Remembering PRESTAGS

The Return of PRESTAGS?

I opened the latest Strategy and Tactics last week and the map reminded me of something!

Of course prettier, but structurally just like PRESTAGS. The leader counters are reminiscent, though again prettier.

The archer and artillery had similar factors, but the absence of skirmishers (on of my favourites) was noticeable.

The combat results table was different, but not completely so - more like an evolution.

The title of the magazine - Fight the Fall. It features two battles from the end of the Roman empire. Desperate times for everyone, but the empire no longer represented anything worth saving: much the way Spetz sees 21st century capitalist democracies.

PRESTAGS Gold Medal

Many thanks to my fine friends who celebrated my birthday with me on Zoom.

Chinese food and Charddy was compulsory.

A PRESTAGS gold medal goes to Python for the best Charddy quaff.

What is special about the white Militia Spearmen in SPARTAN?

Gamers View of the Battle of Marathon

I have long loved the simplicity of PRESTAGS: learn one - play them all - but have hated the way quality equates to stacking levels. it is so hard for a side to win when stacking levels are against them.

Marathon is an exception - while the Greeks have superior stacking, they cannot use it without being outflanked. History tells us they spread their centre and left their flank solid for fear of the Persian cavalry. However, the unexpected nature of their attack meant that the cavalry could not mount or deploy, so games tend not to show them.

The Field of Glory battle has a huge screen by comparison (and the problem of exciting computer games - sometimes you forget to move some pieces)

You can hover over the units to see what they all do

You can see how the the game is based on miniatures

Contact takes a few turns while the Persians decimate the ranks. (The Yellow 9 over the Greek line shows the damage.)

At contact, things look equal, with only a few units disrupted.

John Michael Young knows these hoplites will get quickly shot to pieces in  this game, so has a special rule that the archers cannot fire in the first turn. The results are telling - the Persians are 8 down on the panic level of 31 after the Greek charge.

After a few turns, the Greek centre routed off the field

However the wings are telling a the Persians crumble.

The flanks turn on the Persian centre and the Greeks just snatch victory by 60-49

 

The end

• 
• 
• 
• 

The PRESTAGS game was much shorter. The centre just held, but the right wing destroyed the Persians in front of them and turned on the flank. The left wing of the Greeks was mauled as the map allowed the Persians to play some archers and follow up with a Barbarian Infantry charge. Small comfort and the battle was lost.

In the final analysis, both are games and want to give either side a chance. The computer game is beautiful to look at and has lots of special units for you to study. It was a near victory for Greece in the end. If the Persians had a human player, they perhaps would win. I don't see how the Persians could beat a mildly competent Greek played in PRESTAGS, but perhaps a thin veneer of militia at the front and the archers behind could do it.

Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea - Summary

I restarted the scenario with my new learnings of what to do and what to avoid. This time I got quite close to a historical result - the Persians were largely driven off and the Western Empire is in shambles. This was not the result of any game balance - just the luck of the cards. The Visigoths got good cards and gave the Romans a civil war, rise of piracy and several civil disturbances. While they held Rome, they are now fatally weakened and will collapse next turn.

Having a number of settlements (not cities) away from the front make a big difference to your military strength, but these too are vulnerable to certain event cards. Keeping your treasure and cards intact for the combat period is also very important. The event cards are very significant - to the point where I feel I am a captain trying to sail a ship through a tricky gale of cards, rather than an emperor having a plan that has a few event speed bumps to negotiate.

The solitaire system makes for a very challenging game. However with only stylised cultural traits, it lacks the detail to give you the feel of being a late Roman Emperor. Good gaming for mates, but just a game rather than a simulation.

As an FMW game, I think it will be great. It does have the ability for us to play as allies against the AI, but I think it would get nasty quickly as we accidentally fire some event cards at each other. As the VP scale shows who is winning at each point, I think we would quickly slip into balance of power play.

Field of Glory: Empires - Looks Like A Must Purchase

Field of Glory: Empires is out and it certainly looks very good.

It has rave reviews:

I think I feel a definite purchase coming on.

It is $56.95 and can be purchased on Steam.

It appears to be $47.99 when purchased from Matrix Games.

The graphics look great. There is a Masters Edition Bundle allowing you to integrate with Field of Glory II.

I wonder what the multi-player potential is like.

The specs indicate that Gollum will not be able to handle it.

There is a link to the PDF Manual here.

 

Sounds of Silence

When John Michael Young heard with words of Simon and Garfunkel, did he realise that he to was writing games that no one ever plays. PRESTAGS are great, but if the site that rejoices in its greatness, goes for years without an AAR, or even showing a set up game, a map or a counter, surely Silence has won. The players now "bow and pray" to the computer game with its Neon like colours. Silence reigns.

Perhaps for one man of virtue the city can be spared, or must he find two more?

Bad Python

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

Imperium Romanum III - An Updated Version. Is this Strategic PRESTAGS?

I remember Imperium Romanum from the old wargaming days (later period, 1985) and I have a copy which is currently out at storage. Actually it was called Imperium Romanum II (so was there a I?).

I have just noticed that Decision Games have released an updated version (this would be Imperium Romanum III, which is what it is being referred to on boardgamegeek).

It was originally West End Games, but that company (or its rights) were sold and have been through a few owners. I can't find any reference to Decision Games, but they must have the rights now if they are publishing an updated version of it.

The game is designed by Dr Albert A Nofi, one of the old SPI designers.

Here is the box cover for the version I have:

And a nice picture of my old version, map and counters, I found online:

The new updated version is US $140 plus shipping.

Here is the link to the relevant page at the Decision Games shop.

Here is the box for the new version (I actually prefer the old box, but maybe it's all the nice PRESTAGS era memories):

Some info about the game:

The map - gorgeous:

The map viewed in its three sections. Also note the small map sections on the top. These are Insert Boxes for narrow sea straights hexes.

The narrow sea straights sections are described in the rules thus:

The counters:

I am tempted.

VERY tempted.

But where and when will it be possible to set up the three maps?

On a Boys Weekend of course.

I have uploaded the Rules so Python can have a look and assess the suitability as a Boys Weekend game. I don't think it is overly complex, and there are many three player scenarios. Looking through the scenario book I can see the some scenarios only use part of the map, so it won't always be necessary to set up all three maps.

Download ImperiumRom-Rules_V3F

Here are the scenarios in a big book of scenarios which I have also uploaded. This really reminds me of PRESTAGS and all of the different scenarios. This might be Strategic PRESTAGS!

Download ImperiumRom3-Scenarios_V4F

Check out the scenarios:

And in case the rules and scenarios pdfs take too long to download through typepad here is a link to boardgamegeek where they can be downloaded.

The Game Sequence:

VERY  VERY tempted.

Ok, I'll get it.

Thygo Still Hasn't Guessed

Thygo aka Precious has still not solved the riddle of Shirley aka Spetz's new camera "accessory".

I've been deliberately evasive.

It is not a lens to Spetz's Nikon.

It's a different camera. It's got 5 MP. It doesn't have a flash, but it has it's own light source.

Think outside the box.

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.

What battle is this?

Hints: Three battles vs one, longbows against cavalry, first row dismounted, narrow battlefield, Python now owns Yeoman.

Question two: what happens next?

Most Disappointed

I was very excited when I came across a single malt that had been finished in a chardonnay cask. I thought this would be fantastic: the combination of my favourite spirit with my favourite white wine variety. I also thought this would be a wonderful treat for Python, my fellow Charddy slurper, when he next visited my office.

I bought a bottle as soon as I saw it online, without reading any reviews or tasting notes. It came in a nice little wooden box.

Last Tuesday the big day arrived and Python and I cracked open the bottle. Python was wearing the full uniform as befitted such a special occasion. I took a quick snap of Python in eager anticipation:

Oh Dear!

As soon as I sipped it I knew we were in trouble. It was horrible. Python was trying to be polite but he soon conceded it was most disappointing.

After a long run of brilliant single malts in Scotland and upon my return I suppose a less than perfect example was bound to come along. But this one really was unpleasant.

We did everything right. We let the whiskey air. We added a bit of water. We tasted it very carefully. Nothing helped. For the first time in my life I didn't even finish one glass, and down the sink it went. 

Yesterday I tried another small glass just in case there was something about Tuesday that gave me a false reading. There wasn't. It was still extremely unpleasant and again I didn't finish the  glass.

Only possible use is to give to Thygo if he doesn't learn how to say no.

After this experience I searched online and I couldn't find any nice reviews like the other two brilliant whiskies previously posted. I found one short review of "Not Good" from Whisky-Lads. I wholeheartedly agree with their use of "rotting vegetation".  They scored the whisky 75/100 which is excessively generous.

 

 

Tasting notes from Shirley:

Fills the mouth with an off vegetable taste. Totally consistent obnoxious taste that doesn't vary in any way from beginning to end. Reminded me of a balloon of foul air being released in my mouth. Medicinal alcohol at 53.3%. A distinctive smokiness but the most disagreeable smokiness I have experienced so far.

Does no credit to either single malts or chardonnay.

Most disappointing is an understatement. Unfortunately I just can't give it 50 or above so it's a 49.

Rankings:

1.    The Balvenie Caribbean Cask. 14 years. 90/100.

2.    The GlenDronach Parliament. 21 years. 85/100.

3.    Edradour Chardonnay Cask Matured. 12 years. 49/100.

 

 

How can a man express his sensitive side while doing weights in the gym?

Easy. Put your son's new shorts in the wash as a favour!

For those who want to know how I captured the subtle pink tones in the Prestags shirt?

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!

A Pi For Python?

The Python has been asking me to put a date on the economic collapse, and to bet my PRESTAGS Yeoman game on it. I've already told him I'm not an economist or financial expert and my Yeoman game is too precious.

However, I will put my money where my mouth is and commit something to my prediction. And I will give a date.

I predict the economic collapse will happen by Remembrance Day 2015, in other words by 11 November 2015. And if I am wrong I will give Python a small but sexy little computer on which he can install his Python language. I already have the computer, new in its packaging.

Now the question is, if I am right what will the Python give me?

 

S&T: World War I

Python was only just asking whether the latest S&T had arrived. Today S&T #294 (Sep-Oct 2015) arrived. It includes a strategic wargame of World War I which looks quite interesting.

This game is a remake of the original World War I game from S&T #51 (published in 1975 and hence a true PRESTAGS era game) which I'm sure Python and I played back in the day. I also have a recollection of playing the original game solitaire.

The game does not have separate counters for Australian troops (it is very strategic, there being only 30 counters for the Germans). However there is one British counter titled "Imp Ex" which is described in the unit abbreviations as "IEC. Imperial Expeditionary Corps (various elite units from the British Empire: ANZACS, Canadians, Indians, South Africans etc)". We are therefore part of one counter!

There is also a good article about fortifications in the American Civil War.

This game certainly has three player Boys Weekend potential.

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!

A good game of Euchre

The Hearts and Diamonds are brown rather than red though.

Junior Prestags and a Meeting of Emperors

Today I was delighted to to welcome two junior PRESTAGS for a tour of the caravan. The boys were a bit shy at first, but when they discovered that entry level caravans have TV in bed, they were sold and closed the curtains to give them a bit of "no adult" privacy.

As part of the treat involved having "dinner in the van", we also had freshly made pop corn with the TV following us around.

Patrick wins the explorer award in finding the toilet, shower and bed room. The dining room was not discovered - perhaps I should have got the next model up!

While the meal was being enjoyed, the two firms allies reached an entente for their next few turns in EDEE. Under the aegis of L'Emperor, a bold course of action was agreed.

(Apologies to Carl - I caught a bad angle on him.)

Python's Great Trek (1)

Python's great trek has begun, and he is either camped in Goulburn or has perhaps sneaked into Canberra.

We look forward to his posts, however early signs are that he will focus on the namby pamby blog and not the boys blog. Given that Thygo doesn't post, it is going to get lonely. There will be just Paul and Sitting Bull.

Easter Feasting

Plenty of Easter feasting.

Chocolates (of course). Roast Lamb and roast vegetables. Notice the turmeric adaption of the famous Python roast curry cauliflower. Easter chocolate cake made by #3 daughter with a celebratory EDEE fly over. Left over lamb on pizza.

To add to the enjoyment I wore my white PRESTAGS t-shirt.

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!

Pharaoh falls victorious

The answer to the Prestags Quiz is "The Battle of Kadesh". In this battle, the boy Pharoah Ramesses II recovers from a strategic blunder to win a tactical victory.

His blunder was to assume the Hittites were no were need Kadesh. He raced his army forwards in three divisions to camp outside Kadesh, when the front divisions was ambushed by the entire Hittite army. John Michael Young designed the scenario with the Egyptians split up and Hittites allowed to enter from any map edge. The Ammun division on the left, Ra in the center and Ptah on the right.

Ramesses II wasn't the only one to make a blunder here. John Michael Young made arguably his worst blunder as a game designer. The rules for Chariot only allows leaders, archers and skirmishers to board chariots. So playing with Chariot rules, most of the Egyptian chariots would be like EDEE transports with no one on board. I pulled out the "Day of the Chariot", another Kadesh game, to see if that would give me guidance. In that game, the chariots have a lot of firepower, and a little combat power. Also there was lots of foot soldiers for the chariots to annoy. Finally, I pulled out Armageddon, the precursor to PRESTAGS Chariot, and read the rules to that. As noted before, chariots can carry everyone in that game, including MI21 (something Pharoah would never allow). However, the set up instructions were almost identical Armageddon's scenario to Chariots - the only difference was that every leader was given a chariot.

So I decided to play this game using the Armageddon rules - anyone can get on a Chariot, even MI21. If you look at the map, almost every unit in the Ra and Ptah divisions is mounted. This is definitely different from every account of the battle I have read. I recessed each Egyptian division as far from the border as possible (perhaps a bit unrealistic) and had the Hittites attack.

Hittites Ambush

The Chariots with long range bowman occupied the front of the Ammun division  with heavy archery while the more heavily armed (e.g. skirmishers) force attacked a flank. Note I did stay with the Chariot rules and did not give the  chariot units a charge bonus. I am fiormed of the view that it would be suicidal to charge foot soldiers with a chariot. Your very success penetrating into the mass of men would be your undoing with injured horses corpses undoing your ability to maneuver. So you see the skirmishers dismounting to throw their javelins and then attack the rear (where the least brave and no leaders would be found. (You can see MI21 happily on the bottom left far from the action.)

The effect on the Ammum division was dramatic: Two stacks disrupted, and the force fatally separated from the rest of the army. Then the foot soldiers ran up. With the  division recessed as far as possible from the edge of the map, it would not hit until turn two, hence the importance of the chariots in holding the enemy.

I thought I might watch something in the background while playing the scenario: "Vale Spock".

Pharaoh moves to the rescue

The Egyptians didn't worry about chariot movement this turn, they moved everyone together. The chariots in the Ammun division rode back to give a channel for the reinforcements to arrive. The rest of the division tried to form a line, and to attack - attack - attack. Even MI21 takes onm some Hittite arhcers. Meanwhile the Ra and Ptah divisions race up...

With some good die rolls, the Egyptians take out some archers and skirmisher charioteers.

As a result, the Egyptians are ahead in the battle 10-8.

Destruction of the Ammun Division

However the Hittite infantry hit and the results are devastating. They pour through the holes in the Egyptian line as the right wing chariots complete the encirclement. The other wing of chariots ride out to meet Pharaoh to buy some time.

After the below average Hittite die rolls, there is not much left to rescue.

The Hittites have 23 victory points. The Egyptian Panic level is only 33.

Pharaoh Charges

Pharaoh strikes the Hittite chariots

"...No officer was with me, no charioteer, no soldier of the army, no shield-bearer ..."

"...I was before them like Set in his moment. I found the mass of chariots in whose midst I was, scattering them before my horses..."

Pharaoh is the 1L in the upper right. He is stacked on an axeman (who rode with him). The Ptah division is not far behind! The Hittite chariots crumble.

The Hittites Face a New Threat

The Hittite foot races to fill the gaps made in their chariot line, while the King cleans up the rest of Ammun. The right wing of chariots races off the face the Ptah division.

(I must have got excited at this point; I have no photos for the next two frames.) The combat phase for the Hittites sees the Egyptian panic level reached. Every unit not under a leader, or next to Pharaoh or the level 5 leader of the Ptah division turns to panic. However, most of the Ptah division is next to their leader. They encircle and destroy the Hittite right wing. Pharaoh wants to do the same, but cannot because he has a Contact result. 

Seriously, John Michael Young?! He is the beloved of Ra!

"The King is Ka.
His utterance is Abundance.
The one whom he brought up will be somebody.
He is Khnum for all limbs,
The Begetter of the begotten.
He is Bastet who protects the Two Lands.
The one who praises him will be protected by his arm.
He is Sekhmet against those who disobey his orders."

Not to seem like a bad sport, Ramesses stayed and feasted on battle. His leutenants raced around rallying chariots and foot soldiers (who had dismounted, but were not permitted to remount while panicked. The Ptah division then raced around Pharaoh to solidify the line.

Death of Pharaoh

In the last turn, the Hittite King moved against the left flank of the Egyptian army, and encircled it in turn with a few chariots gathered from the line.

The Hittites finally get a disruption result against Pharaoh and he falls, reduced to 2L. This is too much for the army; they return to their chariots and ride back to Egypt carrying the body of the boy Pharaoh.

 The death of the pharaoh was accompanied by a formal announcement,

"The falcon is flown to heaven and (his successor) is arisen in his place".

The Hittites seem to have won a great victory, but have they?

As I packed up the game, I noticed the victory conditions. The Hittites must gain 25 VPs (check), while conceding no more than 15 VPs (b*****r).

 

Muwatalli is horrified. "But I won fair and square!", he exclaims, and returns to Asia Minor in a huff. John Michael Young smiles. "Read the rules before you play", he seems to say!

Footnote

Pharaoh did not die at Kadesh. He technically won by remaining on the field after the Hittites withdrew, but shortly returned to Egypt. He went on to be one of Egypt's better rulers with a long reign at a time of prosperity.

You can read more of the real battle here.

I am unhappy with the Armageddon rules for this game. I intend to try it again soon, but this time give each side a free bowman for every chariot. Axemen in chariots do not make sense!

I'm not into fantasy!

 

 

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.

Name a PRESTAGS Scenario where only one army starts on the map?

What is the only PRESTAGS counter with a human figure?

This is too easy for Paul. Peter needs to look at Paul's I had an artistic moment!

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Answer

In the Tapestry above, you can see Darius the Great King (slightly above centre) escaping on his.

 

What scenario is this?

Which scenario is it? Where are the heros for each side?

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?

Awesome tee shirt

You know all your Christmases have come when you get two cool tee shirts!

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!

PRESTAGS

I agree War in Europe is a challenge, but I can't even get a taker for a game of PRESTAGS. This is quite odd, because I live within 5 kilometres of the founder of the "Remembering PRESTAGS" blog. Odd two as I have a cupboard filled with nice chardonnays.

So I'm ready. The romance of hexes and dice is too often talked about and not often practiced. Less talk, more action!

So who is brave enough to take on my Byzantine Cataphracts?

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.

It's That Elephant Again

The number 6 elephant from the PRESTAGS Spartan game has struck for the third time, and provided a small win of US$4 in the MegaMillions lottery using the PRESTAGS numbers. That brings the total prizes up to $19.

The final lottery with the PRESTAGS numbers is this Saturday US time with a jackpot of US$144 million. Hopefully it is a case of lucky last!

Highlights of the Boys Weekend (1b)

The famous roast cauliflower with curry and pine nuts tasted even better because it was cooked by someone who had an official PRESTAGS licence and a genuine PRESTAGS era 1970s hair cut.