The Triumph of Albrecht Freundsburg

A Renaissance Game using Condottiere Rules.

 

A first for Steve Clarke and I, a try out of the Condottiere rules we bought some time ago and have never got around to trying.

 

 

We liked the idea of the Fate Cards and drawing normal playing cards to see the effect of hits (Hearts, Face Cards and Aces are bad !).

 

Here we see Steve's Swiss Pikemen and men-at-arms defending their right.

 

Whilst he had massed his cavalry over on his left.

 

He'd placed crossbowmen between two pike blocks.

 

My low grade Brigantes and Stradiots were positioned between the woods and the centre village.

 

With hand gunners/crossbowmen in broken ground over on my left. 

 

With some heavy Ostramontani squeezed into the gap between the broken ground and the fields.

 

Two big cannon were hauled across the fields to the left of the village.

 

And Pavasiers and Landschnechts ready to advance straight down the road through the village.

 

And crossbowmen in support.

 

Here's a general view from my left to right.

 

The guns trundle along into position.

 

Would you believe it, some Gypsies have managed to get in the way !

 

Steve launches his first unit of heavy cavalry forward but they are held up by a small hill.

 

Whilst two more units make for my infantrymen.

 

Ignoring all this away on the right, the Landschnechts and Pavasiers push through the village.

 

The start of some messy melees takes place.

 

My heavy cavalry take shelter behind the broken ground as they had started to suffer from his crossbowmen.

 

No sooner are the guns deployed than a fog descends and our vision is reduced to 18"!

 

My cavalry sit back and watch the fighting ahead.

 

At this point, we headed off to The Chequers, Goldhanger's best pub, for a pint and some lunch !

 

Fully fortified, we return to more melees.

 

The troops on my left decide to advance.

 

Just as the pikemen clash in the centre.

 

Steve's cavalry start to buckle under the weight of infantry attacks upon them.

 

But another of his units gets involved, as do my light cavalry at last.

 

This part of the battlefield really is a cauldron !

 

My heavy cavalry decide to charge his crossbowmen.

 

His infantry leave the burning hill village just in time an advance menacingly upon my handgunners.

 

At this point, we got a visit from Philip the Pheasant !

 

A bloody tustle in the centre.

 

Finally, we break his Landschnechts with ours.

 

And slowly, the advantage seems to be ours over on the right.

 

At long last, one of my cannon finds something to shoot at !

 

His centre is starting to collapse.

 

But it was going too well - his Swiss pikemen crash into the flank of my knights

 

His cavalry are starting to break off the action.

 

But his foot have attacked my skirmishing gunners in the broken ground on the left and this hangs in the balance for a while.

 

Crossbowmen prepare to defend the village if he breaks through.

 

The right is ours for now and the units regroup.

 

Now the Landschnechts tangle with the Swiss.

 

Thank goodness ! The hand gunners have seen off his attack.

 

The Swiss are wittled down.

 

By now, we had completed the alloted ten bounds and it was adjudged that my troops held most of the key ground, so my leader, Albrecht Freundsburg, was declared the triumphant Condottiere !

 

For our first run out with these rules, we came away feeling they were pretty good and the use of random or bonus cards, like Too Fat Lardies would use, made it fun and interesting.

 

We will definitely use Condottiere again.