Lambo's Latest

REGULAR readers of this blog will know I am a big fan of Mike Lambo's solo boardgames, particularly Battles Of Napoleonic Europe.

I was so impressed by BONE hat I took the trouble of converting it into a tabletop wargame, using 10mm miniatures by WoFun, the Hexon II grid system from Kallistra, and simple but effective scenery.

His latest release goes further back in time, to wars between the Roman Empire and Dacia (a sort of expanded Transylvania) at the start of the second century AD.

There are 10 scenarios, with the human acting as the Roman commander in each

In addition to the commander, the human receives an army drawn from units of archers (called sagittarii in the book), cavalry (equites), legionaries, spearmen and Praetorian Guard - yes, the famous elite body of infantrymen.

The guard, originally formed during the republic, played a leading role in the Dacian wars.

The AI commands a Dacian force, usually made up of archers, cavalry, swordsmen, warriors and falxmen, the last being infantry armed with a sickle-like cutting weapon.

The actions of the Dacians are completely controlled by the rules, and, specifically, by throwing dice - the human never has to make a decision for the 'enemy'.

In this series of posts, I intend fighting the book's first scenario, Across The Danube, explaining it in sufficient detail to give what I hope will be a good feel for what the game is about.

It should, in effect, act as a review, as well as help me learn the game - this will be my first time playing it!