Sunday, 28 February 2021

Italian wars 48 Venetian versus Papal States To the strongest AAR

 A real live battle, half term and I've had a week between jobs, my daughter and I decided we should have a battle, so we dug out the Venetian and Papal armies and went to it once more with To the strongest! I had the Papal force as my daughter prefers the Foundry gendarmes of the Venetian army. The newly painted gendarmes will go towards  French and Imperial armies that I want to try To the strongest with the renaissance notes,maybe after I stumble through it I'll persuade my daughter to have a go?

When I say a battle we had to give up half way through  due to the need to have the table for dinner (I'd moved it inside as it was cold in the shed and I'm a considerate parent,who knew?! You can see the shed we normally play in at the bottom of the garden, beyond the Papal force) we had reached a  point where I had destroyed two skirmisher units but due to the Venetians more aggressive actions I had managed to leave my gendarmes on my left wing split and due to the fall of  cards sitting in charge range, battering and disorder ensued, so we know how this game was going!

Still it was nice to push toy soldiers around against a live opponent, even if we didn't get to a result( probably best for me!)
















Toby is,alas, not such a  great live opponent as he is even more aggressive than my daughter but more interested in what he can eat than anything else. Coming up, well there's lots of half painted Napoleonic cavalry, which seems to be taking quite a long time but I'm strangely enjoying!

All the best Iain 

47 comments:

  1. Hey Iain, great looking game, though I’m sure it’s cheating to get Toby to guard that camp!

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    1. Thanks Mark! He's easily bought off,with anything remotely edible!
      Best Iain

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  2. Iain, it is a real pleasure to see your Italian Wars collection out on the table in force. How are you enjoying TtS!? Oh, and that is a lot of Gendarmes on the table.

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    1. Thanks Jonathan! I quite like TtS for a pick up game, but I want something more substantial, like Pike and shot at other times, the search for the holy grail continues, oh and that's half my gendarmes now!
      Best Iain

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  3. A lovely game with lots of beautiful figures there Iain. I'm looking forward to seeing your Napoleonic cavalry too. Like yourself I had forgotten how much time they take to complete.

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    1. Thanks Lawrence! Yes Napoleonics are time consuming, they do have the benefit of being uniform I'm finding!
      Best Iain

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  4. Lovely to see those figures out Iain. And what an expression on Toby's face - it's hard not to imagine what he's thinking.

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    1. Thanks a lot! Yes he has a very expressive face!
      Best Iain

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  5. Table looks great, same for your armies, good bad no conclusion but it’s best to maintain domestic peace.

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    1. Thanks Peter! Domestic harmony is paramount!
      Best Iain

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  6. A lovely collection of figures Iain, how old is your daughter ? I am occasionally quite envious of you guys who have managed to entice family members into our hobby...neither of my kids is the least bit interested!

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    1. Thanks Keith! My daughter will be 18 on the 17th of this month, yikes! She had a go at me last year for not having given her a game before that,but we've had a few games and she seems to enjoy it, she really enjoyed beating her boyfriend in his first game!
      Best Iain

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  7. Lovely armies - so much presence. My napoleonic cavalry sit in the 'pile of dread'.

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    1. Thanks Norm! Go ahead and confront them,it's actually not so bad!
      Best Iain

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  8. Great looking game Iain, even though dinner stopped play, jealous of the opportunity for a game with a live opponent

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    1. Thanks Dave! Yes it was fun just to set up ,push some figures around and respond to an opponent, even if it was incomplete!
      Best Iain

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  9. Beautiful armies to say the least! They are such a spectacle!

    Toby seems to think that tent makes quite a mouthful!

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    1. Thanks very much Mike! There once was a time when he would eat anything!
      Best Iain

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  10. Great to see all of your beautifully painted figures together in battle, Iain!

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    1. Thanks Dean! Nice to get them out on the table!
      Best Iain

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  11. Too bad the war got called bc of dinner. Y’all should of eaten on the couch but being a considerate dad gets you hubby points at least to be cashed in later. 😀

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    1. Eat on the couch? The very idea! Considerate dad points duly banked!
      Best Iain

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  12. A splendid spectacle--never had the time or resources to put together a collection in this era, but always enjoy seeing it on display.

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    1. Thanks very much Ed! It's, I guess my main period and I've expended a lot of time and energy on it,one might even say it was complete, but not me!
      Best Iain

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  13. It's always good to get the armies on the table Iain, even if you couldn't finish the game it made for some great photos!

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    1. Thanks Oli! Yes always good to push them around even if it's an inconclusive result, sounds vaguely historical!
      Best Iain

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  14. The troops look excellent all arrayed on the table

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  15. As always mate, a great looking game. At least you got to play! I think I like Toby's aggressive playstyle - you should put him in command of those cavalry you are painting!

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    1. Thanks Dai! Good to get them out on the table,I think Toby is more like Prince Rupert, charge,off the side of the table!
      Best Iain

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  16. Lovely stuff Iain and good to see you getting a game. Whilst I might persuade my son to play my daughter is a definite NO. Using diner as an excuse is a poor way to escape a resounding defeat as well !hopefully warmer weather and you can get back to the shed I’m certainly hoping for some garden gaming this year in our shed/structure

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    1. Thanks Matt! You saw through my cunning plan! The shed is also my work from home office at the moment, a tad chilly still!
      Best Iain

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  17. Always good to get a game in, or even half a game!
    I struggled to get even a glimpse of interest from my children, so I'm very jealous !
    Good looking game btw.

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    1. Thanks Joe! Always good to get a game, or part there of,I was surprised when she showed interest, but very pleased!
      Best Iain

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  18. As usual, your pics are evocative, I never get tired of your AAR. Fantastic!

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  19. Nicely looking game, Iain, with lots of beautiful miniatures.

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  20. Nice looking game, Iain. Too bad about the lack of a conclusion, but both the armies and the players march on their stomachs!

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    1. Thanks Peter! We have to have our priorities right!
      Best Iain

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  21. A great looking game indeed, with splendid armies (gorgeous cavalry)...and dog!

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