Holiday HOTT

I've been away on a short camping holiday and, as regulars here know, I always manage to take a few games  away with me when I do. What with one thing and another we didn't do any pub-gaming this time around (our one evening out we did trivia instead, finishing 5th out of 8 teams), but I did manage a couple of games of HOTT during some of our quiet and wind-free afternoons.

The first game I played early in our holiday, pitting my Renaissance Alexander army against The Mother of Dragons. Alexander defended and both armies stacked their right flanks with mounted looking to get round the enemy's left. 

This they proceeded to do. But Daenerys had a harder job, with the enemy able to anchor their flank on some woods. 

Alexander, meanwhile, was attacking an open flank covered by hordes.

That said, Daenerys managed to get within a move of the enemy stronghold. But Alexander had troops ready to cover such an attack.

Meanwhile Alexander's Companions swept through the slave hordes, wiping them out. Ser Jorah Mormont and Ser Barristan Selmy ruched from the other flank.

The Companions smashed into the flank of the Unsullied, but were stopped. Alexander moved up to support his knights.

Meanwhile Daenerys was stymied in her attempt to reach the enemy stronghold.

The Companions fell back again ...

... as Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan attacked the Alexandrian cavalry ...

... and destroyed them. However the Companions attacked again and ...

... the first cohort of Unsullied broke and fled.

The heroes turned on the flank of the Companions, and that was them destroyed. However Alexander had anticipated this and was bringing up his phalanx. Daenerys's spearmen were now massively outnumbered.

That said, they drove back the first attack.

The Dothraki got embroiled in a fight with the Hypaspists in the woods, but managed to rout them.

The Unsullied drove off another attack by the phalanx. Dothraki appeared in the distance, ready to ride to their aid.

Alexander rode against the enemy heroes as his phalanx closed for another attack.

And that was it. the last of teh Unsullied collapsed, along with the two heroes and Daenerys's army collapsed. The dragons never arrived and she was left with just her Dothraki.

Alexander won this one 14-6. His flanking plan was sound - Daenerys was on a hiding to nowhere with hers, unable to drive off the enemy facing her and also unable to effectively command her army on the main part of the field.

I fielded Daenerys again in a second game a few days later. This time she left the two heroes in command, and stayed with her dragons. She faced the Knights of Simba. The Knights of Simba were defending, but Daenerys got some defensible hills and, with a dragon to wait for, was happy to adopt a defensive posture. This left the Knights to attack before the dragons arrived.

Here's a clearer photo of the setup. It's about the one clear photo of the game I got, partially because of the shadows and partially because I hadn't realised how much the lens on my phone needed cleaning until after I looked at the photos.

Anyway, the Knights advanced whilst Ser Jorah and Ser Barristan reorganised their line to meet them.

A view of the advancing Knights of Simba.

The advance halted close to the enemy line in order to allow some Piltdown men to infiltrate the woods.

Dothraki reserves were moved to bolster the flank.

The Knights charged on their right where the enemy was weakest ...

... but were repulsed by the hordes there.

Daenerys Targaryen arrived with her dragons!

It was now or never - the Knights of Simba charged.

They made a few inroads, but were mostly thrown back.

The dragons swooped into the attack, as Daenerys's army counter-attacked off the hills.

Simba's general was forced back into the dragons and roasted.

The defeated Simba army. They had won against some of the enemy attack, but the loss of their general was fatal.

Daenerys Targaryen won the battle 8g-3, losing a horde and an element of Unsullied.

As a holiday extra, here's a photo from Bega Pioneer Museum where the main caption just keeps on giving.