 |
| View along the huge table at the start of play - Royalists on the left, Parliamentarians on the right. I hadn't realised just how extensive Tony's collection is and was pleasantly surprised. |
 |
| That's me (Prince Rupert) with my faithful hound 'Boye'. I was fascinated by Tony's lovely model coach which apparently housed the Earl of Newcastle. I think he may have been snoozing in there as he took no part in proceedings. |
 |
| After an enjoyable affair of cavalry on both flanks (I got the upper hand on the left whilst Goya was victorious on the right) I decided to attack with my infantry in the centre. |
 |
| This was perhaps not the best plan as the Roundheads had defence in depth but I felt it was worth a gamble. |
 |
| With the cavalry on my right defeated by a certain 'Cromwell' fellow I had to draw in a tight defence with infantry. The stout chaps here were mostly Hinton Hunt - well of course! |
 |
| At the end of play you can see there is little left of my army. How will I explain this to the king? |
I was particularly interested to re-fight Marston Moor as I had played this same battle as a demo game in the early 1970s using Minifigs armies put together by myself and a couple of wargaming school friends. I can’t remember who won on that occasion, but we had a clear-cut victory for the Roundheads this time.
 |
| Rewind 43 years and here's the same battle played (I think) somewhere near Colchester. The Royalists (on the right this time) are my collection of 'intermediate' Minifigs. |
Tony put a lot of effort into the research for this game which (along with the superb veggie-haggis, tatties and neeps lunch) was much appreciated by the players. His clever adaptation of C&C for the ECW worked very well and provided just the right period feel to the ebb and flow of the game. I very much hope I get to play another of these.
There is something very appealing about all those pikes, muskets and flags that makes for an excellent spectacle. I prefer the Old School look for this period probably from those old Featherstone books.
ReplyDeleteMatt - the pikes are great until you accidentally lean on some and bend them right in front of your host. No damage done accept to my pride!
ReplyDeleteFor some of our previous campaigns we had Stuart Asquith's old school minifigs ECWs. The main thing you notice besides the newer ones is just how much figures have grown - its almost hobbits vs orges ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Stuart - yes they certainly have grown. Apart from Hintons, Tony has a lot of Les Higgins in his armies which are lovely slender little figures. 20mm is a great scale!
ReplyDeleteRupert - I'm a bit late to this post - very nice pictures - better than mine! Thanks for supportive comments on the game - it did go pretty well (I'm relieved to say). Although C&C does cut a lot of corners, I can't think of any other rule system which could handle a game of that size to a conclusion in only 3½ hours - with very little call for oxygen or performance-enhancing drugs.
ReplyDeleteA most enjoyable way to spend a Saturday.
I was impressed by your very aggressive "defence", stout effort. The King, by the way, will only speak to you again if you promise to rescue Chester and then hold Bristol for ever and ever.
What a superb game to be part of! Excellent report and photos Ian.
ReplyDeleteJames
What a fabulous looking game. ECWs were my first love (but don't tell Wellington Woman).
ReplyDeleteAll the best
WM