EVEN MORE HAIL CAESAR

We played another game of Hail Caesar tonight. This one was a clash between two Norman Lords, Ranulf and Otho, for control of a valley and village. Four of us played with Peter, a newbie to the rules, playing his first game. The battle began with the knights charging into each other and doing a great deal of damage to their foes. Ranulf's knights prevailed and swept Othos from the field. Although victorious Ranulf's lads were shaken and pretty exhausted so needed to recover. We had decided before the game that the knights were Brave and Eager so Ranulf pulled his knights back to recover from being shaken, which they did. This left the infantry to have at each other. Otho had made slow progress with his men across the field, but eventually got close to Ranulf's infantry. Ranulf's boys Intended to stand their ground so that their cavalry could charge into Otho's cheeky infantry, but they blundered and went into a wild charge straight into Otho's ranks. This was obviously meant to be as Ranulf's hard fighting fellows first pushed back then broke Otho's hapless men. With his cavalry smashed and half his infantry now suffering the same fate, Otho conceded control of the valley to Ranulf. The game took about 2 hours and went along without a hitch. We used the unit special rules for the first time and these gave the game an added bit of flavor. As mentioned we had decided that the knights would be Brave and Eager, while one of the infantry units in each Division would be heavy infantry and Tough Fighters. All the other infantry would be rated as militia. This all worked well. Once again a good game using a great set of rules.

Three scallywags L-R: Peter, Steve and Ian

The table - the valley of Sacre Criox

The village of Sacre Croix - hardly seemed worth all the effort, but obviously had some sort of attraction for the powers to be.

Otho's cavalry surge forward whilst Ranulf's knights crash into Otho's in the distance.

Peter and Ian discuss matters of great importance.

Ranulf's knights - nothing could stand in their way.

Ian's 40 year old Lamming minis get another outing. They did very well for a bunch of old guys, holding their own against a cavalry charge and unlike much of the rest of their army ending the battle still fighting fit.

Ranulf and his personal retainers - Victor of Sacre Croix