We played the test game for Kadesh yesterday, which was both fun and very helpful!
Charge by the "Green" Hittite Chariot Division. They didn't pull very good hit cards, so the Egyptians of Division Re, hit in the flank, escaped with limited damage. There are 3 more Divisions yet to act, though!
Situation at the end of Hittite Turn 1, after the remaining 3 Hittite Chariot Divisions have acted; one unit each of Spearmen and Bowmen are already lost... as expected. The other two Egyptian formed foot units each have 1 hit on them. We decided the first turn Hittite bonus ambush replay was unnecessary.
Situation at the end of Egyptian Move 1; the Egyptian Light Chariots are fleeing for their lives, wisely leaving the infantry as a lost cause!
Situation at the end of Hittite Turn 2; the Hittite Chariots are sweeping the lighter Egyptian Chariots before them as they evade their heavier brethren. The light infantry have survived, surprisingly, and a lone unit spearmen has managed to avoid elimination as well.
One of the Light Chariots of Division Re has managed to come within 1 box of Division Amun, thus automatically activating both if its commands!
The rest of Division Re can accomplish little but turning to face the rampaging Hittite Chariotry, , however.
At this pointy it became obvious that the fancy rules for activating the Pharaoh's command were unnecessary overkill (the arrival of the fugitives from Re obviated the need to activate Amun anyway). Positions at the end Egyptian Turn 2, the infantry and Chariot commands of Division Amun, and the Pharaoh's bodyguards having all moved. From a game standpoint, it became clear that both of these commands really have to activate normally starting onTurn1. This is an advantage really - much fewer special rules needed!
Hittite Turn 3 - situation after movements by the Blue, Green, and Red Chariot Divisions. There is just a single unit of slingers and the General left of the Infantry of Division Re!
The Yellow Chariot Division is pressing a pair of Egyptian Light Chariots of Division Re off the table, shrugging off the occasional arrow in the process! The Chariots of Division Ptah, seen off in the distance, are scenic only... although they probably need to start testing for arrival on Turn 2 for game purposes (the distance will keep them from having much influence for a while anyway. Historically, these troops arrived after the battle was over.
Situation after Egyptian Move 3 and most of Hittite Move 4 - Pharaoh and the Infantry of Division Ammun have moved forwards whilst the Chariots of Amun are protecting their right. However, the Hittite Chariot Reserve has entered the table! This is probably a turn too soon.
More of Hittite Move 4 - the Chariots of the Hittite Reserve have moved boldly up in front of the Infantry of Division Amun... a risky undertaking, but it may pin the opposing Egyptians in place.
More of Hitite Move 4 - the two stray chariots of Division Re have been driven off the table.!
Egyptian Move 4 - the Chariots and Infantry of Division Set race towards the action.
More of Egyptian Move 4 - the Chariots to the front of the Division Amun infantry (plus lousy card draws) are impairing their maneuvering; not a good thing with 16 more Chariot units to your flank!
Meanwhile, using his double replays as a great leader, Ramses and his Chariots have gotten perhaps a but too far ahead of his tough Sherdan bodyguards.
Still more Egyptian Turn 4; the light chariots of Division Amun (4) and the survivors of Re (2) are trying to harass the Heavier Hittite chariotry, albeit with a notable lack of success!
Hittite Turn 5 - off to the right, Hittite Chariots have ridden down the unit of Spearmen that was to their front... 1 Hit card for the charge, one for striking a flank, and one for their shock Lance bonus, plus a replay by the General = never had a chance! Across the River Orontes, the first command of Hittite Infantry have arrived (historically, they also never fought, for unclear reasons). Pharaoh is looking.... exposed.
Situation at the end of Hittite Turn 5.
Overview of the end of Hittite Turn 5.
Egyptian Turn 5 - Division Set to the Rescue?
Ramses again uses his replays to charge the opposing Light Chariots of the Hittite Reserve... to little effect for either side. The Sherdan Guardsmen advance, seeking to discourage the mass of Hittite infantry looking for fords over the Orontes.
Scenario Special Rules:
1) The Hittites move first, and may move all of their 4 Chariot Divisions, ambushing Egyptian Division Re. There is no penalty for their movement out of cover and across the stream.
2) The Chariot command of Division Set enters along the road starting on Turn 1
5) The Infantry command of Division Set enters along the road behind the Chariots.
6) The Chariot command of Division Ptah starts testing to enter along the road on Turn 2 by turning a single card; a 7+ is required to enter. Should they fail to enter, the following turn a 4+ is needed, and should that fail, the following turn their entry is automatic
7) The infantry command of Division Ptah enters along the road after the Chariots.
8) The Hittite Chariot Reserve may enter along the road into Kadesh starting after Division Ptah arrives, needing a 7+ to enter, and decreasing by 3 each subsequent turn if they are unsuccessful. They may ignore the troops of the Royal Guard for movement and interpenetration purposes
9) The first Hittite Infantry command starts testing to enter the turn after the Chariot Reserve has entered the tabletop, needing a 7+ to enter and decreasing by 3 thereafter as above.
10) The second Hittite Infantry Command starts testing the turn after the first infantry Command has entered the table, needing a 7+ to enter, and being adjusted as above for each subsequent turn they fail to enter.
11) The Hittite Royal Guard may start testing to exit from Kadesh the turn after the 2ndInfantry Command has entered the table, needing a pip count of 9 to do so, decreasing by two for each subsequent turn.
Terrain Notes
The River Orontes may be crossed by infantry only, as a doubly difficult activation. It may be crossed by Chariots only at the Bridge at Kadesh.
The stream running into the Orontes does not effect movement across it
EGYPT
Pharaoh's Guard
Army Totals 343 95
VM Break point = 32 Reserve Ammo = 30
Division Amun
Division Re
Division Set (Nearin)
Hittite Empire
King Mutawalli II and Royal Bodyguard
Army Total: 343 85
VM break point = 29 Reserve Ammo = 11
Chariot Reserve
Chariot Division Arma
Chariot Division Enlil
Chariot Division Kumarbi
Chariot Division Tarhunna
Infantry Division #1
Infantry Division #2
What a great looking game! It really makes me want to get some chariot armies:). Good to see the playtest help iron out a few issues, which is great of course.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve. I think it will play better with greater engagement by players this way. Won't be quite according to the account by Ramses, which is likely half fiction anyway! :-)
DeleteThis game is a lot of fun. I like the simplified activation rules. In the test game, the Hittite chariots had the run of half the map, which was great fun for everyone except Egyptians. The activation changes guarantee the Hittite chariots will now be crushed between opposing forces, but that is in fact what actually happened.
ReplyDeleteThanks for playing, John! Re is almost guaranteed to be crushed, and cost almost half of the Egyptian Victory medals in our game. Thereafter, the Hittite Chariotry will be in trouble for a while, but they're pretty tough, and the eventual arrival of Hittite reinforcements means the Egyptians can't play it too footloose during the time they have the advantage. Hopefully it will make for a tense see-saw game! Hopefully I will have a chance to give the revised scenario a bit of a test, too.
DeleteGreat looking game, Peter. Figures are terrain are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dean, glad you like it. Chariot era armies are fun to play with, at least to me!
DeleteGreat stuff and with so much stuff on display. Seems like playtest worked well highlighting fixes to scn
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gary, and yes it did. Hopefully I'll have a chance to test out at least as much of the revised scenario before November.
DeleteI always admire the preparation you put into these games Peter, and it is always a good idea to have a hit-out with the Hittites (I've been saving that one).
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lawrence, and... good one!
DeleteNow I need to work on the Sea Peoples vs Ramses scenario. That should be pretty straightforward... I think!
A great looking game. The way you have marked the squares is very effective and is not noticeable.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Peter. That was one of Simon's several brilliant ideas. Here, the green dots (done with a "sharpie" permanent marker) on a variegated background are especially invisible, except when you want to see them!
DeleteGood looking game and you're adjustments make sense!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain
Thanks, hopefully they work out more or less as planned.
DeleteFabulous game Peter. I have to admit to being completely distracted by the 'shiny things', aka chariots!
ReplyDeleteA play-test that obviated the need for some special rules is a big win, as you note.
All the best for the real thing, James
Thanks, James. I do love a bevy of chariots myself! :-)
DeleteI think it should bean interesting game to play out. Hopefully it keeps every one involved and plays to a conclusion!
You have had to reinstate comment approval? That's a shame. I presume too much spam?
ReplyDeleteComment approval only applies to posts older than 2 weeks; I find that eliminates 80% of the spam.
Delete