Lew Pulsipher's Britannia: Classic and New Duel Edition

Next stretch goal unlocked! Here come the Knights of the Round Table!
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 04:12:58 PM

OK, maybe not the Knights of the Round Table, but thanks to you we’ve now unlocked the two Romano-British cavalry armies that appear in Round 7 with the leader Arthur. My favourite pieces in Britannia :-)

Unlocking this stretch goal means that you’ll now get a unique Romano-British cavalry sculpt, rather than sharing the same sculpt as the Norman Cavalry. 

Anyone who has played Britannia before will know what a powerful battering ram Arthur and his Cavalry can be mid-game, so it’s great to include a suitably post-Roman miniature!

Let’s see what else unlocks while I’m away over the weekend… have a great one everybody!

All about Duel Britannia
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 03:18:14 PM

This edition of Britannia offers two ways to play: 

• Classic Britannia: Britannia as it always was – traditional play for 3 or 4 gamers on the standard board. 
• Duel Britannia: A faster-playing game for two people, on a new board.

Duel Britannia is a two-player version of the game, playing in around 90 minutes. Game play has been streamlined, but veteran Britannia players will recognize many of the rules, and the principles of play remain the same. The span of history is slightly shorter in Duel – play begins as the Romans leave Britain and ends just before the arrival of the Normans. 

Both versions of the game use same plastic miniatures and the board is double-sided – one side for Classic and the other for Duel.

If you don’t know Britannia already, check out our earlier update ‘New to Britannia’ to find out the basics. If you already know a bit (or a lot) about Classic Britannia, the following update will help you to understand the nuances of Duel Britannia. Read on!

We asked Lew Pulsipher to put together some notes on game play in Duel. Here’s what he says…

This game is much like Classic Britannia but varies in important ways. Don’t let your preconceived notions from Classic Britannia affect how you play or how you interpret the rules! 

Board: The board has fewer areas, and includes Ireland, but is not different in effects. There is more variation in the Increase values (from a 0 for Connacht, to 3 for Kent and Essex).

Timescale: Duel starts as the Romans are soon to leave Britain. Classic starts with the Roman invasion nearly 400 years earlier. Duel ends with the era of Cnut and Edmund Ironside – two players, two contenders. Classic ends with the era of the Norman Conquest 50 years later.

Winning: It is a point game, but scoring occurs immediately after a nation's turn. Scoring is also immensely simplified.

Setup: Is different insofar as the game begins late in Roman occupation, and there is more than one piece in an area at setup thanks to the forts.

Sequence of Play: The major change is scoring at the end of each nation's turn.

Population Changes: This game uses a maintenance economy, where you must "pay for" existing armies before getting more. You do not "save up" Increase Points, hence no track for it. The method tends to provide more pieces per area than in Classic, which uses an accumulation economy (doesn’t matter how many armies you already have). There is no overpopulation rule in Duel because the economic method has that built in. In Classic your armies can starve because of overpopulation. In Duel there are two areas worth three economic points, and one worth zero; everything in Classic is worth one or two.

Appearance/Reinforcement: There are possibilities for units to "erupt", that is, to appear where there is at least one unit of another nation. In Duel Arthur and his (one, not two) cavalry appears for three nations, in succession, instead of for one in Classic. Arthur’s cavalry in Duel “protects” other armies, too. Arthur cannot die (as we all know) and always comes with cavalry. The Anglo-Saxons (not Irish or Scots) cannot stay in Britain after the first turn, they must return to the sea. Not true in Classic.

Movement: This is nearly exactly like Classic Brit. But there is no unlimited overstack. Units at sea cannot move to another sea area. In Duel only the Vikings have boats, and they always have boats. In Classic there is much more variation in who has boats, when.

Combat: This is much like Classic Brit, but uses a two-dice per army, two-hits to kill method.

Further, a victorious attacker can retreat to an area occupied by his/her unit(s). Moreover, you can retreat to a vacant area even if an opponent is adjacent to that area. Romans are normal armies, not the elite armies of Classic Brit. (This is closer to reality, as Roman armies deteriorated significantly after the Crisis of the Third Century.)

Miscellaneous Appearance: Arthur is treated differently in this game as noted above. The

Saxons and Jutes merge (as they did historically). In Duel the Romano-British control the Saxon Shore forts. There are also forts representing Hadrian’s Wall, and later the Rock of Dumbarton and Bamburgh. In Classic there are more forts, but all disappear when the Romans leave.

Scoring: Each nation scores at the end of its turn. Scoring location revolves around a Scoring Centre, and is much simpler than in Classic Brit. There is no Bretwalda or King, except for the Danish attempt to become king with Cnut, and the Saxon response. Bamburgh and Dumbarton and Hadrian’s Wall forts are added to Saxon Burhs and forts (and forts are Romano-British as well as Roman). You get two points for killing an opposing leader. There is scoring associated with destroying or preserving Saxon Shore forts.

Average score is slightly over 100 per player.

Stretch goal 2 unlocked - unique Norman infantry sculpt!
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 10:51:21 AM

The next stretch goal is now unlocked and we are well on the way to the third stretch goal. Thank you all so much! 

This means that your Normans will now look properly like Normans, with their own unique sculpt. Check out the nasal helmet and kite shield...

Britannia supports Avalon Digital's Kickstarter
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 10:50:43 AM

Funded in 5 hours - thanks everyone!
almost 5 years ago – Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 07:30:13 AM

Wow, we are very pleasantly surprised at how quickly you've all come on board to support Lew's game. Thanks everyone so much! Britannia is going to be made!

Not only that, but you've got yourselves an exclusive Boudicca miniature! Not far to go to unlock the next stretch goal.

Thanks again and let's keep this rolling...