New Lambo

MIKE Lambo has a new solo wargaming book coming out, set in a science-fiction world.

It has not been published yet, but he has uploaded an instructional play-through.

This type of wargaming, especially as it is skirmish wargaming, is not really my thing, and in some ways the interactions between the ship's crew and invading aliens stretch credulity, but if the play-through is anything to go by, it is a lot of fun.

More Spears

HAVE finished painting another unit of spearmen for my biblical Egyptian army.

10mm figures from Magister Militum

It has taken longer than I anticipated, but the army, to be used at first at least with Neil Thomas's rules, is starting to take shape.

Left to right: royal chariots, marine spears, blue shields (spearmen), Sherden, red shields (spearmen), marine bows and ordinary chariots

Lambo Spoiler Alert

HAVING watched Mike Lambo instructional play-throughs, all of which were exciting as well as fun, I today watched his play-through of the first mission from Battles of Normandy.

This proved, relatively speaking, anything but exciting - but still a lot of fun.

Hasty Judgment

WATCHED Mike Lambo's instructional play-through of the Battle of Hastings this evening.

At first I thought it bore no resemblance to what happened in 1066, but the more I watched, the more it grew on me.

Once again he never explains something once if he can find three or more ways to do it, but his solo refight is exciting to the very end.

Mapping The Past

I ALWAYS pop into charity shops when I can.

It is not that I am particularly philanthropic, but every now and then I spot a book I did not know existed and feel sure will prove interesting.

My latest find is The Mapmakers by John Noble Wilford.

£2 bargain from Oxfam in Bethnal Green Road, East London

It tells the history of cartography from earliest times, which makes it particularly relevant to anyone with a passion for ancient history.

I sped through the early chapters, but admit to getting bogged down and finally giving up when the author delves into the minutiae of modern mapmaking.

Frankly I would have been well-satisfied with my purchase if it had cost me £10, but that is five times the price I paid.

I will almost certainly never finish the book, but I may well re-read the early chapters and use it as a handy reference source.

Sherman Lessons

IF you have any interest in WW2, especially wargaming skirmish-level battles solo, take a look at Mike Lambo's Lone Sherman play-through and, with mini tanks, a mission.

Junk Status

I AM in danger of becoming a Mike Lambo junkie.

Yesterday I watched him on YouTube playing three missions from his WW1 book, Assault On Vimy Ridge, starting with a detailed play-through.

He has achieved what I would have thought next-to-impossible - made a trench-warfare simulation compulsive viewing.

Naturally he is playing with counters, but it would work equally well - and look even better, in my view - with miniatures.

Soloing On (3)

I AM abroad this week, which means I am not in position to start trying Mike Lambo's English Civil War battles.

However I have been entertaining myself, and learning what seem valuable tips, by watching demo videos, starting with a play-through of the Battle of Edgehill.

Be warned - the pace is slow, with a lot of repetition, but at least there is little umming and aahing, and I found the battle quite exciting.

I also watched his play-through of the Battle of Cheriton, where again he rarely says anything once if he can say it three times, but this is better than skipping over 'obvious' stuff, and again I found it entertaining.

Soloing On (2)

EACH of the 15 battles in Mike Lambo's English Civil War book gets a spread.

Battle of Edgehill

On the right is a hexed map, which includes restrictions on where each side's units may be placed.

The Royalists, coming from the top of the map, have high ground in the rear of their deployment area.

The Parliamentarians, coming from the bottom of the map, have two wooded hexes, and there are more wooded hexes in the centre of the map.

On the left are details of each side's forces, and how the AI works.

The clever thing about the AI mechanism is that the human player never has to make a decision for the AI - the process is completely automated by a unit's general orders and, specifically, by dice throws.

At Edgehill the human leads Parliament, getting two units each of musketeers, pikemen and cavalry, and one of cannons.

The AI, commanding the Royal army, gets three units each of musketeers and pikemen, two of cavalry and one of cannons.

It should be obvious that these units cannot be thought of as single regiments.

An army's two units of cavalry, for example, should be thought of as the the army's right and left wings - at least that is how armies of the period generally set up.

A second thought arises: why are muskets and pikes treated as separate formations, when overwhelmingly at this time the two weapons were integrated into joint units?

Perhaps it is to add flavour, and Lambo does point out in his introduction that "many concepts have been simplified or abstracted for gameplay purposes."

One way of rationalising it is to think of foot units as containing mixed weapons, but with some emphasising, or being more proficient with, pikes, and others with muskets.

I do not claim that is entirely satisfactory, but will wait to see how the rules play out.

Incidentally, they could easily be adapted to Renaissance battles, when soldiers armed with shot weapons were usually separate from those trained for meleeing.

Soloing On

I ENJOYED playing the solo version of Philip Sabin's Empire so much that I bought a purely solo game: Mike Lambo's Battles Of The English Civil War.

Striking cover

It comes as a book, and is one of 11 solo, or solitaire, games he has published.

All have received generally positive reviews, but I plumped for his English Civil War book as it won exceptionally good reviews and covers a period of military history that I have looked at in some detail.

The book contains 15 battles, in which the human player is appointed to command either the Royalists or the Parliamentarians.

The other side is commanded by the AI, and it is the strength of the AI in this book that has attracted much praise, apparently being a major improvement over previous versions.

On first reading I can understand why people are excited by the AI - it certainly reads as if it can put up a strong effort.

The proof of the pudding will be in the playing, but I have a promising first impression.

Solo Empire: Conclusions

I HOPE it goes without saying that I really enjoyed playing Philip Sabin's Empire, and writing it up as I went along.

Previously I had tried the mechanics, and then played a trial game, which went very differently from this one.

In the first game Macedonia had trouble beating the Persians, while Carthage never seriously threatened Rome's consolidated control of ITALIA, even after Hannibal arrived on the scene.

The Macedonians eventually eliminated Persia, but the Romans also eliminated Carthage, and had plenty of time to storm east and score a convincing triumph.

The game I have written up varied considerably, with Macedonia easily crushing Persia and repeating the historic achievement of conquering (west) INDIA.

Carthage also did much better than in my previous game, greatly slowing Rome's ability to expand.

But the game was decided, I believe, when Rome held off from destroying Carthage in order to go against the Macedonians.

As it happened, the Macedonians were to be devastated by a series of untimely revolts as much as by Roman intervention, the net result being a game-win for Carthage.

What I particularly liked about this game was how much of it, including the dramatic late-revival of Persia in the shape of the Parthians, had a historical feel.

I hope to organise a four-player game of Empire in the near future, writing it up on this blog.

Empire: Turn 20 (160-150 BC)

Situation in 160 BC

If the game were to finish now, the Carthaginians would have 12 victory points from their imperial legacy, five from turn 10, and three thanks to finishing in control of AFRICA and Numidia, making a total of 20.

The Romans would have five from turn 10, and 12 from finishing in control of nine provinces, including the double-scoring IBERIA and triple-scoring consolidated ITALIA, making a total of 17.

The Macedonians would have 14 from turn 10, and three for controlling AEGYPTUS and Armenia, also making a total of 17.

The Persians/Parthians would have 12 from their imperial legacy, and five for controlling five single-point provinces, also making 17.

The revolt phase sees Thracia leave Roman control, reducing their running total to 16.

The Romans are first to campaign. They could attack AFRICA, but even if successful it would not fall, instead Sicilia would revolt from Carthaginian control. Since the Romans cannot overhaul Carthage, they instead attack Thracia, but a throw of 1 indicates a dispirited campaign.

Carthage tries to retake Numidia, but is repulsed.

The Parthians fail to take AEGYPTUS.

The Macedonians fail to incite a revolt in their homeland.

Carthage victorious - at least in game terms

Empire: Turn 19 (170-160 BC)

Situation in 170 BC

Macedonian woes get even worse as the province of Asia revolts.

Carthage narrowly fails to retake IBERIA. The sea-crossing is no problem (a 6 is thrown), but a 3 is rolled for the land campaign, which means failure as the +1 modifier for having had a great captain within the past five turns is cancelled out by -1 for attacking a controlled province.

Rome experiences no such problems in counterattacking and taking Numidia.

The Parthians attack AEGYPTUS, but roll a feeble 1 - perhaps their revival is running out of steam.

The Macedonians can only try to launch a revolt in their homeland, but fail to throw the required 6.

All is set for an exciting last turn

Empire: Turn 18 (180-170 BC)

Carthage and the Parthians have both made remarkable comebacks

More Macedonian woe as Pontus revolts, meaning the Macedonians are reduced to four connected provinces - the minimum needed for launching a campaign when the homeland has fallen.

With the Macedonian threat vastly reduced, the Romans turn again to deal with Carthage, rolling a 3 while attacking IBERIA. This roll gets +1 for being within five turns of having a great captain and +1 for being on turns 11-20 without having a great captain, but -1 for attacking a controlled province, so the attack just succeeds.

Carthage tries to counterattack, but its fleet is lost at sea.

The Macedonians fail to retake Pontus, rolling only a 3.

The Parthians attack and take Syria, splitting the remaining three Macedonian possessions into isolated provinces.

The Macedonian Successor states are surely finished

Empire: Turn 17 (190-180 BC)

Situation in 190 BC

INDIA is chosen again in the revolt phase, but is already independent so there is no effect.

Carthage is drawn to campaign first, and this time succeeds in retaking Sicilia, last under Carthaginian control some 80 years ago.

Rome is up next. A quick calculation shows that if things end as they stand now, Carthage gains four victory points, taking its total to 21, while the Macedonians gain eight victory points, taking their total to 22. Meanwhile the Romans stand to gain 10 victory points, leaving them trailing on 15, which is also what the Persians/Parthians stand to finish on. Rome needs to keep expanding, but ideally at the expense of both Carthage and the Macedonians. The good news for the Romans is that for the final four turns they receive a +1 modifier for recently having a great captain and a further +1 for being a on turns 11-20 without a great captain. The bad news for them is they can only launch one campaign a turn, and this turn they decide to attack Thracia, easily conquering it with a 6.

The Parthians attack Mesopotamia, rolling a 5 and so succeeding despite a -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province.

Carthage attacks IBERIA, as there is no -1 modifier for attacking outside the original Carthaginian empire and IBERIA counts as two victory points. Rolls of 6 for the sea-crossing and 5 for the land campaign see IBERIA fall, seriously bringing into question the Roman decision not to destroy Carthage when Scipio seemed to have the opportunity.

The Macedonians fail in an attack on Thracia.

Cato warned that Carthage "must be destroyed" - it seems he was right 

Empire: Turn 16 (200-190 BC)

Situation in 200 BC

The Macedonians suffer a major blow as the province of INDIA revolts, and it is all but inconceivable that the Macedonians could reconquer it.

Scipio's second set of five campaigns starts with Magna Graecia, which is followed by a sea-crossing and conquest of Macedonian-held Graecia (just - the sea-crossing was not a problem, but a 2 was rolled for the land campaign, which was enough thanks to the great captain's +2 modifier and the fact that great captains do not suffer a -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province unless the province is a homeland). Next up is the Macedonian homeland, but that falls easily, as does Thracia. With the Macedonians badly weakened, Scipio finishes by again attacking Numidia, but this time the naval invasion fails.

The Macedonians, seeing the Romans as a bigger threat than the Parthians, attack Thracia, rolling a 5, which is enough to overcome the -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province.

The Parthians could attack INDIA, but that requires a 6 as they have a -2 modifier for attacking anywhere outside of their original empire (apart from AEGYPTUS). Instead they attack Mesopotamia, but fail.

Carthage easily crosses the sea to Sicilia, but the invasion is a flop on a throw of 1.

Scipio has helped Rome gain control of most of the north Mediterranean

Empire: Turn 15 (210-200 BC)

Situation in 210 BC

Mesopotamia again revolts from Macedonian rule.

This is the first of two turns in which Scipio the Younger is a great captain for Rome, but before he can expand Rome's boundaries he first has to spend a campaign consolidating Roman rule in ITALIA. This requires a 3 or better, rather than the normal 5, but the difference is academic as a 5 is thrown. Scipio then conquers Cisalpina, Gallia and IBERIA, successfully crosses the sea to Numidia, but throws a 1, the only result that fails to result in a conquest.

Carthage tries to take independent Sicilia, but the invasion force never arrives, presumably lost in a storm.

The Macedonians retake Mesopotamia.

With Parthia protected by the buffer province of Persia, the Parthians successfully invade Bactria.

Rome is on the rise, but it has a lot of catching up to do

Empire: Turn 14 (220-210 BC)

Situation in 220 BC

A blow for Carthage as Numidia revolts, just as Hannibal appears as the city's great captain. Historically Numidia was firmly under Carthaginian control when Hannibal appeared, but Carthaginian possessions further west did not spread north of IBERIA. In the game, Carthaginians do not have Numidia at the start of Hannibal's run, but have Gallia instead. This actually slightly favours Carthage as there is no -1 modifier for operating outside of the original empire when attacking Numidia.

The Carthaginians, with their five great-captain campaigns, go first, but disastrously roll a 1 when attacking Numidia, which is not enough despite Hannibal's +2 modifier. A second campaign succeeds, and Hannibal moves on to Cisalpina. Because he is a great captain, he ignores the usual -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province, but still suffers -1 for attacking outside of the original Carthaginian empire. With his +2 great-captain modifier, he therefore needs a 3, and that is exactly what is rolled. There are two Carthaginian campaigns left, and two possible targets: ITALIA and Sicilia. The former would see a +2 modifier for being a great captain, but -1 for being outside Carthage's original empire and -1 for attacking a controlled homeland. The chances are therefore even. Attacking Sicilia would require a sea-crossing, followed, if successful, by a campaign with +2 for a great captain but -1 for being outside Carthage's original empire. The chances are therefore 5-4 against. So attacking ITALIA has the slightly better chance of succeeding, and would have a major effect in that success would see Magna Graecia and Sicilia becoming independent and so easier for Carthage to conquer. Accordingly the Carthaginians use their fourth great-captain campaign to attack ITALIA, and succeed with a 6. For their final campaign they attack Sicilia, but the fleet is lost at sea (a 1 was rolled).

The Macedonians successfully invade Pontus.

Rome has to reconsolidate its control of ITALIA, but, requiring a 5 or 6, only rolls a 3.

The Parthians expand by conquering the province of Persia.

Carthage dominates the West, and Macedonians the East, but the Parthians are resurgent and Rome is about to get Scipio the Younger

Empire: Turn 13 (230-220 BC)

The calm before the storm as turn 14 will see the arrival of Hannibal, followed by Scipio the Younger on turns 15 & 16

Mesopotamia revolts from Macedonian rule, but it is reconquered immediately after the Macedonians are drawn to campaign first.

The Parthians attack Persia but only roll a 3.

Carthage attacks Gallia and throws the needed 6.

Rome counterattacks Gallia but rolls a 1.

The stage is set for Hannibal's entrance

Empire: Turn 12 (240-230 BC)

Situation in 240 BC - the Persians/Parthians are back, and hostilities seem certain to resume between Carthage and Rome

The revolt dice again settle on independent Illyria, and so have no effect.

Rome attacks the Carthaginians in Gallia, rolling a 4, which is enough for success as the -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province is cancelled out by the Romans' turns 11-20 +1 modifier.

The Macedonians yet again attack Illyria, and yet again fail.

Carthage counterattacks Gallia, rolling a 5, but -1 modifiers for attacking outside of its original empire and for attacking a controlled province mean the invasion narrowly fails.

The Parthians attack Macedonian-controlled Persia, but only roll a 3.

Rome has conquered a province outside of Italy for the first time

Empire: Turn 11 (250-240 BC)

Situation in 250 BC

It is hard to see the Persians/Parthians making a comeback, but do not rule out Rome. From this turn on the Romans receive a +1 modifier for every turn in which they do not have a great captain, and they have Scipio the Younger coming on Turns 15 & 16. During those two turns they will get five campaigns a turn and have a +2 great-captain modifier, and for the remaining turns they will get the +1 modifier explained above; and a further +1 modifier for it being within five turns of having Scipio. Nevertheless I guess the question is whether Rome can be quick enough in defeating Carthage before turning against the Macedonian Successors.

One of the problems of having a large empire, as the Macedonians do, is there are more places that can revolt, and this turn it is Bactria that becomes independent.

To make matters worse, the Parthians roll a 6, meaning they have resumed control of their homeland province of Parthia.

The Macedonians immediately attack Parthia, but only roll a 2.

With Gallia no longer wracked by tribal ferment, the Carthaginians invade and conquer the province with a roll of 6.

The Romans invade Cisalpina, rolling a 3, which is enough thanks to their turns 11-20 +1 modifier.

Rome and Carthage now confront each other across the Alps as well as the Strait of Sicily

Empire: Turn 10 (260-250 BC)

Crunch time - at the end of this turn the first victory points will be awarded (apart from the 12 Carthage and Persia each start with for past imperial glories)

Perhaps it is just as well Macedon failed to conquer Illyria last turn as the revolt dice show the province would have revolted this turn - a warning to the Macedonians about Illyrian fierceness?

The Macedonians ignore the warning and again invade Illyria, but are thrown back when they only roll a 3.

Carthage attacks Sicilia, easily crossing the sea, by rolling a 6, but the subsequent campaign roll of 5 is insufficient as the city is attacking outside of its original empire and is attacking a controlled province.

The Parthians fail to revolt in their homeland.

The Romans have three possible campaigns: against Cisalpina (-1 modifier because of tribal unrest on the first 10 turns); AFRICA (a sea-crossing followed by -1 for attacking a controlled province); Graecia (the same as AFRICA). It is a tricky choice because a successful attack on AFRICA would not make it fall, but would cause Carthage's other provinces to revolt (AFRICA only falls if there are no other Carthaginian provinces) and so greatly damage Carthage's victory points total (remember, IBERIA is worth double points). On the other hand Cisalpina is a slightly easier target (2-1 against succeeding, whereas the chances of a successful attack on AFRICA are 3-1 against, thanks to the complication of a sea-crossing). In the end I decide to try to emulate the consul Marcus Regulus who, in 256 BC during the First Punic War, along with his co-consul, Lucius Longus, defeated the Carthaginians in a naval battle off Sicily and followed by invading North Africa. A roll of 5 means the Romans successfully cross the sea, but a campaign roll of 1 sees them defeated in AFRICA, as Regulus was at the Battle of the Bagradas River.

Victory Points

Carthage scores five, made up of two each for controlling AFRICA and IBERIA, and one for Numidia. That puts the Carthaginians on 17 points at the halfway stage of the game.

The Romans score three for ITALIA and one each for Magna Graecia and Sicilia, taking them to five.

The Macedonians have 12 provinces, including AEGYPTUS and INDIA, scoring 14 points.

The Persians/Parthians have no provinces and so stay on 12.

Carthage leads at the halfway point, but will likely need great things from Hannibal on turn 14 if it is not to be overhauled by the Macedonians

Empire: Turn Nine (270-260 BC)

Situation in 270 BC

Persian humiliation is complete as Pontus revolts, removing the last green counter from the map. If a comeback is ever achieved, the people will be known as Parthians, and I shall refer to them as such from now on.

Carthage attacks Magna Graecia, rolling a 5, but -1 modifiers for attacking outside of the original Carthaginian empire and for attacking a controlled province mean the campaign narrowly fails.

The Parthians fail to revolt in their homeland.

This is the first turn since turn two that the Macedonians have not received a modifier for either having a great captain, or for having had a great captain no more than five turns ago. Not that any such modifier would have been enough as, switching their attention to Illyria, they roll a 1.

Rome attacks Sicilia, rolling a 5, which is enough as a -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province does not halt the campaign.

For the first time Rome controls all of Italy south of Cisalpina

Empire: Turn Eight (280-270 BC)

Carthaginians are menacing Rome's ITALIA stronghold

With Carthage almost at the gates of Rome, this is a good time to explain some of the rules regarding ITALIA.

As has already been seen, Rome must first consolidate its rule in ITALIA, and when this is done it receives a second counter there.

If ITALIA is successfully attacked, instead of removing a counter, every other Roman-controlled province revolts.

If however, as in this game, Rome has no other provinces, then a counter is removed and Rome must consolidate again, requiring a campaign roll of 5 or better (3 if the campaign is led by Scipio the Younger).

Italia can only be attacked if it has two counters, so it can never fall to outside control, but clearly forcing the Romans to reconsolidate would set back their expansion plans.

Anyway, back to turn eight, and the revolt phase sees the province of Persia become independent (remember, this is not the Persian/Parthian homeland - that is Parthia).

The Macedonians campaign first and invade the newly revolted province. They roll a 3, which is just enough as there is a +1 modifier for peoples who no longer have a great captain but had one no more than five moves ago.

The Persians are up next, rolling a 5, narrowly failing to revolt in their Parthia homeland.

The Carthaginians have an interesting choice to make. They can attack ITALIA, hoping, as explained above, to slow Roman expansion. That would require a 6 as there would be -1 modifiers for attacking a controlled province and for attacking outside the original Carthaginian empire. Alternatively they could attack Gallia, which would also require a 6 as it is outside the original Carthaginian empire and has a -1 modifier for attack on the first 10 turns. So the chance of success in either campaign is 5-1 against. Slowing Rome is important, but conquering Gallia would gain an extra victory point, assuming it is still held when the points are first calculated in two turns' time. In the end I could not decide between the two options, and rolled a die with a 50:50 chance for the two campaigns. The choice fell on ITALIA, but that proved academic as the campaign roll was a 1.

The Romans make Carthage pay for its failure by conquering Magna Graecia with an emphatic roll of 6.

The Carthaginians have been thrown out of the Italian mainland, but still control Sicilia

Empire: Turn Seven (290-280 BC)

Situation in 290 BC

Magna Graecia again revolts from Rome - could it be overly harsh taxation, or perhaps a Greek-inspired love of freedom?

Carthage is quick to take advantage. Despite a -1 modifier for campaigning outside their original empire, the Carthaginians take Magna Graecia on a roll of 6.

The Macedonians again attack Pontus, but again roll a 1.

The Romans attack Magna Graecia, but roll a 3.

The Persians again fail to spark revolution in Parthia.

Carthaginian blue closes in on ITALIA

Empire: Turn Six (300-290 BC)

Situation in 300 BC

A blow for the Romans as Magna Graecia revolts (on throws of 5 and 4) to become independent.

The Macedonians campaign first, attempting to invade the last Persian holdouts in Pontus, but roll a miserable 1.

The Romans beat Carthage to the punch, successfully reconquering Magna Graecia.

The Persians fail to pull off a revolt in their homeland of Parthia.

The Carthaginians try but fail to throw the Romans out of Magna Graecia.

For the second turn running, the map looks the same despite 10 years passing

Empire: Turn Five (310-300 BC)

Little remains of the Persian empire, but a clash is looming between Carthage and Rome for control of the west Mediterranean

AEGYPTUS revolts from Macedonian rule, which will presumably slow Successor involvement in any Punic war.

The Persians again fail to ferment revolt in their homeland of Parthia.

Rome strikes first in the west, invading Carthaginian Sicilia, but a roll of 2, with a -1 modifier for attacking a controlled province, means failure.

The Macedonians, probably commanded by Alexander the Great's old companion Ptolemy, successfully reconquer AEGYPTUS.

Carthage counterattacks against Roman-held Magna Graecia, but needing a 6, thanks to -1 modifiers for attacking outside of the original Carthaginian empire and for attacking a controlled province, its throw of 1 is way short.

The map looks exactly the same as it did 10 years - the Macedonians lost, but then regained, AEGYPTUS, while the first Punic War has stalemated