Day: August 15, 2021

Great WOOD Game Yesterday

I had two guys over for what turned out to be an excellent game of Wars of Orcs and Dwarves yesterday.

     Kevin and I played the Orcs, and David played the hobbits. The orcs (good guys) were attacking to seize a hilltop and grab Princess McGuffin. The hobbits (bad guys) were defending a waddle wall and the hill. The orces had two “brigades,” each consisting of two “regiments” with hand weapons and one with bows. The hobbits had two units of archers, two units with spears and halberds, an elite unit with swords, a small unit of chariots, and a light artillery piece. The orcs also had one unit of giant blood orcs (with a stealthy commander!) that began in the hobbit’s rear.
Initial disposition of forces showing the hobbit defenses. In the top right you can see our flanking force of giant blood orcs. I normally like to put the hills under the cloth, but they photograph better this way.
Initial dispositions of Kevin’s “brigade” of Minifigs pig-face orcs.
Initial disposition of my brigade of Dragonbait Miniatures pig-faced orcs.
Initial dispositions of hobbit defenders. Most of the figures are Mirliton and Assuat Group. The hydra is a 3D print. They waddle walls and the stone hut are Reynedra.
A close view of the hobbit defenses.
Initial dispositions from a hobbit perspective.
     The good guys’ (orcs’) plan was for me to be aggressive on the orc right to keep the bad guys (hobbits) pinned down, while Kevin maneuvered around the right flank. I thought the plan was going to work well, when after a melee, the hobbit bowmen decided to pursue my orcs. They leapt over the wall and advanced toward me. By the time the smoke cleared, my two hand-weapon units had been crushed by the combined efforts of three units of hobbits.
     A unit of hobbits with halberds and the goose hydra routed the blood orcs in a dynamic melee. Kevin’s fought poorly all day (dismal dice), while David had pretty good luck.
     The key moment came in turn three. Often the brigade commanders’ abilities do not frequently have a major impact, but in this game they were decisive. Kevin used his “Follow Me, Boys!” ability to launch all of his units in a combined assault. His bowmen charged up the hill, defeated one unit and then fell on the rear of the hobbit artillery while his sword unit routed another hobbit unit. At this point, all but one hobbit unit was routed or destroyed. Unfortunately for the good guys (orcs), David’s brigade commander had Rally. This allows the commander, once per game, to automatically rally all units within 36 inches. In the past, this has allowed a commander to rally one or two key units. In this case, David rallied every routing unit, so the hobbits went from completely routed to back in the game. Ouch!
The goos hydra facing off with the giant blood orcs. The orcs had charged the hydra previously, which is why they are disordered. The blood orcs (and most of Kevin’s troops) fought poorly all day (dismal dice rolling). The hobbit unit had eliminated one base of orcs previously. In the next round of melee, the orcs lost two bases to the hydra while inflicting only one hit in return!
Kevin’s brigade of orcs turning the hobbit flank. The Minifigs pig-face orcs in the foreground slipped behind the elite hobbit swordsmen in the woods and routed the hobbit bowmen along the wall and the hobbit artillery from behind. It was Kevin’s finest hour, but it only lasted one activation before David rallied all his troops.
My heavily attritted orcs eventually routed the unit of hobbits they were fighting.
In the lower left, you can see the hobbit bowmen who inexplicably (Reaction Test Result) decided to charge out of their defenses. At this point, the lightly armored bowmen and completely wiped out one of my orc units through a combination of melee and archery.
     In the end the hobbits had five units left, and the orcs were down to two chewed up ones. While the orc commander briefly captured Princess McGuffin, the game was a clear hobbit (bad guy) victory.
The rallied hobbits returning to the fight, supported by the goose hydra.
The orc bowmen had routed the hobbit gunners (seen trying to reoccupy the cannons). This shot is just after David rallied all his troops. You can see the hobbit bowmen returning to the fight in the upper left. This is also right before the orc commander seized (briefly) Princess McGuffin.
     What made this game so fun was the dramatic changes of fortune. At the beginning the orcs thought we were doing well. At the end of turn two, we thought we had lost. In turn three, the hobbits were all mostly routed, and the orcs were celebratory. At the end, it was a clear hobbit victory. The game was bloody, dramatic, and fun!