Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Hail, Agrippa! at the Dogs of War shop. The Hail, Agrippa! rules are a modification of Hail Caesar published in Issue 66 of ‘Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy’ magazine. [Hail Agrippa! rules link]
The scenario was based on the Battle of Salamis (Crete), 306 BCE fought between an Antigonid fleet led by Demetrius and a Ptolemaic fleet led by Ptolemy in person. The main source for the battle is Diodorus.
The units in the game (4 models on a base) represent about 10 ships each. Miniatures are primarily Langton 1:1200 and Navwar 1:1200, with a few Valiant 1:900 and scratch-built ships.
As described in Diodorus, the Antigonid fleet deploys first, and the Ptolemaic fleet second.
Ptolemy has chosen to deploy to seaward (east) of Demetrius. His lightest ships are on the right wing.
Ptolemy advances rapidly while Demetrius pivots.
The left wings and centers clash and both right wings are delayed by failed orders. Ptolemy loses a unit.
Most of Ptolemy’s center is destroyed by bad rolls on break tests. Demetrius swings his right wing inward. The remaining Ptolemaic ships flee.
The 1/1200 scale ancient ships were temporarily re-based for Hail, Agrippa! simply by sticking the old individual bases to cardboard. In order to use the same ships for various game systems, they are being fitted with rare earth magnets. Custom 40 mm x 130 mm magnetic hardboard bases were made by Good Ground LLC. The magnetic material on the bases is intended for transport using steel drawers. Here they are being used upside down so the rare earth magnets on the ships will stick. This allows for variations in the type, number and positions of ships.
[Edit: Since the Good Ground bases are magnetic, a piece of ferrous metal on the bottom of the ship model works as well or better than a rare earth magnet. My recent ships have been built using a small zinc-plated steel washer or a square of tin-plated steel sheet. This is easier and cheaper than the magnets.]
Tap wrench used as a large pin vice to drill holes for magnets.
From the left: Right side up, upside down, painted.
Saturday the local HMGS-South group played a game of Hail, Agrippa! at the Dogs of War shop. The Hail, Agrippa! rules are a modification of Hail Caesar published in Issue 66 of ‘Wargames, Soldiers and Strategy’ magazine. [Hail Agrippa! rules link]
The scenario was loosely based on the Battle of Cos, 258 BCE (or 261, or whenever; nobody knows) fought between an Antigonid fleet and a Ptolemaic fleet. The order of battle was determined by the miniatures available, and included ships as large as deceres (or dekeres) which are probably heavier than any at the real battle. Fleets of this period might be 100-200 ships, so the units (4 models on a base) might represent 9-18 ships.
Miniatures are primarily Langton 1:1200 and Navwar 1:1200, with a few Valiant 1:900 and scratch-built ships.
The six players each had a division of 3 or 4 units. The southern shore of Cos Island is in the background.
The seaward division of the Antigonid (blue) fleet consisted of trieres only. One unit engages Ptolemaic penteres while the division tries for an outflanking move.
One unit of trieres is destroyed, but the others use their speed (and very good command rolls) to escape.
The center Antigonid division has lost two units to lighter opponents. We did not use the ‘broken division’ Hail Caesar rules, so the remaining unit fights on. The victorious Ptolemaic units blunder and continue to the right. Bad command rolls make it difficult for the Ptolemaic division in the foreground to reform and give chase. In the distance, the Antigonid division backs water to avoid heavier opponents.
The seaward Ptolemaic division has left 2 units behind in order to get back in the battle. Antigonid trieres race to the opposite end of the line to threaten the rear of the heavy Ptolemaic units.
The landward divisions engage. The Ptolemaic ships are heavier, but the Gods favor the Antigonid ships.
With the Antigonid fleet having lost 4 of 10 units and the Ptolemaic fleet 2 of 11, we called the game at this point.
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