Dice or No Dice

  A fter a week with little painting and no gaming things have turned around with two hoplite battles on successive days using Simon MacDowell's Alala! rules.  Each battle was fought on the same terrain, using the same troops : each followed a very different course - except for my commanding generals. Both sides fielded six units of hoplites, one having a single unit of A class Spartans and five C class allies, the other having two units of B class Thebans with four C class allies.  The table was set up to afford a level plain wide enough for up to seven hoplite units to line up side by side, with extensive areas of low hills and patches of woodland on either flank, allowing ample room for light troops and cavalry to manoeuvre.  Both sides had two cavalry units.  On the Spartan side these were both Hamippoi - light cavalry mingled with javelin men on foot, so moving more slowly than standard cavalry but having more hitting power, rather like cavalry with command...