Ambush

[ochoin]

A friend of mine from Sydney is coming up in the New Year & asked if I'd run a game for him (he belongs to a club down there but hasn't gamed with me before).

He's primarily an Ancients gamer, so I thought a Punic-era game - Carthos against the deadly Polybian Romans. A couple of my pals can attend so it promises to be a good day of gaming.

For a scenario, I thought something along the lines of an ambush. He & I could take the Carthos & spring something on the forces of the other two. All a bit vague at the moment.

Do you lot have any thoughts about this: some cunning mechanisms, some surprising twists & turns?

We'll be using Field of Glory. Say 800 point armies so we can fight to a conclusion in 3 or so hours.

donald

[Etranger]

A simple mechanism is to allocate a card to each of your units (eg King of Hearts - Hannibal's Bodyguard) along with a number of unallocated cards. So you might have 10 cards representing your units and 10 'dummy cards', with more or less to taste.

Place the cards face down on the table in likely ambush sites, then when they move within spotting range, your opponent rolls to see if they can identify your unit (bonuses if they've deployed scouts). Perhaps limit the number of cards that you can place in any particular location.

If they do spot, then turn the card over, either unmasking your unit, which can then proceed to attack, or a dummy card is revealed, so a 'false alarm' for your opponent.

If they fail their spot, then in your turn you can either unmask your ambush, or leave the card unturned & leave them to worry for another turn.

Other cards could be used as 'Event cards' , or 'Terrain Cards' eg the Joker, when turned over represents a herd of panicked cattle, disrupting the nearest unit(s). Of course that might also affect your troops, not just your opponents.

A simple modification also allows you do do this for solo games - ie shuffle the cards face down, then put them on the table. You then take the other side and proceed as above,

[Paul]

As ET says, except I wouldn't put the cards on the table but would use a scenic marker such as a certain type of tree/bush/fungus or animal that you don't use for anything else. Obviously warn the players that they are event triggers but...they will forget at least once

[Etranger]

I was trying not to be too sneaky! If the cards are on the table, then there is no argument about their location or purpose. Markers are good, so long as they can be clearly kept track of.

[ochoin]

I was trying not to be too sneaky! If the cards are on the table, then there is no argument about their location or purpose.

"You turn left at the rock that looks like a bear & turn right at the bear that looks like a rock."

I do like the idea of a list of unobtrusive terrain markers. And as even though I'd be a Cartho commander, I'd be setting it up & administering it in a scrupulously honest way & because my pals have the right attitude to wargaming, I foresee no problems.

I'm thinking that because it's hard to hide an elephant, that there should be a sizeable percentage of the Carthos in line of battle & visible at the far end of the table. And maybe the ambush should use the Numidians & Celts only?

Also do you think the Romans should be overall numerically superior to the Carthos in such a scenario?

I'm picturing the thing being a cross between the Teutoberg Forest & Lake Trasimene.

Should the nearest Romans, when surprised, have a programmed range of responses? ie '6' rout, '5-4' retreat a move distance in disorder, '3-2' move a move distance in good order, '1' stand and fight in good order ???

donald

[grizzlymc]

I suppose it's better to be an ambush than a tablecloth.

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

I suppose it's better to be an ambush than a sausage tree.

FTFY.