Summing Up The Forest Road

ANOTHER exciting Mike Lambo battle, although in the end the victory was rather convincing, even if it was only confirmed in the last turn.

I was aided by lucky dice throws in the attack phase of turn XI, but it was in the movement phase of the turn that an "all-but-impossible" victory, as I described the situation at the end of turn X, became a likely triumph.

Some takes from this scenario:

1. I probably should have used the Roman discretion of buying specific units, even though they cost a little more, so as to have spearmen with which to counter the Dacian cavalry.

2. The AI, having five cavalry units - one short of the maximum allowed in any scenario - gave the battle a very different feel from the first scenario.

3. Perhaps I played too conservatively at first. But on the other hand the need early on was to survive the Dacian mounted onslaught.

4. Infantry move slowly, and I failed to properly take into consideration how my slow advance early on would leave all dismounted units struggling to reach the victory zone.

5. Units generally retreat rather than get destroyed, but this changes dramatically when units are surrounded, or are nearly so, and have no avenue of retreat, as the impetuous Dacian cavalry found to their cost.

My score against the AI is 2-0, and I am eagerly looking forward to fighting the third scenario in Commander - Romans v Dacians