Game Night Light 25

Monday was the weekly game night.

First, the beer exchange!

The game was Viktory II, which some may remember from pre-Catan days. It has a Catan-like map with resources that provide for infantry, cavalry, cannons, and frigates as the basic weapons. The first three can attack and defend; the latter two can bombard from an adjacent hex.

Towns, cities, forests, and mountains provide defensive fire bonuses. Firing is simultaneous. You hit on a roll of 1-3. Rolling a 1 allows the firing side to choose the enemy unit that dies. The defender chooses if hit on a 2-3.

Cities in forests allow frigates. Mountains allow cannons. Green pastures allow cavalry. Plains allow additional infantry. All terrain allows infantry. Other than water, naturally.

Infantry and cannon move two, cavalry three, and frigates five. Frigates can carry three ground units.

Roads exist between controlled towns or cities. And friendly units negate movement restrictions through bad terrain. Settlements must be two from a friendly city and no more than 3 from a friendly settlement.

It can handle 8 players.

Back in the day we never played a two-player game on the smallest map. It is good to learn mechanics but the interplay of multiple factions is really needed. In a two player game, gaining the edge can be decisive. In a multiple player game, losses can be reversed through diplomacy or opportunism that expands the war.

Or it can finish you off if others join in your destruction, of course.

Yellow on the north edge faced off against Blue from the south. You don't see territory until you move next to it.

This was the end of the game, prior to blue reinforcement phase.

The initial territory after reach staked out all build sites had that Yellow city on brown in the southwest a Blue town; while the Blue cities in the forests at the top and two hexes below it were Yellow.

Yellow took advantage of its initial non-infantry units to bombard the southwest Blue city and capture it. It looked like Blue was hosed.

Blue had infantry in the Yellow forest city close to the center and hit it with every unit in range. That attack worked. Taking the city removed a Yellow infantry and frigate from the force pool and added the same to Blue. Blue could now mass a superior fleet in the southwest to bombard the yellow city to help protect the southern Blue city.

Blue forces massed in the captured center city pushed infantry into the mountains overlooking the capital to put both Yellow cities in danger. Then struck the northern city. Both sides inflicted heavy losses but Blue forces prevailed. At that point, with Blue getting total naval superiority and numerical superiority, Yellow conceded.

It took about two hours to play the game. But as noted, a two-player game doesn't have the interplay of multiple players that made the game fun.

But it does offer opportunities for "Your bastard" reactions.