Irregular Wars Wargaming

Andrew and I brought our Ilium: A Game of Heroes campaign to a close last week with a gripping playthrough of the Trojan Horse scenario. Andrew, once more reprised his role as the wiley Achaeans, while I led the heroic defenders of Troy. Diomedes was the first Achaean hero to descend from the belly of the horse, catching the Trojan defenders scattered and in disarray. All three Trojan heroes (Aeneas and two generic heroes leading the remnant Paionians and Amazons) were concentrated in one area (top right of the photo), but their contingents were widely spread out. As Agamemnon and the men of Mycenae dropped from the horse, Diomedes and his Argives made a dash for the gates, cutting down an Amazon promachia, but failing to wound the remaining defenders. As the Trojan promachoi warriors tried to rally to their chiefs, the archers scattered around the square mostly turned their bows on the exposed backs of Diomedes' followers. Two archers decided to try and regain their contingents r...

Mark returns to 17th century Rutlandshire for a troll hunt with Devilry Afoot ! The long-abandoned plague village of Dedmere has been taken over by a pair of Trolls, who plan to sniff out the mass burial pit and grind the bones from it to make their bread. But they were interrupted by the noted antiquarian (and professional hunter) John Aubrey and his colleague Will Bunbury, who were in the area searching for a Druid temple and allowed enthusiasm to overcome caution as dusk fell. Aubrey and Bunbury are both in my Character Progression Roster and are profiled accordingly (Photo #1). John Aubrey: Scholar (Erudite, Astrologer) Flagellant. Astrologer casts are: 7,8. Equipped with: sword, holy item, lantern. Adds this time: Holy water x3. Funds in pocket 18s. William Bunbury: Goodman (Penitent, Strong) Backslider. Equipped with: blunderbuss, sword. Adds this time: silver shot x3, dog (named Ratter). Funds in pocket 5s Here is the scene of action, with the Trolls (upper L) and Hunters (l...

Sing, goddess, of the anger of Achilles ... After ten years and a lot of spilt blood, Troy is about to fall.  Ilium: A Game of Heroes  officially releases on Saturday 1st of August, available at both irregularwars.com andWargame Vault as a digital download, or as a hardcopy from Amazon. Ilium: A Game of Heroes  is a table-top miniatures game inspired by Homer's greatest epic. Players take on the role of mighty Trojan and Achaean heroes, each supported by a contingent of followers, as they compete for Kleos (κλέος) – deeds of renown that will have their names remembered through time. Played on a 2'x2' (60cmx60cm) table, each player will normally control between 12 and 28 models whose management at key moments will be crucial in securing Kleos. Glory, not survival, will dictate victory. It's the Trojan War played the way Homer wrote it. However, if you're keen to sneak in under the cover of darkness and seize a copy of Ilium for yourself before the 'official'...

Here are summaries of two recent playthroughs of the Trojan Horse scenario for Ilium: A Game of Heroes . The scenario is modelled on book 8 of the Odyssey , the  Aeneid  book 2, and books 12-13 of the Posthomerica . Note that both games were 'ahistorical' because we were using heroes and contingents we had on hand, some of whom are generally regarded as having died before Odysseus has his great idea to shove a bunch of lads into a wooden horse. ***** In the first of these games, I was playing the heroic/party-befuddled Trojans, with three contingents spread out across the table, while Laura ran the whiley Achaeans, silently waiting inside the belly of the horse and beyond the gates.  Idomeneus and his Cretan promarchoi were the first to descend from the Trojan Horse. While the Trojans slowly became aware there was an issue, the Cretans rushed towards the guards at the gate. After a brief scuffle, the guards were dispatched, and the Cretans wrenched open the gates. Ba...

Sing, goddess, of the anger of Achilles, son of Peleus, the accursed anger which brought uncounted anguish on the Achaeans and hurled down to Hades many mighty souls of heroes, making their bodies the prey to dogs and the birds’ feasting … Homer, The Iliad 1.1-4 The final - and arguably most famous - contingent that I'll be painting up before the release of Ilium: A Game of Heroes hails from Phthia in southern Thessaly. Led by Achilles, the only son of King Peleus, here are the Myrmidons. All are splendid 28mm sculpts from Lucid Eye Miniatures. The sculpt chosen to be Achilles is actually one of the regular Myrmidons from the Myrmidon 2 pack from Lucid Eye. However, all the Lucid Eye models are sculpted to the same high quality and he utilises the fancier armour and kilt body that was originally sculpted to be Achilles anyway, but with what I felt to be a more commanding presence. I used the figure named as Achilles (on the left) to be my Patroklos. He too has fancy armour, and h...

At the start of the month we braved the July heat to return to Greece - this time, to explore some of the sites across (and around) the plain of Argos. The region is packed full of amazing archaeological sites and some lovely smaller museums. Here are a few of the sites and sights that we visited that could be inspiring for wargamers/builders of model Bronze Age walls... Bronze Age/Late Helladic sites in the area were the focus of our trip and really it was a bit of a study of cyclopaean architecture. There are four very impressive Mycenaean citadels overlooking the Argive plain. Mycene to the north, Midea to the east, Tiryns to the south, and Argos to the west. From book 2 of the Iliad we know that Agamemnon was supposed to have ruled at Mycenae (and further north), while Argos and Tiryns were ruled by Diomedes. Midea is not mentioned in the Iliad , but feels more at home with Argos and Tiryns. Mycenae Lion Gate and cyclopaean walls. Modern guardian of the gate. Grave Circle A, where...