Armies are intended to be built to 1000 points, although our games have generally been in the areas of 500 to 900 points. The points costs are quite different from and lower than WAB, as you’re buying a base, not a single figure. So an equally pointed Swordpoint army size is approximately twice the size it would be in WAB. I’ve only seen a few army lists, but these had a familiar feel to them, reminding me a little of the old WAB army lists, although to be fair this is probably true of several game lists – you’d expect your Romans to field a good mix of Le- gion and Auxilia with a little cavalry and some allies. Such would be true if we looked at DBA or In Death Ground . One thing missing from the list is siege engines – the rules correctly state that these were not battlefield weap- ons and were in most cases used to defend camps or in sieges. There will be rules on the web site for complete- ness. There are rules for elephants and chariots, however.
CHARACTERS – COMMAND AND CONTROL
Characters are a very important part of the game, as units cannot rally on their own – they require a character to be within range. Lesser characters have an influence of 8” and add a bonus to a unit’s cohe- sion score. They can also join a unit and add attacks (typically two) to a unit’s total. The Army General can influence units within 12” and also adds a bo- Teutonic Knights versus Medieval Russians. The editor's game against Nick Eyre.
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nus to combat apart from his attacks (so is sort of a cross between a General and Army Standard Bearer). Characters have no hits, nor is there any challenge mechanism; they live and die with the unit they have joined. However, dice are rolled at the end of every
combat to see if they fall as a casualty.
WEAPONS
The number of special weapons and bonuses has been sig- nificantly reduced and simplified. Pikes, throwing spears, cavalry charging with spears and two-handed weapons all now have simple and easily remembered rules.
MOMENTUM
The Momentum rule adds a very interesting concept to the game. Each player starts with a stock of five tokens which can be used to influence the initiative or the re- sults of close combat. Players secretly bid how many to- kens they want to use in each situation (up to three). New tokens are awarded for charges and defeating the enemy. In my experience, it is worth hoarding the Momentum tokens for when you need them. Momentum is a great idea, so long as you can keep track of the tokens and remember to reward them when they are earned.
ADDIITONAL THOUGHTS
Skirmishers, light infantry, and cavalry are highly ma- noeuvrable but lack the hitting power to the front of a close order enemy. They have to hit them in the flanks. Missile fire can be effective but it is no game winner, particularly against large units. Close order infantry is solid but slow – they will need to protect their flanks. A solid battle line is the best tactic but can prove brittle if units are charged in the flank or if the line is breached. The rules are very subtle and there are a few bits to re- member (elephants perform badly against skirmishers, for example, and close order infantry no longer count as such if they fall below 3 bases). Keeping a tally of the hits on a unit and base removal (remember base
strength) is a little unusual at first but is easy enough once you’re used to it. If a unit takes a single hit from missile fire, it is easy to simply discount it and ignore the need to save as it’ll have no further effect. While certain units gain bonuses if they win combat, the abso- lutes have gone. There are no auto-breaks or rules pro- hibiting charges. The system has been carefully thought through to avoid the extremes which were seen in WAB.
GAMEPLAY
The overall effect of the game is to minimise record- keeping (that is, what you have to keep track of from turn to turn). For example, you don’t need to remember who won the combat last turn. Also, the amount of dice you are rolling is greatly reduced – this is no ‘buckets of dice’ game. Counters are also kept to a minimum.
CONCLUSION
Swordpoint is a very different game to anything I’ve played. It certainly has a unique and enjoyable flavour and the result does feel (and I struggle to use this word, however true it may be) historical. Lines will hold under pressure and take a lot to break. When they do, the re- sults are quite catastrophic (for me at least!). Casualties in battle are kept to a minimum, until that break-point where most are killed in the fleeing and pursuit. Also gone is the individual basing, although movement trays are still useful even with the new basing scheme.
If you liked WAB there is a good chance you’ll like Swordpoint . If you didn’t like WAB then give it a go, as the rules now bear very little resemblance to the origi- nal and many of the annoying parts of the old game are simply gone. My prediction is that Swordpoint will be a BIG hit. Big ancient battles are back and you can leave the Warhammer at home.
What is the highest compliment I can pay to Swordpoint ? I’ll shortly be rebasing all my old ancient armies off their individual square bases for the new game. The more I play the game, the more I’m enjoying it and the subtleties in the rules, and they feel to me to be very historical.WS&S
Our thanks to Martin Gibbins and the Gripping Beast team for their hospitality. Thanks too to my opponent Nick Eyre who is always a pleasure to play.
Swordpoint
Author: Martin Gibbins Publisher: Gripping Beast Dice: D6
System: Initiative based alternate turns
Price: £20.00 A game with Nick Eyre, umpired by Martin Gibbins.
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G A M E R E V I E W SGAME REVIEWS
Deus Vult –
Burn and Loot
Authors: Angelo Autolino, Francesco Velotto
Pages: 70-page full-colour softback.
Publisher: Fireforge Games System: Initiative based alter- native unit activation.
Dice: D6
Price: €23.00 (£19.00)
Deus Vult - Burn and Loot is the second Medieval set of rules from Fireforge Games. I’m not familiar with the first set released (simply Deus Vult ) but from what I read this is quite a different animal. Burn and Loot is designed to operate from a large skirmish level up to big battles. This is a grand idea, as you can try out the big- ger battles as you paint up more units, but only having a few models doesn’t necessarily stop you playing.
Once both armies are deployed, players dice for the initiative each game turn. Each player then takes it in turn to activate a unit alternately until all units have been activated. Once activated, a unit has four activation points. Orders require either two or four points – so a unit could charge (4 points) or choose to advance (2 points) and shoot (2 points).
Casualties are worked out at the individual level (typically one attack per model) and it is typically two step (hit and save). Shooting is simple: add up the number of models which can see (friendly and enemy models block line of sight) and then roll that many D6s. A roll of 4 to 5 is a strike (which affects morale) and a 6 is a killing strike (requiring a de- fence value ‘saving throw’ or a model is removed as a casualty). This is an interesting system, as units may be forced back without taking any casualties. Close combat is done in a similar manner; the defending unit does not fight back but simply resists the attack – although it’ll get its chance when it is activated. Units also have different defence values against shooting and in close combat, which is a nice touch. Morale tests are divided into discipline (for keeping cohesion in the heat of battle) and courage (for stand- ing their ground). Testing is equally simple to combat. Roll a D6: a 6 is a resounding success (success with a bonus), 4-5 a success, 2-3 a failure and 1 a resounding failure (with additional penalties). The quality of units is reflected in the number of dice they get to throw. Most throw a single die but elite units can throw two
or three and pick the highest score rolled. Poor units roll two (or three) dice and choose the lowest result. For a relatively slim rule book, the rules themselves are very comprehensive. The section on terrain goes into some detail about the different types of terrain, includ- ing treacherous terrain (marshes) and obstacles. Building are covered in some detail. Some features such as rivers and hills are randomly diced for. For example, is the river shallow and easy to cross or treacherous and fast flow- ing? I like this idea as that river you may be relying on to anchor your flank might prove little obstacle to your opponent. There is another section for sieges, including siege weapons sections and equipment plus information on walls and on siege equipment and strongholds. This adds up to nine pages.
There are nine good scenarios, all designed for bigger bat- tles however. They are Pitched Battle (a standard fight), Last Stand (a town raid for supplies), The Crossing (assaulting a river crossing), Hold the Tower (attack/defend a watchtow- er), Encircled (defending force ambushed), Dawn of War (fog of war scenario), Town Under Siege, Stronghold Under Siege and Crush the Rioters (the peasants are revolting). There are a few special rules to remember but these are there to add flavour to the armies, so that charg- ing knights are more effective, for example. There are some units which can react to charges; if they per- form a discipline check they can perform the action. Archers can deliver a closing volley, cavalry counter charge, etc. However these actions are not automat- ic and can leave the unit vulnerable.
Finally, there are the army lists. There are twelve army lists, namely Teutonic Order, Livonian Order, Medieval Russian, Feudal Polish, Feudal German, Mongol Horde, Kingdom of France, Early Plantagenets (English), Medi- eval Welsh, Feudal Scots, Medieval Irish and Crown of Aragon. That’s a good selection, although Arabic armies are missing, but more Army lists are available online at the Fireforge website. The Website has lists for Amir Al- Umara (The Abbasid Caliphate), Ahdath Militia (local militias set up to counteract the Crusaders) and the Early Crusaders (think Kingdom of Heaven and you won’t go far wrong). Presumably more army lists will be available in due course. The system is certainly robust enough to be adapted to other periods of history.
The rulebook will require a careful read, but once mas- tered, the mechanics of the game are easy to remem- ber. If you like a simple game with individual casualty removal, and which will scale to the size of game you want to play, then give Burn and Loot a try.
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Congo
Authors: Laurent Pouchain & Fred Machu
Pages: 108-page full-colour hardback with 44-card deck and tokens.
Publisher: Studio Tomahawk System: Order card deter- mine initiative.
Dice: D6, D8, D10 Price: £34.00
Over a decade ago, Darkest Africa was ‘the’ hot new period. Now we have Congo, shedding light once more on the Dark Continent, where many intrepid ex- plorers have perished in the past. Will Congo succeed where others have failed? Read on…
The rules come as an excellently illustrated hardback book with a pack of special cards, consisting of order cards and special bonus cards (typically given out once a turn). Pro- duction values here are excellent but we’ve all seen glossy rules before which didn’t live up to expectations, so I’ll ad- mit I was sceptical at first as to whether I’d like Congo. Currently there are four factions – White Explorers (Dr Featherstone, I presume?), Zanzibar Slavers (honest Arab traders), the Forest Tribes (primitive but good) and African Kingdoms (warrior peoples). Each side has a good selection of characters (you can choose up to two, which join a unit) and then chooses troops from an army list. A typical ‘unit’ runs to 4 to 5 models. The lists are good and have plenty of flavour: the Explorers and Zanzibaris tend towards shoot- ing while the natives tend towards sharp sticks (which they are expert in, so beware) and harsh words (they can use witchdoctors). There is an excellent range of eight different scenarios, provided on ‘news sheet’ style handouts.
Each faction has its own special units. The White Ex- plorers have Soldiers, Adventurers and rifle armed Askari, the Zanzibaris have the dangerous Baluchis. Forest tribes can have cannibals and the ever danger- ous Pygmies. The African Kingdoms have Married and Fanatical Warriors. Some (such as young warriors and Ruga Ruga) are available to all factions.
Characters have their own unique abilities; they also come with a star rating. If one side has a higher star rating than their opponent, the opponent gains an extra bonus card at the start.
Let’s talk rules. Each side has seven order cards, num- bered one to seven, plus a Witchdoctor card. Each
of the order cards provides different actions: some allow for moving (and charging), some for shooting and rally/terror (yes, you can inspire terror in your enemy). Three cards are chosen and then played in sequence (giving each side three actions a turn). Combat is simple: roll the appropriate dice and score a 5+ to succeed. The better the unit, the higher the dice it rolls. For shooting the attacker rolls to hit and then the defender gets a ‘saving throw’, rolling a D6 in the open (or D10 in cover) for each model in the group. Each ‘save’ cancels a hit. This means as an unintended consequence that large groups are more likely to save as they roll more dice. There is an op- tion to ‘go to ground’ but this has a morale penalty. In close combat, each side rolls to hit and tallies the result. The difference in hits determines the winner, the loser taking the difference in casualties. The attacker suffers no casualties if they win – again a little odd, but go with the flow… the system is quick.
Stress tokens are key in the game;, they can be gained by losing combat or avoiding shooting (curiously, not from casualties) but primarily from terror -– yes, your opponent can attempt to spook your forces out. Stress has different effects, such as slowing down a unit’s limiting movement or dulling fighting abil- ity. There is even a terror stress token, which makes your units more susceptible to terror. Too much stress and your unit will flee. I like the feel they add to the game, sort of like an old Tarzan movie. You see the explorers move through the jungle but they slow down and you can see the nervousness on their fac- es. Something spooks the natives and they run off… Again, yes, stress has a very cinematic effect.
The Witchdoctor’s effects can be quite powerful but they are limited by only being used once a game turn. They are definitely a step into fantasy, but still keep the whole ‘Darkest Africa’ feel. They are only available to the Forest Tribes and the African Kingdoms. Well, you won’t have White Explorers and Zanzibaris believing any of that ‘native mumbo jumbo’ nonsense.
Congo is a good, fun and well balanced game. While it probably errs on the side of game rather than accu- rate simulation, I can see it having scope for bigger games given some adaptation. What you get is a cool skirmish game which has enough flavour to keep gamers interested. We’ve had some great games with these rules and there’s talk of a campaign. And yes, we’re buying more miniatures – which is a definite sign! Available from Wargames Foundry.
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