Dominatrix plays it hard

Finally Table E had its chance at trying multiplayer Infamy, Infamy!  With the Legio II Minima, redeployed from Cyprus, and the Auxiliaries of Titus Newtus ready to go, we scratch built a revolting auxiliary force to add to the Germans of Dominatrix.

This was to be a patrol action, into the forests across the Rhine.  Terrain came in at seven woods, four hills, three marshes and the hemp field of Herman the hermit.

The dark valley of Germanic evilness.  Terrain deployed.

The Roman Cavalry scouts two pieces and takes two ambush points off.  They also convert the two nearer points to deployment points.

The Decurion takes his Cavalry groups up the centre of the table.  Perhaps unwise.

Our Auxilia come on and make progress.

They look like they mean business.

Herman the Henchman comes on after some big man confusion.

Poor use of that Roman Cavalry.  I try to withdraw them to reorganise.

The Auxilia go for the rebellious German Auxilia in the woods.

The German Cavalry come on, as do piecemeal German forces on a hill.  Hold the hill, tactics after my own heart.

And I discovered that I had mysteriously failed to photograph the rout of my Roman Cavalry, bitten on the arse by the German horse, the advance of the Legion and the bloody uphill attack of the Auxilia.

Dominatrix did indeed play it hard.

I think I was too caught up in it.

Some ideas.

It occurred to me that Mr Babbage could command these Germans in a solo game, using build fervour and ambush into the tables.

However the balance in the deck probably means this is unnecessary.

Multiplayer games using Infamy are more restrictive.  Nine German leaders in the deck stretched it.  Equally the terrain and force size are matched for this game.  Perhaps an answer is to increase  the table size (double?  Or maybe just larger terrain squares with more terrain) , to in effect use two Adjoining tables, and use two core forces with two card decks in use at once, perhaps playing separate scenarios as we did for the Sudan.

With five or six players a Roman Tribune could deploy centrally as detachment commander, with his own force, perhaps then balanced by an additional German big chief.

Players can I think help speed these games along by using force cards, with named "characters," to avoid the mystery big man IX incident, and get the initial admin out of the way.  I will be amending my own core force card by adding unit characteristics, and common add ons.  By building six legionary groups I have of course narrowed my own options, but one of the things I took away from yesterday was just how cheap an Infamy force can be, legionaries being essentially a £20 army, and the barbarians Infantry based forces only a little more.