I just received a copy of Mike Lambos' newest solitaire wargame book; Battles of the English Civil War. With a complete ruleset and 15 battle scenarios for under $20.00, it is a great value. With Mr. Lambo games there are aways some changes in the rules so you're not just playing same rules with some small change to justify charging full price for the same rules.In this game the Artificial Intelligence tends to be more aggressive than other games. Such rules I think would be great in an Ancients game. Also when a unit is hit, it becomes disorganized and starts fleeing the field. There is uncertainty as the unit can retreat different distances based in the roll; then there's the fact you must try to rally before it retreats off the board or is hit a second time, which destroys the unit.
I got my first game in last night, using Peter Laing figures for my units. The battle was Edgehill. The AI were Royalists. And instead of deploying in Edgehill, they mainly deployed at the base of the hill. After my first move, the Royalist cannon fire disorganized one of my pikemen units, which promptly fled the field! The battle was downhill for me from there.
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| Initial troop deployments. Royalists on top, my army on the bottom. One can see the Royalist artillery has a clear shot on one of my pikemen. |
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| The Royalist cannon and hits my pikeman, who retreats off the board. An ill omen! |
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| The end of battle. The accursed General AI gave my army a sound thumping. With no chance of victory, I concede defeat. |
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| The cover of the book. A good value that even non hermits should consider buying. |
