Friday 8 April 2016

Raphia test run

Last night I tested the extreme left of the Ptolemaic line, around a quarter of the width of the battlefield. In my experience it is always important to test the components of a really big game; something always comes up that can be improved.


Above is the extreme left of the Ptolemaic line; four wedges of xystophoroi lancer cavalry on the left, three escorted Indian elephant units and the left edge of the phalanx including the agema and peltastoi. Below is the portion of the battlefield in question.


Below is a close-up of the Ptolemaic cavalry.


In the first game we tried an experiment with the elephant screen, deploying the light infantry and elephants as separate units. Using this we found that the Ptolemaic elephants were all-too-quickly swept away and so in the second game we restored them to what I call in the rules "escorted elephants" which have two hits. Although eventually bested by the superior Indian pachyderms, the two hit units put up a much more spirited resistance. We also changed the command structure, adding some more generals.

The second game played quickly and was very enjoyable and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the whole battle fought at the Wargames Holiday Centre!

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