Despertaferres

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Despertaferres for Wargamers: Sword and Spear Stumble through

How does Sid remember so many rules mechanisms? Some people just have that kind of brain, I guess. Anyway, moving away from our usual game system, we went back to 2014 for Mark Lewis’ Sword and Spear 2nd Edition ( Polkovnik Productions) We decided on two predominantly infantry armies to stumble through the rules. Sid…

redcaer1690
2–3 minutes
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How does Sid remember so many rules mechanisms? Some people just have that kind of brain, I guess. Anyway, moving away from our usual game system, we went back to 2014 for Mark Lewis’ Sword and Spear 2nd Edition ( Polkovnik Productions)

3rd -6th Century Germans versus Hannibal!?

We decided on two predominantly infantry armies to stumble through the rules. Sid had the advantage in number of units but I did have ten ( six hit) heavy warrior units. I nice feature of the rules is that it dispenses with the “ I go – you go” system and uses a dice draw. Sid’s larger number of units did give Carthage the initiative and a larger number of units moving each bound.

Wotan replaced Jesus on the German side!

The German warbands looked ferocious and I also had two rather tasty Noble cavalry units but it was the lights who would start the fight.

Noble German horse and light cavalry on the German right wing.

Facing my cavalry were the redoubtable elephants! Excuse the historical time glitch!

Four Carthaginians units

We were playing a standard 600 point game which gave me 18 units. Seven dice are drawn from a bag and the side with the majority of dice drawn gets to move first. Each unit has an activation number and a throw of the dice decides who can move and what level of complexity each unit can enact. My warband wouldn’t be doing much except trundle forward unless they got a 6 on the dice.

German horse roll for a group move

The shooting is also quite simple. Skirmishers usually throw two dice but a 6 for activation can either get them another shot or a longer move.

German skirmishers loose!
Black five beats a green three results in a morale check.
One hit on the Carthaginian spear: three more hits needed.

It wasn’t long before we were in close combat. The impact attribute means a player has only to beat an opponents roll to score a hit ( not doubling it).

I did like it that Gothic horse are ferocious chargers rather than pansy javelin throwers!
Nobles versus Spanish auxilia
Dice are paired highest to lowest!
End result: goodbye Spanish!
The fight for the central hills was more even but the Germans were still gaining ground.

Combat was exciting and whilst not as simple as To the Strongest, it gave an exciting clash.

My dice dis help!
End positions

By the end of the evening, we agreed that the Germans had stolen a slight lead. The rules had been a nice change and had worked seamlessly. Army and unit size is easily accommodated by our existing collections and we were both going to seek out other lists online. Movement, shooting and combat were readily understood. But, the best thing of course was that the sons of Woden had won!

Thanks to Sid and Firestorm Games.

12 responses to “Despertaferres for Wargamers: Sword and Spear Stumble through”

  1. lorenzoseventh Avatar
    lorenzoseventh

    I bought those rules but never got round to giving them a go. What makes them stand out if anything?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. redcaer1690 Avatar
      redcaer1690

      You must give them a try! For us it was a nice change as we’ve bee playing To the Strongest for years! Novel dice mechanism I liked! And, fits existing bases! Not quite as fun as Commands and Colors. Which set would u recommend????

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      1. lorenzoseventh Avatar
        lorenzoseventh

        Thanks for the reply- Ancients wise I quite liked storm and conquest and impetus – but then again I started waaaay back with wrg and only returned to the hobby with dba around 2000 but did not like dbmm etc. wab I dabbled with through their chariots book. Then ancients sunk away and nowadays it’s just been lion rampant or the two dux rulesets by Mersey and lardies. It’s not so much which rules rather you seem to need multiple sets for different periods – the argument against wrg – one size does not fit all.

        I suppose I have migrated towards gamier rules with cards and less control. But then again I was never a tournament player.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. redcaer1690 Avatar
        redcaer1690

        That’s interesting. I was just looking at Madaxeman’s review and L’art de la Guerre and DBA are the two top competition sets. My ageing brain can’t do competition sets either! I think it’s quite healthy that even after these yeasts we still search for the ideal set.
        Horror of horrors my two boys are getting into 40k- my poor bank balance!

        Liked by 1 person

    2. Mark W Rutledge Avatar
      Mark W Rutledge

      Here is what I really like about Sword and Spear.

      1.The overall game system is pretty simple. It is relatively easy to learn the basic principles of the rules.
      2. The rules are generally written in a straightforward manner and are easy to pick up.
      3. The terrain generation system for pick up games works well and produces interesting battle scenarios.
      4. The combat system is based on comparing multiple dice rather than each player rolling one die. This means that equivalent 6/1 split is less common (something we saw a lot of in Impetus.)
      5. The Pip systems is very clever and gives players interesting tactical choices to make.
      6. The game system is very interactive with both players involved in every step of the turn.
      7. The point system seems to generally work well.
      8. Sword and Spear encourages the use of low quality troops. In other games there is no incentive to use garbage troops but in S&S there are good reasons why one would pick low quality troop types.
      9. Even when one is having a game of poor dice the S&S system keeps that player in the game longer than other rules.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
      1. redcaer1690 Avatar
        redcaer1690

        Roger that: I definately hope to get some players down to Cardiff in 2026!!!

        Like

      2. lorenzoseventh Avatar
        lorenzoseventh

        I like that the rules encourage a range of troops and the game retains a loosing position with interest, thanks for the comments.

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Mark W Rutledge Avatar
    Mark W Rutledge

    I would start with smaller armies of say 400 points. A 600 point game played by is a big game for newbies.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    1. redcaer1690 Avatar
      redcaer1690

      Our game went to over three hours so 400 maybe the sweet spot. I do like the look of 600 point armies. Are there ever any tournaments for this???

      Like

      Reply
      1. Mark W Rutledge Avatar
        Mark W Rutledge

        Once your experienced in the game system you could probably do 600 point game to conclusion in three hours. At the beginning probably three hours to do a 400 point game although it really is army dependent. Two impact armies clashing can sometimes resolve fairly quickly.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. redcaer1690 Avatar
        redcaer1690

        Thanks Mark: funnily enough the impact foot and horse were an obvious attraction! Deadly!
        Much more in keeping with my view of Gothic horse rather than pansy javelin cavalry!!!

        Like

      3. Mark W Rutledge Avatar
        Mark W Rutledge

        Impact is pretty hit and miss in S&S. But it does introduce a degree of uncertainty for the opposition.

        Liked by 1 person

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