Rumble in the Jungle

Today marked my last day teaching guitar lessons for the year and I wanted to do something to mark the occasion. A wargame seemed like a good choice.

It also happens that my son has gotten very much into Warhammer (albeit the video game), I figured perhaps I could entice him with a fantasy-based game using Age of Fantasy. I still wanted to determine a winner in the impromptu round-robin between the knights (as Chivalrous Kingdoms), Tanitians (as Dark Elves) and lizards (as Saurians), it seemed an ideal opportunity to draw him into a game.

He made most of the decisions for both sides - I used it as an opportunity to introduce the rules as well as practicing thinking ahead and weighting options.

The table was set, then a die rolled to determine which side of the table the forces would deploy on. A fordable river crossed the battlefield - I added a scenario rule that any unit that entered the river cannot leave it in the same turn.

The Saurians deployed their Geckos in front of their Saurian Warriors who deployed atop the hill. The triceratops and the shaman deployed on opposite flanks.  The Dark Elves deployed their Black Guardians and Dark Warriors (accompanied by a Champion) in a thin line, screening the Abyssal Beast and anchored by the Snake Lady on their left.

Deployment! The black and white stones are difficult and DANGEROUS ground, meaning units entering the rock field could potentially suffer damage.

End of turn 1. The Lizards have captured one objective point, the one in the middle of the river is contested.

On the other side of the table, the Black Guardians enter the river en route to the woods opposite, intent on capturing the objective.

Turn 3 ends with the Dark Elf center collapsing and the triceratops and the Abyssal beast preparing for the afternoon's most-anticipated match-up.

Turn 4, the final turn. The archers atop the triceratops tried to soften up the enemy but were just a minor annoyance. The Abyssal Beast charged the triceratops and the very ground trembled with their collision.

The Beast is poisonous and managed to take down the 12 HP triceratops in a SINGLE ROUND. Meanwhile the lizard shaman killed the Snake Lady, but the Dark Elf center managed to dish out far more hurt than they received. The Saurian Warriors failed their post-melee morale check and routed.

To our collective surprise, it was a Dark Elf victory. When they Saurian Warriors routed, they left the Dark Warriors in control of the objective in the middle of the river. That gave them two objectives, to the lizards one.

So, at the end of three games, the Dark Elves are the winners!

1. Dark Elves 2-0
2. Saurians 1-1
3. Chivalrous Kingdoms 0-2

EDIT:  I can't believe I didn't mention my son's reaction to the game. He actually thanked me for letting him play (this is so rare it merits a mention!). He had such a good time and he really seemed to enjoy trying to make the best decisions for each force.