Playing with Myself

Over the course of a few evenings last week, I set up and played through a game of Pikeman's Lament, the pike and shot version of Osprey's Lion Rampant game. Having only played the latter game once, I was curious to see how the former measured up. I actually owned PL first, and was so impressed by the rules that I bought LR. But sometimes rules work differently on the table than they do in the book, so even though I like LR, I still wanted to give PL a go.

Back when I purchased and read through the rules, I was a little bummed because having read them, I knew it was going to cost me a bundle of money and a fair amount of time before I could get enough troops painted to play. Then I remembered the hundreds of 15mm figures I had for the period, from ECW, to TYW to GNW to, well, you get it. I had them all based for games I am likely to never play again, so I re-based some of them on washers (not pennies this time because I wanted them to be magnetic). Soon, I had way more figures than I would need for a proper 24 point game; in fact I had enough for at least twice that amount. I shrunk the table from 6x4 to 4x3 and inches to centimeters and was set up in no time.

Naturally, most of the troop types are different from Lion Rampant. Gone were the Mounted Men-at-Arms and in their stead 'Gallopers', think those long haired English Royalists (the mounted chivalry/nobility), cavaliers, if you will. Also present are 'Trotters', the ubiquitous cavalry of all armies of the period. Wearing a buff coat and lobster pot, armed with several pistols and a sword, only their colored sashes differentiated them from each other on the battlefield as almost always, both sides would field large numbers of them. Also, you'll find the Forlorn Hope, Commanded Shot, Dragoons, clubmen and clansmen. And of course, the troop types for which the period is named: pike and shot.

Each with their own special rules, some familiar, like 'Wild Charge' and others that were new, like 'Caracole' and 'First Salvo'. Caracole is especially well done, I think. Specific to Trotters, the rule allows the unit to shoot at a selected target and if the shot causes a change in morale status, then the unit gets a free activation to charge home! Awesome, simple way to reproduce their actual battlefield role: shoot, shoot, shoot until the enemy is disorganized and then charge with swords drawn!

The mechanics are the same: each side tries to activate one unit at a time, needing different numbers depending on whether they want to move, shoot or attack. Once an activation is missed, play proceeds to the other player until he also misses or activates all his units. In this way, you never know how many of your units will do what you want them to do, and often, as this game illustrated, your side would do nothing at all as the first roll would miss activating a unit. It must have happened at least six or eight times. In fact, it's a good thing I was playing with myself as the dice were SO bad! I lost count of how many times I would shoot or attack and just totally whiff.

So for this game, I played a simple scenario: two forces who run into each other while scouting a village out to get supplies/food.

The forces featured Scottish Highlander Royalists vs Scottish Covenanters in a 1st ECW dust up near the Scottish border. 

The initial set up from behind Parliament's lines.

And from behind the Royalists'.

Scottish Commanded Shot in their blue bonnets. The sides were pretty similar. One difference was I opted to downgrade the Royalist Gallopers to 'raw' which gave me the extra point to pay for the Commanded Shot.

Highlander pike and shot move into the village providing mutual support. In the back, you can see the Scottish lairds, armed with lances, (these are the downgraded Gallopers.)

Meanwhile, Parliament forces approach the village, led by their dragoons.

Covenanter Trotters, pistols at the ready.

The Dragoons gallop for the village and take advantage of the improved cover it will provide.

Their Royalist counterparts take cover behind a wall and hold down the Scottish left.

Entering the village, neither unit of Dragoons have the range to shoot at each other yet.

The Commanded Shot (and ad hoc unit put together for some specific purpose depending on the battle), are tasked with covering the Royalist right. The Royalist cavalry and clansmen intend to sweep that way while the pike and shot hold the village.

Looking over the highlander Shot's shoulders. The figures are Museum Miniatures, btw. I bought a shit ton of them when the U.S. distributor sold his inventory a while back. I paid $0.10 each!

The Commanded Shot open up on the Covenanter Trotters. Missed.

As it was the first 'shot' of the game, I felt it was worthy of two photos!

Then the Highlanders fire their important First Salvo at the enemy dragoons! Missed.

This shot shows the Covenanters plan. They've decided to send all their horse into the village, blow through the Royalist foote and emerge on the other side. Great plan! (Except it included dice.)

Another shot looking into top of town. Dragoons, Trotters and Gallopers prepare to storm through town.

And Parliament's shot also looses it's First Salvo. Missed.

Seriously about the first half dozen shots failed to remove a single casualty. Should have left the nerf bullets at home.

It became so bad that the Royalist Dragoons actually charged their Parliamentarian counterparts rather than try to shoot!

A real donnybrook ensues. The most important part of this shot is the Scottish Gallopers have made it all the way into the flank of the Parliament's horse after multiple failed attempts to activate ANY of them!

Another shot of the same action.

Yay! It took about a hundred combat rolls but someone finally drew blood! The blue dragoons retreat.

This shot shows the aftermath of the first implementation of the 'caracole' rule. Parliament's Trotters, seen here just left of center, FINALLY activated and shot the shit out of the Scottish lairds, causing them to take casualties and Waiver. This allowed the trotters to then charge home and kill a few more. You can see the remaining two skedaddling out of town! Then the Royalists opened fire and men and horses began to fall.

Parliament's Trotters eat a volley from the Commanded Shot.

The Dragoon fight continues to rage in the village.

Scottish shot joins in and Parliament is retreating all over.

Trotter vs Trotter.

Scot Highlanders with guns, what were they thinking? What will they give them next? Whiskey?

After the Royalist Trotters all but dispatch their Parliamentarian counterparts, they are charged by Covenanter Gallopers. And the whole Parliament plan officially falls to pieces.

Still the blue dragoons survive though, even after charging the Scottish shot. In fact, the Dragoons retreated them back to the edge of the village.

The Covenanter horse is hurting. Only one Trotter, Waivering, remains and their Gallopers great charge wasn't so, uh, great.

And everybody fired at the lone Dragoon and STILL couldn't kill him. He ended up failing a Morale Check and disappeared.

Parliament's Shot fire into the village but there's too much cover to do much good. I'm telling you, I have not seen such lame dice rolling, over a period of three days, since the last time I went to Cold Wars!

With Parliaments horse all gone and down to only their pike, shot and regimental gun (which never got a chance to fire), I called it and I called it a resounding Royalist victory. neither pike unit ever engaged the enemy and the Scottish clansmen (bottom center) never swung a clay-more in anger. Sigh. But that's why I'll play it again!

The summer grasses,

For many brave warriors,

Aftermath of dreams.

The game system continues to impress. Does it really differentiate itself from the medieval version? Yeah, I think so. Does it simulate pike and shot warfare? No, of course not. No game simulates anything other than chubby old guys playing with toy soldiers. And you know what? That's fine with me.  Don't let your own ego fool you, that's why we all got started doing this in the first place! This is a game (system) perfectly suited to a night of light fun playing with your favorite toy soldiers. No 'heavy' rules; no real opportunities for rules lawyering; in short, no stupid shit. 

I continue to highly recommend the game.