Friday 10 February 2017

Awfully Amateurish Agincourt

I had been gently pondering this game since a chance acquisition of some old Britains Deetail knights about three years ago.  Arguably it goes back to my visit to the Agincourt battlefield in 2010, so it might be said that this game has been seven years in planning!
All of which will have raised your expectations.  So now let me dash them by explaining the er, game.
I began with a potted history of the campaign and then drew the players' attention to the field of battle.
As with the original - which really hasn't changed in the intervening 600 years - my representation of the battlefield was bounded on both sides by woods and tapered towards the English end.  What my version doesn't show is that the fields were muddy and ploughed.
The 2010 version. Note the new spelling!
Soon the players were hard at work.  The game will also appear at COW this year, so I'll post the full details afterwards.  In short, though, the Frenchies trotted lethargically towards the English at a dice-determined rate.  Meanwhile the Bowmen of Olde England twanged their longbows.  Turns out that longbows look a lot like Britains 25-pounders...
French saddles were emptied at an alarming rate.
The aforementioned bowmen of Olde England - Tom and John.
Appropriately, the knight who got furthest was this nutter.  A Timpo veteran, he looked very likely to kill his own horse!
The result was predictable and as in 1415 the field was littered with the fallen.

The players then swopped sides.  Here Martin and Jerry entertain with historically accurate hand signals.

14 comments:

Ross Mac rmacfa@gmail.com said...

I would have thought working toy catapults were in order...... Looks a but Crecy-ish with all those mounted knights but looks like a lot of fun too!

tradgardmastare said...

Splendid olde worlde merry England looking game !

private w. said...

Oh yeah!! I love it! Nice too seeing such a mix of wonderful troops on the table! Makes me want to play Agincourt right now!

Conrad Kinch said...

Agincourt is one of those battles that is tremenedously stirring (Harry V was the first Shakespeare I read for pleasure), but that doesn't make for much of a game.

Yours sounds like a much better solution.

Brian Carrick said...

I do hope you'll give the rest of us a glimpse of the rules?

Martin Rapier said...

That was a great game Tim, really enjoyable.

You are a braver man than I, both for letting people shoot cannons at your expensive toy knights, and for the general audacity of the scheme.

Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.

Tim Gow said...

Ross Mac
The catapults will have to wait for a siege game...

Tim Gow said...

Tradgardmastare
Thankee Squire.

Tim Gow said...

Private w
Thanks. Your enthusiasm does you credit!

Tim Gow said...

Conrad Kinch
One aims to please.

Tim Gow said...

Brian Carrick
Rules? What, both lines of them?

Tim Gow said...

Martin Rapier
Which side was General Audacity on?

Phil said...

Nice post, what a great battle!

Geordie an Exiled FoG said...

I love the tongue in cheek .. but it worked ;)