Yesterday I, M, went back to St Albans to help run some participation games with Black Wolf Gaming in the museum. There were two games going on, one a fast paced Celtic chariot race through a village and over rough terrain, while being shot at by Roman catapults. The other game that I took photos of was a Celts versus Romans, in another race, this time to capture the Roman wagon train. Each player took a warband from a different tribe who were competing to get the supplies first. Each warband was made up slightly different, with alternative ratios of troops types. Wild cards were drawn each turn that could be played on your own, or other warbands.
The rules were invented I believe by one of the game runners.
The Romans were close to the safety of a town, one of the town watchtowers guarding the town bridge was overshadowing them. They were close to getting the wagons to their destination, when the sound of war cries and thundering feet echoed across the river. Three Celtic warbands rushed from the bracken where they lay in hiding.
Standing on her chariot, Boadicea exhorted her men onto victory.
The warriors of tribe Uain (my warband) rushed forward to the bridge, ignoring the hail of arrows and javelins hurled at them. However an argument sprung up among them as they were about to engage the Romans, and they halted to argue it out.
However the Seabhag warband on the far left were doing much better, farmers armed with bows rushed from the near by houses to join the rebelling Celts. The whole warband moving forward at a steady pace, sending showers of stones and arrows at the Romans holding the ford.
The Uain's, were still arguing when their Chieftain came up, clouted the warband leader around the side of the head and told them the real enemy where just over that bridge. With a unanimous roar the Britons rushed over the bridge after their Chief.
The Roman Centurion steadied his men as the Celts, led by their tribe Chief thundered over the bridge.
The legionaries unleashed a volley of javelins into the oncoming horde, but the Celts never faltered.
The steady advance of the Seabhag's had given the Madadh-allaideh warband time to catch up, they now rushed up to the bank of the river.
The Seabhag's plunge into the ford, and start to wade across, still sending withering archery into the Roman ranks.
With deafening war whoops the Uain's stampeded into the Roman shield wall.
They pushed the Legionaries back, hacking down all before them, the wagons were insight. The Centurion who had been defending the ford fell back alone, leaving his entire troops dead on the bank filled with arrows, to hold off the Uain's.
The Uain's still hungry for blood leaped on the Centurion and cut him down as he attempted to defend the supplies.
The Madadh-allaideh's suddenly hauled from the bracken hidden rafts from the heather and crossed the river making a rush for the wagons. The Uains still occupied with butchering the last of the Romans, had left the supplies open and the Seabhag warband sprinted for the wagons and grabbed them, winning the game.
This was the only game I managed to photo, but we played several more each with quite different out comes. We hope to be back in February for a Pike and Shott game, but that is still yet to be confirmed. Many thanks again to the great guys at Black Wolf Gaming.
By M
