Our Christmas Game: Turns Six and Seven. . .

 

The Young Master, aka General de Latte, scrutinizes the front lines of the respective armies as an intense firefight is about to begin in Turn Six.

At the start of Turn Seven, General de Latte declared charges for the two infantry units in his front line, which had already managed to inflict considerable damage on my two front line units opposite during Turn Six.

A rather diabolical portrait of General de Latte during Turn Seven.  He asked what the term 'cad and bounder' meant earlier today, in relation to de Latte's character, and I had to attempt an explanation of men who toy with women's affections. 

We have reached the handfuls of dice stage of the game!  During Turn Six, General de Latte's company of Croats came within range of my squadron of Bosniaks on the right flank and managed to inflict two casualties after my saving throws.

By the end of Turn Seven, my Irish Grenzers had taken considerable casualties and failed a morale test, falling back shaken and in some disorder a full move distance where they must remain inactive during the next turn to sort themselves out and possibly return to the fray.  To their right, a battalion of my militia is managing to hold on despite suffering almost 60% casualties.  That has been about my only good die roll so far in our Christmas game!

 

Still not done, but we were able to squeeze in another couple of turns early this afternoon before picking up The Young Master's new purple Tae Kwon Do belt and then an afternoon Zoom clinic having to do with board-breaking technique.

Our chat during game time the last couple of days has been priceless, covering the accuracy and lethality of black powder weapons, figure painting plans, battlefield tactics during the mid-18th century, and battalion configuration(s) of the era.  We've had a blast, conformed earlier this afternoon by The Young Master, who said at one point, "I really like these war games, Dad!"  I need no better Christmas present than that.

Last, you would not believe -- Maybe you would? -- my utterly crummy die rolls the last two days.  Bad rolls for artillery and musketry with equally bad rolls when it comes to saving throws.  It's almost uncanny.  That combined with my overly cautious generalship, and Young Pauls's much bolder approach do not bode well.  We'll see what tomorrow may bring however.  I'm not ready to hang up my spurs just yet.

-- Stokes