Chicago Skirmish Wargames

Last month I took my first stab at miniature wargaming with both of my children as I introduced them to Song of Blades and Heroes (SBH). They've never played a miniatures game with each other that did not have a board. Heroquest is a ton of fun, but it's a whole different experience when you trade spaces on a board for measuring sticks.

Anthropomorphic Animals (played by son) and an Ent (a gift from Mike!)...

...Check.

Animal Warband (played by daughter) with Adorable Squirrel Beastmaster...

... Check.

Chicago Skirmish Dice in my kids' favorite colors....

... Check.

Classic Terrain setup...  Check!!!

Let the battle begin!

It was a simple Treasure hunt Scenario with 4 possible treasure locations (marked by Skulls). One on each end on rocky sections and one on each level of the ruined tower.

Some pictures from the game in approximate order.

Despite the treasure not being found until the last location (on the first floor of the ruined tower), it was a characteristically quick and dramatic affair. Both sides put up a good fight but the Animals were quite effective, not only in keeping keeping the Animal-people busy, but near the end they began to dominate the combat. Not only was the Beastmaster able to escape with the treasure (the only member of the warband able to carry things), but a morale test resulted in the Ent fleeing the battle! Who ever heard of an Ent fleeing anything???

Most importantly, both kids enjoyed it and are willing to play again, which was the goal of the experience. Next time we might try a more interesting scenario and perhaps larger warbands. IIRC, we were at around 200 points, whereas a regular SBH game is usually around 300. Topping it off, it was a bit of a return to form as Song of Blades was the game CSW formed around almost 12 years ago and was my first successful foray (had briefly tried Combat Zone) into miniatures-agnostic gaming.

Lastly, it has prodded me to expand my field and forest terrain just a bit. I have some nice countryside type pieces as seen above, but I don't have much else and I'm especially lacking trees. I very much like the look of a classic countryside as seen in the sort of wargaming pictures (historical and Games Workshop) that inspired me as a kid so it's something I'd like to build up. Luckily I've got alot of supplies for just such an undertaking saved from my  various model railroad undertakings. At bare minimum, look forward to a lot of de-wintered Lemax pine trees....

Here's to hoping for many more games with kids!!!

Be well,
Karl