(Gnome Wars) Ulundi Undone

 When I was up last weekend to see the girls, I brought their Easter baskets and thought long and hard on how to run an Easter game of any size.  The only table in the entire home is a small round one, so I figured to use the chick erasers and have the Germans attempt form square to hold off the attacking Chicka Zulus.  

It was a glorious failure.  Even giving the Germans bonuses for staying in square, the Zulus whittled down the one edge in almost a turn with spears (which needed a 6 on a d6).  

It wasn't even fair.  On a larger round table, the Germans would have a few rounds to cripple the Chicka Zulus.  

And since the girls got to play the Chicka Zulus, they had fun, which was all that mattered.

(Chicka-Zulu Campaign) #2 - Roark's Drift Remembered

 As I look thorough my copy of the Colonial Campaigns: The Zulu Wars, I'm just not enthused to play Isandlwana.  Perhaps I've seen too many games, the movies too many times, or the terrain pieces intimidate me.  

I also realized I already Roark's Drift, many many moons ago. 

Twelves years ago, almost to the day, I ran Roark's Drift for my girls, technically, just Maja, although I'm sure Millie got a hold of some dice. Below is the exact recap from the original post:

Saturday had my wife working, so I had a full day with the kids. After coloring, puzzles, and Play-Doh, we proceeded to the next logical step for a three year old. 

We played Rorke's Drift.

Well, not quite. While I do have an interest in the Zulu Wars, it would require me to hit a couple of banks to get started, so I did the next best thing: I present to you the GNOMES of Rorke's Drift.

Amelia, Maja, and the Swiss defenders

No, it's not a proper historical representation, but I wanted to do something more fun than realistic.  Plastic Easter eggs over mealie bags.   Plus, the only British gnomes available are of a maritime variety.

In the Gnome Wars universe, the pointy hatted Swiss and the picklehaub-wearing Germans are the central powers, so colonial forays into the untamed wilderness which is Deepest Darkest Gnomish Africa would be expected.  My friend Michael Lung has already composed an excellent write-up for Bore Wars (spelling intentional).  It explained the use of Swiss, German, Australian, and even British gnome in a new environment.  It also allowed ins to use Eureka frogs, turtles, and teddy bear zulus.  Heck Mike even put in data to use Brigade "Gnomans", Eureka teddy bear Romans, and even the old Heritage frog Romans!

After this masterwork, I have to cobble together something for the Zulu Wars.   I embrace Mike's all-inclusive approach, but I have neither the collection, nor the funds and time to assemble one right now.o

I did, however, have a nearby Michael's, a pile of coupons that even work on clearance items, and some time to shop after Easter.

I present to all, the most dangerous enemy to gnomes settling Africa, the Chicka Zulu

For rules, I based them off of what I remember from Uncle Duke's Isandlwanda/Rorke's Drift game that I played at Historicon 2010.  It was simple and didn't require the purchase of thousands of Zulus.  The hashed  together recollections of rules worked well for my daughter as well.

Chicka Zulus
Move: 6 inches per turn
Once a stand of  9 chicks is reduced down to 3, it is removed off the board.  Once the army loses over 50% of its stands(in this case 6), the Zulus immediately retreat to form the next wave.  If three waves are stopped by the gnomes, the Zulus give up.
They also wield primitive firearms.  At the end of the 1st round, each unit with at least 5 chicks will make one roll to represent ineffective firepower.  A 6 on 1d6 per unit hits.  During the 2nd round this improves to 5-6.  It is assumed that by subsequent rounds, the chicks have engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand.

The Gnomes
The Gnomes follow their rules per nationality.  The Swiss have rifles, but also a large number of  pickaxes.  No use for firing, but definitely devastating in close combat.
Medics:  In Gnome Wars, the medics have a phase after each turn to run around and revive the fallen.  To recreate a more accurate situation, I didn't allow a medic phase until the Swiss dispatched one of the Zulu waves. If they still controlled the hospital (the large MBA Customs House) they had a 50% chance (4-6 on d6) of  healing each one.  If the Zulu occupied it, it dropped to 5-6, and if Zulus successfully torched it, it dropped to just 6.


The First Wave
I gave Maja no pointers on how to move the Chicka Zulu, simply that they had to kick the gnomes out of  their "farm" and capture the golden egg hidden inside.  Immediately she sent her flanks around to the undefended side walls, a perfect application of the "Feet of the Chicken" tactic.  She also put the pink (unmarried) chicks in the center of the battlefield in a column formation, but that's okay.  I'm not asking her to conquer Russia (yet.)

Of course, to preoccupy a three-year old, she also rolled all the dice for the Swiss.  Her rolls rang true and two units had been whittle down to five.  Her Zulu firing rolls were just as effective.  Five Swiss lay on the ground from Zulu rifles.  This did not bode well for the gnomes.

Technically, the "Feet of the Chicken"  should have a unit or two in reserve, but I'm not being picky today.

The Zulus continued their charge, but the Swiss spread out of absorb as much as possible.  Swiss rifles removed two units from the table, but the charging chicks hit the eggshell thin walls.

Melee combat was a work in progress from the first die roll.  I  wanted to ensure that the gnomes got maximum protection, but also allow the Zulus a chance to inflict painful casualties.  Modifiers were changed for defense, troop ratio, and leadership, sometimes between figures in a mass combat.  Even with this evolving status, the gnome center took significant hits.  

I

First Wave:  The green square represents where units were removed from play.  Amelia is in the background demanding blood... or more animal crackers

The pink Chicka Zulu on the flank did manage to work around the Swiss gnomes and came within millimeters of entering the hospital, but the main attack fizzled when the Swiss eliminated enough units from the center attack to force a withdrawal and the start of the second wave.

First Wave:  Oh, so close...

The Chicka Zulus set again and the Swiss rolled for casualties.  My daughter's dice rolling continue shine as only four out of twelve down Swiss were pronounced dead.

The Second Wave

The Chicka Zulu seemed to move faster this time, or perhaps it was the Swiss guns failing.  The Swiss consolidated their forces and was hit by the full speed of a three claw attack.

The flank begins to falter, Amelia sees a squirrel 

Both units of Swiss took tremendous casualties, but all Zulu unit were respectfully bloodied as well.  

Second Wave:  The dice behind the unit represented how many figures were left

The flanks collapsed.  One unit of yellow Chicka Zulus managed to avoid contact and seize the golden egg.  Some pinks had seized the hospital and set it ablaze. Another two pink units jumped the walls and slaughtered Swiss with a chriping glee.

Second Wave:  Things look bleak

If not for the courage of Captain Boris (named by my daughter), the Swiss would have been killed to the man during this wave.  He single-handedly held off two units of weakened Chicka Zulu, forcing them to withdrawal.  Not bad for a figure who started the battle on the second floor of the hospital ("He's still tired, Daddy!")

Captain Boris staves off utter annihilation, as the hospital burns

With the hospital in flames, and few men left to put it out, the medic phase was a complete failure.The last seven Swiss: (two officers, the alphorn player, three rifles, and two pick axes) fortified the ruined building as a redoubt and waited for the final onslaught.

Third  Wave
The few Swiss rifles shot true, and two entire units fell before the Chicka Zulu reached the redoubt.  I had some difficulty finding a proper defensive modifier for the redoubt, particularly since the majority of the remaining Swiss had developed good, balanced bonuses from the earlier fighting.  The Chicka Zulu took out the majority of the enlisted, and with afternoon naps pending, I declared the Chicka Zulu escorted the two Swiss officers, the Alphorn (essentially a flag bearer), and one rifleman to the Zulu border, with honors.

The Survivors of Rorke's Drift, honored by the Chicks, vilified by the Swiss press

It took some number crunching, and a TV break between the first and second waves, but the battle was completed successfully.  There will be subsequent playtests with more "mature" players, different nationalities of gnomes, and a more accurate set-up for the mission station, but for a first go it worked spectacularly.  

Best of all, my daughter Maja wants to play another game with the chicks.  No worries, I have until Junior High to make sure she knows that these battles were fought with humans and not armies of angry chickens.

As an added bonus, we caught that last hour of the third Chronicles of Narnia movie, so she's completely enthralled by the "Pirates and the Dragon".   My geek-dad street cred is rising.

(Chicka-Zulu Campaign) #1 - Sihayo's Kraal

Some time ago, "Award-Winning GM" and Friend of the Bog, Mike Lung gifted me with some fabulous Easter chicks from Michael's.  He fashioned pipe-cleaners, feathers, and tiny spears to them for form the "Chicka Zulu."  This weekend was the first opportunity I had to officially put them on the table.

I used Colonial Campaigns: The Zulu War, 1879 by Roy Jones and Mark Fastoso.  The scenarios are statted out to The Sword and the Flame, and I sort of created a hybrid of that and Gnome Wars (Gnome and the Flame?  Sword and the Gnome?).  I've also replaced the British with German gnomes, as they are the baddies in the world.  It also allows me, if the mood strikes right, to expand the game into Herero scenarios.  

Background: What was first thought as an unsteady alliance with the Chicka Zulu completely unruffled, Sihayo, the Zulu warlord, had brought war to the Germans, and the Germans had arrived with a healthy force Native Natal Chicks (NNC), armed with spears, the burn down his Kraal, and seize his animals.  

Sihayo's forces had other ideas, and most of them involved the surprise collection of muskets they were armed with.

British Objective:  Move as many units (unit = at least 50% of the unit remaining) off the top of the hill. Clear/occupy the Zulu huts.  

Zulu Objective:  Prevent as much of this from happening.

Special Rules:  Hills represented by the lines of black counters across the board.  German and NNC units must use the trails to scale the hills.   Zulu may move up and down the hills without issue.

Turn One: The Germans stall realizing the limited options of climbing up the hill to reach Sihayo's Kraal. As they plan to assault the rocky areas the Zulus were hiding, the German commander pondering firing all his scouting officers for omitting the treacherous trails in their reports.

Turn Two: The mass group of NNC on the German left flank charge the Chicka Zulus. The Chicka Zulu counterattack fails, but the Chick Zulu rifles above on the hills rains down musket fire that wipes out everything in the area.

The line of black tokens represent elevation changes.  Germans and the NNC can only use trails to move up the hills.

On the right flank the NNC cower amongst the rocks, forcing the 134th Germans (Sommer-Radlers) to advance. A single volley of fire is enough to flush the Chicka Zulus out of their position, and send the survivors scrambling to the safety of the nearby hut.

Blue chips are activation, orange are morale/rally checks, and black checks with them represent reloading units.

Meanwhile, in the center of the formation, the depleted German cavalry prepares for a charge.

Turn 3. The German initiative is stellar. The German cav charges up the trail and strikes at the Chicka Zulus. It is apparently a trap as few feathers fly, Chicka Zulus counter the charge, and pull the surviving gnomes off their bunnies to an even worse, possibly unspeakable fate, we're not telling.

The Chicka Zulu reign supreme over the undermanned cavalry!

Up the center of the board, the cavalry charges uphill at the Zulu mast at the top of the hill feathers fly in the end the Zulu’s counter the charge and drag the last Germans off their bunnies suffering great casualties on their own the other leading force of NNC on the left flank engage, depleted Zulu in the rocks is hiding in the rocks. On the right flag, the NNC scurry up to find a trail

Left Flank: A full NNC unit assaults a position with weakened Chicka Zulus and is repulsed!

Right Flank:  The Sommer Radlers and the emboldened NNC unit are slowed down by the trail leading up to the next hill.

Turn four: The German left flank collapses as the Chicka Zulus use muskets to eliminate any further NNC threats. Most of the natives retreat directly up the hill beyond the bottleneck up the main trail.

In the center German Greys try to dislodge the Zulu at the top of the hill, but are completely unsuccessful as a point-blank barrage yields zero casualties!

The Sommer-Radlers on the left flank only clear out Chicka-Zulu stragglers, but not those hiding in the huts. Their eyes are up the hill at the top of the trail!

The Germans sweeping the flank and heading down the trail.  

Turn Five: The German right flank moves as fast as they can up the trail. They are left exposed to some healthy Chicka-Zulu fire at the top of the hills, but it appears all of them fired the previous turn, forcing a mandatory reload phase for everyone!

The Chicka Zulu resistance is futi.... waitaminute

Turn Six: Chicka-Zulu forces mop up the NNC charge in the center of the attack. They then met face-to-face with the muscles of the German Grey's rifles and the great cacophony of sound. But no one falls!

On the German right flank , the Chicka Zulu muskets hit true, forcing the surviving Germans to hide behind some rocks, allowing the NNC behind them to charge up the hill with great speed.

Sensing victory, the Chicka Zulus shift towards the German right.

Turn Seven: Seizing the initiative, the NNC on the right flank fly up the hill and off the board. The remaining Sommer Radlers in hiding are trapped behind the rocks, unable to move, too scared to attack, too scared to flee, hoping the Chicka-Zulus don’t see their bright white picklehaub hovering over the rocks!

The NNC try (and succeed in) passing the Chicka Zulu resistance.

The German Greys, moving up the main trail, dispatch the remaining Zulus in front of them and head towards the Zulu on the middle on the higher hill.

Turn Eight (final turn!): The Germans cannot get a good initiative to literally save their lives. The Sommer-Radlers survived multiple volleys of Chicka-Zulu muskets Another Chicka-Zulu unit charges across the battlefield, but the Germans fight valiantly, causing far more losses on the Chick-Zulus, then their insignificant lives.

The Chicka Zulu tales recount the bravery of the three Germans who would not be taken alive.

Finally, the Germans trudging their way through the carnage on the main trail. apparently had enough of their enemies and hastily withdrew back from whence they came.

All in all, a fun time for a first foray into Gnome Colonialism.  I don't think I'll be doing Isandlwana (I've already down Rorke's Drift), and it appears Mike provided me with just enough figures to represent the Zulus and NNC in further games.

Carnage!