By Fire and Sword, 2nd edition. Game One.

I played my first game with the second edition of the By Fire and Sword rules last Thursday. I had the privilege of being the first to play the first version in Scotland, so I wanted to uphold that honour and also be the first to play the next version. I have the feeling that this was the first game played in the UK too. If that's not the case, please let me know. As befits the first game, we made almost everything wrong, but that's what the first games are for – to learn the rules. The forces of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Sweden were the first to come on the scene, each with 37 points.

SCENARIO: Key Positions
UMPIRING: Bartek Zynda

SCENERY: Bartek Zynda, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Bartek Zynda

1. Forces.

KINGDOM OF SWEDEN

(Michael)

Field Skirmish Force (1648-1660)

Lieutenant Colonel

Major

2 x Mercenary Reiter (S)

1 x Armoured Mercenary Raieter (S)

1 x Dragooned Musketeers (M)

POLISH-LITHUANIAN COMMONWEALTH

(Bartek)

Polish Skirmish Force (1650-1673)

Colonel

1 x Dragoons (S)

1 x Cossack Style Cavalry (M)

1 x Pancerni (S)

1 x Pancerni with Spears (S)

2. The game.

We played the "Key Positions" scenario. Since both forces were equal, we did not draw any stratagems. The Poles won the reconnaissance and chose Successful Skirmishing and Decoy. The Swedes chose a Forced March. The Poles quickly controlled the two objective markers and began pressing on the Swedish troops. Initially, the situation didn't look good as the Swedes effectively used their Karakol. The Musketeers engaged in a firefight with the Dragoons in the middle of the field, and the Dragoons were eventually defeated. However, the key to victory was the Poles' control of most objectives throughout the game and their decision to attack where the Swedes were weakest, namely targeting two Rajtar units. Even though both units were veterans, they were successfully defeated by the Pancerni and Cossack-style Cavalry. This coordinated effort ultimately led to the defeat of the Rajtar unit, bringing the Swedish morale down to zero and ending the game in victory for the Poles.

Destroyed units.

I'm really impressed with the new game mechanics after playing the first game. I think a lot of effort has been put into improving the game, and it has definitely become easier and more understandable. Although we had a few difficulties with understanding the rules during the game (which I explained afterwards), everything went pretty smoothly. The unit cards, which I printed from the online creator, were a great help. The first edition of the game wasn't popular in our club, so I'm curious to see how the second edition will be received. Overall, I think the game has a lot of potential.

3. Links.

MICHAEL:

To be updated soon...

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720318849914