On the Road and Enjoying It

 

   A few days ago, Beth and I traveled up to the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area to game with our friend, Ralph. At present, Ralph is unable to travel very far, so we went to his place, and to his credit, he bought us lunch from the Portuguese bakery/deli nearby!

    We played a scenario for The Silver Bayonet that was posted on the internet board and resettled it in North America somewhere north of Kitchener, ON. The scenario is called "Incursion" and is a two-act play, as it were. As it ended up, we only had time for the first game. Ralph ran a US team and I ran a Crown forces team, with both British and Canadian members.

Traffic on Highway 401 was wretched... even then!

A view of downtown East Stanfrey

Captain Sharpe leads the Crown force into the town.
The red bingo chip is a clue marker.

Your humble blogger ensconced for the game.

The TRUE bane of all Silver Bayonet gaming in a Canadian setting
 - Canada geese!

Pumpkins on parade

     Ralph had the first move and began to bring his troops into the village. Both sides were investigating rumors of a bizarre and dangerous cult taking hold of the town. However, the streets were empty with the exception of livestock. Hmmm, best look to the church.

    Sure enough, the clue markers reveled cultists armed with hand weapons. And they were open for business.

The Americans enter the town. In the distance, a member of the Crown
force - a woodsman - found a blessed weapon, signified by the
drapery ring over his head.

The advance continues, with Pastor Helduzer leading on the far left.

     The US side had quite a few rifles and only one musket, so their shooting was accurate. The Forces of the Crown suffered and yet fought on, even engaging the cultists.

The Crown infantryman fought a female cultist, who tried to bash him
with a skull she happened to be carrying.
The ducks maintained neutrality.

Meanwhile the town butcher, a cultist, fought hand-to-hand with the Rifle-armed US Veteran.

On the right flank, Captain Sharp (no relation), the Veteran with a blunderbuss,
the woodsman, and the Investigator moved up closer.
The Veteran is a Trent Miniatures figure of a "beadle", that is, a functionary of
the Anglican Church tasked with keeping order, catching charity cheaters, and
assisting with general administration of the parish. The figure at the beginning
of this blog is a similar figure. They come without heads and a number of different
heads are available, such as bare headed, in bicorn, or in an odd Irish flowerpot-like had.

My Highlander and Infantryman advance past the cornfield.

     The Crown woodsman, Captain Sharp, and the Veteran all eventually "bought the farm" as Heinlein might say, all from US rifle fire. The Investigator got into the church, found another cultist as well as a blessed sword, and the two cultic books needed to win the game. Now to get them off the table!

    With only the Infantryman and the Investigator left, they took to their heels, the better part of valour being discretion! Rifle fire brought down the Investigator, so I conceded the game to Ralph, since the Infantryman would take a long time picking up things. By then the US force would be on top of him, so he kept running, leaving the tomes and the sword to the Yanks. As I said, we only had time to play one game, but it was a good one.

A final view of the board. There were four clue markers inside the church, hence the pile of bingo
chips at the back of the building.

All in all, a good game, a great lunch, and a very pleasant visit with a friend. The scenario was found on the Silver Bayonet board on line, and is well worth playing.