New Saga

Last night we gave 2nd Edition Saga a go. Obviously the best way to try out a new version of a game is a leisurely on-to-one, with time to look things up. So that's exactly what we didn't do. We played a six-player game, three factions on each side, and did it with some pleyers who hadn't played any Saga at all. Easy.

On the left, Gary, Bryan and myself ran Vikings, Normans and Welsh respectively, whilst on the other side Dave, Caesar and John ran Vikings, Normans and Scots. We played the bridges scenario; at the end of seven turns the winning side would be the one with the most points of troops on the enemy side of the stream, which can only be crossed by the bridges.

Caesar went wild and galloped cavalry across both of the bridges. This went as well as you'd expect.

With the Norman cavalry mostly wiped out by archery, the infantry of both sides advanced towards the bridges. At the bridge in the foreground Bryan's Norman's eyed up John's Scots, neither wanting to push forward into the other group. At the further bridge, Dave and Gary's Vikings both made a rush for the middle, and bloodshed ensued. Caesar's depleted Normans annoyed the enemy with archery, whilst my Welsh acted as a reserve in the centre, again using archery with great effect.

Indeed they pushed up to support Gary's Vikings on the bridge, and killed the opposing Viking warlord.

The two Viking forces pretty much slaughtered each other, and we reached the lat turn of the game with no side having got troops onto the enemy side of the river. Our force made one last push. The Welsh archers peppered the Norman warlord with arrows, forcing his bodyguard to protect him. But the loss of the bodyguard opened up a gap in the Viking/Norman defence line, and a small group of Welsh levy slipped through to establish themselves on the enemy side of the table.

Gary followed up with his warlord ...

... but the Norman warlord cut him down in an epic duel.

At the other bridge, Bryan's Norman foot had hurled themselves into the Scots on the other side of the stream, and also created a gap. Bryan threw his warlord into the fight, throwing back the Scots again, which allowed him to also establish himself on the opposite bank.

And that was it. The Norman/Welsh/Viking alliance had won a narrow victory.

We had to do a lot of looking up of rules, but overall the new edition of Saga ran fairly smoothly, with a lot of the rules now streamlined, and some interesting changes and additions to the various battle-boards.

Meanwhile Peter ran a game of Maurice, introducing three new players to the game, who will become new factions in our ongoing campaign. 

At some stage in the next few weeks they will take to the field with their own campaign armies, along with John and I, who have yet to fight in this round.;