Siege Warfare Part I.

I’m going to split this issue’s Ancient Wargamer post into two installments.  This is largely due to a certain Dr. Phil Hendry, who has generously provided me with some fantastic images of his collection.  All the various Roman war engines pictured in this post and the next were painted by Phil, many are converted as well.  To see more of his excellent models, take a look at his blog: 

http://web.me.com/philhendry/Phil_Wargaming_Website/

Wargaming Siege Warfare

Recreating sieges on the table-top is definitely a challenge.  First, there are logistical problems.  Collecting good terrain is an issue for most wargamers and the added necessity of a scale fortress can be overwhelming to even the most prolific terrain modeler.  Then you have to consider the siege equipment; ladders, towers, and the various engines of war.  The mere thought of all this “extra” material starts to take its toll on any group’s collective enthusiasm for running a siege game.

Even with all the materials sorted, you have to consider the game itself.  The sieges of antiquity were often long, drawn out affairs, mind-numbingly tedious affairs (I think Achilles and Paris would agree).  In gaming terms, siege scenarios have the potential to be, let’s be honest, boring.  Who wants to spend an evening starving out your opponent or, worse, taking the first twelve turns of a game to build a massive ramp?

I realize this all sounds a bit negative, but I’ve found a few ways to combat these potential problems and run a well-paced, interesting siege game.  The first option is to, as they say in Hollywood, “cut to the chase.” 

Caesar at Alesia is a good example of a siege that had long periods of inactivity (unless you were a legionary on wall-building detail) punctuated with a few desperate, epic battles.  Instead of trying to play the entirety of Caesar’s campaign, consider running a game based on the final few days, when the Gallic relief force arrives and Vercingetorix sallies forth.  In effect, you’ve cut out the middle man and gone straight to the climatic bit.

Similarly, the best Trojan War game I ever played was one that began with the Greeks disembarking from their nefarious horse.  The goal was to open the city gates and allow a host of eager Mycenaeans into Troy.  Again, we had skipped the comparatively dull opening decade of the siege.

Of course, some wargamers may want to play the more “mundane” aspects of siege warfare.  In this case, you’ll want to give yourself plenty of time and if possible the help of other players.  A siege game of any serious size can easily take the better part of a day, as opposed to a conventional battle game which can often start and end in an evening.  Thus a siege game can become a full-fledged event for a gaming group, perhaps the culmination of a campaign, and splitting up painting and modeling responsibilities can make things easier and more achievable for everyone involved.

In Part 2 of the Siege Warfare post, I plan to showcase more of Dr. Hendry’s collection and perhaps convince him to talk a little about painting these engines of destruction.