2 Companies for The Pikemen´s Lament

As it seems that the release of the Pikemen´s Lament rules have inspired gamers that haven´t erlier gamed the Pike and Shot era in to it. Many questions have aroused about how to build their companies and what minis to use.

So if you are new to the Pike and shot era, in my mind, the easiest and very cost effektive are to get Hold of a box of Warlord´s "Pike and Shotte starter battalia" there you get 90 foot and 24 horse minis for just £75. This is enought minis for you to get 2 Companies for the English Civil War, you even get flaga in the box.

Royalists
1 Pike @ 4 points
2 Shot @ 4 points each
2 Gallopers @ 4 points each
1 Commanded Shot @ 2 points
And 2 points to upgrade any of the units

Parlamentarians
1 Pike @ 4 points
2 Shot @ 4 points each
2 Trotters @ 4 points each
1 Commanded Shot @ 2 points
And 2 points to upgrade any of the units.

Of course you can mix the units around and for exempel use all the Pike and Shot units in one company and Pit them against a full Cavalry company with Commanded shot as support.

From the he minis in the Battalia box you can actually build 2 of the Thirty Year War companies that are inkluded in the National Army Lists, the classical nemesis Sweden vs. Holy roman Empire 

Sweden
1 Pike @ 4 points (12 minis)
2 Shot @ 4 points each (2x12 minis)
1 Aggressive Elite Gallopers @ 6 points (Finnish Horse) (6 mounted minis with Sword and Helmets) 1 Aggressive Gallopers @ 4 points (Swedish Horse) (6 mounted minis with Sword and floppy hats)
1 Commanded Shot @ 2 points (6 minis with muskets) 
In total 12 pikes, 30 shot and 12 horse minis.

Holy Roman Empire and Catholic League
2 Pike @ 4 points each (2x12 minis)
2 Shot @ 4 points each (2x12 minis)
2 Trotters @ 4 pints each (2x6 mounted minis with pistols and maybe some muskets)
In total 24 pikes, 24 shot and 12 horse minis.

Total for both companies are 36 pikes, 54 shot and 24 horse minis i.e total 90 foot 24 mounted.

Seems like it was ment to be as that is exactly what you get in the Battalia box. One word of advice, to get all the pikemen needed you need to do a small bit if conversion as there are only 24 pikemen and 8 command minis and you need 36 of them, so you are 4 Pikemans short, but there is 6 extra pikeman bodys in the Box but no pikes so you have to make your own for the last 4, or you give them left over bits from the command/cavalry sprue. Also for the catholic Trotters you may mix in some leftover musket arms from the matchlock sprues to make arquebusiers.

War Games exhibition at the Swedish Army museum in Stockholm

Last Thuesday I was to the vernissage for teh new War Games exhibition at the Swedish Army Museum in Stockholm.

It was all officiallt inaugurated by Christer Fuglesang the only Swede ever been to space, where he played schess... surely other things to... my only disapointment from the evening was that Christer didnt have his space suit on... but we got a Space marine insted :)

The exhibition that was opened for the public yesterday, friday 24/2 will run untill 7/1-2018. If you have the possibility to visit Sweden during the year I can indeed recoment the Wargaming exhibition as well as the whole of the Army museum that is very good.

Below are some pictures from the extensive War Games exhibition, all texts are both in Swedish and English :)  I hope you can see the houses I have built for the exhibition gaming tables.

Congo AAR from my game at Tactica 2017

This is a short AAR from a game of Congo that I had the opportunety to join in on at Sunday morning. I was teamed up with my Finnish friend Teemu to run the White men expedition that had been out searching for a arcefact, some stunning facemask. As we had found it and just had to head back to Europe to casch in a bunch of sawage tribals showed up to stop us...

I have had a couple of test games of Congo and i liked it but didn´t remember much of the rules, one thing I was a bit bothered by was all the markers at the gaming table, BUT the fellows at Spieltrieb Frankfurt that run the game had made custom markers that blended in perfect with the terrain, looked stunning.

At the start the Explorers was trapped in the willage and to "win" we had to get the Face mask of the table at one of the corners. Any of the characters or the Porters could have the face mask from the start, of course Teemu secretly decided to give it to the Female Reporter...what a givaway... any one knows the females will keep the bling-bling ;)

I commanded the Officer and his group of Ruga-Ruga with muskets and I also commanded the group of 3 White Explorers.

Teemu commanded the Female Reporter and hear bodygard of Trained Askaris, as well as a group of Askaris with Muskets and a group of Young Warriors.

All aroud the central village there was sawage african warriors that even brougt their Terror Drum...

Below you can see the Native King and his Feemale frenzied bodyguard.

I really like the activation system in Congo there both sides shoose 3 iniative cards each turn. Each of the cards allow you to do different things like move, shoot or use influence (try to rally your troops or do psyops attacks on the enemy...drum of terror...)

At the begining of the game several of our units was exhausted and even had taken some losses due to fatigue, so we had a hard time to get moving, meaning that the Tribals had a good opportunety to advance and close in on the heroes...

As the natives lacked in shooting we had plentu of opportuneties to shoot at them, but by prioritising to shoot we didn´t move much... so much of the fighting took place in the willage and the close suroundings.

The Officer was a real Hero and commanded his Ruga Ruga bandits well, unfortunate they was armed with Muskets that took time to reload...

All the shooting and fighting and smell of blood had waken up a hungry Lion that started to sneak around and then decided to attack the Native scouts that was holding up the Reporter with the Face mask.

As the Lion attack the Scouts, the Reporter sees her chanse to move forward the table corner... but the natives have sent a unit to cut of her way of retreat...

The giraff was used as a Turn marker :)

Luckely for the Female Reporter the hero of the day, Officer Lament was comming to a rescue and fought of the last tribal unit that was blocking the escape rout for her.

Even only armed with spears and a few muskets the Tribals had done much damage. the group of White Explorers was covering the line of retreat...but danger approached from the left...

As the big Lion tear apart the two remaining White Explorers the female Reporter and Officer Lament managed ti get away with the sacred face mask... leaving their white friends as well as a group of Askaris to the enemie...

The Female Reporter had lost 1 porter and 3 Elite Askaris, Officer Lament only lost 1 Porter, the expedition also lost 3 White Explorers and 2 porters as well as 5 Young Warriors and 5 Askaris in total 3 white men, 4 porters and 13 askaris and warriors... 

The natives lost their King and Drummer of terror as well as about 25 warriors.

Indeed a good victory for Officer Lament, jolly good fighting old chaps:)

Thank you all that participated! It was  a greate game !