Lion Rampant: Viking Raid.

Today’s report covers a game that resulted from Michael’s year-long preparations. He had long planned to create a fleet of Viking ships, and that dream has now come true. His brand-new ships — several of which had already appeared as scenery in one of our previous games — were finally able to take part in the action. Michael also painted a new group of Vikings, so everything felt fresh, including the additions to the Lion Rampant rules. For this game, we used a modified version of the first edition of the rules. 

SCENARIO: Michael Schneider
UMPIRING: Michael Schneider

SCENERY: Michael Schneider, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Michael Schneider

1. Forces.

Each side had identical forces: a unit of the Healthguard, a unit of Berserkers, a unit of archers, and three units of Bondi. Additionally, each side had a large boat capable of accommodating three units. Two boats were left to be divided: one large, into three units, and one small, into two units. I became the leader of the first group, and Tim the second. David and Jimmy completed their group, while Andy and Ben fought on my side. Tim chose the larger boat, while I received the smaller one, but one of my units could start the game on land. This was where the abbey, the objective of the game—or rather, its contents—was located. Whoever held the loot at the end of the game would be declared the winner. On my side, I commanded the largest of our boats, with a Healthguard unit, archers, and a Bondi unit on board. Andy commanded a smaller boat with our Berserkers and a Bondi unit aboard. Ben, along with one of the Bondi units, was tasked with looting the monastery. On the other side, Tim had a Healthguard unit, Berserkers, led by Jimmy and Bondi, and David had the remaining units on the other boat.

2. The Game.

As I mentioned, our plan was to quickly sack the abbey and protect the loot. In the first version, the winner was whoever had the most troops near the abbey, but this was later changed to whoever took the loot off the table. In both cases, my game plan was identical. Andy and his ship were to engage Tim and David's ships, while I was to block off the abbey from enemy ships and provide protection for Ben while he plundered the abbey.

Andy’s suicide mission was a success. Both enemy ships committed to boarding his vessel, while Jimmy’s Berserkers forced their way onto ours. Hand-to-hand combat broke out. Andy fought as hard as he could, but holding off enemies on two fronts was no easy task. Meanwhile, my ship slipped calmly and undisturbed into position, while Ben plundered the abbey without interference. Half of our plan had been accomplished.

Tim then saw through our plan, broke away from Andy’s ship, and steered toward mine. Our bows collided, and hand-to-hand combat broke out. The two kings challenged each other, but their duel came to nothing. Meanwhile, a fierce battle erupted between our finest troops, and before long, Tim’s men began to gain the upper hand. I realised I was in a difficult position and needed to get out of the fight quickly. I managed to pull my ship out of the battle and, using the strength of my oars and sail, headed for the shore to pick up Ben’s men.

Ben’s men boarded my ship with the loot, but I had to leave one of my unit behind on shore, now under Ben’s command. A race against time began. I was sailing against the wind, unable to use my sail and forced to rely solely on the strength of our oars. My opponents were in the same position.

Tim was close behind me. Jimmy, who had meanwhile taken Andy’s boat, posed little threat, as he had only two men left. The only real danger was David, who still had a full crew and was moving much faster than I was.

And so the race began.

Eventually, David caught up with me. Instead of boarding my ship, however, he chose to ram it. The impact could have cost me all my oars, leaving me helpless in the water. Then the other ships would have caught up, and my fate would have been sealed.

But then, a miracle occurred. As a result of the collision, David lost all his oars, while I still had enough left to safely escape the battlefield with the loot.

Victory was ours — although Andy and Ben might have seen it differently.

Michael's special rules for the game.

3. Links.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/Seswc.co.uk/posts/1102295478594449

FLICKR: 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720334419265

Deep Fried Lard Musselburgh 2026.

Today’s post will be a bit long, as I need to cover three games and one event. Last Saturday was Deep Fried Lard Day in Musselburgh, a full-day gathering devoted to TFL games. It used to be organised by Derek Hodge, but after his death, John Anzani took over and has done a fantastic job. The event was held at Musselburgh Rugby Club. Mike and I ran one of the games there, and today’s post will be about that game and the others played on the day.

Before we get to the games themselves, it’s worth reminding ourselves what Deep Fried Lard Day actually is. As mentioned in the introduction, we play games published by TFL. Participants suggest titles to one another, and over the course of the day, you can play two games—one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In addition to the regular players, authors also take part, and that was true this time as well, but more on that later.

DFLD is held every year. Unfortunately, I’ve had quite a long break from attending, but this year I promised myself I would not only take part, but also submit a game. This post is about how that turned out.

1. Full Nelson.

For my first game, I chose Full Nelson, which is still in development. Charley Walker is responsible for the project and continues to work on it, so what you see on the table—all the aids, dice colours, and so on—may differ from the final product. If I were to briefly describe the rules by comparing them to an existing game, I’d say it’s basically What a Tanker, but at sea. That’s essentially how it plays. You command a ship and roll various dice that determine sails, guns, and command. Each unit has its own characteristics that determine whether you can take more actions. I don’t want to go into too much detail, because, as I said, the rules are still being developed, and I don’t know if what I experienced at the table will fully reflect the final product.

In our game, we had four squadrons: two British and two French. One French squadron attempted to break the British blockade, and a second French squadron came to its aid. The two British squadrons tried to stop them. During the game, we had one explosion, a failed boarding attempt, and plenty of firefights. In the end, both the British and the French lost one ship, but the French managed to break away from the British, punch through the blockade, and score one more victory point than the British.

I’m really happy with the rules at this level. I’ve been looking for something like this for a long time. The rules we’re currently using aren’t quite to my liking, but this experience was completely different. The rules are very easy to learn and perfect for a club night. I’ll definitely be buying them as soon as they’re released.

2. Other morning games.

Here are pictures of some other games from the morning:

3. Chain of Command. WW3.

During the afternoon, Mike and I presented Chain of Command, set in an alternate reality: a potential World War III unfolding in the mid-1980s. Mike has been promoting this expansion in our club for some time, so I came up with the idea of showcasing it to a wider audience. DFLD is probably the best place for this.

Below are two games. The first was a playtest held in our club, and the second was played during the event. In both games, the forces were identical. The Warsaw Pact forces had a platoon of T-72 tanks (3 x T-72), a reconnaissance platoon (2 × BMP-1, 1 × BMP-2, and 1 × ZSU-23-4 “Shilka”), and a motorised infantry platoon (3 × BMP-2). The British had an infantry platoon (with transport consisting of 2 × Land Rovers and 4 × FV432s) and a tank platoon (2 × Chieftains).

During our club game, Tim and I played Warsaw Pact forces, while Peter and Mike fielded the British. In both games, we used the "Capture the Objective" scenario. In our first game, Tim commanded a reconnaissance platoon, and I commanded the tanks, while on the other side, Peter commanded the tanks and Mike the infantry.

In that game, the Soviets pushed forward but were either unable or unwilling to end their turn, which was required to bring in the mechanised infantry. This tactic proved flawed and, despite knocking out one of the British tanks and a desperate attempt by the reconnaissance team to assault the objective, the Soviets still failed to win. The decisive factor turned out to be the lack of infantry, which would have provided crucial support for the Soviet attack.

The game played out completely differently during the event. The turn ended in the first phase, so the Soviets had all their forces available from the start. They also showed much greater aggression. Tanks supported the infantry, which quickly seized the objective. The British then shelled the area with tank fire, forcing the Soviets to withdraw—but only temporarily. The British pushed forward, likely what the Soviets had been waiting for. A firefight broke out between vehicles on both sides, and the Soviet infantry took advantage of the chaos, managing to retake the objective. It remained in their hands for the rest of the game, earning them a final victory. It was very satisfying to watch this second game unfold and see what I learned from the first.

4. Other games during the afternoon slot.

The entire event was a huge success. I was especially pleased to have the opportunity to play Full Nelson before the game was released. I’m also happy with how our own game turned out; it was one of the first I’ve ever exhibited, and even though I was mainly in a support role, I gained valuable experience. I think I can now prepare to exhibit games as a main exhibitor. We’ll see. The next events are Claymore in August and Partisan in October, and I’m looking forward to both.

Gallery on Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720334289459