Rumble in the Jungle

My friend Craig and I hadn't had a wargame for some time due to a variety of factors. Finally having some time to get together, we agreed to have game of IHMN as Craig had recently had two Companies painted up. As he had a lot of 28mm jungle terrain for use with a variety of games, we decided to use this as it solved a whole host of problems.

Our normal gaming weather deserted us, with it tipping it down outside, so for once we were happy to be indoors. We both had two Companies to choose from; Craig went with his 'Brotherhood of Conjurors', which is basically a 'Black Dragon Tong' one and I with my 'Carpathian Templars', more-or-less the same as the one in 'Heroes, Villains and Fiends.'

We quickly layed the table out with a mixed bag of jungle terrain, a stream and  a temple, with cover ranging from 1-3 as per the rulebook. We randomly rolled for the scenario, with 'Kill the Leader' being chosen. My first thought was that that this would be a tricky one for me as my Company consisted of only 6 figures, one of which was a hunting dog. Templars are damned expensive! Arrayed against me was nearly double the number of figures, including a Yeti. 

Despite not having played the game for many, many months, we quickly got back into it, without little recourse to the rulebook. The QRS sheets were generally enough 95% of the time, which was great, as it allowed us to focus on the game, rather than constantly searching through a rulebook. Sadly we did not have time to take any pics as the light was not great and we were too involved in the game. A brief run down of how the game went follows.

Both Companys moved fairly quickly through the jungle clearings, mindful to protect their leaders from any rash exposure to gunfire. Early on in the game a Conjuror fell to a crossbow bolt as if to re-inforce the need to make the most of the cover. Sadly this was to be the only that the Templars shotting did anything... As the Companys neared each other, both split into two, either side of the river. The Templars hunting dog sensed a chance to charge the Conjurors leader, only to fail to inflict any damage, before falling to a hail of blows from all sides.

After this the Conjurors started to move and shoot their way towards the Templars, slowing heming them into a corner of the table. Things were not looking too good for them as they were slowly losing members without taking out any Conjurors in reply. Sensing the end, the Conjurors closed into close combat on all sides, only to start taking losses as the Templars steel and SRC breastplates proved their worth (and cost). Soon both sides were down to a few models, with the denouement fast approaching.

The Templar Grand Master lost his Chaplain and was surrounded by the Conjuror leader and two other troopers. Despite this time and again he won the combat, only to see the Conjuror leader rise up from being stunned each time. Third time lucky and he finally dispatched him, but would it turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory? Despite this being a one of game, I decided to roll for losses as if it were a campaign game. Out of the 5 figures lost, only 1 survived the game! Truly a Pyrrhic victory!!!

So what did we learn from the game? Well as few thoughts as follows:

• Templars are expensive, but their armour and stats really proved their worth in the end. However their limited numbers at the start due to their costs will severely limit them in some games. However as a campaign progresses they should come into their own once they can field a few more figures. In future I may even leave out the Grandmaster to start with due to his high cost. 
• Company reference sheets are a must. The last solo game I played I didn't have these and it really affected the game. Having them to hand makes such a difference.
• We also found that counters to show which models moved, ran etc are a must. I printed off the ones from the IHMN site and they worked a treat.
• The game is great fun and it was easy to remember the basic mechanics, depsite not having played for many, many months.
• I think the game really comes into its own when played as part of a campaign. This was certainly true of Mordheim. Our aim is to sort out some form of campaign in the future.
• Despite having fun with all of our Companies to date, we both agreed that we really want to create some that have that real Victorian Steam Punk feel about them. We both have ideas already, so now it is the age old case of finding time to fit it in amongst all those other gaming projects.
• 28mm terrain is going to be an issue for both of us due to limited storage in our houses. This is something we need to solve as lots of terrain really improves the game.

So their you have it. I'm not sure when we will be able to get another game in, but I'm looking forward to it already.