Enfilade! 2017: Quetzalcoatl, catharsis, joy-sparking, and cash

It's been nearly a week since Enfilade! 2017 ended. I started working on this post on Sunday, but have only managed to finish it now. You'd think that my stream-of-consciousness persiflage would pour forth a bit quicker, but I'm a pedantic, punctilious stream-of-consciousness persiflager. I have to cross my t's and dot my i's and revise, revise, revise until, after all my revisions, it comes out just like I typed it in the first place. I'm told that's a mark of genius. Or was it something else?

And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.

I attended just two days and drove down and back both of 'em. For me, Enfilade! ended Saturday night. Late. So late it was tomorrow when I got home.  I had mulled over spending the weekend at the convention and staying at the hotel, but that would mean getting a cat-sitter (who would have to deal with the awkward—and potentially explosive—Bogart vs. the girls scenario). It would also severely limit what I could schlep down in my nifty, but severely space-limited 350z.

Even though I spent nearly as much time driving back and forth as I spent gaming, I quite enjoyed Enfilade! this year. The lead-up to it was much less hectic than in past years, or maybe I was just more comfortable with my slacking. I didn't overcommit or run multiple games (at least not on my own).

In the week before Enfilade! I managed to finally get the last few of my Spanish conquistadors finished. My caballeros de la muerte had long been limited to the first two figures I painted some time last Fall (eliciting Kevin's query every game, "Are those two ever going to get their friends to join them?"). The dog-pack has proper masters now, to replace the halbardiers who filled in, the gun crew is done, and there's a full compliment of crossbowmen. I also managed to complete a few Aztec slingers (of course), though the bulk of my Mesoaméricanos remain in progress somewhere along the continuum from raw lead to almost just nearly ready to get dipped.

My only true last-minute cramming was getting a bunch of trees done. We'd always had ready terrain when we gamed at The Panzer Depot or Kevin brought some trees to other venues. So, when he said that he couldn't fit anything more into his overstuffed Subaru and would have to leave the trees at home, I determined to complete the trees I'd been ignoring for the last two years. That required a lot of work on Thursday to apply the DAS air-dry clay to the fender-washer-weighted wooden bases. I had to wait 36 hours for that to dry, which meant filing and sanding the dried clay when I got home from Day 1 of Enfilade! on Friday night. To bed by midnight, and then getting up early Saturday morning to paint and flock the bases so I could bring them up with me on Saturday for Kevin's and my Quetzalcoatl Rampant games. I also cut out and flocked some green felt areas to demarcate woods on the table.

Finally, I had to pull out of their nooks, niches, and cubby-holes all the stuff I was selling at the bring 'n' buy. For which details, see below.


What I played or ran

I was only involved in three events over the two days.

I played in one event in the first period on Friday afternoon. A Bolt Action game of Tarawa using 15mm figures. There were eight players, 6 Marines and 2 Japanese. I was one of the Marine players. It was tough going. The Japanese were very, very dug in. We managed to score just a few casualties against them, while our units were being shot up in the surf and on the sand. I wound up playing two of the Marine commands because our sixth player arrived late and then bailed out. The last few turns of the game, my fellow Marine players wanted me to use my finally-landed air control officer to direct an airstrike on a Japanese bunker they were going to attack. I rolled a "1" for effect and wound up attacking them instead as they massed in the open for the assault. That ended the game. Children, don't roll 1's.

Bolt Action: The Marines debark at the reef line

Bolt Action: "Bataan" barely making it ashore

After that friendly fire debacle, I caught the tail end of happy hour in the bar with Kevin Smyth, Dave Schueler, and Doug Hamm, who fulsomely extolled the glory of plastic minis (and yet I still demur). Then I went home and started working on the model trees I needed to complete for my games on Saturday. The return trip was clear sailing. I made it from Olympia to Lynnwood (about 85 miles) in an hour and 15 minutes.

Saturday morning, the cats got me up early, of course. I went right to work finishing the trees for the game. The work was simple, but the drying time between tasks took a while; plus, there were a lot of trees to do.

The trip back down took me 2 1/2 hours: bad traffic going into Tacoma, very bad traffic going through the Joint Base Lewis-McChord area and then the oppressive perma-languor of Olympia traffic. By the time I got to the hotel, I needed beer, so I dragged Kevin into lunch in the understaffed, overcrowded hotel restaurant. The fish 'n' chips was good and the beer much appreciated.

After lunch, Kevin and I set up our first Quetzalcoatl Rampant game: Craving Corn in Xochimilco. This was the basic scenario we'd play-tested the rules variant with several times. It ran better for the Spanish than in games past. The Spanish/Tlaxcalan players all had mixed forces of conquistadors and Tlaxcalan allies. This mix resolved the problem of players putting all their Spanish in one lot (which in some games never moved).

Craving Corn: The Spanish advance into the town

Craving Corn: Tlaxcalans arrayed for battle

The caballeros never got into action. I think the player decided to use them as a reserve and hid them behind a pyramid out of range and line of sight from the Aztec atlatls. Pity. There's nothing I like more than to play hard-charging cavalry riding to death or glory.

Craving Corn: Caballeros hiding behind a pyramid

The war-dogs ran into the teeth of it and wound up getting mauled. I don't think we've played a single game where they didn't get wiped out or were left hanging on by a thread.

Craving Corn: War-dogs and handlers

We also instituted appeals to God/the gods discs that could be used as do-overs for failed activation tests. Too often in our games, players would roll snake-eyes for their first activation in a turn and be hopelessly stuck. The do-over gets things moving and can be handy when you really, really need to make the attack or take the shot. So, Kevin painted up some discs with crosses for the Spanish and bleeding, ripped-right-outta-the-chest hearts for the Aztecs. Players were a bit cautious with them (they got negative points whenever they used one), but appreciated having a second chance for critical activations.

It's funny how players in a game you host never seem to play the way you imagine they will—although I shouldn't be shocked by now. In the Lion Rampant family of rules, units can never be within 3" of another unit unless in combat. This means that the amount of space to deploy can be limited by terrain 'n' stuff. In a space about 10" wide, you might expect to fit on 12-figure unit without violating the 3" rule. The solution that players find is to create "conga lines" of single or double file figures with 3" between the lines. It's entirely within the letter of the law, but not really in the spirit.

Craving Corn: Aztec conga lines of war

Craving Corn: Aztec counterattack

Following hard on the Craving Corn in Xochimilco game, was our second Quetzalcoatl Rampant game: I Left My Heart in Xochimilco. In this game, the Spanish are attacking an Aztec temple complex on three sides in an attempt to take several altars where their captured compadres are having the hearts lovingly offered to Huitzilopotchli.

I Left My Heart: Aztecs defend the temples

I Left My Heart: Spanish getting sucked into atlatl range

I Left My Heart: Rodeleros scaling the pyramid

The Aztecs fought hard, but were pretty much slaughtered in the end, which obscures how close they came to actually winning according to the scenario victory conditions. The Spanish/Tlaxcalans got 10 points a piece for every temple they took, plus one point for every Aztec unit completely eliminated. The Aztecs got a point for every Spanish foot figure lost and 2 points for every horseman. It was a near-run thing on points.

I Left My Heart: ¡Avance de la caballería!

The rodeleros of one Spanish force was getting badly shellacked by Aztec atlatl shooting, although its arquebusiers were doing worse back to the Aztecs. It was carnage all around, though mostly for the Aztecs, who lost probably 90% of their force.


What I sold

I was in two minds heading into Enfilade! this year: sell lots of stuff at the bring 'n' buy or sell nothing. My initial impulse after Phil Bardsley's death in January was to sell my 28mm Bolt Action stuff. Phil lured me into playing Bolt Action and I felt that it would never be the same without him. So I waffled, but eventually came back to deciding to sell.

I took my hint from the truly bizarre (though intriguing) book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese art of Decluttering and Organizing. In one chapter Marie Kondo tells us that the key to deciding whether or not to get rid of something is to hold it and see if it "sparks joy." No joy? Get rid of it. (Marie comes across as a weird anal-retentive tidying fetishist, but she has some interesting ideas. She has a follow-up book, btw, called Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up.)

Of course, there are alternate opinions on the whole tidying up thing.

I'm more like the book on the right

Although this stuff about sparking joy almost put the ka-bosh on selling anything. I was gathering up my WW2 figures, models, terrain and found a box of three Blitzkrieg Miniatures Italian M11/39 tanks. They sparked joy! They were just the unassembled kits, but I felt that getting rid of them would be a loss of joy. Suddenly I had to re-think selling all my Bolt Action stuff, but in the end I decided that only the M11/39s sparked joy, so I kept 'em and sold the rest.

I also sold the replica 3rd c. Niederbieber style Roman helmet (not to be confused with the Justinbieber style) I'd had kicking around for 12 years. I bought it at the beginning of my all things Late Roman enthusiasm. It was a nice decoration for a while, but wound up relegated to the top of a book case in the den. I had to move it last Fall because Bogart had staked the top of the book case as his own and he tends to knock over whatever's in his way. It sat dejectedly on the floor of my den for the last eight months and had lost its ability spark joy.

I wanted to sell board games. I have too many, I don't play 'em, they spark no joy. I was once an enthusiast for the Advanced Tobruk System (ATS) games. I was very eager to get Advanced Tobruk when it came out in 2002. I bought several of the games in the system. I played several times, but not once in at least 10 years or so. I kind of felt stuck with a lot of the games taking up a lot of shelf space. I wanted to sell the whole pile for $100.00. Then I marked them down to $40.00 for the lot. Then I tried to give them away. In the end, I donated them to NHMGS, along with three of the Panzer Grenadier series of games. I did manage to sell my L2 Designs mint, unpunched copy of Streets of Stalingrad. I kept meaning to play it one day, but I finally convinced myself that the day would never come. I trust the buyer will put it to use. (Full disclaimer: I still have my copy of the first edition game from Phoenix Games.)

I came down to Enfilade! on Friday with a car-load of things to sell and was determined to bring none of it home with me. I almost made it. Apart from the board games I donated, I gave Scott Murphy my now-superseded "Ancient" dice, which I couldn't sell. I also couldn't sell my rather handsomely painted (IMO) 28mm scale Company B T-35. That was a bit of serendipity, really. It doesn't exactly "spark" joy, but I get a bit of a shiver from it. I kept my pile of unpainted 28mm WW2 Russians as a potential project. So I'm not all the way out of WW2 skirmish gaming. Just mostly. The Russians will arise and there will be a T-35 waiting to support them (or they it, it's kind of a miserable unit in Bolt Action). I may also be inspired to paint Barbarossa Germans. Panzer IIs vs. a T-35 could be an interesting scenario. I may also paint some Empress Miniatures Italians to keep my M11/39s company. We'll see.

In the end, I came home from Enfilade!—even after all my purchases (see below)—with a pile of cash. Even better, there's a sort of catharsis that comes from purging stuff. I never want to throw stuff away that might be wanted by others, no matter how much I don't want to keep it. I'd prefer to sell, but I'll give it away if I can't find a buyer. The important thing, however, was to declutter and purge my unused, unneeded, unwanted stuff. I have no purgers remorse.

I think I got a handle on what sparks joy, too. The M11/39s held a great deal of unfulfilled potential, which was why I couldn't part with them. They were kits I bought with an enthusiasm to build. Had I built and painted even one of the three, I'd likely have parted with them. But since they still held their initial potential, I needed to hang on, even if I don't eventually build and paint any of them, I still want to.

What doesn't spark joy are the things I felt were items past their enjoyment. Phil had been a major motivator in getting into Bolt Action and playing it for the years we did. With him gone, the likelihood that I'd ever play it again was minimal. No enjoyment, no spark.

I've attempted joy-sparking other things in the house,especially books. I hate to give 'em up—although I've done so many times in the past—but the shelves are in overflow and something's gotta give.


What I got

Of course, the point of selling stuff is buying more stuff. Here's my tally of the booty I brought home from Enfilade!

An unpunched mint copy of first edition of Avalon Hill's PanzerBlitz. The box was a bit scuffed on the outside, but the inside is pristine, like it came out of a time capsule. So, now I have four copies of the game. That's a bit absurd, I know, but PanzerBlitz is a very fond memory of my early, early days as a wargamer, as I have previously recounted.

An unpunched mint copy of Conflict Games' Iliad. I actually saw the item in the bring 'n' buy last year, but passed on it. When I'm flush with cash, I'm a bit less deliberative about spending $30.00 for a game, but it was a good purchase. I remember when it came out in 1978. I had a friend who enthused about it, but I didn't regard it much until I read the Iliad myself and then wished I had the game, which was out of print by then and hard to find in pre-Internet/pre-eBay days. Kevin and Dave are both eager to play it, so it won't stay mint and unpunched for long.

Narrow twisty river bits from Wizard Kraft. I got 10 feet of 1/2" wide river sections from Wizard Kraft. These river bits are very twisty and perfect for a little brook in 28mm scale. I also got a transitional piece that has the 1/2" spur coming off a 2" river section. Every Enfilade! I come home with some new bits from Wizard Kraft. I probably have 40 feet of 2" and 1" river sections, lots of fields, swamp bits and lake bits. I've used them in many a game and can't help loving them. They ain't cheap, though. I paid $100.00 for the river bits I got, so I feel the need to use them in a game soon to justify the expense.

Megaliths! Joy! I've been looking to buy or make some kind of megalith that I can use in games with my prehistoricalistic Europeanoids. All to no avail—until Friday. Daryl Nichols ran a Gnome Wars game and he had a Stonehenge-oid set of six megaliths that have two uprights with a stone laid atop perpendicularly (like the Greek letter pi), plus a stone altar set. The megaliths stand 4 1/2" tall and are perfectly sized for my 40mm figures. I asked Daryl where he got them. He told me he found them at a Jo-Ann fabric store (what would wargamers be without fabric stores and aquarium supplies?), but that was over a year ago and it's the kind of transient item that comes and then quickly goes away forever. I was somewhat dismayed until he kindly offered to sell me the set for $20.00. And that was that. If you're reading this, Daryl, thank you again. Expect to see them appear again in an Enfilade! game next year.

Odd 'n' ends. I bought a Warlord Games Swedish leather gun, which I'll use for my ECW Scots in The Pikeman's Lament. I recently got some Scottish artillery crew from Bicorne Miniatures along with a falconet, but the leather gun is perfect for a skirmish type cannon. I also picked up about 6 feet of Pegasus Models wooden fences, which will be a good terrain addition for my skirmish gaming. I also acquired from the bring 'n' buy and Stonehouse Miniatures some skull-bedecked walls for the Aztecs. I also got an old set of Ancients miniatures rules, Axe and Arrow, which are probably just OK (and I doubt I'll ever play them), but I have a penchant for collecting 1960s-1970s era miniatures rules, so I couldn't resist. They're sometimes a great source of ideas for home-brewed rules or house rules for published games.

We'll have to see how much joy these acquisitions spark in 10 years...


The lost tribes

I don't know what the Lost Tribes of Seattle™ got up to over the weekend. John Kennedy ran a small Napoleonic game at his store. The rest likely just sat it out like Achilles in his tent, content to let the strong-greaved Argives falter in his/their absence. I think some people went to the competing Tankfest Northwest event at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (which is just a 5-minute drive from my home).

Doug Hamm and I almost nearly persuaded Bill Stewart to help run an ECW Pikeman's Lament game on Sunday morning—at least we think it was almost nearly, but I suspect Bill's fully-advanced aversion to Enfilade! is the immovable object no irresistible force can budge.

I kinda get the reluctance to attend Enfilade! It's noisy and crowded—and getting more so with each passing year. The game tables are tightly packed, so you bump into your neighboring gamers every time you need to get up from your seat. You can't walk between tables, even though it's the only way to get around. Plus, as Kevin can attest, there seems to be a miasma in the air that makes one sickly. I felt like I was coming down with something all weekend, but I'm good as gold now.

On the other hand, an annual game convention is a great get-away. I always come home with inspiration for new projects and new stuff. It's also, of course, the perfect opportunity to sell old stuff and buy new stuff at the bring 'n' buy. Nowhere in the Pacific Northwest will you find as thick a concentration of miniature wargamers as potential customers and purveyors. There's also chance encounters that have big consequences. I wouldn't have megaliths if I hadn't gone to Enfilade!


Projects of future passed

It's never too early to plan the next Enfilade! event(s). I'm full of ideas (among other things). Number one idea is working on English Civil War gaming using The Pikeman's Lament. I have a pile of lead (and some painted) that will make a reasonable game (once they're all painted). This was almost nearly an Enfilade! project this year, as I've mentioned. I'm kinda glad it wasn't because another trip down and back on Sunday might have done me in.

Both Kevin and I have decided to rebase our single-mounted Aztecs and Conquistadors to the 3-2-1 basing. Moving 100+ single-mounted figures around a table top is nuts. I was tempted to do it in my flurry of pre-Enfilade! activity, but thought better of it because that basing is problematic when fighting on temple pyramids. (It will still be an issue, but I have an idea to solve it...) My original basing for these guys was to have a kind of Mexican chaparral look with light sand base, light green flocking, and light green tufts (which turn a sort of desaturated, straw-y color when I dullcote them). I'll use my standard basing colors and flocking for the 3-2-1. That will let me use the Spanish for gaming European Renaissance as well. (The Assault Group makes the best range of Renaissance figures, so I will always be tempted to get more Spanish, Tudor English, Valois Frenchies, Italians, etc.)

I was briefly tempted to use some of my bring 'n' buy cash infusion to fund buying a lot more Timeline Miniatures for the Irish-Tudor period. I have enough Irish for a 24-point company for The Pikeman's Lament, but there's always more to be had and I need some English occupiers for them to fight. I love the Timeline (formerly Monolith Designs) Border Reivers range. Timeline also has an Elizabethan range that supplements what's lacking in the Border Reiver range (mostly cavalry). I talked myself out of a big purchase, but I did order some Garrison Men with Pikes and Garrison Command as a start to my English, and also some Gallowglass Standing as more oomph for the Irish (and to use as a command unit). I'll likely make a few more purchases over the next several months, so that I'm buying and painting as I go. I'm pretty jazzed about the Irish-Tudor project, so it will almost certainly be an Enfilade! game for 2018. I'll likely run it solo, since I doubt I can talk Kevin into the project. He's normally up for all things Irish, but decidedly averse to all things pike.


Conclusion

So that's my Enfilade! 2017 adventure in a nutshell.

By Saturday night, I was played out. I had to stop at a Mickey D's in Tacoma for coffee on the trip home or I would've no doubt fallen asleep at the wheel somewhere between Fife and Federal Way. Even then, caffeinated to the gills, I was still bleary-eyed by the time I hit North Seattle and yet somehow stumbled the remaining miles home to stately Chez Dave in beautiful, bucolic Lynnwood without incident. I thereupon fed the cats, who were ravenous since they hadn't eaten since I fed them that morning.

I was going to pray a decade of the Rosary as thanksgiving for safe travel, but was too tired and just prayed the Creed, an Our Father, three Hail Marys, and a Glory Be. Then straight to bed at 12:30 a.m. and up again at 4:30 (hungry again already, cats?).  Apart from Mass (where I fell asleep), eating, and starting this blog post, Sunday was a sedate day of rest and recovery.

Cornless in Xochimilco

Kevin Smyth, Dave Schueler, and I ran another game of our Quetzalcoatl Rampant variant for Dan Mersey's Lion Rampant rules. We test-played the Kevin's scenario, which we'll host at the upcoming Drumbeat game day in February.

The scenario has the Spanish and their Tlaxcalan allies attacking an Aztec village in search of corn to feed themselves. The village sits in the middle of the board with four maize storage structures in its four corners.

Come to beautiful Mexico and be sacrificed on the altars of our bloodthirsty gods

There are also several chinampas, floating gardens, on one side, which are also a source of grain.

To win, the Spanish/Tlaxcalans needed to capture corn from the granaries and take it back off the board. To do this they had six 6-figure bearer units, plus their soldier/warriors could be pressed into service schlepping grain as well. The Spanish/Tlaxcalans started just outside the town on one side and the Aztecs started on the opposite side. There was also an Aztec relief force that could come in on the Spanish/Tlaxcalan flank on turn 2 or in their rear on turn 5.

Kevin and I played the Aztecs, Dave and Bailey played the Spanish/Tlaxcalans. Another player, Will, joined us and took over Kevin's forces, leaving him free to command the relief force.

The rules we used were a bit more tweaked from our last game. We gave the Aztecs and Tlaxcalans an 8" move and a 12" atlatl shot. Unlike our previous games, this was not a walkover for the conquistadors.

Dave and Bailey were plagued throughout the game by the most abysmal die rolling in the history of dice. My rolling and Will's was average; Kevin rolled some of my roughly six-sided antique bone dice and was unstoppable. He failed only one courage test or activation in the game, sometimes against heavy odds.

The hated invaders of Aztecland started with their Tlaxcalans forward with the idea that because they move faster, they'd be in position beyond the first granaries when they made contact with the Aztec defenders. However, they just couldn't get things going. Too many failed first activations ceded the initiative the the Aztecs who poured into the town.

Aztecs overrun the town

On my left, Will advanced steadily against Bailey's troops. The Spanish arquebusiers barely got into position, but then couldn't activate their fire actions. They got hurt by Will's skirmishers and later attacked and beaten by his warriors. Will was the only Aztec player to attempt the "Your beating heart" rule, which allows the Aztecs to opt for attempting to capture enemy casualties for sacrifice. It's a bit dicey because a failed attempt returns the casualty to the unit that lost it. However, successful attempts permanently increase the capturing unit's courage and decreases the courage of the unit whose men have will have their beating hearts offered to Huitzilipoctli.

Securing the temple

Kevin's relief force on the Spanish/Tlaxcalan flank pretty much sealed their doom—along with his amazing die-rolling. The relief force were the best of the Aztec units on the board. Will and I had basic warriors and skirmishers with one veteran unit. The relief force were several veteran units and an Eagle Knight unit.

Fearsome Eagle Knights on the flank

The Tlaxcalans managed to briefly secure one granary and even got bearers up to it to start loading the corn, but they were soon overrun by Aztec warriors. Kevin smacked them on one side and I smacked them on the other.

Spanish/Tlaxcalan high water mark

 By the end of the game, the Aztecs held the town and all the granaries. The Spanish soldiers had hardly been engaged, though it didn't look as though they would be able to pull off a win—even if their die-rolling dramatically improved. (Which wouldn't happen; let's face it: when you're cursed, you're cursed.)

Bailey on the ropes, pressed hard by Will's Aztecs

The invaders got no corn at all and will have a hungry time of it as they continue their campaign against Tenochtitlan with empty bellies.

This is the end

I'm not sure how to figure the Spanish/Tlaxcalan loss. Their die-rolls were legendarily bad. In the hall of shame for all-time poor rolling, they'd be on Mount Rushmore. They just couldn't get their units to do anything. Most of the Spanish remained unengaged and those who got engaged only did so too late. The Spanish lost their war-dogs and had one rodelero unit chewed up (one man remaining), they also lost a couple horsemen from the caballero unit and had their arquebusiers smacked around. Aztec losses were negligible. I don't think we lost any units, although some of Kevin's were down to below half strength.

Kevin's die-rolling was truly astonishing. Had it been just average, the Spanish would have fared much better on that flank.

I think the rules are tweaked to where we want them. We'll play this scenario at Drumbeat and again, plus another scenario, at Enfilade! in May.


Postscript: Grizzled Mox &c.

After the game, Kevin, Dave, and I repaired to Mox Boarding House in Bellevue for beer, lunch, and a short game of The Grizzled, a cooperative card game set in the trenches of World War One. Players have to work together to survive missions.

It's not easy and we lost the game after three missions when my character, Gaston Fayard, accumulated too many hard knock cards. By then it was late in the day and we didn't have time to play more rounds and drink more beer—which was all to the good as I was operating on only four hours sleep from the night before and nappy time beckoned.

The Grizzled card examples

On a poignant note, Tignous, the artist who designed the cards for The Grizzled, worked for Charlie Hebdo and was killed in the terrorist attack on the magazine on January 7, 2015.

When I got home, I found a small package from Bicorne Miniatures waiting for me: reinforcements for my ECW that I'm painting for The Pikeman's Lament. I got some English musketeers ramming a charge and fumbling with their cartridges, some Scots Covenanters ramming a charge, and a command group. There was another package from Bicorne, too, but it required my signature, so the post office is graciously hosting it until I come and sign for it on Monday. It's odd that one package required a signature and another didn't. The one that did has the ECW cavalry and artillery I ordered.

Mayhem in the maize

On December 17 Kevin Smyth and I ran another test play of our Quetzalcoatl Rampant variant of Dan Mersey's Lion Rampant skirmish rules. We'd played a game with the other two Daves at Meeples Games in West Seattle in August. Kevin also ran a game at the NHMGS game day at the Boeing Museum of Flight in November. For that game he revised some of the values for the troop types to give the Aztecs a bit more of a fighting chance. In both games the Spanish never even broke a sweat while beating Montezuma's minions like rented mules. After the second game, he revised things further. (I've updated the values in my Quetzalcoatl Rampant blog post.)

Saturday's game was still a bit of a walkover for los Españoles, but that may have been due to my extraordinary dicing--a talent I notably lack in most of my gaming adventures.

Kevin and Bailey played the Aztec horde and I played the Spanish. We each had 30 point retinues. I had one unit of caballeros, two units of rodeleros, one unit of arquebusiers, one unit of war-dogs, one Tlaxcalan skirmisher, and one unit of basic Tlaxcalan warriors. (We're toying with some kind of point limit for Spanish units in "Spanish" retinues to make them use more allies.)

The Spanish deployed, caballeros in reserve

Kevin and Bailey's force, as far as I recall, was maybe four skirmisher units, two basic warrior units, two veteran warrior units, and a unit of fearsome eagle knights.

The terrain was a couple houses, some wooded bits, and some maize fields. The terrain worked against the Aztecs because it let the numerically inferior Spanish dominate in the tight spots between blocking or hindering terrain and kept them from being enveloped by the Aztec horde.

I started out cagey. The Aztec warriors are better in attack than in defense (and the Spanish are correspondingly worse at defense than attack). I wanted to be the one attacking, so I hung back with my rodeleros out of 6" range of his troops waiting for him to move within my charge range. I held back the caballeros as a reserve strike force. I used my arquebusiers and Tlaxcalan skirmishers to good effect. I forced one of Bailey's skirmisher units to run (and keep running) on my first shot. The Aztecs didn't really have much luck with their courage rolls, nor with their own shooting.

Improved fearsome boomsticks of war

In our various combats, I managed to roll 11 hits against units a couple times. Maybe that's not too surprising when I'm hitting on 3+, but it has devastating effect on units with "2" armor. Coupled with poor courage rolls, the Mexica were soon in a world of hurt. The vaunted eagle knights rolled so low on their courage test that they clean buggered off the field.

Successive waves of Aztec nastiness

My war dogs were successful, but they'd lost half their number by game's end. I lost two caballeros and, I think, three rodeleros, and a couple Tlaxcalan skirmishers My arquebusiers and the Tlaxcalan warriors were untouched. (The Tlaxcalan warriors never got engaged, actually.)

My initial thoughts for this variant, as I mentioned in the original Quetzalcoatl Rampant post, were that Aztec numbers would offset Spanish quality. However, the disparity is still too significant, I think. I've been pondering some more things that might boost Aztec performance. In brief, these are:

• Give the Aztecs (and Tlaxcalans) an 8" movement rate. This change would put the Aztecs in better position to charge the Spanish and get the benefit of their Attack combat value (and reduce the Spanish to their Defense combat value). For example, warrior knights or veteran warriors versus rodeleros would be 4+ Attack vs. 4+ Defend. The sole Spanish advantage is a "3" armor compared to the Aztec "2" armor. Things could get a bit more dangerous for the Conquistadors--especially since the Spanish units are 6 figures and the Aztecs are 12. This change might also prompt the Spanish rodeleros to use their Close Order rule and increase their protection to a "4" armor.
• Give the Aztecs and Tlaxcalans a 12" range if they take the Atl-Atl option. The option costs 1 point, but is pretty useless with a 6" range. In fact, it's unusable since Aztec warrior knights and veteran warriors have the Wild Charge rule. If they're within 6" they can't shoot, they must attempt to attack.

Our next scheduled game is the Drumbeat game day in Seattle on February 4, but I think I'd like to sneak another game in before then to give these new ideas a try. Our ultimate plan is to run a few big games of this at Enfilade! in May. Until then, I have a lot of painting to do...

Quetzalcoatl Rampant

Kevin Smyth has talked about adapting Daniel Mersey's Lion Rampant skirmish rules to an Aztecs v. Conquistadors setting. This is my stab at that adaptation. Similar to my take on adapting Lion Rampant to 3rd c. Rome, it's basically seeing how the historical types fit into Daniel's existing types in Lion Rampant, adding a few new types, and then concocting a few special rules to cover the unique situation.

It's been a long time since I spent any time studying the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Back in the 1970s(!), I read several books on the subject. My friend Ron Towler and I were keen to game it using Minifigs' old Aztecs range, though nothing came of the project, we did have a lot of the figures. Most of that range, by the way, is still technically available. I ordered one of each figure last year, but they never came and I gave up trying to get them to send them to me. It's nearly impossible to get Minifigs any more...

The impression one gets from reading on the subject of the conquest of Mexico is that the Spanish were supermen who could whip many times their own numbers of Mesoamericans. They certainly had some material advantages: steel weapons and armor, gunpowder, and horses. They also seem to have had a huge advantage in the intangibles like leadership and training. The Spanish also had the advantage of being a mystery to the Aztecs, who initially thought that Cortés was the god Quetzalcoatl, whose coming had been foretold.

There is also the indomitable will of Hernán Cortés to consider. A man of lesser drive or ruthlessness would have failed at any of the crisis points Cortés seemed to have taken in stride: He hijacked the expedition after he was removed from its command, ignored a recall from the governor of Cuba, burned his boats at Veracruz, fought two battles against a huge number of Tlaxcalans and won—eventually making them allies—survived a crushing defeat at Tenochtitlan, defeated and then recruited into his army a Spanish force sent to arrest him, hijacked/seduced into joining him other Spanish forces that strayed into the area, then with his reinforced forces and Tlaxcalan allies, re-took Tenochtitlan and razed it.

Setting out from Veracruz - Tenochtitlan ho!

My ideas behind the adaptation can be summed up as follows:

Comparative values - The Spanish soldiers simply outclassed their Aztec opponents. I've reflected that by pumping up the values for Spanish types that would be much less formidable in a European context. For example, the Spanish caballeros that came with Cortés were not mounted men-at-arms, but when the best the Aztecs could field against them were men dressed in feathers with obsidian-edged clubs, their effect was as much, if not more, than the best chivalry of the old world.

One advantage for the Aztecs in this lopsidedness is that their points are generally lower than typical for units in Lion Rampant and the Spanish are higher.

Holy Huitzilopochtli! What is that!? - The Aztecs had no prior knowledge of horses, steel, or gunpowder. It's as if the Spanish came from outer space, like in Mars Attacks!, but there was no Slim Whitman music to make their heads explode (and in 1520 they would have found it hard to get batteries for their boom-boxes anyway). I've added some special rules to reflect the shock and awe value of Spanish technology.

We few, we happy few - This is one of Kevin's ideas, actually (hence the Henry V reference). In consequence of pumping up Spanish troop values, I've made their unit sizes smaller. All Spanish units are 6 figures.


Los Españoles

Rodeleros
Rodeleros were the famous Spanish sword and buckler men, who made up the majority of Cortés' force. Armed with a fearsome Toledo blade and protected by an assortment of steel plate armor, mail, leather, heavy quilting, and a stout shield, rodeleros were more than a match for many Aztecs. By comparison, they are much like foot men at arms compared to even the best Aztec warriors. The Spanish forces also included men armed with halberds. These should be treated as rodeleros and units can contain a mix of both.

Unit Name: Rodeleros		Points: 6
Attack	5+	Attack Value	3+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	3+	Max. Movement	6"
Armor	3	Special Rules	Ferocious, close order

• Models per unit: 6

Special rules:

• Ferocious: Same as in the LR rules.
• Close order: Similar to the schiltron rule in LR. but is formed by placing two or more figures in side-by-side contact. Units in close order get a +1 to their armor for fighting but not against shooting. Close order can be formed even if the unit is reduced to two figures. The rule represents the advantage the Spanish had in fighting in formation versus the Aztec practice of fighting as individuals in open order.

¡Andele, rodeleros!

Caballeros
The horse was unkown in the Americas before the Spanish came. In addition to the natural advantages a horse had over opponents unequipped to face it, the Aztecs were simply frightened by stomping, snorting, charging war-horses. Even though the mounted men Cortés brought to Mexico weren't the gendarmes of the battlefields in Italy, their effect was as great, or greater, on the native warriors.

Unit Name: Caballeros		Points: 6
Attack	4+	Attack Value	3+
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	3+	Max. Movement	12"
Armor	3	Special Rules	Counter-charge, Fearsome

• Models per unit: 6; limit one unit per retinue

Special rules:

• Counter-charge: Same as in the LR rules.
• Fearsome: Native units charged by caballeros must test for courage at -2.

Oh crap. Horses.

Crossbowmen

Most of the Spanish missile troops with Cortés were crossbowmen. Still a potent weapon even by European warfare standards, the steel-tipped bolts shot at high velocity would have had a much greater impact against native warriors who had no protection against it.

Unit Name: Crossbowmen		Points: 4
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value	5+ / 18"
Courage	4+	Max. Movement	6"
Armor	2	Special Rules	-

• Models per unit: 6

Special rules:

• None

Arquebusiers

There were only about 30 arquebusiers with Cortés when he landed at Vera Cruz. Narváez brought 80 more with him in 1520, which were incorporated into Cortés' force for the final attack on Tenochtitlan. The Aztecs had never seen gunpowder and were rather disconcerted by the smoke, noise, and whirring pellets of death.

Unit Name: Arquebusiers		Points: 4
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	5+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	7+	Shoot Value	6 / 18"
Courage	4+	Max. Movement	6"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Holy smoke!, Bang!

• Models per unit: 6

Special rules:

• Holy smoke!: Aztec and Tlaxcalan units fired at by gunpowder weapons must take a courage test even if there are no casualties. If testing for casualties from gunpowder weapons, they incur an additional -2 modifier.
• Bang!: Units hit by gunpowder weapons have their armor value reduced to 1 (but any protection from terrain still applies).

War dogs

Cortés brought a pack of war dogs with him to Mexico. Although dogs were already known in the new world, the Aztecs had the Xoloitzcuintle (or Mexican hairless), they weren't bread for war. The Spanish mastiffs weighed up to 150 pounds and wore spiked collars and quilted armor.

Unit Name: War dogs		Points: 4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	4+
Move	6+	Defence Value	4+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	4+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Fearsome

• Models per unit: 4-6 (handlers plus three/four dogs); takes 6 hits: limit one unit per retinue

Special rules:

• Fearsome: Native units charged by war dogs must test for courage at -2.

No es un perro de la guerra

Cannon
If the arquebus was unsettling to the Mexicans, the cannon was much more so. Cortés brought several cannon with him and Narvaez brought even more in 1520.

Unit Name: Cannon		Points: 4
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	7+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value	5+ / 36"
Courage	5+	Max. Movement	4"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Holy smoke!, Bang!

• Models per unit: 1 cannon plus crew (2-4 figures); takes 6 hits; limit one unit per retinue

Special rules:

• Holy smoke!: Aztec and Tlaxcalan units fired at by gunpowder weapons must take a courage test even if there are no casualties. If testing for casualties from gunpowder weapons, they incur an additional -2 modifier.
• Bang!: Units hit by gunpowder weapons have their armor value reduced to 1 (but any protection from terrain still applies).

Here's some BOOM for ya

Jinetes
Jinetes were the traditional light cavalry of Spain, which developed during the long wars with the Moors. Cortés had no jinetes with him when he invaded Mexico, but later Spanish conquistadors used them in the continuing conquest.

Unit Name: Jinetes		Points: 4
Attack	7+	Attack Value	5+
Move	5+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	6+	Shoot Value	5+ / 12"
Courage	4+	Max. Movement	12"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Skirmish, Evade

• Models per unit: 6

Special rules:

• Skirmish: Same as in the LR rules.
• Evade: Same as in the LR rules.

Los Aztecas

Warfare was a primary responsibility for men of the upper classes. Although there was no standing army per se, most Aztec men were trained from their youth to fight. A warrior would serve in battle only after he turned 20 years old. 

Aztec warriors were classified by experience, which was measured in how many captives a warrior took in battle. Capturing enemies was preferred to killing them (see your beating heart below) and it was expected of every warrior. The rank and military attire a warrior was allowed to wear depended on how many captives they had taken. As their count increased, so did their prestige and distinctions in dress. Warriors who failed to take a captive after three or four campaigns were increasingly shamed until they did what was expected. The classifications are:

Telpochcalli - Youths training for war.  They had yet to take a captive in war.

Tlamanih - Warriors who had taken one captive.

Cuextecatl - Warriors who had taken two captives. They wore a distinctive conical cap.

Papalotl - Warriors who had taken three captives. They were entitled to wear a distinctive banner.

Quachicqueh - Warriors who had taken four or five captives.

Otomitl  - The highest rank were those who had taken more than six captives. Otomitl wore a distinctive hair style.

Fight on the Tenochtitlan causeway

It's a bit murky how warriors of varying experience were deployed in battle. My working hypothesis is that they were mixed together except for the eagle and jaguar warrior societies and the Quachicqueh and Otomitl - although, there is evidence that even these were mixed in with less experienced warriors as a kind of "stiffening."


Eagle and Jaguar warriors
This type represents the elite warrior societies like eagle and jaguar knights. They were a religious elite who lived in a society within the court of the Aztec ruler. Eagle and jaguar knights were from the nobility and dedicated to this service, but there is some evidence that commoners could rise to membership in the society.

Unit Name: Eagle/Jaguar Knights		Points: 4
Attack	4+	Attack Value	4+
Move	5+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	3+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Ferocious, Wild charge, Your beating heart

• Models per unit: 12

Special rules:

• Ferocious: Same as in the LR rules.
• Wild charge: Same as in the LR rules.
• Your beating heart: An important aspect of Aztec warfare was the capture of enemies for sacrifice. However satisfying it may be to dispatch one's enemy in the field, it was deemed even more satisfying to offer his still-beating heart to Huitzilopochtli. Whenever the unit scores casualties against an enemy unit by fighting, they can instead attempt to capture those casualties. For each casualty scored make a courage test. If the test is passed, the casualty becomes a captive instead. If the test is failed, the casualty is returned to its unit. Figures lost as captives count as -2 in courage tests for the losing unit. In addition, a unit that takes captives adds +1 to its courage tests for each captive it's taken.

Upgrades:

• Atlatl @ +1 per unit: Add shoot at 7+, 6/12" range to represent the dart throwers that were common among all Aztec warriors.

Where the wild things are

Veteran Warriors
These represent the quachicqueh and otomitl, who were the most experienced and distinguished Aztec warriors. They had shown their valor by taking many captives and by other acts of bravery.

Unit Name: Veteran Warriors		Points: 4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	4+
Move	5+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	4+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Ferocious, wild charge, Your beating heart

• Models per unit: 12

Special rules:

• Ferocious: Same as in the LR rules.
• Wild charge: Same as in the LR rules.
• Your beating heart: An important aspect of Aztec warfare was the capture of enemies for sacrifice. However satisfying it may be to dispatch one's enemy in the field, it was deemed even more satisfying to offer his still-beating heart to Huitzilopochtli. Whenever the unit scores casualties against an enemy unit by fighting, they can instead attempt to capture those casualties. For each casualty scored make a courage test. If the test is passed, the casualty becomes a captive instead. If the test is failed, the casualty is returned to its unit. Figures lost as captives count as -2 in courage tests for the losing unit. In addition, a unit that takes captives adds +1 to its courage tests for each captive it's taken.

Upgrades:

• Atlatl @ +1 per unit: Add shoot at 7+, 6/12" range to represent the dart throwers that were common among all Aztec warriors.

Warriors

These are the normal Aztec warriors who had not yet distinguished themselves as much as veteran warriors, though many would have served in multiple campaigns and taken captives.

Unit Name: Warriors		Points: 3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	7+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	5+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Your beating heart

• Models per unit: 12

Special rules:

• Your beating heart: An important aspect of Aztec warfare was the capture of enemies for sacrifice. However satisfying it may be to dispatch one's enemy in the field, it was deemed even more satisfying to offer his still-beating heart to Huitzilopochtli. Whenever the unit scores casualties against an enemy unit by fighting, they can instead attempt to capture those casualties. For each casualty scored make a courage test. If the test is passed, the casualty becomes a captive instead. If the test is failed, the casualty is returned to its unit. Figures lost as captives count as -2 in courage tests for the losing unit. In addition, a unit that takes captives adds +1 to its courage tests for each captive it's taken.

Upgrades:

• Atlatl @ +1 per unit: Add shoot at 7+, 6/12" range to represent the dart throwers that were common among all Aztec warriors.

Skirmishers

These warriors attacked with sling, arrow, and darts thrown from atlatls. These units are best represented like bidowers in LR. No differentiation is made between slingers, archers, and dart throwers, so a unit can contain a mix.

Unit Name: Novices		Points: 2
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	5+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	7+	Shoot Value	5+ / 12"
Courage	5+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	1	Special Rules	Hard to target, Skirmish, Evade, Fleet footed

• Models per unit: 6

Special rules:

• Hard to target: Same as in the LR rules.
• Skirmish: Same as in the LR rules.
• Evade: Same as in the LR rules.
• Fleet footed: Same as in the LR rules.

Los Tlaxcaltecas

The Tlaxcalans were the main allies of the Spanish among the Aztecs' neighbors. They were never subsumed by the Aztec empire. According to the Tlaxcalans, this was because they were successful in thwarting the Aztecs' imperial ambitions. According to the Aztecs, this was because they needed an enemy state within reasonable marching distance from Tenochtitlan to supply them with captives in war as fresh victims to their gods. In either case, the coming of Cortés and company was a godsend. Although enemies at first, the Tlaxcalans saw the Spanish as the means for destroying the hated Aztecs and remained firm allies through thick and thin.

The following are mostly the same as comparable Aztec types, except for the Your beating heart rule. The Spanish encouraged their allies' conversion to Christianity, but in any case they weren't keen on human sacrifice.

Veteran Warriors
These represent the quachicqueh and otomitl, who were the most experienced and distinguished Tlaxcalan warriors.

Unit Name: Veteran Warriors		Points: 4
Attack	5+	Attack Value	4+
Move	5+	Defence Value	5+
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	4+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	Ferocious, wild charge

• Models per unit: 12

Special rules:

• Ferocious: Same as in the LR rules.
• Wild charge: Same as in the LR rules.

• Atlatl @ +1 per unit: Add shoot at 7+, 6/12" range to represent the dart throwers that were common among all Mesoamerican warriors.

Warriors

These are the run in the mill Tlaxcalan warriors who had not yet distinguished themselves as much as veteran warriors, though many would have served in multiple campaigns.

Unit Name: Warriors		Points: 3
Attack	6+	Attack Value	5+
Move	7+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	-	Shoot Value	-
Courage	5+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	-

• Models per unit: 12

Special rules:

• None

Upgrades:

• Atlatl @ +1 per unit: Add shoot at 7+, 6/12" range to represent the dart throwers that were common among all Mesoamerican warriors.

Archers
The Tlaxcalans were noted for uniformly-armed units, including units that were entirely made up of archers. This unit type allows the Tlaxcalans to use massed archery as opposed to the general barrage of missiles thrown, chucked, hurled, shot, propelled or lobbed that commonly burst forth from most eclectic Mesoamerican warrior groupings.

Unit Name: Archers		Points: 4
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	6+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	5+	Shoot Value	5+ / 18"
Courage	5+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	2	Special Rules	-

• Models per unit: 12

Special rules:

• None

Skirmishers

These warriors attacked with sling, arrow, and darts thrown from atlatls. These units are best represented like bidowers in LR. No differentiation is made between slingers, archers, and dart throwers, so a unit can contain a mix.

Unit Name: Skirmishers		Points: 2
Attack	7+	Attack Value	6
Move	5+	Defence Value	6
Shoot	7+	Shoot Value	5+ / 12"
Courage	5+	Max. Movement	8"
Armor	1	Special Rules	Hard to target, Skirmish, Evade, Fleet footed

• Models per unit: 6

Special rules:

• Hard to target: Same as in the LR rules.
• Skirmish: Same as in the LR rules.
• Evade: Same as in the LR rules.
• Fleet footed: Same as in the LR rules.

Figures 'n' stuff

I started out buying some of the Eureka eagle knights. There's a lot to like about the Eureka figures. The detail is very good. The feathered texture of the eagle knights' suits is very well defined. Eureka makes figures for Conquistadors that goes beyond the conquest of Mexico.

However, I also had some of The Assault Group's Spanish and had available to me a lot of their Aztecs and Tlaxcalans. (John at The Panzer Depot used to be a distributor for them and has a lot of stock that he's been clearing out at discount prices.)

I picked up as much as I could and made an order to TAG in the UK.Ordering from TAG is much easier than ordering from Eureka, plus TAG offers free shipping if you buy a certain amount (which isn't much). Eureka always charges shipping, though the figures are cheaper.

At this point, I'm committed to building my retinues with TAG figures. I'm kind of a stickler for uniformity. But there are other ranges that have promise. Gringo 40s makes a 28mm range of Aztecs, conquistadors, and Mayans. The figures look beautiful, although there is little variety in the poses; basically they have just one pose per type.

Outpost Wargame Service has figure ranges for Aztecs, conquistadors, Tlaxcalans, Mayans, and Incas. They also have Huaxtecs and Tarascans. Outpost figures look a bit chunky and there is a variety of poses for each type.

I'm starting to think about terrain for a fight into Tenochtitlan: causeways, islands, built-up areas, and big towering temples. Cortés also has several barques for the final battle at Tenochtitlan in order to control the lake. (The Spanish had suffered terrible losses in their earlier retreat from the city, La Noche Triste, due to the canoes filled with warriors who assaulted them continuously while they withdrew across the causways.)