If In Doubt ... Play HOTT

In my previous post I wrote that I was having a bit of a gaming block. So this evening I did the only sensible thing a person with gaming block should do. I played a game. And the best game to play when you don't know what else to do it HOTT*.

Flash Gordon and the Warriors of Mongo were already sat out near my gaming table, so I grabbed a suitable opponent from my cupboard of HOTT armies - Daleks. Because who hasn't wanted to see Flash Gordon fight Daleks?

The Daleks defended, so I assumed that they had established a bridgehead on Mongo and that Flash and his chums had turned up to drive them away. The Daleks had a command saucer escorted by Daleks on flying disks (we only use old-school, pre-2005 Daleks here). They were supported by Daleks on the ground, and some human mercenaries.

Flash had a strong aerial contingent of Hawkmen, led by Vultan, along with Prince Thun's Lion Men, some Arboreans concealed in ambush and Zarkov and Dale.

The imposing Dalek line.

The Warriors of Mongo.

Flash's force is a bit of a command and control nightmare in HOTT; being made up of lots of aerials means that everything costs extra PIPs to move. Flash (accompanied by Barin), Vultan, Thun, Dale and Zarkov all set of as a group to rush the Dalek command saucer.

The Daleks advanced steadily, hoping to bring their Special-Weapons Dalek into range of the Mongo aerial force. Some Daleks and mercenaries moved to cover Flash's attack.

Meanwhile a flying Dalek flew over the advancing Mongo soldiers, and attacked the Hawkman reserve, inflicting the first casualty of the game.

Flash and Barin engaged the mercenaries, supported by the Lionmen. The mercenaries didn't last long. They never do.

Dale and Zarkov attempted to sneak past some Daleks, but were spotted and ran away.

Flash had now reached the command saucer, but first had to deal with more flying Daleks.

And what of the rest of the battle? Well, the Daleks were advancing slowly, but both sides were suffering from terrible PIP rolls, which meant all of their efforts were focused around Flash's attack. The Daleks were also hampered by the ridge, which blocked line of sight and therefore command.

Dale and Zarkov distracted a flying Dalek, preventing it from attacking the Hawkmen.

The forces of Mongo attacked in earnest. The Lionmen pinned the surviving mercenaries, Flash drove back the Dalek escort and Vultan took on the saucer, pinning it in place until Flash could turn and deal with it.

The main Dalek line advanced the Special-Weapons Dalek into range of the Mongo aerial reserve.

Flash destroyed the escort Dalek, but was stuck with a problem. He could turn onto the flank of the saucer, giving Vultan a good chance of a kill. But if Vultan failed, Flash would recoil, straight into the ongoing fight between the Lionmen and the mercenaries. and that would break the resolve of the Mongo army. He held off, hoping the Lionmen would finish off the mercenaries.

It was a fatal delay; the saucer shot down Vultan!

Unopposed, the Dalek command saucer turned on Flash, leaving him in exactly the position he was trying to avoid. Flash held off the attack!

The Lionmen finished off the mercenaries, and quickly moved to Flash's support. It was enough. Flash boarded the Dalek saucer, and destroyed it, disrupting the Dalek's command network and forcing them to evacuate their bridgehead.

The main Dalek line and the Mongo aerial reserve did little but watch each other.

It felt good to play a game, even if, to be honest, it wasn't the greatest game of HOTT I've ever played. And it's inspired me to try something else, if I get chance to set it up tomorrow.

*Your mileage may vary.