The Yankees try to rally in the 8th, scoring 2 on a hit by Bob Meusel. But it is not enough, and Bob Hasty goes the distance for the surprising win.

Game 2

• New York: 7 runs, 7 hits, 2 errors. Waite Hoyt WP
• Philadelphia: 5 runs, 8 hits, 1 error. Eddie Rommel LP

The Yankees build up a 5-2 lead after 3 innings. Babe Ruth homers in the 4th to extend the lead by a run. The A's begin chipping away at the lead. Only trailing by 2 in the 9th, the A's try to rally. But Waite Hoyt shuts them down.

Game 3

• Philadelphia: 6 runs, 10 hits, 1 error. Slim Harris LP
• New York: 15 runs, 14 hits, 0 errors. Sad Sam Jones WP

The Yankee bats break loose. Everett Scott and Wally Pip each have 2 clutch hits as the Yanks run away with the game and the series.

Wally Pipp

The top seeded Yankees were a little nervous after game 1, but they took control in games 2 and 3. They win the series 2 games to 1.

Next Up

The top two seeds advance to the American League championship. The St Louis Browns take on the New York Yankees in a 5-game series.

What's Next?

The 1922 baseball tournament is coming along and I am nearly done with the 36 ancient battles for Dominion of the Spear. I've been pondering my next steps.

Baseball

People are probably getting a bit bored of baseball posts. I'm getting a little burnt out so I may put baseball aside when I finish this tournament.

When I resume, I don't think I'll do any more season tournaments. Instead, I think I will return to the Roaring 20s League - 8 of the top teams from the 1920s.

Dominion of

I won't be playing the 36 pike & shot battles or any of the battles from other Dominion titles (with one exception). Instead, I'd like to do a campaign. I haven't decided which, but I am leaning towards 1683 - Turks vs. Austrians. Stay tuned.

The American Revolution is the exception. I'd like to play the battles in Dominion of Patriots and Redcoats on the 250th anniversaries. For July 4th, I'd like to start a campaign playing out Galvez's West Florida campaign.

Super Quick Play Gladiators

Last year, I was working on a project I called Arena of Heroes. It was a team skirmish game set in an arena. I played one game then the project fizzled. I'm thinking of reviving it in a slightly different format - fantasy gladiators.

Now I'm working on some rules. I tried Kaptain Kobold's Munera Sine Missione and Two Hour Wargames Red Sand series before but they never really clicked with me. Then it dawned on me that my quick play dogfight rules might actually work.

One of the key features of my dogfight rules is the maneuver phase. All movement is relative based on how well each plane rolls. The high rollers get into firing position and then can attack.

The maneuver phase seems like an easy way to replicate the gladiators jockeying for position without tracking movement on a hex board. I think I'll give it a try.

Duels in the Desert

More Battles Using 36 Ancient Battles for Dominion of the Spear

Taking a break from baseball for some more Dominion battles. Now we turn our sights on Crusades.

Summary

Here are the results for the battles. Battle reports below.

• Dorylaeum (1097) - Turks , Crusaders 1
• Hattin (1187) - Crusaders 2, Saladin 1
• Arsuf (1191) - Richard the Lionheart 2, Saladin 1
• Kosovo (1389) - Turks 5, Serbians 1

Battle Reports

Dorylaeum

The Crusaders (red) lose their knights and then spears in the center. This allows the Turkish horse archers to flank and rout the right wing spears.

Hattin

While Saladin's horse archers whittle down the Crusaders, King Guy's knights run roughshod, routing some spears and the Mamluk horse archers. Saladin tries to shoot down the Crusader spears, but they get in grips and rout the remaining horse archers.

Arsuf

Both sides have lost two units. Now, Richard's Hospitalers (red left) face Saladin's Mamluks.

The Hospitalers send the Mamluks packing then slam into the flank of Saladin's archers.

Kosovo

OK, not desert. But still in the Crusader-ish theme.

A disaster for the Serbs early on. They lose their knights.

Then the Janissaries flank the Serb's horse archers, routing them. 

National League Play-In Games

Results from the Play-In round of the 1922 Fast Inning Baseball tournament.

Pairings

The New York Giants (1) and Cincinnati Reds (2) have byes.

The matchups of the remaining teams are:

• Boston Braves (8) at St Louis Cardinals (3)
• Philadelphia Phillies (7) at Pittsburg Pirates (4)
• Brooklyn Robins (6) at Chicago Cubs (5)

Results

First Round

• Boston Braves 7 - St Louis Cardinals 4
• The Braves get 6 runs in a big 5th inning, sparked by Al Nixon's hit.
• Pittsburg Pirates 8 - Philadelphia Phillies 4
• 2-run HR by Reb Russel breaks 4-4 tie in 3rd inning
• Brooklyn Robins 3 - Chicago Cubs 0
• Zack Wheat sparks 3-run rally in 6th

Second Round

As the highest seed, the Pittsburg Pirates advance to the semi-finals. Boston and Brooklyn fight it out for the remaining playoff spot.

• Brooklyn Robins 2 - Boston Braves 1
• Down 1-0 in the bottom of the 9th, Ray Schmandt knocks in 2 runs to win.

Ray Schmandt

Semi-Final Matchups

The matchups are set.

• Brooklyn Robins vs. New York Giants
• Pittsburg Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds

American League Play-In Games

Results from the Play-In round of the 1922 Fast Inning Baseball tournament.

Pairings

The New York Yankees (1) and St Louis Browns (2) have byes.

The matchups for the remaining teams are:

• Boston Red Sox (8) at Detroit Tigers (3)
• Philadelphia Athletics (7) at Cleveland Indians (4)
• Washington Senators (6) at Chicago White Sox (5)

Results

First round:

• Detroit Tigers 11 - Boston Red Sox 5
• The Tigers get two 4-run rallies, both sparked by Topper Rigney
• Philadelphia Athletics 7 - Cleveland Indians 5
• Bing Miller sparks 3-run and 2-run rallies, including go-ahead run in the 5th inning
• Washington Senators 3 - Chicago White Sox 2
• Patsy Gharrity hits two 1-run HRs, including the game winner in the 10th inning

Bing Miller, the Athletics hero of the day

Second round:

As the highest seed, the Detroit Tigers go to the semi-finals. Philadelphia and Washington play for the final spot.

• Philadelphia Athletics 7 - Washington Senators 4
• Two 2-run homers and a 2-run rally send the Senators home

Semi-Final Matchups

The semi-finals are set:

• Philadelphia Athletics (7) meet the New York Yankees (1)
• Detroit Tigers (3) meet the St. Louis Browns (2)

Fast Inning Baseball 1922 Tournament

I decided to play tournaments using Fast Inning Baseball with the 1920s era teams. I'll start with 1922. I hope to go all the way through 1925 this year.

Why 1922? Back in 2022 I went on a baseball kick. I eventually created my own rules and planned to play an abbreviated version of the 1922 season. Sort of a 100th anniversary celebration. Well, that never panned out. Now I'm going back to 1922, closure I guess.

Tournament Structure

Every team in the majors at the time gets a shot at the championship. However, I want to favor the top teams a bit. Therefore, the top two teams in each league get a bye while the remaining teams meet in a play-in round

• Play-In Round - The bottom 6 teams square off in 1-game playoffs
• Seeds 8 vs 3, 7 vs 4, and 6 vs 5
• The highest seeded winner goes to the semi-finals
• The lowest seeded winners face off. That winner goes to the semi-finals
• League Semi-Finals - The top 2 seeds face the Play-In winners in 3-game series.
• League Championship Series - The semi-final winners in each league meet in a 5-game series.
• World Series - American League vs. National League champions in a 7-game series.

Time to Complete

To complete the tournament requires a maximum of 37 games. If the series don't go the distance, it could finish in 26 games. That equates to approximately 260 to 370 minutes, or 4.33 to 6.16 hours.

A New Logo

I used Chat GPT to create a new logo for my "league."

And Then There Were None

I continued the adventures of Roderick using Demonslayer.

Last time, he defeated the fifth of six demon lords, Zorrak the World Eater

Here is the map of his quest to find and kill the last demon lord. He started at the star and ended at the shield. X's are encounters.

Here is a list of encounters. Purple shading indicates a combat encounter.

At the ancient obelisk, Roderick usea the clues he gathered to summon the last demon lord, Xal'Vyr the Plague Herald. "The demon of pestilence and disease, Xal’Vyr spreads corruption wherever he goes. His rotting, festering form oozes sickness, and his breath carries death."

Chat GPT's conception of Xal'vyr

Roderick rushes into the attack, striking the demon. Surprised by the blow, Xal'vyr misses with his counterattack.

Then the demon surprises Roderick with his quickness. Roderick's attack falls short, but the demon strikes him.

Then they trade blows, slowly whittling down each other's strength. The foulness of the demon lord makes Roderick sick, furthering weakening him.

Roderick parries a blow and then counters with a savage strike. Roderick presses, exposing himself to a hit. He shrugs off the pain and slashes, slicing open the demon's abdomen. Foul entrails spill out. The demon lord collapses in a heap.

Roderick has defeated all the demon lords!

What's Next?

After his harrowing adventures, it is time to retire Roderick. At some point I will replay the game with a new hero.

Fast Inning Baseball

I decided to try Fast Inning Baseball

Overview

Fast Inning Baseball (FIB) is a quick play baseball dice game. Instead of rolling for each at bat, you make one roll per half inning, then cross reference a chart to find if and how many runs score in the inning. Some results are conditional. For example, the half inning may end in a strikeout if the pitcher is highly rated, otherwise runs score. This makes team and individual statistics meaningful.

The game succeeds in creating a realistic and interesting narrative. There is a mechanic to determine who the hero of the game is. For example, in the test below, Mike Lowell had a key hit that sparked a big rally.

FIB has a stated game length of about 10 minutes.

Short play? Interesting narrative? Sounds perfect for me.

Test Game

I decided to try it out.

Welcome to game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. The Chicago Cubs hold a 3-1 lead in games. One more win will send them to the World Series for the first time since 1945. The Florida Marlins, in their 11th season of existence, seek their second World Series appearance.

Carl Pavano gets the start for the Marlins while Mark Prior pitches for the Cubs.

Here is the game box score (minus the pitcher stats).

What a barn burner of a game!

• The Cubs strike first in the 4th with a home run by Aramis Ramirez
• The Marlins tie it on a Cubs error
• The Cubs build a lead in the 6th and 7th inning. The Cubs faithful are jubilant! Will this be the year?
• Disaster for the Cubs! The Marlins' Mike Lowell sparks a 5-run rally in the 8th inning
• The Cubs almost get runs in the 8th, but a sharp hit ball is caught at the warning track
• Derek Lee drives in another run in the top of the 9th
• Cubs rally! They score 2 runs but then Braden Looper shuts the gate. Cubs lose.

Ironically, this played out much like the real game 6. The Cubs had a 3-0 lead but the Marlins scored 8 runs in the 8th inning to put the game away. The Marlins ended up winning game 7, then beat the Yankees in the World Series.

Thoughts

• The game is easy to play. I picked it up in minutes.
• It is very chart heavy. I used charts on the computer for this test but I would print them out if I continue to play the game.
• As you can see from the test, the game gives a very good narrative, which I like.
• It took me about 15 minutes, a bit long. I may get quicker with time. I also may use this to play 3-4 innings, giving a couple of rerolls per game.
• The game relies on team cards. Unfortunately, they don't have them for the 1920s teams I'd like. There are instructions on prepping your own teams.
• CORRECTION: There is a Facebook page for the game with player-made content, including team cards for every season of the 1920s.

Battle of Bunker Hill

Steve Parker has released another title in the Dominion series, this time covering the American Revolution. Called Dominion of Patriots and Redcoats, you can find it at Wargame Vault (link).

The timing is perfect as I planned to do Bunker Hill using Dominion of the Spear and Bayonet, as I had done for Lexington-Concord. Steve saved me the effort because Bunker Hill is one of the scenarios in the booklet.

The Battle

The British decide to drive the colonists from their positions on Bunker and Breed's Hills across the river from Boston. They opt for a frontal assault on the colonist defenses.

In the first charge, a hail of shot from the colonists (blue) wipe out two British infantry units.

The British bring up their artillery but it gets shot to pieces. They try an assault in the center, which also fails.

Note: I decided to add red markers to indicate bayonet units.

The British form column and charge with bayonets fixed. They manage to storm the fortifications in the center. But a relentless counterattack wipes out the British.

Breed's Hill remains in colonial hands!

Pyrrhus's Macedonian Wars

I'm continuing Pyrrhus's adventures, this time in Macedon. This campaign is purely fictional, following upon Pyrrhus's defeats in previous campaigns in Italy and Sicily.

Fearful of having Pyrrhus as a close neighbor, Antigonus Gonatas, king of Macedonia, tries to eliminate the Epirote king on the high seas. This merely provokes Pyrrhus. Upon landing in Epirus, Pyrrhus gathers his army and marches into Macedonia.

Battle of Lugios

Antigonus confronts Pyrrhus's invading army near the little (fictional) village of Lugios.

The opposing armies:

• Antigonus (blue) - Archers, pikes, and elite cavalry in the front line, lots of spears in reserve.
• Pyrrhus (red) - Ferocious armored elephants, archers, and elite cavalry in front, spears and armored pikes in reserve.

Pyrrhus unleashes his elephants (left), but the archers pepper the beasts with arrows. The elephants rout. Meanwhile, Pyrrhus's archers are not so accurate. The Macedonian pikes advance through the hail of arrows and cut down the archers.

The Macedonian arrows continue their success. Desperate, Pyrrhus orders his cavalry to charge the enemy's counterpart. There is a brutal melee that leaves both sides blown

Pyrrhus's pikes find themselves alone. They retreat from the field.

Battle of Ambracia

Pyrrhus retires to his home country while Antigonus pursues. Pyrrhus makes a stand at his capital, Ambracia. As Antigonus prepares for a siege, Pyrrhus sallies out to challenge the Macedonians.

• Pyrrhus (red) fields elephants (ferocious armored), pikes (armored), and elite cavalry with spears and archers in reserve.
• Antigonus has archers, pikes (armored), and elite cavalry with 3 spears in reserve.

Pyrrhus drives off the enemy cavalry while his elephants stomp the archers.

The elephants continue their rampage, this time taking out some spearmen.

Pyrrhus then wipes out more spearmen. His cavalry is spent. The elephants then rout more spearmen.

Antigonus abandons the field.

Battle of Telikos

This time Pyrrhus pursues. Outside of the (fictional) town of Telikos, Antigonus confronts Pyrrhus.

Same order of battle as previously.

• Pyrrhus (red) fields elephants (ferocious armored), pikes (armored), and elite cavalry with spears and archers in reserve.
• Antigonus has archers, pikes (armored), and elite cavalry with 3 spears in reserve.

Again, Pyrrhus's elephants scatter the archers. But Pyrrhus's cavalry charge fails and his horsemen rout.

The archers try to stop the Macedonian cavalry. They fail.

The cavalry then overruns some spearmen. On the other flank, more spearmen sacrifice themselves to take out the elephants.

Aftermath

Because his army has suffered many casualties, Antigonus lets Pyrrhus retreat into Epirus.

Later, delegates negotiate a truce between the two kingdoms. But Pyrrhus's eye begins looking for new lands to conquer (try to at least). When will he ever learn?