Stuck and Some Random Thoughts

I find myself in the wargame doldrums again, and I don't care. It has me pondering my gaming.

The LARP Effect

I've mentioned before that my favorite hobby is actually LARP. Things have been going well, with lots of new players. I've also been busy with some crafting projects (mostly weapons).

Alas, the season is drawing to a close (we shut down for the miserable Florida summers). That has me thinking about using games as a substitute. But how?

Dungeon Crawls

This seems like the perfect substitute for LARP, but I've been having issues.

• I'm not satisfied with my rules and I haven't found commercial rules that work for me.
• Setting up a game can require some work - I have to come up with the dungeon encounters. I could use a random generator, like Four Against Darkness, but it can feel too random. Playing a battle, like the Dominion of series, is actually simpler to set up.

I'm still thinking about how to do quick and easy dungeon crawls, but I'm not really getting anywhere.

Skirmishes

In lieu of a dungeon crawl, perhaps I could do some fantasy skirmishing.

As part of my stalled American Revolution skirmish project, I made some counters with small numbers of figures per stand.

I designed these for "big skirmishes" where each unit is approximately a "squad."

But I haven't printed them because of printer problems. First, I ran out of toner. When I refilled, my tablet that was linked to the printer died. I have a new tablet but I have to figure out how to link it to the printer.

Regardless, I am still wondering if I should do small or large skirmish (1 figure vs. multiple figures per counter).

Posting Less

I'm writing this as a way to sort out my thoughts. But I'm feeling that I'm wasting time with blogging. I may reduce posts to just battle accounts, in which case there may be long periods of silence when I fall into the doldrums.

Bellicosus vs. Philip

The Twelve Foes of Rome Campaign

The next chapter of the campaign.

Carthage is defeated but now Macedon is making trouble. Rome sends Bellicosus the Younger to resolve the issue (in other words, conquer Macedon).

Battle of Kleisoura

Bellicosus (red) advances into Macedon through a hilly pass. King Philip V of Macedon waits for him.

• Romans - Cavalry, legionaries (armored elite), allied spears. Reserve: spears and legionaries
• Macedonians - Peltasts, 2 phalanx. Reserve: 2 Allied spears, cavalry

Note: Peltasts should be treated as spears. I used a light infantry marker to distinguish them. Unfortunately, I forgot they were spears and treated them as lights.

The Roman legion in the center drives off the phalanx.

But the Roman allied spears rout.

Roman cavalry takes out the peltasts.

Once again, the center legion is victorious.

The legion then routs the reserve spears (not pictured).

And then flanks the remaining spears.

Philip retreats into Macedon.

Battle of Kallisarissa

Bellicosus pursues the retreating Macedonians, catching up to them near the town of Kallisarissa.

Note: I used the same lists as above but dropped one unit of spears from each army.

Bellicosus sends his legions forward. They rout the peltasts.

There is a stalemate on the left.

But the Macedonian cavalry routs a legion.

Then routs the other.

Bellicosus loses. The Romans retire.

Battle of Phiasko

Bellicosus and Philip meet in a final showdown.

Same armies as last battle.

The Romans are victorious on the right but lose on the left. Bellicosus tried to rally the cavalry but gets killed in a melee.

The Romans are disheartened. Then disaster! The Macedonians overrun both flanks!

The Romans lose! They must retreat from Macedon.

Aftermath

The Romans blame the loss on Bellicosus's untimely death.

He failed to rally the cavalry. I made up the death result to give a more fitting end to his career.

They send another army to avenge Bellicosus's death. The Romans ultimately succeed in conquering Macedon.

Game Notes

• Ouch! That was a tough end after a promising beginning.
• I wonder if removing a unit tilted the favor towards the Macedonians. I could replay the last two battles to find out, but I'd rather not.
• Instead, I will move on to the next foe - Mithridates of Pontus.
• Previously, the Bellicosus family was undefeated in its campaigns. Now they are 3-1.