Hi all - it has been a while since my last post. Our little group has been trying to run a variety of games to replace the summer battles Mike presented. It is still a challenge getting over his passing. But having said that we are pressing on and still enjoy our colorful hobby but miss Mikes quit wit and sharp humor.
So on to the game. I believe that in a previous post I had mentioned that for many years I had wished to run games based on the Crusades. Having grown up with watching TV of the 50's and 60's with replays of movies from the 40's and 50's my imagination runs wild thinking about games that remind me of these fantastic shows. I could not decide on a set of rules until Simon Millers' 'To the Strongest' came out. They are perfect for my needs. The perfect amount of detail and quick play with innovative game play. Now I just had to get the rest of our group to be willing to play them.
This game introduced a couple more members of our group their first play and a couple of us another play at them. We have the typical opponents - Crusaders and Muslims.
The rules have you play on a grid laid out on the playing area. For our games I am using a large piece of tie died fleece material obtained at Jo Anne's Fabrics - total cost of $16.00 on sale. I marked off the grid using a brown Sharpie pen by placing a dot where the four corners meet. Unless you are aware of them they are very unobtrusive.
I added some scrub and hills and away we went.
Here are a series of pictures of the game. For this event the narrative is not so important as it was intended as a learning experience (My side lost - again). For the record though the players were Bill and Wendell vs. Jamie and myself.
If you look closely you can see the dots marking the corners of the grid.
And here are some close ups of the figures. Flags are off the computer. Figures are old, new, plastic and metal.
Thanks for stopping by and as always all comments are welcome.
Good gaming,
Greg
So on to the game. I believe that in a previous post I had mentioned that for many years I had wished to run games based on the Crusades. Having grown up with watching TV of the 50's and 60's with replays of movies from the 40's and 50's my imagination runs wild thinking about games that remind me of these fantastic shows. I could not decide on a set of rules until Simon Millers' 'To the Strongest' came out. They are perfect for my needs. The perfect amount of detail and quick play with innovative game play. Now I just had to get the rest of our group to be willing to play them.
This game introduced a couple more members of our group their first play and a couple of us another play at them. We have the typical opponents - Crusaders and Muslims.
The rules have you play on a grid laid out on the playing area. For our games I am using a large piece of tie died fleece material obtained at Jo Anne's Fabrics - total cost of $16.00 on sale. I marked off the grid using a brown Sharpie pen by placing a dot where the four corners meet. Unless you are aware of them they are very unobtrusive.
I added some scrub and hills and away we went.
Here are a series of pictures of the game. For this event the narrative is not so important as it was intended as a learning experience (My side lost - again). For the record though the players were Bill and Wendell vs. Jamie and myself.
Good gaming,
Greg
What a beautiful battle, great looking armies and a very nice mat as well to play in the desert....
ReplyDeleteLovely game
ReplyDeleteThank you Sir!
DeleteHi Greg, wow! I wasn't expecting the Crusades, some lovely minis there. I recently bought some Crusaders, on a whim; now I want to base them. That mat is really good, too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Simon - we really are getting into your rules. So far a couple of group are purchasing them! Thanks for all of your hard work. As far as basing them - I did my figures individually and then used movement trays so we could use the same figures for skirmish gaming.
DeleteTake care,
Greg
The matt is excellent. I am a big fan of To the the Strongest, and I have yet to find a player who disliked the rules. Sure, they may not scratch the itch for die hard Ancients/medieval players, but for everyone else they are surprisingly subtle, and I have never had a game last more than 3 hours even with novice players. I just ran two games with it at Historicon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by. Yes these rules have become our go to set of rules replacing Tactica that we had played since it was published.
DeleteThat is a glorious set up, and for a fine set of rules. Great to see.
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Aaron
Thanks Prufrock.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDelete