Game: Hammer of the Scots

Thread: Contact for F2F Gaming?

Awfki — 2008-11-12T23:51:58+00:00

Does anyone know how to contact F2F Gaming?

I never got the registration e-mail so I don't have the verification code to complete registration and login and there's no "resend" link that I can find.

The "Support" link on the site gives a message that looks like they terminated the contract with their help desk and I don't see an e-mail address anywhere. Maybe they're on BGG?

Thanks
--
Dave

Thread: Re: Hammer of the Scots online! Looking for gamers!

Andrew2008 — 2008-11-09T11:39:08+00:00

Hope to see you in the HOTS room on F2F. We're gonna have fun.
Best,
Andrzej.

Thread: Re: Hammer of the Scots online! Looking for gamers!

wargamer55 — 2008-11-09T03:23:07+00:00

Late afternoon my time is when I go to work on weekdays, but I'll try to match up.

Thread: Re: Hammer of the Scots online! Looking for gamers!

Andrew2008 — 2008-11-08T09:46:09+00:00

There is a 6h difference between our places, I suppose. I'm 6h ahead of you. I'm online on f2f tunguska almost daily - in the ,"late" evenings, so i's afternoon in US. Just try to get me in your afternoons. My nick there is "nightbomber". Hope to see you soon!

Thread: Re: Hammer of the Scots online! Looking for gamers!

wargamer55 — 2008-11-08T02:44:40+00:00

When are you online? It seems like it's best to try to coordinate times.

Thread: Re: Hammer of the Scots online! Looking for gamers!

gittes — 2008-11-08T02:17:21+00:00

I might take you up on that sometime.

Thread: Hammer of the Scots online! Looking for gamers!

Andrew2008 — 2008-11-07T23:09:51+00:00

Hi guys, there is an online f2f version of HOTS. Check Columbia games site and you will find a proper link there (f2fgaming). I'm there almost every night looking for adversaries. Just send me a post. I'm there as nightbomber. Let's play, guys!

Thread: Re: Super quick question please!

shadow9d9 — 2008-11-06T19:55:29+00:00

Wulf Corbett wrote:
Nope, last sentence of the intro to rule section 4.0,
Blocks only move once per Game Turn, except to RETREAT or REGROUP.

I figured not. Thanks for the super quick response! Appreciate it so much!

Thread: Re: Super quick question please!

Wulf Corbett — 2008-11-06T19:54:42+00:00

Nope, last sentence of the intro to rule section 4.0,
Blocks only move once per Game Turn, except to RETREAT or REGROUP.

Thread: Super quick question please!

shadow9d9 — 2008-11-06T19:48:18+00:00

I can't seem to find this anywhere. If I play a 2 card and move one guy from A to B in the first move, could I move him again as part of B's move?

Thanks!

Thread: Re: Advice for a first time Scot?

Executioner — 2008-11-03T01:08:03+00:00

Aramd wrote:
Wow. Very extensive advice. I'm excited to play as the Scots next time around. I've been considering asking her for a rematch this afternoon but I'd probably be pushing my luck a bit on a Sunday afternoon.

Wow, you want to trounce on her with the Scots now? If you do that, it might never hit the table again... You might want to share some of your new found strategy with her and let her have another go with the Scotts. Plus, I recommend you use Schilterms for the first few games to allow the Scottish infantry to deal out some damage.

Thread: Re: Advice for a first time Scot?

Aramd — 2008-11-02T17:51:11+00:00

Wow. Very extensive advice. I'm excited to play as the Scots next time around. I've been considering asking her for a rematch this afternoon but I'd probably be pushing my luck a bit on a Sunday afternoon.

Thread: Re: Advice for a first time Scot?

trawlerman — 2008-11-02T12:00:07+00:00

There are already a few really good strategy guides for the Scots here on the 'geek...

Principles for Beating the Hammer
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/71028

The Wallace-Balliol Steamroller
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/98354

Forward Observer: Beginner's Strategy Guide
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/90850

Have fun!

Thread: Re: Advice for a first time Scot?

Oakfed — 2008-11-02T07:46:14+00:00

The English having a Sea Move the first year is indeed very bad for the Scots; you usually have to give up Fife and the coast, head for the highlands and try again next year.

The biggest tip I'd give is to not take big risks, especially early.

The game is essentially won on attrition - unlike the English, whose feudal levy is more or less invariable, the Scots only get so many steps each year during the winter. Always consider how many steps are being gained or lost by a move, especially the last couple turns of a year, and try to get stronger every year. Gaining nobles helps, but not if the cost is too high. Sometimes your best move is to spread out and winter in as any places as possible rather than bunch up and try to make a final attack (though post-battle regroups may help you spread out sometimes). Big battles at anything close to even odds can cost a lot of steps even if you win, so try to avoid them.

Part of the attrition strategy is to get the high-value areas - try to contest Mentieth and Fife if possible (though not at the risk of a decisive battle you might lose).

Miscellaneous tips:

Be careful playing an event card; consider the risk of an early winter if the English play one too. Contrariwise, sometimes you may want to try to get an early winter.

Retreat if the odds are against you. Nobles are excellent at delaying - only one English unit is an A, so nobles can almost always retreat away safely. Your infantry, though, you have to be careful with.

Use Wallace to maximum advantage - he has first-fire advantage on almost every defender, so can usually defeat or convert lone nobles by himself. Plus, he can always retreat first on defence, so is an even better delaying force than a noble. Don't put him at risk by wintering in Selkirk unless you have friends nearby.

Use your last-move advantage when you can - the Scots can guarantee moving second if they play a 1 card. Sometimes this can be useful on defence (if you can react with a group that can't be pinned by the English first move). Similarly, be wary of the English first-move advantage.

The Scots are vulnerable early - they have to get out of the pocket they're in at Fife. Don't let yourself get surrounded.

Don't forget that if you move first, you can often defend an area by launching a spoiling attack to prevent the enemy from coming across a border at you. Be aware that the British can do likewise. Nobles who you're going to lose in the winter anyway are useful for this, or 1-point blocks.

Exploit empty areas behind the enemy front when possible by retreating forward. Wallace can often do this without risk.

If you garrison a noble's area, you can sometimes be quite aggressive with him. Even if he dies, you get him back in the winter. Because of the way wintering works, the Scots nobles can convert the enemy nobles, while the English nobles can't.

If you see the English preparing to winter Edward, you have to start planning for the next year now. Retreating to the highlands can mitigate a sally by Edward. Alternately, threatening to raid England with any units you may have left in the south (if need be, Wallace) can help.

It's not unusual for the Scots to lose the south and a line to develop across the centre of the board - if this seems to be happening, Argylle is key. Lennox can only garrison one unit, so its hard for the English to hold Lennox at the start of a year if the Scots get to go first.

Thread: Re: Advice for a first time Scot?

gittes — 2008-11-02T05:43:39+00:00

As the Scots I always try to secure the north and build up my forces while dodging the main English army as best I can. Most of the time it seems the Scots fall because they fight a premature battle with the main English army.

Thread: Advice for a first time Scot?

Aramd — 2008-11-02T01:10:19+00:00

I just played my first full game against my wife. She was the Scots and I the British. She got really trounced. I had a sea movement card in the first draw of cards which I played immediately to land in North Scotland. It s seemed to give me an unfair edge. While, my wife is less than a brilliant military strategist I didn't expect to be able to beat her in 3 years. Any advice for a first time Scot?

Thanks
Aram

Thread: Re: 3-Player Hammer

kuhrusty — 2008-11-01T06:16:48+00:00

DetonatedManiac wrote:
I know I am coming to this conversation really late, but I am looking for a 3 player, medium weight (IE can play in one evening) war game. What you are describing sounds perfect.
While you're waiting, I was going to suggest Pacific Victory or Napoleon - The Waterloo Campaign, 1815 (3rd Edition), but unfortunately the 3-player rules in both of those are 2-on-1, and neither has anything as neat as Hammer's nobles who switch sides.

There's also a 3-player EuroFront/EuroFront II scenario, but that's a lot to buy if you're primarily interested in a 3-player game (and it may push the "can play in one evening" limit; I've only tried that scenario once, and one of the players was new, so we didn't come close to finishing). But on the other hand, you also wind up with EastFront/EastFront II, which is great!

How about Friedrich? Although it's 2-beating-on-1 (the "allies" can't attack each other), the allies are competing with each other; they don't share a victory. Simple rules, interesting & unusual game.

Oh, hey, how about Hitler's War? I got that because it's 3-player, playable-in-an-evening, but so far my attempts to learn the rules have not been successful.

Thread: Re: 3-Player Hammer

DetonatedManiac — 2008-11-01T02:45:30+00:00

I know I am coming to this conversation really late, but I am looking for a 3 player, medium weight (IE can play in one evening) war game. What you are describing sounds perfect.

If you ever create this other game I will probably buy it because I find the interaction of a 3 player conflict interesting and not well explored in other games. Sure other games have 3 players but not many are designed for 3 player interactions, especially not in a war/conflict milieu.

By the way, please contact me if you have a 3 player war game that you need play tested.

Thread: Re: Regarding French Knights (v2.3)

armadaman — 2008-10-18T13:54:17+00:00

The Scots 8 noble requirement is determined during the Winter Turn; i.e. If the Scots have 8 nobles during the 4th turn, but the English convert some back before the year ends, the French are not added to the draw pool.

Thread: Re: If Edward disbands does he go back into the draw pool?

armadaman — 2008-10-18T13:41:09+00:00

The 'voluntary' disbanding of 7.3 & 7.5 can only occur during the Winter Turn. If Edward or Wallace find themselves weak and surrounded after a battle, they cannot simply leave the map mid-year to avoid being killed.

Thread: Re: English movement question

armadaman — 2008-10-18T12:56:46+00:00

They would continue to fight as one group, if they all enter the battle area across the same border.

Thread: Re: Changes from 1.1 to 2.3

Oakfed — 2008-10-12T03:17:47+00:00

They do sell the cards separately - I 'upgraded' my 1e game to 2e by buying the 2e cards - they're much more attractive, anyhow - and manually making the couple of unit changes (IIRC, one starting Scottish infantry block hits on 3s instead of 2s, and a small Scottish block had its move upped to 3 - think it was the archers).

Thread: Re: Wallace the Conquered

JackFlash — 2008-10-12T02:39:49+00:00

It's required that we all hear bagpipes when playing HoTS!

Merric, I like the way you put your report in the form of a story! Very well done!

Thread: Re: What are the "phases"?

gamesbook — 2008-10-10T20:09:40+00:00

Oakfed wrote:
It's not at all clear in the text, but I think they were counting two movement phases (one for each player).
Hmm - I think it was clearer in the 1ed rules, where they did not number the phases.

Thread: Re: Changes from 1.1 to 2.3

gamesbook — 2008-10-10T20:07:15+00:00

Oakfed wrote:
Believe they were trying to trim the number of pages.

The card text in the 2e cards was slightly changed in a few places, supposedly making them self-explanatory and obviating the need for extra discussion in the rules. Think they still need info on a few edge cases, but this could be in the FAQ (once they make one for 2.3).
Well, they have not really "trimmed" anything - just replaced some game-relevant text with blurb.

Also, lots of people still have the first edition game, so if they want to use the latest rules, then the fact that there is revised text on the 2ed cards will not help them. In either case, having a summary of the type and no. of cards, along with details, is very useful.

Any other ideas?

Thread: Re: Wallace the Conquered

teufen — 2008-10-10T07:21:10+00:00

cannoneer wrote:
To be honest, I frequently hear bagpipes playing in my head, so that may not mean anything.

And there I was, thinking I am the only one hearing bagpipes in my head from time to time...

Thread: Re: Wallace the Conquered

cannoneer — 2008-10-09T19:50:37+00:00

As I read this I could hear the bagpipes playing in my head.

To be honest, I frequently hear bagpipes playing in my head, so that may not mean anything. Good report nevertheless.

Thread: Re: Wallace the Conquered

Jambo — 2008-10-09T15:58:21+00:00

Photos definitely make a session report. Looking forward to some more Hammertime Merric.

Thread: Re: Wallace the Conquered

Cathan — 2008-10-09T13:33:45+00:00

Great report! I like the photo log element. I have to admit that I cringed seeing Wallace all alone down south like that.

Thread: Re: What are the "phases"?

Oakfed — 2008-10-09T09:12:12+00:00

It's not at all clear in the text, but I think they were counting two movement phases (one for each player).

Thread: Re: Changes from 1.1 to 2.3

Oakfed — 2008-10-09T09:10:29+00:00

Believe they were trying to trim the number of pages.

The card text in the 2e cards was slightly changed in a few places, supposedly making them self-explanatory and obviating the need for extra discussion in the rules. Think they still need info on a few edge cases, but this could be in the FAQ (once they make one for 2.3).

Thread: What are the "phases"?

gamesbook — 2008-10-09T07:11:31+00:00

In the 2.3 version of the rules, it says "Turns. Each Game Turn has four (4) Phases, played in the sequence given.". I can only see three: Card, Movement and Battle. (Note that "Winter" is described as a Turn, not a phase). What is the 4th phase referred to?

Thread: Changes from 1.1 to 2.3

gamesbook — 2008-10-09T07:00:39+00:00

Having just downloaded the latest ruleset, I was very surprised to see that the handy reference on which cards are in the deck & their explanations has been removed from the sidebar on page 3, and replaced with some historical blurb on "The Black Douglas". With all due respect to history buffs (of which I am occasionally one), I would think that the original text was much more valuable (in game terms).

Any ideas as to why this was done?

Thread: Wallace the Conquered

MerricB — 2008-10-08T23:26:06+00:00

There was a time, before your father's time and his father's time, when we all lived in Scotland. And it was a wonderful land; a cruel land, a cold land, but it bred warriors of true steel! It just had one little problem: the Scots didn't know who to swear allegiance to!

]]>Scotland the Confused

Some said the Bruce, some said the Comyn, and others said the English King, whose blood was Scottish on his aunt's side, once removed. There was only one thing for it: War!

Of course, the Scots needed a leader to fight against the other Scots (and the English, who also liked a good war when they saw one), and so elected William Wallace by the traditional manner: he killed anyone who said no to him until all acclaimed him as warleader. He then led his forces against the English, again and again and again.

]]>Wallace the Brave

Eventually, finding that there was nothing to eat in a conquered castle in the highlands, Wallace said, "The hell with this! I'm going to raise hell in the south! Who's with me?"

The lairds shuffled their feet and refused to look at him, so Wallace rushed off south on his own. There came rumours that he had captured the Bruce from the English and turned him back to the Scottish cause, but soon - nothing. Silence. The south was closed to the Scottish behind a wall of English Redcoats.

]]>The Doom of Wallace

The Scots found new heart in the arrival of French Knights, who presaged the arrival of Balliol, a frenchman who would be King of Scotland. The north began to tremble to their footsteps (shod with iron, occasionally), and the land rejoiced at the coming of a new King.

]]>The Coming of the King

Unfortunately, Edward Longshanks - the English King - did not appreciate this, and he sent his knights to teach the pretender a lesson. They smashed back the English gains, and a great battle between the French King and the English saw Balliol fleeing from the field, with the cream of the Scottish warriors and nobles left dead on the field.

The English rejoiced, and ordered the pillaging of all around. The Scottish tucked into a good feast, hoping to eat all the provisions before the English got them. And it was there that our story ends: the Scots defeated, the English king triumphant.

]]>The Fall of Scotland

This was the first game I've played of Hammer of the Scots. My opponent was Randy. It took about 3 hours to play and was extremely enjoyable. There are definite correlations with Warriors of God, although that game uses counters instead of dice and the leaders more often die than defect.

The playing time per turn was analogous to Warriors of God - WofG took us 4 hours, but has 3 extra turns; we played about 20 minutes/turn. This will probably improve for both.

There were a few key moments in the game: Wallace certainly gave Randy a lot of trouble down south, although he shouldn't have been there: he was forced to retreat due to me overstacking a province during winter.

The crowning of Balliol as King was a key moment which completely blindsided Randy (this was his second game). Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take full advantage of it. Terrible rolling in a battle against the English caused me to fail to take a key province, and I pressed the battle too far and thus lost Comyn from the game. Not good at all!

The game ended when we both played events for the first action in the final year. I was happy with that, for my poor Scots would have fared very badly in the last turn. I'd had a chance for victory, but Randy had seized his chances and took the game in the end.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

conky — 2008-10-08T02:07:50+00:00

Sounds like we have two interpretations though as you pointed out, that thread is very clear.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

goodweiser — 2008-10-08T02:01:58+00:00

conky wrote:
Ah, rules lawyerish or not, it's a good point. Thanks! Just as importantly, it further shows the lengths to which the unscrupulous Goodweiser would go to defeat me. (j/k) ;-)

Executioner wrote:
conky wrote:
This is taken from the rules. I read that as he can be drawn.

NOTE: Edward I starts play in the English
Draw Pool. Historically, he was fighting in
Flanders in 1297.

I took that note to mean Edward starts play in the draw pool, after your feudal level of 4 units since the game doesn't technically start until after setup. If you drew him as one of your initial 4 unit levy, he would technically start play in England.

That's kinda rules lawyerish of me but it also makes sense from the note because Flanders is not in Scotland but rather in present day northern France/Belgium/Netherlands and that is where the note says Edward was fighting in 1297, not in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders

I think we played it correctly Conk, check out this post - http://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/1240356#1240356. I think the note in the rule book is for historians who may point out that Edward I shouldn't be available due to the fact that he was Flanders in 1297.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

conky — 2008-10-08T00:48:53+00:00

Executioner wrote:
Since I've never won as the Scots, I've go to look for every edge possible! In spite of that, I think it's a great game and a blast to play.

We're still newbies to this game but are planning on playing more often. It is a lot of fun. We need to get a couple of copies so that when we have 4 people we can have a little tourney. Hopefully the Scots odds of taking one victory goes up a bit!

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

Executioner — 2008-10-08T00:37:56+00:00

Since I've never won as the Scots, I've go to look for every edge possible! In spite of that, I think it's a great game and a blast to play.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

conky — 2008-10-07T23:22:25+00:00

Ah, rules lawyerish or not, it's a good point. Thanks! Just as importantly, it further shows the lengths to which the unscrupulous Goodweiser would go to defeat me. (j/k) ;-)

Executioner wrote:
conky wrote:
This is taken from the rules. I read that as he can be drawn.

NOTE: Edward I starts play in the English
Draw Pool. Historically, he was fighting in
Flanders in 1297.

I took that note to mean Edward starts play in the draw pool, after your feudal level of 4 units since the game doesn't technically start until after setup. If you drew him as one of your initial 4 unit levy, he would technically start play in England.

That's kinda rules lawyerish of me but it also makes sense from the note because Flanders is not in Scotland but rather in present day northern France/Belgium/Netherlands and that is where the note says Edward was fighting in 1297, not in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

Executioner — 2008-10-07T22:46:10+00:00

conky wrote:
This is taken from the rules. I read that as he can be drawn.

NOTE: Edward I starts play in the English
Draw Pool. Historically, he was fighting in
Flanders in 1297.

I took that note to mean Edward starts play in the draw pool, after your feudal level of 4 units since the game doesn't technically start until after setup. If you drew him as one of your initial 4 unit levy, he would technically start play in England.

That's kinda rules lawyerish of me but it also makes sense from the note because Flanders is not in Scotland but rather in present day northern France/Belgium/Netherlands and that is where the note says Edward was fighting in 1297, not in Scotland.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flanders

Thread: Re: F2F gaming site down?

JackFlash — 2008-10-07T03:47:07+00:00

F2F is not worth the trouble to wait.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

conky — 2008-10-07T01:37:36+00:00

This is taken from the rules. I read that as he can be drawn.

NOTE: Edward I starts play in the English
Draw Pool. Historically, he was fighting in
Flanders in 1297.

Executioner wrote:
goodweiser wrote:
Jambo wrote:
Ouch! Losing Wallace to castle limit must really have hurt and I'm not surprised it's been an uphill struggle after that, especially if your English opponent also has Edward out. After losing Wallace one really has to coronate a King to stand a chance.

I drew Edward I on the initial draw (he was one of only 4 blocks drawn). Edward took a beating in first year but didn't die. I decided to disband him during the first wintering period. I drew him AGAIN (at least this time the odds were in my favor, as half the pool is drawn) in the first Feudal Levy. In the second year i had the card that allowed me to move 1 or 2 blocks to any coastal area. The Angus region was friendly to the English, so Edward and the Lancaster archers moved there. From there they tore through Northern Scotland before the end of the third year. As Conky said, Bruce died valiantly in the final battle, but there were no rings of Freedom through the English countryside.

You might want to check the rules because I thought Edward had to be removed from the initial draw pool because he was busy in France? Essentially, no Edward the first year.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

Executioner — 2008-10-07T01:16:03+00:00

goodweiser wrote:
Jambo wrote:
Ouch! Losing Wallace to castle limit must really have hurt and I'm not surprised it's been an uphill struggle after that, especially if your English opponent also has Edward out. After losing Wallace one really has to coronate a King to stand a chance.

I drew Edward I on the initial draw (he was one of only 4 blocks drawn). Edward took a beating in first year but didn't die. I decided to disband him during the first wintering period. I drew him AGAIN (at least this time the odds were in my favor, as half the pool is drawn) in the first Feudal Levy. In the second year i had the card that allowed me to move 1 or 2 blocks to any coastal area. The Angus region was friendly to the English, so Edward and the Lancaster archers moved there. From there they tore through Northern Scotland before the end of the third year. As Conky said, Bruce died valiantly in the final battle, but there were no rings of Freedom through the English countryside.

You might want to check the rules because I thought Edward had to be removed from the initial draw pool because he was busy in France? Essentially, no Edward the first year.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

conky — 2008-10-07T00:41:02+00:00

The Scots will not relent, that much is true. Freedom shall ring soon enough.

goodweiser wrote:

I drew Edward I on the initial draw (he was one of only 4 blocks drawn). Edward took a beating in first year but didn't die. I decided to disband him during the first wintering period. I drew him AGAIN (at least this time the odds were in my favor, as half the pool is drawn) in the first Feudal Levy. In the second year i had the card that allowed me to move 1 or 2 blocks to any coastal area. The Angus region was friendly to the English, so Edward and the Lancaster archers moved there. From there they tore through Northern Scotland before the end of the third year. As Conky said, Bruce died valiantly in the final battle, but there were no rings of Freedom through the English countryside.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

goodweiser — 2008-10-06T22:38:10+00:00

Jambo wrote:
Ouch! Losing Wallace to castle limit must really have hurt and I'm not surprised it's been an uphill struggle after that, especially if your English opponent also has Edward out. After losing Wallace one really has to coronate a King to stand a chance.

I drew Edward I on the initial draw (he was one of only 4 blocks drawn). Edward took a beating in first year but didn't die. I decided to disband him during the first wintering period. I drew him AGAIN (at least this time the odds were in my favor, as half the pool is drawn) in the first Feudal Levy. In the second year i had the card that allowed me to move 1 or 2 blocks to any coastal area. The Angus region was friendly to the English, so Edward and the Lancaster archers moved there. From there they tore through Northern Scotland before the end of the third year. As Conky said, Bruce died valiantly in the final battle, but there were no rings of Freedom through the English countryside.

Thread: Re: F2F gaming site down?

Cathan — 2008-10-06T21:02:40+00:00

I can't check from work, but this on occasion happens. They are usually back up in a few hours.

Thread: F2F gaming site down?

Jambo — 2008-10-06T20:47:09+00:00

This site doesn't seem to working for me anymore. Can anyone else get online?

Best,

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

Jambo — 2008-10-06T11:30:00+00:00

Ouch! Losing Wallace to castle limit must really have hurt and I'm not surprised it's been an uphill struggle after that, especially if your English opponent also has Edward out. After losing Wallace one really has to coronate a King to stand a chance.

Thread: Re: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

JackFlash — 2008-10-06T03:10:05+00:00

It is a blast! I'm playing game 17 right now! I never get tired of it!

Thread: It was a very cold and brutal winter in Scotland.

conky — 2008-10-05T23:46:17+00:00

A buddy (Goodweiser) and I did some Sat night gaming recently and we decided to break out Hammer. We randomly drew factions and I was happy to get the Scots. Can you say "Freeedooommmm!"? Well I certainly spoke too soon but more on that in a bit. After a quick review of the rules we dove right in. Even though I only drew one non-movement cards, I was happy with my first draw and felt I would do ok. I was able to utilize Wallace a bit before the first winter as he ran around the northern side of Scotland intimidating anything that crossed his path. I at first thought that was rather cool, but I probably should have left him in his starting area to try to better control that central Scotland choke point and perhaps lend Bruce a hand.

Since I did some early damage to the English, I was feeling pretty good about the 1st year. But I totally forgot about the castle pop limit and what a lethal blunder that was. As the cold, unforgiving winter arrived, I looked down to see 4 of my units having to disband. As Goodweiser was refreshing us with the rules on Wintering, he mentioned that I could move Wallace south. I, of course, liked the rampage he was on so I kept him up north in an area with a castle limit of 1. Unfortunately, he was not alone. I had done the unforgivable and unintentionally released Wallace. After returning him to the pool, I, naturally, did not draw him back getting MacDonald instead. Not quite the same. Err.

So year 2 went by with constant beatings from the English. Goodweiser played well bringing in more support and using King Edward as a battering ram as he was well protected in each battle. He also took full advantage of a few action cards. I barely made it through year 2 so as the next arrived, I was on life support with only a few units left. I decided to fight my way to the end and that's precisely what I did as Bruce went down in a heap in year 3.

Next time I will pay close attention to those nasty castles. While I can't control the action cards, I've read enough to suggest that it should not the tip the scales to the level of beat down the Scots received. I also hope to utilize Wallace beyond year 1, control the key areas on the map and maybe get lucky and draw the Norse in to help out.

Even though it was a slaughter (and "Freeedooommmm!" was never utterd by a Scot), the game is a blast and I can't wait to to give it another shot.

Good game Goodweiser.

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capt yid — 2008-06-26T22:46:26+00:00

Upgraded labels for WBC 2008, Check WBC event for details...

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Xookliba — 2008-06-09T18:59:40+00:00

Thierry Aradan's excellent CB gamebox

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turtleback — 2008-03-07T05:35:44+00:00

My storage solution for Hammer of the Scots. A Plano box that I customizrd with an x-acto chisel.

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jsper — 2008-02-04T22:13:40+00:00

Side of the box

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SpaceButler — 2008-02-03T13:05:14+00:00

In the year 1301, Wallace and and his companions secured the line. Edward II will have a hard time braking through to the Highlands.

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Domhnall101 — 2008-01-26T20:46:50+00:00

My custom map in action

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jsper — 2008-01-26T18:21:24+00:00

Card translated to spanish

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Domhnall101 — 2008-01-25T19:41:17+00:00

Inspired and influenced by Vickers, f00k and West2

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Gameluis — 2008-01-25T15:58:01+00:00

Wallace and Gromit!

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morsecrossing — 2007-10-31T18:21:57+00:00

MAR sticker for the second edition map