Age of Longbow Volume 1 by Wargame Design Studio - Azincourt: Chaos as a Mechanism of Defeat

Wargame Design Studio is on a roll. Yesterday, the first installment of Age of Longbow was released. This marks the third game in the Sword and Siege series. 

Age of Longbow is a turn-based wargame featuring early gunpowder units alongside other period-appropriate weaponry like the longbow. The game uses a hex-based map, with scenarios scaled at either 100-meter hexes with 15-minute turns or 40-meter hexes with 10-minute turns. Units represent companies, and the game includes individual leaders and artillery. The graphics have been updated with new unit images and 3D models, offering players a choice between graphical icons, NATO-style icons, and block-style 2D views.

Upon installation, I quickly started a solo game for the Agincourt/Azincourt scenario as the English. The context of the battle:

• Following the capture of Harfleur, King Henry V marched his exhausted army toward Calais. The French blocked his path, forcing him to cross the Somme River at a different location. On October 24, 1415, the English army found a massive French force blocking their route.

• Despite being heavily outnumbered, the English had several key advantages:
• Terrain: Their flanks were secured by dense woods, and the muddy battlefield slowed the French advance.

• French Disadvantage: 
• The overwhelming size of the French army worked against them, causing chaos and confusion as soldiers struggled to reach the front line. The heavy French armor also proved a liability in the mud, tiring the soldiers before they could engage the English.

Properly, the scenario features a muddy chokepoint with hopelessly disordered and bunched up heavy French cavalry and dismounted Gendarmes. Our archers deployed their defensive stakes (included in the game engine/rules!).

Waiting for the righ moment to pounce on the French.

Cheers,