DadaDumdum DadaDumdum

OK not the best  rendition of the Game of Thrones intro music but it seemed like the best intro. Yes, on Saturday I got to experience the Song of Ice and Fire wargame. Its not my usual style but its good to stretch oneself now and then and to sample what the wider world is doing and besides, I enjoyed both books and tv series.

Tully Cavalry waiting for the battle to begin.

The figures are rather nice sculpts, somewhere around 32-35 mm by eye and the all the components seem well done. The rules are simple enough but like many a modern game, the complexity comes in the capabilities of the various units and characters and figuring out how to make best use of them. The basic principles of war still apply (maintain the aim, economy of force, etc) but like many contemporary games that I've sampled it seems to be more about making the best use of your units' special abilities and avoiding those of the enemy than basic tactics.

Many of the figures are new, some straight from previously unopened boxes that had just arrived. I suspect it might take a while to get them all painted but they fought well either was and there was a bit of that nostalgia for games with unpainted Airfix in the 60's.  

They've gone to great effort to up the feel of the various factions and the main characters of the series but like many contemporary games, it seems to be designed so that the common, ordinary, soldier is a rare  thing. Everybody is special in their own way. Its a bit like a WWII game with a German force with nothing but Tigers, 88's, 155mm artillery, Pzr Grenadiers and Falschirmjaegers.

Overall, it was a day well spent with friends, learning something new and  playing a tight, and at times exciting, game. Am I going to rush out and start buying? Nope, but I'd play again if that's what was on for the day.

Meanwhile, its back to the French Revolution!