Setting the East Ablaze

A couple of weeks back, Will and I tried out Setting the East Ablaze.  I picked up a copy at Vapnartak at the start of the month, so we gave it a go.  I'd only managed a brief read through before playing, so we were fumbling around a lot trying to work out some of the mechanics.  However, it was a fun game and I really like the period - not just the historical options, such as Reds vs Whites, Reds vs Ukrainians, Reds vs Central Asian kingdoms, Russo-Polish, Russo-Finnish, Czech Legion, Greece-Turkey, etc, but the what ifs, such as Allied intervention in the RCW, Turkey, Red invasion of India, Red invasion of Germany - all interesting settings.

Because we were learning the rule set, I don't really have a coherent after action report, but the table looked great.  We played a meeting engagement between Will's plucky Reds and my stalwart Whites, the photo below showing the situation at the end of turn 1 from the White end of the table.

The Whites were as keen as mustard on the left flank, but more reluctant on the right, but not so my newly painted unit of Strelets WW1 Russian Hussars, who merrily cantered along the road, despite the proximity of all those Red Cavalry in the Budinovkas.

The Red Cavalry were getting too close to the White Hussars for comfort.

But being death or glory boys, they took the Reds head on in a charge.

A rather self-immolating charge.

The Whites on the left reached the village at the same time as the Red infantry.

A furious exchange of ineffective shooting, slowly whittling away both Red and White, but then the Reds had more infantry to hand.

The costly melee goes on, with the Hussars taking serious losses, albeit inflicting damaging losses on the Reds, but then they have two more units nearby.

A fun game.  I think I was out manoeuvred in the early stages and never really caught up.  Still lots to discover about the rules,. but quite a nice effect caused by the randomness of card activations.

Cheers, Andy