Once More For The Daily Exercise

 For my last post of 2023, I'd share a game I have set up in my Game Room, all ready to go for tomorrow and the New Year. 

King Philip's War, fought in 1675-76, happened almost literally in my back yard. Growing up in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts, several sites are a short trip from my boyhood home, including the Sudbury Fight, one of the hardest fought battles of the war. 

The war itself was pretty brutal stuff. The colonies of Massachusetts Bay, Plymouth, Connecticut and Rhode Island and their First Nations allies fought against Metacom, sachem of the Wampanoag tribe, known as King Philip. It did not go well for the colonists and, in the end, not well at all for the Indigenous Peoples. 

This scenario features a small detachment of Militia on a patrol. What happens to them, may lead to a second game later this week. 

The forces for this game are small. Only one leader and eight men per side. Just enough to get things started. 

My First Nations are a mix of manufacturers. The War Leader here might resemble a more famous fictional character from a famous movie of the French and Indian War. No reason I can't use him until I paint up my Metacom figure (somewhere in the painting queue...)

The Militia patrol are made of figures gifted to me by Mark N. of My Brave Fusiliers blog fame. I finally was able to meet Mark in person at Historicon and he also has an interest in KPW. His generous gift doubled the size of my colonial forces. 

Finally, The Rules. For this game, given its small size, my well-worn copy of Song of Drums and Tomahawks was pulled out. I love SDAT for games where we are using a dozen or so figures a side. 

The Militia patrol will start entering the table. The First Nations will be located under two of eight randomly placed UNO cards. Red cards mean there are Wampanoag warriors in them there woods. I'll play this game solo, rolling randomly for the Wampanoag reactions. 

So, there it is. We'll see how it goes tomorrow. 

For anyone who is reading this, I wish you the best for the coming year.