November and December are the two months of the year when my workload increases, leaving me with less time for blogging. I often find myself having to choose between painting and writing blog posts on my days off, and painting usually takes precedence. As a result, I'm now resorting to writing collective game reviews.
Today, I want to discuss two board games. The first game, which we played two weeks ago, was the Napoleonic version of Command and Conquer, along with the most well-known battle in the UK, Waterloo. The second game we played was Junta, coinciding with our club's AGM at the end of November.
1. Command and Conquer: Waterloo.
Two weeks ago, we played a game that Mike organised called Command and Conquer. Although we had played a similar game set in Roman times before, this one featured a hexagonal board. The French occupied one side, the British the opposite, while the Prussians remained off the board for the time being. The game was based on the Battle of Waterloo, which has become somewhat emblematic in the UK.
Mike arranged for each player to command a wing, with commanders-in-chief above them who distributed activation cards. One player was designated to lead the Prussians. The roles were as follows: Fred played Wellington, Michael was on the British right flank, Tim took the centre position, and Ben commanded the left flank. On the French side, Peter played Napoleon, Andy took the left, I was in the centre, and David was on the right. Gordon led the entire Prussian army.
On the board, there were three historically significant farms that the French were required to capture and hold until the game's end. They earned victory points for each farm held as well as for destroying enemy units. The British, however, only received points for enemy units destroyed.
It appeared that there was a flaw in the scoring system, as the French focused their efforts on capturing one farm and thus accumulated a large number of victory points, even while losing a greater number of their own units. More on that later.
Unfortunately, the scenario did not allow for a change in the timing of the French forces' attacks. It also compelled Napoleon's troops to assault farms that should have been left untouched, diverting their focus away from the British forces. We decided that I would attack La Haye Sainte, David would assault Papelotte, and Andy would not attack Hougoumont; instead, he would provide cover for my attacks.
Our plan worked partially. I managed to capture La Haye Sainte and held it for a time with varying degrees of success. David's attack on Papelotte was halted, and Andy engaged in a futile firefight with the British right wing, which forced his forces to shift to my side of the map, inadvertently fulfilling their original mission. Meanwhile, the Prussians finally arrived on the battlefield, but they were significantly delayed and did not demoralise the French forces. David was able to hold his flank.
Ultimately, the game ended in a French victory. However, I believe that points for holding villages should be awarded at the end of the game rather than for each turn the villages were under French control.
2. Junta.
Last Thursday, we held our club's AGM. This occasion also provided us with the opportunity to play our annual game of Junta. For those unfamiliar with the game, it revolves around a fictional banana republic where families compete for influence and international aid dollars.
This year, our club meeting extended significantly due to a multitude of issues we needed to address, including the election of new committee members. Although this meant we had less time to play, it also brought plenty of excitement and fun.
The meeting kicked off with our first presidential election, which Alasdair won. Shortly after we adopted our first government and budget, I grew dissatisfied with my position and sent men to assassinate the president. The assassination attempt was successful, leading to Tim becoming the new president, who then appointed me as Minister of the Interior. This scenario has become a recurring theme in our games.
After several budgets passed almost unanimously, there were multiple assassination attempts, but all failed. Michael came the closest; he pinpointed my location, but his man ultimately abandoned the mission.
As the game progressed, Alasdair staged a coup. Initially, I was the only one loyal to Tim while everyone else joined the rebellion. Eventually, we managed to persuade David to support our cause, and Andy lost all his troops. Unfortunately, we ran out of time before we could fully resolve the coup.
In the end, I won the game by accumulating the most funds in my Swiss account.
At the end, I wanted to share some exciting news—I was elected to our club committee!
