More experimenting with War & Conquest

August 12, 2026

More experimenting with War & Conquest

Adding a little bit of uncertainty to War & Conquest (W&C).

I am by necessity a soloist. Solo games can by its nature be a little redundant for the soloist, so I decided to try and add some uncertainty. One of my favorite games (Nuts! – a WW2 skirmish game designed for solo play) has a pretty innovative system for “Non-Player” movement. I decided to modify it to work with W&C. (I also have gotten tired of removing single casualties - so I just used markers to denote them). Photos at the end.

I divided each army into three divisions, with a commander for each one: left, center & right. Each commander was given a rating: cautious, steady or impulsive (no duplicates – all three must be used once). Individual units are also given ratings as indicated in parenthesis below. At least 51% (or more) must be regulars; you can choose to make the rest either untried or veterans. If used, there must be at least one unit of untried troops for each veteran unit.

At the beginning of each turn, you roll 2D6 for each command. Each D1-4 counts as a pass, and each D5-6 counts as a fail. Therefore, the results of each roll will be: Pass 2, Pass 1 or pass 0. What happens next depends on the rating of the commander/unit.

The percentage chance for each of those happening is listed for convenience.

Commander	Pass 0 (10%)	Pass 1 (45%)	Pass 2 (45%)
Cautious (Veteran)	Withdraw*	Hold*	The player may move units however he wants
Steady (regular)	Hold*	Cautious Advance
Impulsive (Untried)	Charge	Bold Advance

* = May also turn to face a threatening enemy if required

· Withdraw: each unit will retreat one move. May shoot if able

· Hold: each unit will remain in place. May shoot if able.

· Cautious Advance: each unit will advance one move, but will not charge.

· Bold Advance: each unit will advance one full move and charge anyone within that normal movement.

· Charge: will charge the closest enemy unit within charge range.

There are exceptions to rules above, as follows:

· When a commander attaches himself to a unit, the unit may act however the player wants (no need to roll).

· If the commander is dead or attached to a unit, all other units of that command must independently roll for themselves on the chart above.

· If a unit is out of command range as defined in normal rules, that unit must roll for themselves on the chart above.

The Armies;

Kingdom of the Isles Scots

Left Wing: Fergus of Galloway (Impulsive)

· 40 Galwegians: Hand weapons (HW), Warband

· 18 Highland warriors: bow

· 2 x 12 Highland scouts: javelins (skirmishers)

Center: Somerled the Mighty (Cautious)

· 32 Better Islanders (Gilliebrides): Light Armor, Throwing spears

· 2 x 24 Lesser Islanders (Dubgall’s & Raghnall’s): HW

Right Wing: Saor MacNeil (Steady)

· 2 x 24 Irish mercenaries (MacMahon’s & McGuire’s): LA, mixed weapons

· 12 Highland scouts: javelins (skirmishers)

Vikings (units are usually named after their flag device)

Left Wing: Lagertha the Hot (Impulsive)

· 24 Raiders (Shieldmaidens): HW

· 24 Undisciplined Raiders (Mermaids): HW

· 24 Bondi (Bulls): HW

Center: Ragnar the Unlucky (Steady)

· 24 Huscarls: Light Armor, throwing spears

· 36 Fred’s mercenaries (Because I got them from my brother Fred)

· 18 Archers

Right: Hagar the Horrible (Cautious)

· 24 Hird (Dragons): Light Armor, Throwing spears

· 19 Berserkers: warband, fanatic, two-handed weapns

· 8 skirmishers: javelins

Turn 1: Islemen initiative

Both sides advance and close the gap

Turn 2: Viking initiative

On the left Hagar holds his position. In the center Ragnar does a cautious advance. Ragnar’s archers cause five casualties to Dubgall’s Islemen. On the right, Lagertha advances at full speed.

The Islemen advance on all fronts.

Turn 3: Viking initiative

Hagar and Ragnar hold their positions – archery doesn’t do significant damage. Lagertha has cleared the wooded hill and has positioned two of her units to charge next turn.

Fergus maneuvers his Galwegians into a position to threaten the Dragons. His archers cause a couple of casualties to the Dragons. Somerled advances slowly, as does Saor.

Turn 4: Viking initiative

Hagar moves his Dragons into a position to defend the Gallwegians.

Ragnar holds his position; his archers cause a casualty to Dubgall’s Islemen.

Lagertha orders two charges: The Bulls charge McGuire’s Irish and the Mermaids charge MacMahons. The Bulls-McGuire fight wasn’t particularly one-sided but McGuire’s Mercenaries had no stomach for the fight this day, they break and are overrun.

The fight between the Mermaids and the MacMahons is indecisive.

Islemen

Fergus still isn’t in position to charge, but keeps maneuvering. His archers cause five casualties on the Dragons. His skirmishers disperse the Viking skirmishers with a javelin volley.

In the center, Somerled orders two charges. Dubgall charges Ragnar’s archers. They fire one volley (1 casualty) and flee from the charge.

Raghnall charges Fred’s Vikings. The former does poorly and Fred’s Vikings win a decisive victory. Raghnall’s Islemen break and are overrun.

On the right, Saor’s skirmishers turn to face the Bulls, causing two casualties from javelins. MacMahon’s and the Mermaids continue their indecisive fight.

Turn 5: Islemen Initiative

On the left, Fergus’ archers and skirmishers cause seven casualties on the Dragons. The Galwegians finally get in the fight and make an impulsive charge against the Berserkers. The fight is quite uneven in the favor of the men from Galloway, but the Vikings are enjoying the fight and hang on (snake-eyes on break roll – the only thing that would save them).

In the center, Gilliebride’s Better Islemen cautiously withdraw a short distance. Somerled joins them. Isolated by Somerled’s withdrawal, Dubgall has no choice but to charge Ragnar’s Huscarls. The fighting is indecisive.

On the right, Saor’s skirmishers continue to work on the Bulls. The MacMahon-Mermaid fight gets bloody (5 kills on each side); the fight continues.

Vikings

On the right, sensing the berserkers are about to be overwhelmed, the Dragons withdraw a bit and reposition themselves. A good move, as the Berserkers are overrun and the Galwegian pursuit takes them into the Dragons.

In the center, the Viking archers rally.

Ragnar joins the Dubgall-Huscarl fight. Ragnar lives up to his nickname (“The Unlucky” – a sobriquet earned over many battles over many years of gaming) and does his best to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Remarkably, the lightly armed Islemen are getting the better of Ragnar’s Huscarls. The Vikings do hang on however.

Fred’s Vikings charge Somerled. The Islemen get the upper-hand, dishing out plenty of punishment, but Odin grants his favor to Fred’s Vikings and they stay in the fight.

On the left, the Bulls change facing to address the skirmish threat to their flank. Meanwhile, MacMahon finally defeats the Mermaids; they route and are overrun. The flight of the Mermaids doesn’t seem to bother the Bulls.

Turn 6: Islemen initiative

On the left, Fergus and his men of Galloway defeat the Dragons, which are overrun. The archers and skirmishers move into position to engage Ragnar’s archers.

In the center, Fred’s Vikings are getting pounded by Somerled, but they are still being protected by Odin (saved by snake-eyes). Meanwhile, Dubgall’s men are still hanging tough, but Ragnar and his Huscarls are gaining momentum.

On the right, Saor’s skirmishers withdraw and continue to pelt the Bulls with javelins but do little damage. MacMahon’s mercenaries charge Lagertha’s shieldmaidens. The Irish quickly gain the upper-hand – but Lagertha and her shieldmaidens are tough.

Viking phase

The Viking right flank is completely gone.

In the center, Ragnar’s archers cause five casualties to the men of Galloway. Meanwhile Ragnar continues to be Unlucky and just can’t defeat Dubgall. Somerled and Fred’s Vikings continue to slug it out without as clear winner.

On the Viking left, the Bulls charge Saor’s skirmishers. They loose javelins and try to flee, but are overrun by the Bulls.

Lagertha and her shieldmaidens finally defeat Mac Mahon’s Irish. They break and are overrun. The Islemen right flank is no more.

Turn 7. Islemen initiative

On the left, Fergus turns his men inward and start to envelop the Viking right. Dubgall’s Islemen have had enough and after fighting magnificently, finally disperse (fell below minimum unit size). The Huscarls aren’t much better off (only one above minimum).

In the center, Somerled finally defeats Fred’s Vikings, who are overrun.

Vikings

Viking archers cause some hurt to the men of Galloway (6 kills)

Lagertha brings her shieldmaidens around to support the Bulls who charge into Somerled’s best men. The Islemen get the upper-hand, but the Bulls just manage to hang on.

Turn 8: Islemen initiative

Fergus and the men of Galloway charge the Viking archers, who fire one volley and scatter to the winds.

Fergus’ archers and skirmishers cause the one casualty to Ragnar’s Huscarls to convince them to abandon the field.

On the right, Somerled’s best Islemen get the better of the Bulls, who break and run.

Vikings

While Somerled recovers his breath and with Fergus far away, Lagertha uses the respite to withdraw with her shield maidens from the field.

Victory goes to the Islemen.

I think the activation system worked really well. Units generally behaved themselves, but there were a couple of occasions when they acted unpredictably. Sometimes this was to their benefit and sometimes it cost them.

I like what it added to the game. I will undoubtably use it again.