Wednesday, August 01, 2012

This Accursed Civil War

I'm back with another random game from my collection (which seems to be all that this blog is about anymore...).  This time it is This Accursed Civil War, the first game in the Musket & Pike series.  Over 3 1/2 years ago I wrote about the third game in the series, Under the Lily Banners, and my general opinion of that game applies here, as well.  Same rules, same game play, etc.  This game, however, deals with the second English Civil War, often referred to as "Royalists vs. Roundheads" when Oliver Cromwell was trying to kick the king to the curb.  Therefore, all of the battles are from that war.  The only noticeable rules difference relates to cavalry.  As I wrote in my earlier review of Under the Lily Banners, cavalry are pretty unpredictable.  Well, in this game, cavalry are just about completely unreliable.  While in other games in this series there is a good chance that your cavalry will run amok, in this game they are almost guaranteed to run amok.  This is supposedly a nod to historical accuracy, but it does make for more chaotic game play as you have to assume that as soon as your cavalry win a battle they are going to merrily chase their opponents all the way into the next county and no longer take part in the present battle.  Annoying.  Still, a good game and the first one in the series I ever played, so I have fond memories of games over the years.  Lots of laughs, as long as you don't take winning and losing too seriously, because you just can't rely on your pesky cavalry.

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