The Battle of Gate Fulford 1066.

Please note, this game was played with a pre-production copy of the Dragon Ships & Iron Knights game. My understanding is that the now published game is being shipped to Legion Games (U.S.) and that the game should reach them before the end of September.

I am the designer of the Hastings and Stamford Bridge games part of the package - so you won’t be surprised to see that my view of the system is obviously favourable.

The gate Fulford battle has been designed by Geoff Noble and it fully integrates with the system used in the Hastings and Stamford Bridge games.

The main terrain feature is the German Beck, a waterway, that has a ford that can be crossed without penalty, but elsewhere, units entering will disorder on a die roll of 5 or 6. This is a very simple gaming device, but it adds a lot of nice moments to the game and of course you know that your most important attacks will defy that 66% chance of success and get disordered! :-)

The Saxons will score victory points by fighting their way onto the southern side of the beck by the end of turn 3.

The Vikings will score victory points by fighting their way onto the northern side of the beck by the END of the game.

Plus there are the usual VP’s scored by inflicting casualties.

The flanks of the beck rest on the River Ouse at one end and thicket at the other, so this is a game of frontal assault.

At the start of play, the Vikings have Tostig’s force guarding the beck, while Hardrada with a much larger force is on the left and to the rear and about to move up - though his force is not allowed to move on Turn 1. So there is a small window of time for the Saxon to battle with Tostig and get a foothold on the other side of the beck, before Hardrada comes raging into view!

Opening Turns - both Saxon wings cross the beck, the Northumbrians are unopposed at this time, but the Mercians have to fight with Tostig. The Mercians under Morcar get the upper hand and push the Vikings back.

But Tostig counter-attacks and that goes badly for the Vikings, Tostig dies and most of the Orkneymen rout!

There is a short pause, broken by Hardrada bringing up the left wing and crashing into the  Northumbrians.

Mid game - The Saxon army pull back behind the beck and so the Vikings are compelled to advance onto the beck, with some of their numbers disordering, but overall, their attack is successful and the Saxon left flank (Morcar’s Mercians) start to take very heavy casualties and units start to rout.

End game - The Saxon left (Morcar) is seriously weakening, but they manage to hold on, though Edwin’s Northumbrians on the right are having to send men over to the Mercian position to support them keeping the line behind the beck.

Try as they might, the Vikings simply can’t breach the beck. Their right is significantly disordered and as the last turn plays out, both sides hold their respective positions on either side of the beck.

Totting up the VP’s, both sides are within 10 VP’s of each other, which is classed a draw. Looking the situation on the map, I think that is a fair appraisal!

Post Game Thoughts;

That was a very enjoyable game, in which both sides were engaged throughout, working hard to exploit enemy weaknesses, but finding few opportunities! We had a coffee break away from the table, so I think we were probably actually gaming for around 1 hour and 45 minutes, which saw us get right through to the end (Turn 10) with a generally easy pace.

Tostig falling on Turn 1 gave a nice moment of narrative, though it obviously presented the Vikings with problems for the rest of the game. Leader loss generally happens on a die roll of 1. Leaders are a good way to get a combat boost to get the job done ….. but it can be surprising how often those ‘1’s get rolled! 

Morcar was slow in getting back behind the beck and so took unnecessary losses, while the Vikings under Hardrada could have pressed harder on their left. Crossing the beck does run the risk of suffering disorder, but the Hirdmenn morale levels are very high and they can afford to take early losses without the spectre of rout hanging over them - but their attack must then successfully break into the Northumbrian position if any losses (which generate VP’s) are to be justified.

The Vikings have two jobs to do - kill off enemy units and get plenty of good ordered troops over the beck to rack up some VP’s at the end of game.

The Saxons also have two jobs to do - get over the beck with enough good ordered troops by the end of Turn 3 to score VP’s, then they must hold off the more powerful Viking army to stop them getting across to the north side of the beck.

Geoff has done a nice job on the scenario, there is a lot of nuance to it. Now not only does this system offer the three battles of 1066 together, but the games themselves offer three different gaming experiences under the one umbrella system.

Hastings is the grinding battle, you just have to put your back into it and press on and hope that the enemy breaks before you do!

Stamford Bridge, is opposite to that experience, it is a more open game of pure hack ’n slash. The Vikings came in 300 longboats …. they went home in 30!

Gate Fulford is a thinking scenario, not quite a puzzle, but the placement of each unit matters and the randomised disordering effect of the German Beck means that there are no guarantees to thoughtful choreographing!