Remembering PRESTAGS

Bad Python

Bad Python ruined the PRESTAGS card so it has needed to be laminated.

Totally Awesome

Ah yes, I see it. The game library includes 5 PRESTAGS games. There are 2 of Chariot, and only Yeoman is missing.

Someone must have bought the last Yeoman on ebay.

Taking a photo of the Trojan

Python is not a skilled photographer, so rarely has the best photo of a boys weekend. However, he is never one to shirk when a challenge is set: photo of a car. The difficulty with this is that everyone takes photos of cars and there an more schools of thought on correct exposure, focal length and composition of the subject as their are pretensions in the Vatican!

I am however a quick understudy so have tried to model the skill an talent of my friends, Shirl and and Butch, and take a photo as they would:

Here is how I think Butch you photograph my car:

Shirl on the other hand puts a big emphasis on the positioning of his lens. Here is how he would take the photo:

Finally, I had to have a go using my own approach. In full awareness of my nickname, I present the following:

PRESTAGS Article

I have found a nice pdf article about the PRESTAGS games, with a focus on the different units. The article is titled "Ancient and Medieval Armies" by Jerrold Thomas and it is a scan of a Moves Magazine article.

The link is:

http://www.spigames.net/MovesScans/Prestags_Article.pdf

There are also some nice maps showing unit types and map movement. One example is the battle of Arbela:

Another example is the Battle of Casilinium:

Bored, bored, bored

Margo is finishing a Girl's Weekend in Melbourne, Jordan is off with friends, the dig is sleeping and it is too hot to go out of the house. Worst of all, I have had no turn since 8:00am!

I have decided to code up some Moderni Agone to keep sane.

I have created Axemen, Chariots and Improved Bowmen, coded up the Chariot map and set up The Delta scenario (ref Egypt vs Hyksos). I am working on Chariots picking up other units now.

The very least Paul can do is write a "Charts of Doom" blog!

Finarvyn, Merctime, kesher, Otto Harkaman & derv Discuss PRESTAGS

My compliments to Finarvyn, Merctime, kesher, Otto Harkaman and derv!

Who are these persons? They are a D&D (Dungeons & Dragons) discussion group that held a discussion about PRESTAGS in the period 27 May 2015 to 3 June 2015. Yes, PRESTAGS lives and is appreciated by other wargamers in addition to our good selves.

I include both the link to the D&D PRESTAGS discussion on the internet in addition to a colour pdf that I have made of this discussion and uploaded to this website so it is preserved for posterity: Download D&D PRESTAGS Discussion

The D&Ders have recalled how they used PRESTAGS to recreate fantasy battles, including mixing PRESTAGS counters with other counters from fantasy wargames in the 1970s. This is a sample from Finarvyn:

I was also pleased to hear about an army captain teaching university students how to play PRESTAGS as told by Otto Harkaman:

Otto writes that he now has "all of the PRESTAG rules which I've acquired in a sort of a quest like fashion" which reminds me of my own quest 35 years after the publication of PRESTAGS to complete my own collection by purchasing two missing games on ebay. I had Spartan, Legion and Viking from the 1970s, but I had to acquire my own copies of Chariot and Yeoman as I approached the age of 50. I think Python still needs Yeoman to complete his collection.

Needless to say I agree with many of the comments in this very interesting discussion, especially "we ought to have a thread about SPI's wonderful PRESTAGS wargame",  "As far as historical eras go, anything that can spawn from the dawn of time through the Middle Ages has to be awesome" and "there is a good sized cult following of the games". I'm not sure how large the cult actually is, but PRESTAGS certainly deserves a cult, it was a wonderful wargame and it still is awesome.

Well done chaps. PRESTAGS lives!

Storage in Caravans

Modern caravans have lots of storage options for essential items.

I'm back

A man has to do something when he gets no turns and has had to leave his wargame collection behind!

What is wrong in this cover?

As I packed up PRESTAGS Chariot this weekend, I noticed an error on the cover. Can anyone else see it?

Thank you, John Michael Young, for a most enjoyable weekend!

Hyksos vs Egyptians

There is no point setting up a PRESTAGS if you don't play it, is there Paul? So with a Chariot battle set up, why not play it.

In this battle, the Egyptians have inferior leaders, inferior units, inferior stacking and inferior panic level. The main thing they had going for them was terrain, and perhaps a willingness to go out in a blaze of glory. Their other benefit was better and more archers. The notional goal of the battle is for the Egyptians to stop the Hyksos from taking the oasis (in their rear), but really this is about hurting each other.

I set the Egyptian foot soldiers on the slopes with the archers on the hill tops above them. I put the best Egyptian units, axemen with a 3L leader, in the valley ready for a counter attack and covered by skirmishers. I left three militia guarding the camp (and victory from a rogue charioteer). With stacking of 1, the army looked more impressive than it was.

The Hyksos adopted the standard attack pattern for PRESTAGS - form circular blobs around leaders. Only two of the chariots have transported troops. The rest just hang around to look good. A strong right flank of axemen will be the main strike force. With stacking of two and axemen reducing the defence strength of spearmen and militia infantry by half (Chariot rule [3.2]), these boys are not taking prisoners.

The Battle

The battle opened with the Hyksos charioteers charging in to unleash missiles upon the Egyptian horde. The Chariots move during the chariot phase. At the end of this movement, the archers jump off and fire on the skirmishers.

Some PRESTAGS notes:

• The Fire Protection Strength of clear terrain is 2 and slopes is 3, so the archers aim at that.
• Two Egyptian archers are in range of the chariots, but may not fire. I think this is an error by John Michael Young. There is no way those boys on the hill would not have shot at the chariots milling around below

Anyway, one Hyksos attack succeeded and the other failed. The bowman got back on the chariots and raced away while the axemen charged forward. The right flank hit the militia infantry on the slope and destroyed it with a 7:1 attack (15 attacks 2 with the defenders doubled for the terrain and halved for the axemen against militia). They advance after attack because in PRESTAGS, attackers are halved when attacking along the slope, and the slopes have better fire protection strength, so they are very safe there.

The Egyptian response is muted. The archers on the hill disrupt a stack of axemen. The foot soldiers are still in a solid position, but they try a flank attack on the axemen - the best they could do would be to knock out the leader, but they do not succeed. They do kill a useless chariot, and take it back to their chief scientists for study.

I think one of the saddest part of PRESTAGS is the contact marker. It makes perfect sense: when a battle is happening, the lines should be locked in combat. However, it makes the game look ugly, and leads to confusing situations where contact floats around the line. I will be able to make it nicer in MA.

The Hyksos second turn sees more of the same. The chariots disrupted one of the skirmishers and ducked back. The axemen hack their way up the slope. One of the axemen was disrupted by the skirmishers, so they are not invulnerable.

The Egyptians finally retaliate with their axemen. A clever leader on the hill noticed the chariots were "stuck in soft terrain" and launched a counter-attack. Unfortunately for the Egyptians, they handed the die to Admiral Brendan Mahoney and almost every attack failed. The one success against the odds was that the original axemen into action was checked with a disruption. In game results, this kills the leader and leaves the troops as before. (It also nicely gets rid of some contact markers.)

Here is another beef I have with John Michael Young. If you kill a leader, you get one victory point, the same for killing one MI. If you reduce a leader, you get no VP. History is full of battles where the death or injury of the leader loses the battle. I propose in MA to have the loss of leadership strength count against VP (and panic levels).

The Hyksos grind forward and the opportunity for the Egyptians evaporates. Both wings are advancing and the counter-attack in the centre is checked. Some of the axemen have died under defensive fire, but it is too little to late.

Note the line of chariots with nothing to do. The chariot unit (under the bowman on the left) is stuck with no leader, effectively out of the battle.

Next turn the game is over. Although the Egyptian skirmishers did a reasonable job knocking out two stacks of axemen (good rolls at the wrong time), the losses elsewhere means the army panics.

It is an interesting scenario. The Hyksos have the advantage and it is up to them to lose the battle. The terrain hindered the Egyptians more than served them: it slightly slowed the Hyksos axemen, but stopped the archers from getting good odds on slopes (and no disruptions too [14.3]). It also made it very hard to manoeuvre around the flanks of the Hyksos.

If I had more time and patience, I would be interested in seeing the impact of Egyptian axemen on the slopes and MI moving around the flanks, or just ignoring the hills and defending the river with archers (easy to get 4-1 there). Perhaps that will be my first Chariot scenario in MA.

At turn 4, the Egyptians have 13 VP and the Hyksos have 23 VP. The Egyptians panic at 17 (Hyksos) points.

The answer: Hyksos vs Egyptians

I apologise of leaving you racking your brains on the PRESTAGS quiz for so long. The stress of it must have been trying you all batty. Some might have taken solace in charting, with is one thing John Michael Young was never very good at. Others have been awaiting the end of the world (as we know it), hoping it would spare them the restless nights seeking the answers. Still others have taken to stalking the author, seeking some answers to the tantalising photos of a beautifully set up PRESTAGS.

The solution was straightforward - one side had chariots, the other did not, which restricts it to four possible chariot scenarios.

Both  sides had militia infantry, and then you have just one possible scenario: [5.1] The Delta.

To answer the second part of the quiz, you needed a bit more cleverness. Where are the heroes for both sides. Well, for the Hyksos, he was at the back, because before wide spread writing, you cannot be a hero and die in battle; Only the living can be heroes!

The Egyptian hero also has a MI 21 jersey. He is harder to find and requires a process of elimination to locate.

There are two lines of militia infantry on the slopes. Behind the infantry (on the hilltops, taking advantage of the rule that lets hilltop archers fire over colleagues) are a line of archers with leaders - no MI 21 there. The valley between the hills shows a band of axemen waiting to counter attack. One is hidden by a leader, but no MI 21 would ever embarrass themselves by joining the scrum. That leaves just one place - the camp. MI21 is hiding in the camp under a leader calling himself the strategic reserve.

---

 John Michael Young designed this scenario as a sample of the Egyptians first contact with chariots, which convinced them that they needed them too. The huge problem with the scenario is  that CHARIOT rule [1.0] says that they can carry BW (bowmen), IB (improved bowman) and SK (Skirmishers). The scenario provides the Hyksos with 10 CH, 2 BW, 0 IB and 0 SK. That is, no passengers for the  for 80% of the passengers. Of course, you can put leaders on the chariots, but there is no point - the infantry need them to move and their combat bonuses are wasted.

I found a discussion on this point in Boardgamegeek.com. (The internet is truly amazing!) Steven Bucey in comment #6 noted this same problem and suggests that they were not tested properly. I like the approach of this debate, as they directly compare two John Michael Young masterpieces: Armageddon and Chariot.

In Armageddon, the chariots do have the ability to carry axemen, and to give those axemen a two column shift charge bonus when hitting the enemy line. (The Armageddon combat table is almost identical to the Prestags combat table. It does correct the 3:1 error I noted by repeating the pattern in the 5:1 table).

Looking at other Chariot scenarios, I note a common occurrence of insufficient passengers for chariots (e.g. [5.2] Babylon, [5.4] Kadesh]). In each of these, there are axemen.

So I suggest that when John Michael Young developed Chariot, he intended to allow axemen to board them. Someone convinced him to change his mind at the very last minute and he did not have time to correct the scenarios - or more likely from the chaos he describes in moves magazines, SPI mismanaged the final versions.

So in this scenario in particular, we have the annoyance of 8 chariots with nothing to do, except perhaps a suicide run to shepherd enemy units. The artwork of the Egyptians seems to support the chariot as principally a missile platform, but to be fair, they generally focus on the rout of enemies, not combat. If melee soldiers where in chariot, they would have got out to fight, which would not have made such good template art. Certainly in the artwork below, the support charioteers are not holding bows. So I think I will permit axemen to board chariots in MA.

Where to in 2015?

A new year is always a good time for a high level review. I have been thinking about where to go in 2015 with regard to wargaming. High points in 2014 for me were:

1. Playing Space Empires on the Boys Weekend
2. Blogging four articles on how to play Space Empires
3. Blogging a game analysis of Reinforce the Right (the first months of WW1 on the Western Front)
4. EDEE Games Reports

The low points for me were:

1. Climate change blogging - lots of research spent and no progress made
2. Thygs in Space - the initial code is done, but I need ships (and drawing of ships), technologies and planetary names to go to the next stage. I fear the project is dead.
3. Waiting for EDEE turns - you know how it is when you are on a roll, and then have to wait four days and when the turn comes you can no longer remember why that transport is redeploying across the map.

So my goals for 2015 are:

1. BOYS WEEKEND
2. Set up every Prestags scenario and play a few turns. Take photos and blog about them.
3. Resume work on Moderni Agone, so I can do some games on line.
4. Write a few pieces on Napoleon and his tactics, starting with the Capitulation of Ulm.

Boys Weekend

Yes, it will happen.

Yes, I will organise it.

Yes, it should be in New Zealand.

Yes, it will go ahead in Canberra anyway.

Yes, Junior Prestags are welcome.

Yes, we will play Space Empires.

Play a bit of Prestags

The blog is dedicated to Prestags, and the games are simple to set up and play, so why not. As much as anything, it give me something to do when no turns are arriving.

I doubt I will be able to coax Paul away ffrom his computer, but a few solitaire scenarios should make this blog much more interesting and perhaps get us into some good debates. (Moves issue 2 has a fantastic debate on the range of ancient arrows. It reads like an email chain, but was done in old school posted letters. I am keen on posting that.)

I'll start with Chariot and see how we go. The lack of stacking in chariot should make it a very bloody game, where an E and a ½E have the same effect.

Feedback on good scenarios to set up are gratefully accepted

Resume work on Moderni Agone

Combining Prestags with the internet has to be an all around winner. However, the first thing I need to fix is the name: Paul hates it and Peter ignores it.

I really enjoyed coding this game up. Even now, I keep getting good ideas for it. (My latest is an odds randomiser - just before the odds are calculated, I roll two dice. On a 2, I add two to the attacker strength, 3-4 I add 1, 10-11 I subtract 1 and 12 I subtract two. This stops the unrealistic behaviour of getting your odds exactly perfect.)

I also think I am only a few weeks from having a really playable game and we might even get Peter involved.

Interstingly, my new job is coding a phone user interface in a browser, so is very similar to this, so I expect I will be much cleverer and faster in coding enhancements

Write a few pieces about Napoleon

I agree with Victor Hugo's analysis that Napoleon was a military genius who was also the worst kind of tyrant. However, it is good to learn, even from your enemy. I have loads of good Napoleonic games that will make great photo opportunities. I am impressed with the Moves #2 issue that does a great report on a historical play of their 1812 game (Napoleon's invasion of Russia), although without photos as that was too tricky ffor a low cost puplication in the 70s.

I thought I would start with the Capitulation of Ulm in 1805.

This is a true classic where Napoleon destroyed an Austrian army of 72,000 without fighting a major battle, just a few skirmishes. Similar to the German march through the Ardennes in 1914 and 1939, Napoleon used indirect approach in 1805 to maneover around the Austrians and cut them off from their line of communications. They were forced to surrender (60,000 taken prisoner) and Vienna fell shortly after.

BTW Paul, may I have a "Napoleonic War" category, or something similar?

What are your plans?

What are your thoughts on this piece and what are your plans for 2015?

Moves, Nostalgia and Strategy I

The Python always shares his excitement when a new Strategy & Tactics magazine arrives. Now that I have subscribed my own excitement will be up to the same levels as the Python.

However, I didn't want to wait two months so I ordered a Moves magazine on eBay. Massive excitement today as my Moves magazine arrived.

This is no ordinary magazine, this is issue number 26 published in April/May 1976. Almost 40 years old and in excellent condition. All the nostalgia from the mid 1970s and SPI's glory days came flooding back to me, and this will keep me pumped for at least a week. There is a very interesting article titled "Field Report: SPI's Friday-Night Follies" by Phil Kosnett which provides a glimpse into SPI's Friday night play testing and the various personalities involved. I've made a pdf copy of this article for the Python: Download SPI's Friday-Night Follies.

I love the SPI Order Form in the middle of the magazine, which includes the five PRESTAGS games and they were only $8 each.

I notice the game "Strategy I: Strategic Warefare, 350BC to 1984" which is described as "Perhaps the most extensive simulation every produced, it covers all the aspects of warfare in seventeen scenarios from Alexander the Great to the potential nuclear holocaust". Did we ever come across this game? It sounds like it has great late-night and red-wine gaming potential.

I have looked up Strategy I on boardgamegeek and it is a very early game, 1971, designed by Jim Dunnigan, Stephen Patrick, Redmond Simonsen and our own John Young. It is for 2 to 8 players with 4 players recommended. We should track down this game!

John Michael Young

The Python, ever the determined researcher, has gone back to the early Strategy & Tactics magazines and found John Young's death notice (S&T 69), and an interesting reference to John in Notes From Underground (S&T 66). I reproduce these:

I share at least three things with John Young: a degree in history, experience with water pistol fights, and a love of wargames (especially ancient era ones). Thanks again Python for finding these references.

SPI Ancient Units

I have come across a pdf document on the internet called "SPI Icon Library". I attach the document  Download SPI_Icon_Library here.

What is particularly interesting is that all of the PRESTAGS units are included, plus others from ancient era games. I recognize units from Conquistador. I can't think what game the Loch Ness Monster was in! There are lots of extra cool cavalry units that the Python will love.

A Very Sad Discovery

When this Blog first commenced it recognized the brilliance of John Michael Young, the designer of PRESTAGS.

I never knew until today that John Young (born 2 September 1947) died in May 1978, aged only 30. This was only three years after PRESTAGS was published. I will have a Mass offered for him.

Below are two photographs from early SPI days. In the first photo, John Young is standing next to Redmond Simonsen and his face in hidden. In the second photo, John is sitting down and having a smoke while playing a wargame.

John Young was employed as SPI's accountant and he designed games in his 'spare time'. I read in boardgamegeek that he was assigned to pre 19th century wargame design although he also seems to have designed one American Civil War game and a World War I game.

The games for which he was the primary designer include at least the following:

1. Chariot
2. Spartan
3. Legion
4. Viking
5. Yeoman
6. Borodino
7. Austerlitz
8. The Fall of Rome
9. The Marne
10. Lee Moves North
11. Musket and Pike
12. Rifle and Saber

I pray that John Young is at the great wargame convention in the sky, enjoying a game.

PRESTAGS Numbers

The last of the PRESTAGS lotteries was drawn, and alas we missed the jackpot.

We won US$4, thanks to the number 9 chariot counter in the Chariot numbers, bringing total winnings to US$24. That will cover a nice bottle of wine, or registration of the .app when we finalize the name.

A Boys Weekend Lottery Ticket

To celebrate the fact that it is only one week until the Boys Weekend, I have decided to purchase a Boys Weekend lottery ticket. This is strictly on me, my treat, but any winnings will be shared in equal thirds with the Python and ThygoCanberra.

I wanted something special, so I chose the US MegaMillions lottery which has a current jackpot of US $87 million. I'm going for 5 games (because there are five PRESTAGS wargames) running for five draws on 2 August, 6 August, 9 August, 13 August and 16 August (Australian time). This covers the Boys Weekend and the days around it.

The MegaMillions has ridiculous odds of 1 in 259,000,000 to win the jackpot, and involves selecting five main numbers (from 1-75) and a Mega or Power Ball (from 1-15) for each game. Even with a total of 25 games the odds are still an insane 1 in 10,360,000. There is more chance of being struck by lightning, or of Thygo being abducted by aliens during the Boys Weekend, than winning this jackpot.

Having chosen the lottery, my next  task was to choose the numbers. Of course, these numbers needed to be related in some way to PRESTAGS, so I gave it my best shot.

Game #1 is the Chariot numbers. PRESTAGS was published in 1975, and Chariot is the first of the five games, so 19 and 75 were obvious choices. I then got some iconic Chariot game units, and derived 4 from the movement allowance of the class 6 leader (only Chariot has class 6 leaders), 22 from the fire strength and range allowance of the bowman, 33 from the melee strength and movement allowance of militia spearmen, and a powerball number of 9 being the unique movement allowance of the chariot unit. The number 22 is also of PRESTAGS fame thanks to the adventures of MI 22.

Game #2 is the Spartan numbers. The cover of Spartan carries the subtitle "The time is: Summer 202 BC". This provides 20 and 2. Looking at some iconic Spartan game units, we derive 37 from fire strength and range allowance of the ballista, 43 from the melee strength and movement allowance of professional spearmen, and then 64 from the melee strength and movement allowance of the big boys, the professional pikemen. Last but not least is a nice powerball 6 from the movement allowance of elephants.

Game #3 is the Legion numbers. The cover of Legion also has a subtitle: "The time is: December 50 BC". This is great, a 12 and especially a 50. The 50 is a must for the PRESTAGS rantings of the over 50 year old wargamers. Turning to some iconic Legion game units we have a 39 from the melee strength and movement allowance of Byzantine cataphracts, a 44 from the melee strength and movement allowance of the classic swordsmen, and a 65 from the melee strength and movement allowance of barbarian infantry. To give Python another cavalry unit, we derive a powerball 2 from the melee strength of oriental cavalry.

Game #4 is the Viking numbers. Vikings means Thygo and something distinctive is required. The Viking game includes special rules [3.6] for viking ferocity, and the first viking attack odds can be accelerated up to 6-1. This gives a 36 and a 61. The iconic Viking game units include third class leaders with a movement allowance of 9, the crossbowmen with a fire strength of 2 and a range allowance of 3 producing 23, and the axemen with a melee strength of 3 and a movement allowance of 4 producing 34. For the powerball number we can't go past the viking ship with its lengthy unique movement allowance of 15.

Game #5 is the Yeoman numbers. The cover of Yeoman has a very precise subtitle: "The time is: Morning 24 June 1314". Perfect. A 24 (which is also the fire strength and range allowance of the late arquebusiers) and a 13. To these numbers Yeoman can add a 30 from the combat bonus and movement control radius of a 4th class leader, a 47 from the melee strength and movement allowance of heavy cavalry, and a 73 from the huge range allowance and fire strength (using this order) of the heavy artillery. And what about the last powerball? I like the simple 4, the range allowance of the unique Yeoman late arquebusiers. Plenty of gunpowder in Yeoman: hopefully enough to blow the MegaMillions towards PRESTAGS!

There we have it, the unique PRESTAGS lottery numbers. Having selected these deeply meaningful numbers, yesterday I proceeded to purchase the 5 games x 5 draws. After a wait in Australia (mostly while I slept) a trusty agent in the United States purchased a MegaMillions ticket with the PRESTAGS numbers, and sent me a scanned copy. This is for the first draw, the following draws will be the same:

Win or lose, the PRESTAGS numbers have now been used, and PRESTAGS boys are happy. Good luck for the Boys Weekend.

The Evil Minoans

The Python has alleged a "warming trend" based on some selective data over the last 22 years. If there is global warming over the last 22 years, what is he comparing these 22 years with? Actually, he is comparing them with nothing, just the 22 year sample.

How can you get a planet wide apocalyptic trend from 22 years? You can't. Let us leave aside Python's selective data and love for erroneous computer models, and look at some real science.

There is a real science called paleoclimatology, where past temperatures and other climate information is determined from analysis of ice core samples. The benefit of this kind of analysis is that you can go back hundreds of thousands of years and study some real samples, not a pathetic 22 years. You can also look at human civilisation to test the 'man made' allegation.

As ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow, lower layers are older than upper, and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years. The properties of the ice and the  inclusions within the ice can then be used to reconstruct a climatic record over the age range of the core, normally through isotopic analysis. This enables the reconstruction of local temperature records and the history of atmospheric composition.

Inclusions in the snow of each year remain in the ice, such as wind-blown dust, ash, pollen, bubbles of atmospheric gas and radioactive substances. The variety of climatic proxies is greater than in any other natural recorder of climate, such as tree rings or sediment layers. These include (proxies for) temperature, ocean volume, precipitation, chemistry and gas composition of the lower atmosphere, volcanic eruptions, solar variability, sea-surface productivity, desert extent and forest fires.

An ice core from the right site can be used to reconstruct an uninterrupted and detailed climate record extending over hundreds of thousands of years, providing information on a wide variety of aspects of climate at each point in time. It is the simultaneity of these properties recorded in the ice that makes ice cores such a powerful tool in paleoclimate research.

Ice cores from Greenland enable a sample going back 400,000 years. From this, a sub sample of 11,000 years can be used to track human civilisation. You know, those nasty humans that cause planet wide warming with all their evil factories and farting cattle. What does 11,000 years show?

What?! A Dark Ages Cooling, a Medieval Warming, a Minoan Warming, an Egyptian Cooling. Those evil minoans and their obsession with bulls. They must have created a civilisation of farting cows.

And those good old boys in the Dark Ages. We need to cure global warming by recreating a feudal economic system. Now I see why the global warming alarmists want new taxes for everyone except the rich and powerful. They can become the lords and the rest of us can be taxed back into serfs and peasants. But we will all be lovely and cool.

 

WE HAVE BEEN GOING ONE YEAR!

A huge thank you to the Python and Thygo, and all the other contributors. May this mad blog prosper for another year.

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Hoplite: A New Game for PythonMagus

GMT have just published Hoplite, and it can only be especially for the PythonMagus. I must say it looks impressive and covers 11 battles, including Marathon. It is a bargain at $75 and includes three maps, four countersheets and other goodies listed on the Hoplite page at GMT. There is even a ten sided dice. When I think of the value of money today versus the 1970s, I don't think it is that much more than Spartan would have cost us back then. Until May 9 GMT also has a 50% off sale (!)

It may be that GMT's Great Battles of History series are a bit of a modern day PRESTAGS. While Hoplite covers some of the territory of Spartan, GMT's Chariots of Fire covers some of the territory of Chariot. And Chariots of Fire is on special at the moment and a steal at $40.

These games are designed by Richard Berg and Mark Herman. Both are wargame legends and go right back to SPI and the glory days of the mid 1970s. Richard Berg also designed SPI's ancient game The Conquerors  (I still have a copy) and countless ancient and American Civil War games.

Many other battles in PRESTAGS are covered in various of the Great Battles of History series, although unfortunately most of these games are out of print.

So the question is, will PythonMagus or I be the first to grab the spear ...

PS. I hate the BCE. It is BC. Before CHRIST. Christus vincit! Christus regnat! Christus imperat!

We will ride there!

All You Get is Complaints

It may have been a mistake to let the other units know I'm going to New Zealand. All I'm getting now is complaints. They should have shown some initiative like me with my long range exploration, insteading of sleeping in their counter boxes. Where were they when I advanced deep into the server room?

Rest assured Paul and PythonMagus that I will deal with these complaints, and hopefully you will not be bothered.

I received a complaint from Swordsmen SD 9. I have responded "Perhaps next time".

I received a complaint from Professional Spearmen PS 5. I have responded "If I could bring any unit it would be yours, unfortunately the logistics and long term bookings prevent a change of plans at short notice".

I received a complaint from Bowmen BW 4. I have responded "If you're going to fight over your bows you can stay at home until your learn some discipline".

I received a complaint from Militia Spearmen MS 7. I have responded "Do I really need to tell you what the chance is of a militia infantry unit travelling with a militia spearmen unit? You are pathetic. You look more scared than scary".

I received a complaint from Professional Pikemen PP 2. I have responded "I've said it before and I'll say it again, I have never understood where the professional comes from. Are you defending against sparrows?"

I received a complaint from Viking Fleet VF 3. I have responded "A whole fleet unit is a tad excessive. And I'm not sure that the boat will comply with the baggage requirements".

I received a complaint from Elephants EL 2. I have responded "You will be missed, however quarantine rules prevent your travel".

I received a complaint from Barbarian Infantry BI 19. I have responded "You are correct, I do owe you a favour. Let me see what I can do, especially if it is only the seven of you. I will need to speak to Mr Python".

And I even received a complaint from Militia Infantry MI 1. I have responded "No".

(I'm sorry about Eric's lack of proper attire. It tarnishes the good name of militia infantry everywhere. I shall write to him separately. And yes, Derek's helmet is a joke).

Thank you Paul!

I had a busy day today, but I made sure I had time to  open and inspect my TOTALLY AWESOME gift from Paul. The box was a bit the worst for wear, so I got out some glue and cardboard and fixed the edges. The units seem all in order and the rules pretty much as I expected. I was amused to note that many games had a stacking level on 1. I expect that to be quite an unwieldy army so am keen to try it. I might have to put one of those scenarios up as number 2 for Moderni Agone.

I am seriously upset that there is no lake on this map. I did intend to lauch amphibious invasions with chariots (just like you can do in Spartan with elephants). No roads? Fair enough - they do require a fairly sophisticated state to build and maintain. Also, the die roll of 3 is still wrong on the 5:1 column of the combat table. Alas, perfection is not for the the temporal.

Mark This Day

Mark this day as a big day for PRESTAGS.

First, PythonMagus has taken Moderni Agone (code for computer PRESTAGS) to the beta testing stage. An amazing achievement in such a short period of time. I look forward to driving him crazy as I reveal all the bugs. To celebrate I have created the Moderni Agone category and gone back and added this to relevant posts.

Second, the first wave of PRESTAGS.com rewards have arrived. Yes, PRESTAGS mugs and PRESTAGS playing cards.

I will send these to the Python and Thygomoonshine as soon as I can. Suggestions for the second wave of PRESTAGS rewards are most welcome.

PRESTAGS of the Rings

In 1977, SPI published "War of the Ring", a board wargame based upon JRR Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings". The game included a strategic adventure and wargame, and two related games, "Sauron" and "Gondor".

Being both an avid wargamer and a complete Tolkien fan, I purchased "War of the Ring". I still have this game, and indeed it resides it my boxes of 'the best of the best' along with (needless to say) PRESTAGS.

For fans of PRESTAGS, published two years earlier in 1975, there was a wonderful treat with "War of the Ring" (WOTR). The treat was: many of the awesome PRESTAGS counter pictures were used in the counters for WOTR. I have studied both of these epic games and I have identified ten (10) units where the same counter picture was used.

Number 1. The PRESTAGS axemen and (surprise, surprise) the WOTR Dwarves.

Number 2. The PRESTAGS archers and (again, no surprise) the WOTR Elves.

Number 3. The PRESTAGS heavy cavalry and the WOTR heavy cavalry of Rohan and Gondor.

Number 4. The PRESTAGS swordsmen and the WOTR swordsmen of Gondor.

Number 5. The PRESTAGS Improved bowmen and the WOTR Mordor Orcs bowmen.

Number 6. The PRESTAGS militia spearmen and the WOTR spearmen of Elves and Gondor.

Number 7. The PRESTAGS oriental horse archers and the WOTR Rohan horse archers.

Number 8. The PRESTAGS barbarian infantry and the WOTR Orcs (entirely appropriate).

Number 9. The PRESTAGS elephants and the WOTR Haradrim Mumakil elephants. The hobbits called these oliphaunts.

Number 10. The PRESTAGS ballista and the WOTR catapults.

There are of course many unit counters that are unique to each of PRESTAGS and WOTR, with ten examples in the following collage. However, for me there will always be a special bond between these two games, both from the great SPI at the high water mark of their game publications in the mid to late 1970s. Back when I was in high school. And mad about wargames. And mad about Tolkien. And still am.

PRESTAGS Reinforcements

I have acquired two new PRESTAGS games: Chariot and Legion. Here they are already in Australia on my boardroom table.

I already have all of the PRESTAGS but you can never have too many copies of the world's best board wargame.

I don't believe PythonMagus has Chariot, so this game is going to him. He deserves it for all of his posts and the hard work on a computer version of PRESTAGS. I'm not sure about Legion yet.

What on Earth is PRESTAGS? (2) Credit Where Credit is Due

Before any further posts are published, we should give credit where credit is due. 

The five PRESTAGS games were designed by John Young, and published by SPI (Simulations Publications, Inc) in 1975.

Extremely well done John and all the very best wherever you may be (or, as we say in Australia, you little ripper!)

What on Earth is PRESTAGS? (1) ..."What's in a name?"

You mean you don't know?!

The answer is of such monumental importance and interest that it will require many, many posts to deal with properly.

Let's just start by explaining the name. PRESTAGS = Pre-Seventeenth Century Tactical Game System. PRESTAGS is in fact five games, and each game covers numerous historical battles.

The battles covered are:

CHARIOT  Tactical Warfare in the Biblical Age, 3000-500BC

The Delta (1675 BC), Babylon (1595 BC), Megiddo (1469 BC), Kadesh (1294 BC), Sinai (c. 1225 BC), Qarqar (854 BC), Tabal (706 BC), Charchemish (608 BC), Thymbra (546 BC), Bubastis (c. 3000), Armageddon (609 BC), Lake Regillus (c. 496 BC), The Aequi (458 BC).

SPARTAN  Tactical Warfare in the Hellenistic Age, 500-100BC

Marathon (490 BC), Plataea (479 BC), Corinth (394 BC), Mantinea (362 BC), Chaeronea (338 BC), Granicus (334 BC), Issus (333 BC), Arbela (331 BC), Ipsus (301 BC), Heraclea (280 BC), Asculum (278 BC), Beneventum (275 BC), Cannae (216 BC), Zama (202 BC), Cynoscephelae (197 BC), Magnesia (190 BC), Pydna (168 BC).

LEGION  Tactical Warfare in the ROMAN Age, 100BC-700AD

Numidia (106 BC), Vercellae (101 BC), Apulia (71 BC), Cabira (72 BC), The Sambre (57 BC), Carrhae (53 BC), Pharsalus (48 BC), Second Phillippi (42 BC), Teutoburgerwald (9 AD), Minden (16 AD), Boudiccan Revolt (61 AD), Lugdunum (197 AD), Euphrates (261 AD), Placentia (271 AD), Ctesiphon (363 AD), Adrianople (378 AD), Chalons (451 AD), Daras (530 AD), Busta Gallorum (552 AD), Casilinum (554 AD).

VIKING  Tactical Warfare in the Dark Ages, 700-1300AD

Qadisiya (637 AD), Tours (732 AD), Constantinople (860 AD), Paris (885 AD), Lourain (891 AD), Hamburg (988 AD), Balthusta (1014 AD), Clontarf (1014 AD), Cannae II (1017 AD), Civitate (1053 AD), Cerami (1063 AD), Stamford Bridge (1066 AD), Hastings (1066 AD), Manzikert (1071 AD), Durazzo (1082 AD), Dorylaeum (1097 AD), Hattin (1187 AD), Liegnitz (1241 AD), El Mansura (1250 AD).

YEOMAN  Tactical Warfare in the Renaissance Age, 1250-1550AD

Legnano (29 May 1176 AD), Benevento (26 February 1266 AD), Falkirk (22 July 1298 AD), Courtrai (11 July 1302 AD), Bannockburn (24 June 1314 AD), Crecy (26 August 1346 AD), Agincourt (25 October 1415 AD), Arbedo (30 June 1422 AD), Barnet (1471 AD), Hericourt (1474 AD), Fornovo (1495 AD), Garigliano (29 December 1503 AD), Ravenna IV (11 April 1512 AD), Novara (1513 AD), Biococca (1522 AD), Ceresole (1522 AD), Pavia (21 February 1525 AD).

"What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

(Shakespeare, Romeo & Juliet, Act II, Scene II)

As far as wargames go, it does not get any sweeter than PRESTAGS!