Past Events

The Ragged Banner Company under Captain Markham arrived by ship near the port entrance. Markham ordered his trusted Sergeant along with the archers to climb up into the quayside area through the collapsed part of the city wall. He himself, along with his champion and the rest of the company, would board the small boats and row into the quayside through the port entrance.

The Ratkin leader Skarrik, already alerted to the presence of humans, was mustering his pack. Skarrik sent those already mustered with Verrik to seize the tower — but when Verrik arrived, the mercenaries were already in position nearby and the two forces instead began to engage by the warehouses. The Ratkin were getting the better of the fight until the Scout and Marksman climbed to the top of the tower and began firing down upon them. By the time Skarrik arrived with the Ratkin Beast and the rest of the pack, Verrik had been forced to retreat.

Markham arrived at the old pier and began to move along the quayside towards the warehouse that held his objective. Skarrik launched an attack from the warehouses upon Markham and his men. The Beast was gravely wounded by the southern crossbowmen, and then Markham's champion brought down his greatsword and finished the job. The company Sergeant brought his group forward in support, and that was enough to drive Skarrik and his pack from the quayside. A few wandering Zombies moved into the area, but they were quickly dealt with. Markham retrieved the mission objective and returned to the ship.

Following their crushing victory over the Spanish army at the Battle of Annual in the Rif Mountains of Spanish-controlled Morocco, the Tribes of the Rif were emboldened and turned their gaze to the port of Melilla. A battalion of the Spanish Foreign Legion was posted at the town, and as the Riffian forces advanced, the Legion swung into action to confront the assault.

The Riffian command had planned carefully: a diversionary attack in the north to draw the Legion's attention, whilst a second force drove in hard from the east. The Legion fought well and defeated the Riffians in the north, but they could not be in two places at once. The eastern attack swept in and took the town before the Legion could redeploy to stop it. Victory and glory to the Riffians.

While the Greenskin clan Der Dakkaz were out on a raid, a rival clan — Der Nukerz — seized the opportunity and launched an assault on their undefended base. One Orc boss held the line, buying just enough time for the rest of Der Dakkaz to get word and turn back. What followed was a massive vehicle combat across the desert floor: trucks were destroyed, engines exploded, and plenty of smouldering Greenskins were left in the dust on both sides.

Der Nukerz fought hard and managed to breach the base, but in doing so they had pushed too deep. Der Dakkaz, now returned in force, surrounded them and cut off any route of escape. Trapped inside the very base they had come to take, Der Nukerz were overwhelmed and defeated. Victory to Der Dakkaz.

Deep in the industrial underbelly of a dying city, two gangs clashed over control of a smelting plant — a prize worth fighting and dying for. Mayhem Inc and the Cinderjacks opened the engagement at range across the smoke-choked gantries and walkways of the plant floor. The Cinderjacks had the better of the early exchange, their fire discipline and positioning giving them a clear edge as the two sides traded shots through the heat haze and steam.

The turning point came when Mayhem Inc managed to get their big gunner onto the upper gantries, his twin-linked autoguns hammering down into the Cinderjack positions and suppressing their fire long enough for the rest of Mayhem to close the distance. What had been a ranged firefight became a brutal close-quarters brawl, and in the grinding melee that followed, Mayhem Inc proved the stronger. Victory to Mayhem Inc.

It is fair to say there is a thing for Ireland and Vikings at Kriegsspiel Studio. This is another battle put on for the players who enjoyed the High King of Ireland campaign. The premise was that the Irish and the Vikings had been raiding each other for some time — and sometimes you do not need a clear reason to start a fight.

The Irish were moving in along two fronts, north and south of the river, while the Vikings were moving towards the Irish from the north. From the start the Vikings had the edge on force location — the Irish simply could not get across the river quickly enough to stop the rest of their army being defeated. This ultimately led to a narrow victory for the Vikings.

A Beastman faction under the command of a Bestigor Champion was tasked to secure the bridges ahead of the main Beastman force. A Warrior Priest was tasked by the local lord to defend the bridges until reinforcements could arrive. The Beastmen first probed the human defences before launching a diversionary attack against the right bridge whilst their main attack moved around to take the left bridge.

The Warrior Priest dealt with the diversion very quickly, but the Bestigor and his Minotaur were able to get across the left bridge and attack the remaining defenders there. Unfortunately for the Beastmen, some well-placed marksmen overlooking the river spotted the main advance and fired their muskets at the Minotaur, greatly wounding it before it could get into battle. The Minotaur was still able to kill many men, but one brave human champion managed to bring the creature down. The Bestigor tried to see off the remaining humans, but they overwhelmed it — and the day was a victory for the humans.

Brian Boru had died at the Battle of Clontarf, and in his death a vacuum of power emerged. Five factions were vying to take the throne and claim the title of High King of Ireland: Connacht, Leinster, Munster, Ulster and the Vikings. The campaign ran from Winter 2024 to Spring 2025, with military, diplomatic and economic actions decided by the team of players commanding each faction. The campaign was won by the Ulster faction, through the avoidance of the early conflict and the steady build up of their own army. It was a very interesting and enjoyable campaign to run, and was so enjoyed by the players that a second High King campaign was scheduled for later in the year.

This battle pitted the Vikings of Dublin and their overseas allies against the Irish under the command of the High King himself, Brian Boru. This was not a historical retelling of the battle — it was simply a battle that took place at the same time, in the same place and with the same people. Brian split his army into two groups: one moving towards Dublin from the south, making contact with the Viking allies landing at Blackrock beach, and the other moving in from the north.

The southern group made contact with the Viking allies landing at Blackrock beach, while the northern group forced contact with the defenders of Dublin across the bridge over the River Liffey. The Irish suffered heavily in the fighting across the bridge and, even expanding their points of attack, were repelled by the Vikings. On the beach, the battle was fought to a standstill — neither side able to fully rout the other. But with the Irish so depleted on both fronts, they were eventually forced to retreat, leaving Dublin and the victory in the hands of the Vikings.

This was a massive undertaking, requiring around ten umpires to facilitate. The premise was to create a fictional not-Europe continent where players would control a country based loosely on the actual countries of early 19th-century Europe. Britain was Altmark, France was Vermillion, Germany was Blaustein, the Netherlands was Liezen, the Ottoman Empire was Abysinia, Spain was Dorado, Russia was Tzarkina, Italy and the Papacy were Fiore, and Scandinavia was Cavrike.

Full military, economic, diplomatic and technological advancement were all enabled. The campaign saw plenty of everything: campaign movement, big battles, small battles, skirmishes, chases, assassinations, intrigue, covert operations and everything else in between. This was a fantastic experience to be a part of, but it eventually had to be called to an end after three years. Who knows — it may yet be picked up again by a new team of umpires.