Valdimir Orellana

War Chest releases at Gen Con Indy this year, and brings tactical war-gaming to bag-building! Take up arms against your challenger, and control the board in this beautiful and unique game from Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson.

In War Chest, units must enter the battlefield from controlled locations. The Scout, however, can deploy into any space adjacent to a friendly unit. This special attribute can be used to grab an early neutral location, but it can also be used later in the game to launch a surprise attack or defense. Indeed, many a Scout is sacrificed in what may appear to be foolish gambits, only to reappear moments later in a key strategic space on the other side of the board.

Scouts were used successfully through most of the Dark Age and Medieval campaigns. A great example is the Battle of Vlaardingen in 1018 CE, perhaps the defining battle in the foundation of Holland.
The fleet of Holy Emperor Henry II, carrying the imperial army drifted down the river and moored at Vlaardingen. Advanced tactical information from Frisian scouts gave the defenders vital information and they had withdrawn within the castle and onto higher grounds. Initially, Godfrey, the imperial commander lined his men up around the castle, but then he ordered them to march towards a flat field, because it would be difficult to cross the extensive ditches dug in preparation.
During this manoeuvre, the Frisians unexpectedly appeared from an ambush and attacked, causing panic to break out. The imperial warriors hurried back to their ships, which had been moved to the middle of the stream by now, because of the lowered tide. Many were lost in the soggy river banks or drowned.

Check out War Chest at Gen Con, or pick it up in stores August 29!

War Chest releases at Gen Con Indy this year, and brings tactical war-gaming to bag-building! Take up arms against your challenger, and control the board in this beautiful and unique game from Trevor Benjamin and David Thompson.

War Chest has two ranged units—the Archer and the Crossbowman. The Archer can attack any unit that is two spaces away, even if the intervening space is occupied. By threatening such a wide area, the Archer can often hold off multiple opposing units, making it an incredibly powerful defender. Similarly, the Archer can be used to support one or sometimes even two advances if positioned centrally. The Archer does have a substantial weakness, however. It cannot attack units which are directly adjacent to it. If it is flanked, the Archer is often forced to retreat, undermining the cover it is providing.

Perhaps no battle so iconically illustrates the power of the longbow than the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 CE. Recently ploughed land hemmed in by dense woodland favoured the English deployment, both because of its narrowness, and because of the thick mud through which the French knights could not easily charge on horseback.The French had originally drawn up a battle plan that had archers and crossbowmen in front of their men-at-arms, with a cavalry force at the rear, but in the end, the French archers and crossbowmen were deployed behind the men-at-arms, where they were largely ineffective during the battle.

The French cavalry, despite being both disorganised and not at full numbers, charged towards the longbowmen, but it was a disaster. The mounted charge and subsequent retreat churned up the already muddy terrain between the French and the English. Contemporary accounts report how the wounded and panicking horses, devastated by English arrows, galloped back through the advancing infantry, scattering them and trampling them down in their headlong flight from the battlefield.

Check out War Chest at Gen Con, or pick it up in stores August 29!