First game of To the Strongest - infamy, infamy!

Last night I joined two friends to play my first game of To the Strongest ancient rules.  These are a very interesting set of rules, played on a square grid and with units activated by playing cards.  Here are some pictures. The armies were 28mm Polybian Roman and Chinese belong to our host, and we played in a very relaxed manner, exploring the rules as we went.  Each army was about 12 units in size, which makes the game comparable to DBA or Basic Impetus. 

First, and very funny, the Roman commander drew a stratagem card.  What better way to start than with one the greatest quotes from British cinema.

Here's an overview after some turns.  This is a Roman turn and the centre command is being activated.  Each unit has played a card to move.  The value must be greater than 2. Then if the unit is to do more, such as move again, shoot or initiate combat, they must play a card of a higher value.  

And a view of the Roman right. The Chinese had advanced in their last turn.

The Roman left.   

And here's the classic moment when the Roman commander played the strategem card against the Chinese commander.

The situation on the Roman right.  My Chinese cavalry are outflanked.  The Romans and the leading Chinese lancers have taken a 'hit'.  Two hits and they are removed from the table.  Skirmishers are removed after one hit. 

 A view of the centre as the Romans advance.  The little dice behind the Chinese are ammunition markers to indicate how many shots of bow-fire the unit can make. 

The game was a close match.  For a time it looked as if the Chinese were going to win, but the Romans held their ground and defeated the Chinese left and right, then at the last gasp, the Chinese came back to defeat the Romans. 

It was a fun game, and I would like to play again. I'll be looking at my 15mm armies to see what I could use in the future, and the other chaps talked about also using 6mm and 28mm armies. 

More later.