The Minstrel Boy: Double dose of Kings of War

From previous blog entries, you may know that I'm a fan of Mantic Games' Kings of War. I've found it to be playable and enjoyable. Rumour Control reports that Mantic is eating GW's lunch, hence the return of Warhammer Fantasy Battles under some pseudonym with the old 20mm square bases. Of course, that's a rumour; I don't know about such things.

Anyway...
My daughter, Katie, challenged me to a game on my birthday and we played with the 10mm Warmaster collection the family has. (Yes, I'm quite ancient now, having turned 65 a week before I write this.) Katie's Elves met my Kings of Men army on the kitchen table while dinner was cooking. It was a solid win for the Elves and we both enjoyed ourselves. (I took these photos.)

Elves deploying.

Spearelves flanked by a hero on their left and a unit of battle cats on their right.

30 Years War serving as howitzer-type siege artillery for the Kings of Men.
I have a fairly large 30YW collection for a historical Warmaster or KoW variant.

A regiment of human knights

A small unit of sergeants fight with an Elvish forest-y group.
The beads show status - wavering, disorganized.
The small dice show casualties - here eight.

A unit of human knights face a dragon-breath weapon.
Katie and I decided that using a dragon figure would serve.

The Elvin Mage -- who began life as a 10mm female nude painted as Wonder Woman!
She worked out quite well.

Human pikes from the 30YW or ECW collection.
Pendrakon and Old Glory figs.

The wider view of the other pike unit.

Elven knights

My giant attacked the Elven chariot unit
and got slapped around seriously.

My daughter's all-time favourite figure - Elven hero on dragon!

Yesterday (Saturday), my friend Mark came down from Brantford with his friend Chase to play KoW at the Hamilton Road Games Group in London. Mark has three very young boys and can't get down to London to play very often, so we set up this games day to accommodate him and ourselves. As it was, Mark brought his dwarves, my son, Robb, brought his dwarves, Chase brought his goblins, and Bear and I each brought our Kings of Men armies. Matt assisted Bear since he wanted to play and learn the rules, but had no army of his own. Kevin did the play-by-play and colour commentary.

Robb and Chase played on one table and the dwarves beat the goblins in a tough match. No photographic evidence was forthcoming but... trust me; I was there.

Bear and I got a late start and we too had a tough match. I usually go with my pikes while Bear uses larger cavalry units and infantry with less long, pointy things. He beat me but it was not altogether easy. (Chase and I took the photos. He's responsible for the good ones!)

Chase's photo of the left flank of my army.
Arquibusiers, pikes, bowmen, and more pikes...

The right flank and centre in another of Chase's photos.
I've already lost a regiment of knights to Bear's "horde" of knights.
(It was twice the size of my regiments of knights.)

Bear's giants - the Titian on the left, "Junior" in the middle, and a "normal" 25mm fig on the right.
Our good friend, Ralph painted the big guy for Bear.
[I killed him early with bows and howitzers. Heheheheh.]

Knights vs. Knights with Scouts hitting Bear's flank.
The Food Guard of Galloglaich are coming up in support.
(Citadel/Foundry, Old Glory, Grenadier, and GW figures)

A horde of pikes with the standard bearer behind.
The colour bearer also carried "The Boomstick" which tossed lightening bolts.
(All GW figures)

My heavy pike block - from Old Glory's "Italian Wars" range

A rather Gaelic arquebus unit - old, old Citadel/Foundry figures

"Junior" advances toward the ruined house supported by a berserker unit.

A swirling cavalry melee - I came up on the short end of the stick... again.

"Junior" battles my wizard, Dermot the Inevitable, in the ruined house's kitchen.
Dermot was demoted to "dead" in the melee.

"Junior" seems all too happy to disassemble Dermot.

Meanwhile on the other end of the double table, Robb and Mark fought a dwarvish Civil War, one I'm sure the bards will sing of for... maybe a week or two. Lots of beards, steel behemoths, ogres, and swearing in Kudzul. Robb conceded the game but every dwarf will remember it; grudges run deep in the Stone Folk!

Mark (r) and Robb face off.

One of Robb's steel behemoths, looking suspiciously like a Leman Russ tank,
attempts to make headway against Mark's brock riders.
Robb prefers his dwarves on foot or in AFVs.

Bulwarkers and a view of Mark's battle line.
No, that's not a Churchhill tank in the line; you are mistaken.
Trust me... I was there. (Well, maybe it was a Churchhill, but it looks Dwarven!)

The fight on the hill heats up more.
That's a battle mastiff unit just beyond the brock riders.

I do enjoy the game and I'll get better at it. It allows me to use figures that I hadn't touched for years... and they're all painted!

In more mundane things...