Hollyoaks Doubles Game 2
Game 2 saw us facing Hammy and Martyn, with a Sinhalese Army
This
was to be a game of skill, maneuver, intelligence... Oh no, sorry - wrong game
!
Yet again we decided that our brilliant strategy of 2 allies was flawed, and one of them would be best off not actually coming onto the table at all
After much debate, we plonked the Poles into the very obvious Polish shaped piece of RGo that sat invitingly in the middle of the table, partly as they would be good there, and partly because we didn't have a better plan.
The Sinhalese faced us off with blades and elephants in the open terrain, and a massive amount of Bw(I) in a deep formation in the middle. Some Bw (I) were thinking of attacking down my right through some RGo - more of that later!
The two lines charged towards each other, the Sinhalese in a mad rush, the Rus in a much more considered "lets wait here they are coming anyway" style.
On our right, the Sinhalese bowmen had to quickly consult the "Bowmen are Safe in Rough" manual, as they found themselves being charged in the RGo by Rus spearmen. This confused both players greatly... would it work?
Draw, Take Aim, FIRE !!!!
With an almighty clunk the battle was joined, as the Rus charged forwards at the last moment, catching the surprised Sinhalese in two ranks. Tactical subtlety was out the window, it was all about the dice.
Which favored the Rus Gods - as a massive hole exploded into the Sinhalese line almost immediately!
Across on our left, the Rus spearmen were also charging forwards, and this time the Sinhalese elephants risked getting caught as their infantry were swept backwards by the tide of unwashed Slavic pedestrians
The Rus pushed onwards unstoppably on both flanks against the badly disrupted Sinhalese
wheras the Poles were taking heavy shelling from the countless legions of Sinhalese peasant bowmen
The Rus spearmen in the RGo were hoping to finish the job and take down the command with its almost expendable blades now being mopped up - but the bowmen were holding firm in the scrubland
But then the Pechenegs arrived - making the surprised Sinhalese flee in disarray, right in the face of the delighted Rus !
On the left, the Sinhalese had staged a remarkable comeback, and had carved the Rus command apart with some well aimed sword blows. The game was in the balance - Poles being battered, one Rus command down, but the Sinhalese also on the brink of defeat..
The Polish archers valiantly charged in to try and turn the tide!
As the Rus on the right flank ploughed forwards to try and chase down the vital few elements!
Finally, enveloped on both sides by Pechengs and Rus, the last Sinhalese bowmen crumbled and were overwhelmed - beaten by LH and Spears hunting them down in RGo, and with them the command - and the army!
9-1 to us !
Post Match Analysis
With Spears against nearly expendable Bd F we needed to keep our wits about us in this game, and make sure we got hurriedly into any squishy bits of the Sinhalese army that came into view. The RGo in the middle was a mixed blessing for us both - it drew the Poles into a shooting match they ended up losing, but also forced the Sinhalese to commit some of the aforementioned squishy bits to the front line - where they could actually die. As it was, this was even more true on our right, where the Sinhalese bowmen expected to be unopposed - and even though teh Rus spearmen were out of their normal comfort zone, their higher break point - and the knowledge of the oncoming flank march - allowed them to trade losses with the bows and ultimately nick the game.