At the Gates of Nineveh - with To the Strongest! at Historicon 2025

I ran my "At the Gates of Nineveh" game on Friday afternoon, right after Jim's Grunwald game (more on that anon). 

Hittite players included David, Mark T., ? Robert and John M.; Assyrian players included Sam and Andy C., Mike, and ? John H.

The Hittites pressed forwards aggressively, making use of their numerous chariots!  Rules were To the Strongest... of course!

The walls of Nineveh(the towers counted as fortified camps). 

Close up of the Chariot Wars on the Assyrian Left. Green bead indicate Light Chariots, Red beads indicate Veteran Heavy Chariots. 

Each player had both an infantry and a Chariot command. 

Andy C. on the Assyrian right had bad card plays most of the game!

Hittite Chariot charges!

Situation on the ASssyrian Right. 

One of Andy C's Heavy Chariots takes on Hittite Camp and then threatens another!

Open flanks here and there. 

Overview, mid game. 

There's a lot of space on the Assyrian right, mostly due top the elimination of almost all of Andy's commands!

Situation at the end of the game; the Hittites have 5 Victory Medals left, but the loss of the 2nd camp could have put them down to 2. The Hittites sack the Assyrian Capitol!

Some clearer views of the walls of Nineveh back home.

More troops on the walls than there were for the game. :-)

The main gate

The panels are Nisroth, Assyrian god of farming and fertility, and the Assyrian Tree of Life. 

I forgot to put out two the Lamassu guarding the gates (Assyrian winged Bulls). 

View from one end...

and the other. 

Behind the walls 

I constructed and finished the walls in the three days prior to leaving for Historicon

A few more details to finish for the future!

Historicon 2021: Ramses II, The Battle of Kadesh

I ran the Battle of Kadesh Saturday AM; here the initial chariot ambush by the Hittites pveruns most of Division Re, as expected. . 

We had 5 players which worked out OK. I gacve Jeff (blue shirt), the only veteran player, command of doomed Division Re, and eventual reinforcements by Division Ptah. A second Egyptian player had Division Ammun's chariots and Infantry, and the third had the Pharoah's small command, plus the arriving reinforcements of Division Set. 

Following the successful ambush, the Hittite Chariot Reserve issued forth from Kadesh. They had some success of their own at first, but the superior numbers of Division Amun eventually defeated them.

Jeff's remnants of Division Re (he managed to preserve several Light Chariots), reinforced by the arriving chariots of Division Ptah, was enough to stymie further action by the Hittite Chariot Divisions 

First one part and then the other of the Hittite Infantry finally marched onto the filed, and started to cross the river Orontes. Pharaoh Ramses II was happy to cheer on his elite Sherdan guards as they charged into and over them them.  

With that, the Hittites lost their last Victory Medal, and called it a day. Thus the battle of Kadesh closely resembled Ramses' account, although the great man himself was only briefly in any real danger. 

Kadesh Playtest, and revised scenario for To the Strongest!

We played the test game for Kadesh yesterday, which was both fun and very helpful!

Charge by the "Green" Hittite Chariot Division. They didn't pull very good hit cards, so the Egyptians of Division Re, hit in the flank, escaped with limited damage. There are 3 more Divisions yet to act, though!

Situation at the end of Hittite Turn 1, after the remaining 3 Hittite Chariot Divisions have acted; one unit each of Spearmen and Bowmen are already lost... as expected. The other two Egyptian formed foot units each have 1 hit on them. We decided the first turn Hittite bonus ambush replay was unnecessary. 

Situation at the end of Egyptian Move 1; the Egyptian Light Chariots are fleeing for their lives, wisely leaving the infantry as a lost cause! 

Situation at the end of Hittite Turn 2; the Hittite Chariots are sweeping the lighter Egyptian Chariots before them as they evade their heavier brethren. The light infantry have survived, surprisingly, and a lone unit spearmen has managed to avoid elimination as well.

One of the Light Chariots of Division Re has managed to come within 1 box of Division Amun, thus automatically activating both if its commands!

The rest of Division Re can accomplish little but turning to face the rampaging Hittite Chariotry, , however.

At this pointy it became obvious that the fancy rules for activating the Pharaoh's command were unnecessary overkill (the arrival of the fugitives from Re obviated the need to activate Amun anyway). Positions at the end Egyptian Turn 2, the infantry and Chariot commands of Division Amun, and the Pharaoh's bodyguards having all moved. From a game standpoint, it became clear that both of these commands really have to activate normally starting onTurn1. This is an advantage really - much fewer  special rules needed!

Hittite Turn 3 - situation after movements by the Blue, Green, and Red Chariot Divisions. There is just a single unit of slingers and the General left of the Infantry of Division Re!

The Yellow Chariot Division is pressing a pair of Egyptian Light Chariots of Division Re off the table, shrugging off the occasional arrow in the process! The Chariots of Division Ptah, seen off in the distance, are scenic only... although they probably need to start testing for arrival on Turn 2 for game purposes (the distance will keep them from having much influence for a while anyway. Historically, these troops arrived after the battle was over. 

The Chariots of Division Set arrived on Turn 3, and made good use of a Group March Move along the road.  They probably need to start entering automatically on Turn 1, given the distance they are from the action. The same is true for their Infantry contingent. 

Situation after Egyptian Move 3 and most of  Hittite Move 4 - Pharaoh and the Infantry of Division Ammun have moved forwards whilst the Chariots of Amun are protecting their right. However, the Hittite Chariot Reserve has entered the table! This is probably a turn too  soon. 

More of Hittite Move 4 - the Chariots of the Hittite Reserve have moved boldly up in front of the Infantry of Division Amun... a risky undertaking, but it may pin the opposing Egyptians in place.

More of Hitite Move 4 - the two stray chariots of Division Re have been driven off the table.!

Egyptian Move 4 - the Chariots and Infantry of Division Set race towards the action. 

More of Egyptian Move 4 - the Chariots to the front of the Division Amun infantry (plus lousy card draws) are impairing their maneuvering; not a good thing with 16 more Chariot units to your flank!

Meanwhile, using his double replays as a great leader, Ramses and his Chariots have gotten perhaps a but too far ahead of his tough Sherdan bodyguards.  

Still more Egyptian Turn 4; the light chariots of Division Amun (4) and the survivors of Re (2) are trying to harass the Heavier Hittite chariotry, albeit with a notable lack of success!

More overview of the end of Egyptian Turn 4.

Hittite Turn 5 - off to the right, Hittite Chariots have ridden down the unit of Spearmen that was to their front... 1 Hit card for the charge, one for striking a flank, and one for their shock Lance bonus, plus a replay by the General = never had a chance!  Across the River Orontes, the first command of Hittite Infantry have arrived (historically, they also never fought, for unclear reasons). Pharaoh is looking.... exposed. 

Situation at the end of Hittite Turn 5.

Overview of the end of Hittite Turn 5.

Egyptian Turn 5 - Division Set to the Rescue?

Ramses again uses his replays to charge the opposing  Light Chariots of the Hittite Reserve... to little effect for either side. The Sherdan Guardsmen advance, seeking to discourage the mass of Hittite infantry looking for fords over the Orontes. 

Situation at the end of Egyptian Turn 5; the light chariots of Divisions Amun and Re do a bunch of "Shoot and retire" moves, to very limited effect. The Hittites have yet to lose a single unit!

    At this point we ended the game as the Egyptians had lost half of their Victory medals., and we had been playing for almost 4 hours. Unfortunately, it was just Peter C and John on the Hittite side, with myself playing the Egyptians. Thomas couldn't make it at the last minute, so that slowed the action down somewhat, especially for a scenario which was designed for 4 players per side. I will be making some major changes to the scenario, chiefly, stepping up the pace of the early game; reinforcement entry games are always a challenge to time, especially with many players and in a convention setting. This will change the game a bit to one where the Hittite Chariot ambush crushes Division Re as expected, but is then at risk to be trapped between the Egyptian forces, with the still later arrival of the Hittite infantry etc potentially salvaging the situation. Simpler and faster is almost always better!

   It  also makes sense to consolidate the Veteran and no Veteran Hittite Chariots into their own Divisions rather than having a mix in both. That will be easier for players to remember, at it appears that each of the Hittite commands came from different regions of their empire, so it makes sense from that standpoint as well.

Scenario Special Rules:

1) The Hittites move first, and may move all of their 4 Chariot Divisions, ambushing Egyptian Division Re. There is no penalty for their movement out of cover and across the stream. 

2) The Chariot command of Division Set enters along the road starting on Turn 1

5) The Infantry command of Division Set enters along the road behind the Chariots.

6) The Chariot command of Division Ptah starts testing to enter along the road on Turn 2 by turning a single card; a 7+ is required to enter. Should they fail to enter, the following turn a 4+ is needed, and should that fail, the following turn their entry is automatic

7) The infantry command of Division Ptah enters along the road after the Chariots.

8) The Hittite Chariot Reserve may enter along the road into Kadesh starting after Division Ptah arrives, needing a 7+ to enter, and decreasing by 3 each subsequent turn if they are unsuccessful.  They may ignore the troops of the Royal Guard for movement and interpenetration purposes

9) The first Hittite Infantry command starts testing to enter the turn after the Chariot Reserve  has entered the tabletop, needing a 7+ to enter and decreasing by 3 thereafter as above.

10) The second Hittite Infantry Command starts testing the turn after the first infantry Command has entered the table, needing a 7+ to enter, and being adjusted as above for each subsequent turn they fail to enter. 

11) The Hittite Royal Guard may start testing to exit from Kadesh the turn after the 2ndInfantry Command  has entered the table, needing a pip count of 9 to do so, decreasing by two for each subsequent turn. 

Terrain Notes

The River Orontes may be crossed by infantry only, as a doubly difficult activation. It may be crossed by Chariots only at the Bridge at Kadesh. 

The stream running into the Orontes  does not effect movement across it

EGYPT

Pharaoh's Guard

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
PC	Ramses Senior Heroic Attached  Mounted Great Leader	3+	Replay x 2 Best of 2 cards when hit	10	2
PC	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
PC	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
PC	Chariot Runners LI Javelin	7+	2	4	1
PC	Chariot Runners LI Javelin	7+	2	4	1
PC	Shardanna Royal Gd - Auxiliaries	6+		8	2
PC	Shardanna Royal Gd - Auxiliaries	6+		8	2
PC	Camp			1	3
PC	Command Cost, Medals			47	13

Army Totals                                                                                           343       95

VM Break point = 32     Reserve Ammo = 30

Division Amun

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
1D	Attched General Chariot Heroic	3+	Replay	5	2
1D	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
1D	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
1D	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
1D	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
1D	Hero		Replay	1
1D	Camp			1	3
1D	Command Cost, Medals			31	9

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
1A	Attached General	2+	Replay	4	2
1A	Medium Infantry, Shieldwall	7+		7	2
1A	Medium Infantry, Shieldwall	7+		7	2
1A	Medium Infantry, 2 H Mace/Aaxe	7+		7	2
1A	Medium Bowmen, Veteran Nubian	7+	7	8	2
1A	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
1A	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
1A	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
1A	Hero		Replay	1	-
1A	Camp			1	3
1A	Command Cost, Medals			47	16

Division Re

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
2A	Attached General Chariot Heroic	3+	Replay	5	2
2A	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
2A	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
2A	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
2A	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
2A	Light Chariots, Bow, Veteran	7+	4	6	1
2A	Command Cost, Medals			35	7

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
2B	Attached General	2+		4	2
2B	Medium Infantry, Shieldwall	7+		7	2
2B	Medium Infantry, Shieldwall	7+		7	2
2B	Medium Bowmen	8+	6	7	2
2B	Medium Bowmen	8+	6	7	2
2B	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
2B	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
2B	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
2B	Hero		replay	1
2B	Command Cost, Medals			45	13

Division Set (Nearin)

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
3B	Attached General Chariot, Heroic	3+		5	2
3B	Light Chariots, Bow	8+	3	5	1
3B	Light Chariots, Bow	8+	3	5	1
3B	Light Chariots, Bow	8+	3	5	1
3B	Light Chariots, Bow	8+	3	5	1
3B	Hero			1
3B	Command Cost, Medals			26	6

CMD	Description	Save	Spec/Ammo	Pts	VMs
3D	Attached General	2+		4	2
3D	Medium Infantry, Shieldwall	7+		7	2
3D	Medium Infantry, Shieldwall	7+		7	2
3D	Medium Bowmen	8+	6	7	2
3D	Medium Bowmen	8+	6	7	2
3D	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
3D	Light Infantry - Bow/Sling	8+	3	4	1
3D	Hero		Replay	1
3D	Command Cost, Medals			41	12