I was given a set of Swoppets knights when I was seven years old and I have been fascinated by the medieval period of history ever since. This was the first time I got to play with my collection of DSG Crusaders and Turks from Argentina. The castle is from LOD, a Nottingham castle recast. The siege engines are 70mm Elastolin, but they fit perfectly with the 54mm figures. I wanted simple rules, using individual figures, so I went with Tactic Medieval Supplement, which was recommended by several felow gamers. The Crusader attackers started the game 24 inches from the castle walls. I gave the attackers a time limit of ten turns to either break down the castle gate with a battering ram or take possession of three of the four castle walls. The defending Turks had two pieces of artillery, one of the which shot flaming arrows. On the second turn, with a lucky shot the arrow thrower hit one of the siege towers and started a fire. The defender had a 50% chance to put out the fire, but missed his roll. Next turn was only a 33% chance which he also missed. The attackers could put up ladders when they got four inches from the walls. The defenders then had a change to push the ladder down but all missed and the ladders could not be pushed down in later turns. The escalade fights were very bloody, favoring the defenders, but eventually the attackers managed to gain a foothold on two of the walls. The burning siege tower was eventually destroyed, losing one D6 attackers, but the other siege tower made it to the gatehouse and a furious fight developed. At the same time the battering ram reached the gate. The defenders tried setting it on fire with burning oil but the attacking player was able to put the fire out. We called the game at the end of turn nine with all but one wall in Crusader possession.
Those of you who live in Europe are so lucky to have real castles in your backyard. The closest castle to me in California is in Disneyland.
