The Round Robin Comes Round Again...

Well, today saw Abingdon Wargames Club send forth its finest members* to compete in the annual Round Robin competition organised and hosted by the Oxford club.

Bucking tradition, we came third, rather than the usual last, with an overall score of 22.5 points.  The games on offer this year were:

Raid!- Four groups of goblinoids compete to see who can bring the most loot out of an abandoned dwarf hold.

Predator!- Predators and human Special forces race to see who can search three crash sites first (played twice, once as predators, once as Special Forces)

City State- Four city states compete to see who can acquire the most wealth through military conquest, territorial growth and bribery.

Retreat!- French forces attempt to flee from Waterloo (?) to the safety of a nearby town as Prussian cavalry move to mop them up (again, each player had two go at this; once as the French and once as the Prussians).

All good fun, and we're looking forward to next year's offerings!

In other news, the 7TV campaign takes a break and is replaced by Charlie Don't Surf as one of the two offerings for Abingdon Wargames Club's 18th December Sunday "all-day" meeting.  As ever, pictures and a write up should appear here ahortly after!  From earlier posts, the astute may work out what may be appearing on, or perhaps over, the jungle-festooned table...

*In other words, those who were available.

Rocky Robins...

In which Sunday 12th December saw Abingdon Wargames Club uphold their fine tradition of coming last* in Oxford Wargames Society's annual Round Robin tournament.  Four very different and entertaining games, with exemplarary gentlemankly behaviour from the four clubs which entered teams.  Over the course of the day

• Medieval peasants threw snowballs at each other as they tried to make off with the best pine trees from the forest.
• Ambassadors and petitioners came into conflict as they attempted prevent each other from talking to the Czar at one of the Congress of Vienna's balls.
• Various stags sought to pass on their genes by mating with as many hinds as possible whilst challenging each other.
• Spanish Civil War Republicans quickly dealt with a Nationalist supply train before turning on each other to settle the finer points of Marxist theory.

Of particular note was the latter game, which used a very stripped-down version of TFL's Triumph Of The Will.  This very successfully showed how quickly the basic ideas behind TFL rules can be grasped by new players, with rules explained, understood and played to a satisfying conclusion in less than 90 minutes.  Jolly good stuff (even if I ended up as the whipping boy for the other three players...).

As ever a good day, and thanks to Messrs The Div, Neodynium and Bray for sallying forth on behalf of Abingdon!  Same time next year, chaps?

*Let us ignore the aberration that was the great victory of '08...