Britannicon 240AP comp - Canberra

[Barritus]

The years from 410, when the Romans left Britain, to 1066 were Britain's Dark Ages. The British Isles were invaded again and again, by Angles and Saxons, by Norwegians and Danes, and finally by the Normans of William the Conqueror, even as the natives fought each other.

Britannicon is a one-day three-round DBMM 15mm competition to re-create the battles of that time, featuring the twelve armies of Britain's Dark Ages: Scots-Irish, Pictish, Early Anglo-Saxon, Sub-Roman British, Welsh, Middle Anglo-Saxon, Viking (not Leidang), Norse-Irish, Pre-Feudal Scots, Normans (William the Conqueror in 1066 only), Anglo-Danish, Scots Isles and Highlanders.

When: Sunday 21 October, 10am - 5pm

Where: Jolt Games, 56 Hoskins Street, Mitchell (www.joltgames.com.au)

What: DBMM 15mm, 240AP (using the DBMM200 rules), armies to be chosen from the twelve armies above, and only from within the years 410 to 1066. Games to be 1 hour 45 minutes +/- 5 minutes (please bring your own terrain)

How much: Entry is $10, payable on the day

Organiser: Peter Barrett (peter DOT barritus AT yahoo DOT com DOT au)

Please contact the organiser to confirm your interest, or for any questions about the comp.

Loaner armies will be available - please ask!

[Barritus]

Well, four people turned up last Sunday to take part in Britannicon. This kept the draw simple - as with Wintercon we simply played out a three game round-robin.

Results were:
Tim Montgomery (Normans): 56
Dave Turner (SRB - Strathclyde with Vikings): 38
John Garvey (Dublin Vikings): 30
Anton Verster (Scots Isles and Vikings): 26

Only two of the six games were played to completion. The other four games were unfinished, in game durations between 1h 40m and 1h 50m. The individual scores were: 22-3, 19-6, 15-10 (x2) and 13-12 (x2). Both victories were gained by Tim.

No one took a brilliant general or an inert general, and only one player bothered with stratagems (he took and used both scouts and ambush). That player also took a naval option. Tim's Normans betrayed their Scandinavian origins by including the Ikea flat-pack fort (manned by Bw who achieved nothing).

It perhaps wasn't surprising that the Normans were dominant, given that the Kn had a quick kill against both Bd and Sp. The only Wb element at the comp was the sole Berserker element in the Dublin Viking army. Otherwise the games involved a lot of Bd-Bd and Bd-Sp combat. Not surprisingly the Bd-Bd combat took a long time to go anywhere, while the Sp performed creditably against the Bd.

The format was popular with the players, with a couple of those attending saying they simply weren't up for two or three day comps. In addition, the nature of irregular armies and the cheapness of the troops meant that the games were also visually appealing - long lines of infantry in multiple ranks, with little in the way of fancy footwork.

While the format for Cancon will remain unchanged, the modest success of this comp suggests we might be aiming for more 200-240AP comps in the future. Preliminary discussions with players suggest that we could try two of these sorts of comps next year, probably one with an American/Pacific theme, and the other pre-1600BC (before the rise of massed chariots).

Thanks to Jolt Games for providing the venue and the prize support.

[LawrenceG1]

1 day comps are popular in the UK, sometimes pulling in around 40 players.

Obviously the logistics are a bit different in Australia.