As September the 7th rolled around, I headed off to the Kirkby gaming club for a demo game of Fields of Glory, a set of rules for historical conflicts dating from BC to the Dark Ages and beyond.
Friend Richard Y had purchased some Carthaginians, Romans and Gauls from a pleasant chap (selling stuff at maybe a 10th of the value. I plan to purchase some Warhammer Orcs and Goblins from him!) and was keen to try out the game. Having discussed it many weeks before, I'd read through the rules book and was looking forward to the game.
A few words on the system itself before I get onto the game we played.
The rules book is, simply put, a pain. The contents are laid out in a confusing manner and this lead to a lot of time spent cycling through pages. The chart for weapon ranges, PoA (points of advantage), Cohesion tests and all the other important stuff are repeated at the back of the book which is handy.
However, the rest are laid out across a number of pages which aren't necessarily close together.
An example of this would be during a game later in the afternoon, during which Richard Y and Richard B both wanted to put their commanders in a unit to see how that affected combat. Right I thought, a simple look in the index... right, so flip to page 19... and yet I could see no rule there. I noticed however, a single line mid paragraph a different rule saying "as mentioned on page 84". Right, so off to page 84... and again, "As mentioned on page 90" and it was only on page 90 that we finally found our answer but only after the game had been held up for a good 5 minutes.
Despite this, the game itself played well and was quite enjoyable. It took a while for me to get used to the fact that having better armor meant you hit harder in combat, or that even if you somehow land 20 odd hits you can only ever remove 2 bases of a unit and no more. This was a game that was focused more on forcing the opponent to take and hopefully fail "cohesion tests" which in turn reduces the unit's fighting capabilities until it eventually breaks and begins running at full speed away from the enemy it lost to, eventually off the table edge or long enough to allow the opponent to swing in and destroy the enemies camp, which will win them the game.
A few pictures of the game I took part in, in which I played the Carthaginians.
 |
| Roman Legionaries march forward |
Richard Y took 2 blocks of Legionaries which count as heavy infantry. With a move of 3" a turn and an automatic disordered status when entering rough terrain (The first stage of failed cohesion tests. The second is fragmented followed by broken as the third) these guys in my mind are better suited to protecting your camp, or a strategic location. They will shred any medium or light foot and can go toe to toe with other heavy foot or medium cavalry.
 |
| On the right, my heavy cavalry prepares to charge Roman cavalry, backed by their second commander |
Cavalry also suffer disorder from terrain pieces. At the start of each game, before deployment, each player rolls a dice. Highest number gains priority for terrain placement and then the chart is followed. Priority player places their terrain, the opposing player can roll a dice to attempt to shift the terrain by so many inches etc and it all adds to the tactical options of the game, something I thoroughly enjoyed.
 |
| Run away! |
 |
| Elephant madness |
Skirmishers and archers etc count as light foot, or cavalry if mounted. When charged by anything other than other light models, they will attempt to evade which is done via a chart for evading and perusing. They also have to take a cohesion test to attempt to stand bravely as opposed to evading (tactical cowardice ;o)!). This will rarely be attempted as they will be easily defeated in close combat, but is necessary if you don't want to evade off the board!
 |
| Battle is met! |
In the last few turns, battle really heated up. African spearmen fought the legionaries, who beat them off and broke them, chasing them towards the Carthage camp. Poeni infantry also delay another unit of legionaries. Poeni slingers pelt some Romans from the safety of the rough terrain, a field. Finally, the elephant looks set to flank charge the legionaries...
But the game ended before this could happen...
The Carthage cavalry shatters the Roman cavalry, leaving the way for the elephant to trample the Roman camp, netting me the game!
It was a game that took us a while to play due to learning the rules and wasn't helped by the fact we played on a table twice as big as we should have, but all these were great learning experiences and lessons learned. I acted as the rules reader for Richard Y Richard B's game, and since it was played on the correct sized table, it was a lot smoother and came to a conclusion in a much more reasonable time.
There are plans for a second game when I can next get to the club. The Roe mans will either battle the Gauls or try to quell a slave uprising.
Elsewhere, I also have plans for a Bolt Action game, but as ever my painting schedule is packed and I haven't managed to get a lick of paint on my Britisy out h, so I apologise in advance for the grey minis. I'm hoping an order I placed, for a sniper team in ghillie suit arrives in time, so I can snipe a couple of Gerry's and show them we are the boys who will make you think again!
They don't like it up 'em sir, they don't like it up 'em ;o)
