Tuesday 10 September 2013

I could have been a contender!!!!

This weekend I was in London, playing in a wargames tournament.  My army was Roman, 90BC, with some native Roman soldiers, backed up by a load of hairy Gallic mercenaries and an elephant.
 
 
This (above) was my basic battle formation - Gauls in front with flank supports, Roman Legions in the second line to go where they were needed, and the mule train hiding at the back with the army's valuables.
 

 
The elephant did sterling service in most of the games - here it is rampaging through a Chinese army.  Some of the models in my army, including the elephant, are very old and were bought on my 13th birthday!
 

 
The tournament was held at a pub in the middle of London.  Being owned by an Indian, lunch consisted of very nice curries...
 
 
I don't know how wide spread this story is, but there is a new building in London that has curved walls.

 
Being curved inwards, the light that is reflected from the windows focuses on a small area, like sun through a magnifying glass.  This became big news here when the heat melted the roof of someones car!
 
The games were all great fun and hard fought.

 
My opponents seemed to think that the hairy Gauls were an easy target for their heavy cavalry - something that they soon learned to be incorrect.  By Sunday lunchtime, I had scored a losing drawer, a winning drawer and an outright victory, and I was sitting 3rd in the league table.
 

 
Sunday lunch was very nice.
 

 
My final game was very tought - a good army being played by the best player in Britain.  I had little chance, especially when my left flank guards decided that they were not going to take part in the battle (this is a feature of the rules that can sometimes come into play, representing many battles where leaders were let down in this way).  I fought hard but was totally whipped in the end.  But I did have a glimpse of glory, and will be going back again next year with a different army to try my luck again...

12 comments:

ShadowRun300 said...

First of all, congrats on making it so far! I'm sure you'll come back bigger and stronger next year. The Indian food alone would have conquered me. Too spicy.
I'd really like to know what their plans are for the cool looking building that melts cars.

agg79 said...

A hard fought battle. Too bad your left flank wouldn't follow the plan. Many a battle has been lost to similar tactics. A good hard fight, nonetheless.

I've been reading about the Walkie Talkie tower and its "death ray". I expect it is turning into a regular tourist stop.

Rock Chef said...

ShadowRun300 - I think the building will be launched into space and used as a Death Star...

Rock Chef said...

Agg79 - My thought was to have a hotdog cart that used the building's Death Ray to keep the food hot! We saw it while trying to fight our way out of the city, but I am sure that people will want to see it before it gets "fixed".

CiCi said...

Interesting that this has been a lifelong interest of yours. The tournament sounds like great fun with players of like interest. Glad you had a chance to join in the competition and that it was a good weekend for you.

meleah rebeccah said...

"Some of the models in my army, including the elephant, are very old and were bought on my 13th birthday!"

Oh, wow! How cool!

Rock Chef said...

CiCi - It is good to mix with fellow wargamers, there are not that many of us...

Meleah Rebeccah - Thank you!

wigsf3 said...

Do your figures get to reap the benefits of victory from the peasant woman figures of the defeated?

terri said...

So close to such a big win! I can imagine your disappointment at losing out after coming so far. Congratulations on achieving what you did, though!

I wonder if the light reflections from the curved building is something someone in charge should have thought about ahead of time? I can picture the repercussions. There will be new "No Parking" signs warning of damage to vehicles and hazards to people standing in that location!

Rock Chef said...

Wigsf - The hairy barbarian types certainly do.

Terri - Well a row of parking spaces has been made unusable, and it has also been blamed for a fire in a nearby building. Yes, someone SHOULD have realised what would happen...

Abby said...

It took the best player in Britain to beat you (and the elephant)? Impressive! Not bad for such an old troop!

Rock Chef said...

Abby - I like that perspective! Thanks!