How we laughed, as I trampled the princess to death. Not me, personally, I hasten to add; my miniature Ashigaru, who, in their haste to save the centrepiece of our Hail Caesar Samurai game, had accidentally crushed her to death in a failed charge. This was the ‘hilarious’ conclusion to a recent game I played with chums Alan and Michael Perry, Chris Cound, and James Sharp, of Oshiro Models. You can read about the game in one of the many excellent battle reports that Alan posts about ‘Perry Battles’, on the Perry Mins Facebook page. I wanted to dwell on the memorable conclusion to our battle and highlight that, although we had been enjoying playing a wargame for five hours, it was the intervention of the umpire (Alan Perry), and his twist on the scenario, that made the whole thing worth retelling in the pub later, even to the wargaming wives that joined us! Whilst scenarios and umpires can seem like a superfluous addition to a wargame, they often make the whole thing more memorable, and certainly provide a springboard for retelling and remembering the game. Without our scenario goal - trying to successfully escort the princess to the castle at the end of the table - and Alan’s intervention - instructing me to roll a dice to see what happened to the Princess, who was in the line of my charge towards the enemy (I rolled a 1!) - our samurai game might have been confined to vague remembrances. “That was a good game,” doesn't stand the test of time; instead it is now the game in which I accidentally crushed the target I was trying to save, and, thus, worthy of retelling. If you are a gamer who restricts themselves to ‘meeting engagements’ you might be missing out - throw a princess, some stolen treasure, an experimental weapon, or one of several hundred other ideas into your game, and see how you like/remember it.
