DBMM at Munster 2012

Hugely enjoyable couple of days gaming with Dbmm rules at Cork in Munster S.Ireland over weekend.
Usual excellent hospitality from Richard and his family and another famous victory over his children on Scene It (Film Quiz) game for XBox (I also won a 'dance off' on an embarrassingly horrendous dance moves game on the XBKinnect !!).Usual gathering of wargame geeks at Richards and accompanying chit chat as edifying as ever.
Weekend got off to a interesting start as I travelled south on Friday with my Chauffeur (Mr Brittain) as due to wargames related waffling we managed to take wrong route through Dublin ending up heading towards Wexford (albeit still in a definite southerly direction) adding a couple of hours to our journey time.


I took my Maurikian Byzantine army (competition this year was themed for "armies of "The Early Medieval Period - 477 AD to 1073 AD" ). As per last year terrain was pre-set by organizers which I really like (although I know some dislike) as it speeds up set-up time thereby increasing actual battling time and eradicates ability to cherry pick terrain to order which can often be a game killer Imho.


Gaming on day one (Saturday) in the very nice venue of Cork University commenced promptly at 0930hrs.
My first game was against Greg Mann (a player who plays in a lot of Dbmm competitions in UK having won several and whom I have not played before) using Khorasanian.
A great (albeit quick) game as I advanced right up to his army and managed to break his left wing command pdq* with some decent combat rolls. (* pretty damned quick)
Killing the command General also got me first General killed trophy and very nice it is too  (my photo does not do it justice)

However my Kavallori came a bit unstuck against his Spearmen by failing to break through at any point in his line despite committing 2 Generals in charges !
They took some losses and then my left wing command was promptly shattered in one turn (his dice awesome mine back to normal) with the -2ME 'hit' on my center breaking the army.
This gave Gregg a 19-6 win. I was however chuffed to take any points off him.

My victorious right wing

My center with CiC and fellows having bounced off Gregs Spearmen (again !)

Game two in afternoon was against Steve Mills (with young Tommy the Dice Rolling Machine assisting) with an extremely nicely painted Sassanid Persian army (belonging to umpire Tom 'Grandad' Worden).
The table was most terrain heavy of the 10 and really was not optimal choice for either of us (again I like this 'deal with what you have in front of you' aspect of the pre-set option).
Persians had a block of 4 Elephants which rushed forward as I frantically tried to re-deploy some PsS to deal with them and divert my mounted line (my PIP dice rolls throughout were poor whilst the rolls by the DRM were awesome throughout) a central slog ensued as I could not escape and whilst I did kill 2 elephants the others wrecked havoc !
I did manage to break a Persian command but fell to another 19-6 loss.

Sassanids with those bloody elephants advancing (the pic does not capture the high quality paint job)

Day two (Sunday) started promptly once more and I faced off in morning against Tim Madeley (a cracking bloke I have played each year) who was using Patrician Roman.
Tim managed to set up his Legionaries on a central hill along with his Artillery and I thought my lot will have a torrid time attacking that (retreat or inaction not an option) but to his infinite and undying credit the Madeley chap advanced even coming off his hill 'fort'being a man after my own heart !
This made for a cracking game all across the table as I tried to hold his superior right wing with my inferior left (he had several LhS & KnF against my mainly LhF and CvS) whilst I took on his Legionaries and a block of Irr AxS on his left. with my Mounted.
I broke his right wing (his KnF dieing ingloriously to lowly LhF!!) but saw my survivors on this wing broke next turn.
My central command was teetering on the brink as well as his superior number told, but luckily (in a large degree indeed) I managed to break his left wing AxS command and both armies were broken in same turn. As Tim was nominal defender he got a 13-12.
A fast, furious, rip roaring, and exciting game this one with which I managed to double my score despite losing as such.

Tims right wing rushed into contact with lesser opponents

Face off in center

Tim tries to stop my advance with his hand

Huzza ! first of his Knights being removed 

Nik Gaukroger and I had a friendly rivalry from last year as to which of us might finish bottom (and obtain a trophy) as he felt I robbed him of this illustrious prize last year, but it seems the Munster group drafted in a 'ringer' in form of Padraig (last years umpire) fielding a Tuareg array and I faced him in last game.
The table was to his advantage as it had several dunes and scrub fields that his CmS like.
However with nothing more than my usual simple plan of advance asap and engage (aided by getting 3 night bounds) I was surprised (never faced a Camel heavy army) to find that the CmS are so plain awful, as despite Superior grading their low combat factor of 2 makes just about every combat a high risk venture for them as 2ME Troops.
They seemed to simply melt away (a few did cause my KnF grief). Padraig had a flank march with a large command of Warband which appeared on my right but too far way to make any impact as the Camel commands were quickly destroyed and his army broken.
No claim by me to any great tactical feat in this one simply a dice rolling contest the CmS are hard pushed to win.
Great kudos to Padraig for attempting to use Tuareg at all and for being aggressive with it too.
I won this one 23-2 and so nearly doubled my score again.
This lifted me from 'relegation zone' to a lofty (for me) 12 place.

Remains of the central and first to be broken Turaeg command 

Turaeg friendly terrain but to no avail

The flank march arriving

Four enjoyable games against 4 gentlemanly opponents and scoring every game (thereby without suffering a 0-25) made this one of my better competition results.
I must remember next year to again not read the rules or have any practice games as this 'tactic' seemed to work for me !! Looking forward to next year already.............

Only 'downside' to this years competition was the Munster blokes 'gift' of a Dbmm measuring stick as it was 'adorned' with what can only be described as a hideous and ghostly image of Willy Coughlan !! I had to turn mine 'face' down as I found it disturbing and am convinced the eyes were watching and following my every move !!! see for your self (or yer'self as they say down there)

A selection of pics and insults

Tuaregs about to succumb to Nik's Khmer

Willy 'The Face' Coughlan against Mick 'Chinaman' Hession. Note chauffeur looking 'lost' to left and an onlooker literally biting his nails with tension and excitement !

Battle of the 'Tonys' as Messrs Fitzgerald and Bergin enact a Byzantine civil war as Richard tries to stop his hairline receding behind them.

Steve 'The Lucky Maurikian' Bainbridge (eventual winner) against Rob 'The Orangeman' Brennan (note also the 'Two Tonys' confused as to which side of their table to be on)

Tim 'Mad as Me' Madeley looking for excuses in rule book against Mark 'How Did I Win That!' Gibson

Jan 'Van the Man' Embden snapping one of his figures in half as Nik 'Race you to the bottom' Gaukroger watches bemused in a battle of strangest names encounter (Note Dave 'The Don' Houston in background seemingly playing on wrong table)

Stephen 'The Wandering Chauffeur' Brittain against 'The Face' in a classic 'dice cup or tactile rolling technique' match up with Tom 'Granda' Worden the umpire ready to step in if things get rough.

'Wandering Chauffeur' making rudes gesture at enemy troops

Jim 'Tesco' Gibson lining his dice up as an on table reserve

Dave 'The Don' Houston posing contentedly as other fellow appears to have forgotten his army

The results of the competition were:

No    Name                          Army                                    Score
1    Steve Bainbridge        Maurikian Byzantine         79
2   Mark Gibson                Nikephorian Byzantine     76
3   Richard Aynsley          Early Vietnamese                71
4   Jan Van Embden        Pre Samurai Japanese      66
4   David Houston            Christian Nubian               66
6   Stephen Brittain         Early T'ang Chinese           58
7   William Coughlan      Seljuq Turk                          53
8   Greg Mann                   Khurasanian                        52
8   Nik Gaukroger             Khmer                                   52
10  Seamus McKenna      Kushan                                  50
11  Tim Madeley                Patrician Roman                49
12  Richard Murphy        Sogdian                                 47
12  Gary Barr                     Maurikian Byzantine         47
14  Jim Gibson                  Dailami                                 46
15  Rob Brennan               Medieval Vietnamese        42*
16  Anthony Fitzgerald   Nikephorian Byzantine     40
17  Mick Hession              N&S Dynasties Chinese     38
18  Tony Bergin                Early Byzantine                   32
19  Steve Mills                   Sassanid Persian                28
20 Padraig Bracken        Tuareg                                     8


* = Only played three games.

Dbmm Munster- Unsuccessfully successful !? (picture-fest)

Played Dbmm at Munster Open in Cork ROI over weekend using Teutonic Orders (theme was armies after 1071AD). Another really excellent trip enjoying the hospitality of Richard Aynsley and his family and talking endless crap with fellow crap talking wargamers. Played four excellent games recording a narrow win and three losses but picking up a prize for being first to sack an enemy camp (nice book on Terracotta army) and booby prize for coming last (I think I could have claimed prize for killing enemy CiC as well, but that would have been tad greedy !) . Travelled down with my chauffeur Stephen Brittain and Dave Houston. Turned out to be a lucrative cross-border incursion for this bit of Ulster contingent as beside my 'haul' Stephen received prize for overall second place (and picked up trophy for winning last years League) and Dave managed to win raffle prize of some painted Early Crusaders.

Much more importantly I managed to defeat the Aynsley brood on their Xbox for second year running this time around outscoring them all at Lips (if you don't know don't ask !!).

Great fun all round and I enjoyed using the Teutons, roll on next year.

Several pics on iPhone so bit fuzzy (maybe just as well)

My Teutonic struggles

Mick Hession's Sung Chinese in first game lots of shooty things (my favs) ArtO/I, war-wagons and BwX. Trebuchet type Artllery very nicely hand made by Mick (?) from match-sticks, he assured me no chain smoking monkeys were involved.

Teutonic formation dance team waltzing to right.
Turkpoles (RLhO) on hill done sterling service mauling a column of BwX, killing enemy CiC, killing 2 Arty peices and sacking enemy camp whilst Crusading knights (RKnO) managed to be swept away in a desperate Chinese (CvS) counter charge (I lost 4 KnO in one ghastly turn in a straight up toe to toe fight !)

Smaller dance formation (RCvI) head left.
I had Holsteiners (RKnO) allies outflanking on this edge but they announced arrival on first turn and Mick easily counter them.

What casualties in a narrow win (15:10) look like (mine on left)

Teutonic civil war (against Mark Gibson). Mine set-up ready for waltzing again

Marks Holsteiners arrive on my left thankfully I had enough Pips to turn to face but it ruined my attempt to flank his right with waltz by Crusading knights.


















Post waltz on right with rival Hochmeister commands about to clash.
In this game my Holsteiner allies were shot to bits by enemy crossbowmen as Pips failed them and three 1:5 throws in row (last 2 at bottom caught trying to escape) !! My ubiquitous Turkopoles up to mischief  at enemy camp again.

Family feuding continues

Slightly surreal opening phases of third game against Thomas 'Big Swede' Arnfelt and his Italian (Venetian) Condotta army as both armies initially wheeled fully 90 degrees and we ended up fighting along the narrower width. As both armies were tiny this was ok.
Thomas's ArtS visible behind fortifications as his Lh move against mine and knight form in new centre

Teutonic waltz through right angle as well !

Have seen this happen in FOG games a lot but never in Dbmm :-)
Holsteiners sent on flank march but sods failed to turn up !!
I suspect Venetian underhandedness at work.

Last game versus last years champion Nik 'I only brought this because I bought it but have never used it before' Gaukroger using Khmer (aaaarrrgghhh) an absolute horror for my lot to face with masses of anti-knight Elephants and AxS.
Holsteiners face off oncoming nellies, amazingly they managed to skirmish (I jest you not) for several turns before running out of room and charging to their doom.

Last waltz in progress but damn rough going meant it had several steps and turns too many and decent Pips from Nik allowed him to waltz more nellies to counter and defeat another desperate but glorious Teutonic charge to doom (and yet the glory of booby prize).

Don't let the fives and sixes on my dice fool you they were just set there not rolled, I had reasonable dice rolls until combat ensued then it was my version of the 'One Show' (Nik shook my hand in sympathy at one point after two remaining Pip dice -other two commands shattered- rolled snake eyes !)

Miscellaneous pictures 
(note very nice boards provided by Munster club with raised lip on edges a very baggage friendly feature)

William 'the gimmick king' Coughlan (Ghurid) vs my chauffeur (100 Year War English)

Steve Bainbridge (Hochmeister mark III) vs Tony Fitzgerald (West Sudanese-a monster army)

Jan Van Embden (good Irish name) using Early Burgundian vs Mark Gibson (Hochmeister mark II)

Greg 'leave you with undesirables' Mann (another Khmer) vs Tony Bergin (?) (Medv Portugese ?)

Tom Worden (100 Years War English sods) about to be sick after some lurid suggestion from Richard 'sneak out for a smoke' Aynsley (Medv German).
Toms human dice throwing machine (young Tommy) on his right, wonder how much blame he took ? :-)

Tim Madeley (Feudal French) threatening his troops vs Tony

Hochmeister III using medieval sleight of hand blurring technique to bemuse/disconcert Mike Whelan (Anglo-Irish)

Jim 'travel to every competition' Gibson (French Ordonnance) vs 'The Gimmick King'
working out factors in difficult going (0 vs -2)

The final as such with Mike Bennett (Later Hungarian) vs my chauffeur.
This was very cagey game with total 5 ME lost between them after timed-out 13:12 game, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Mike won competition to be fair after this result and chauffeur was second (he tells me strong 'winds' hampered him in this game but am not fully sure what he meant !?)
Note table beyond which hosted my last game which is already cleared and ready to dismantle (such lightening quick finish 'forced' me into buying Rules Of Engagement WWII skirmish rules at trade stand in 'oh shiny' moment)

Government Health Warning: 
following image my induce mild to severe nausea do not say who have not been warned !

These are participating blokes in group orgy photo taken prior to blood letting and punch ups.
I will leave readers to have fun game trying to match names to grim visages, note one has been semi-censored due to being on Interpol most wanted list something to do with time spent in Switzerland apparently ?
Personally I note that the four handsome chisel chinned chaps against whom I played have broadest grins did they know draw beforehand ?? I detect a fix !!
And no I don't know what Mr Gibson is preparing to do either !? :-)



















Richard Aynsley Medieval German
Tom Worden 100 YW English
Tony Bergin Medieval Spanish or Portuguese
Tim Madeley Feudal French
William Coughlan Ghurid
Nik Gaukroger Khmer and Cham
Mike Bennett Later Hungarian
David Houston Anglo-Irish
Anthony Fitzgerald Western Sudanese
Mick Hession Sung Chinese
Steve Mills Catalan Company
Jan Van Embden Early Burgundian
Michael Whelan Anglo-Irish
Jim Gibson French Ordonnance
Thomas Arnfelt Italian Condotta
Stephen Brittain 100 YW English
Gary Barr Teutonic Orders
Mark Gibson Teutonic Orders
Greg Mann Khmer and Cham
Stephen Bainbridge Teutonic Orders


Great stuff and looking forward to next year already.

Edit 5th Feb 2011 with more pics from Cork Wargaming site

All the competitors as several invisible in other group orgy shot

Me aiming pistol undertable at Hochmeister Marks nether regions in case of cheating 

Chauffeur in danger from double duelling pistols wielded in similar fashion by Mr Mann, note 'The Spirit' arriving at show.  

My nose and army before being bloodied by Niks Khmer (note Brudder Waltz team dancing to my right again)

Crusader Waltz team start their copy cat dance to nowhere 

One stunningly handsome devil receiving booby prize from another (Padraig the umpire) note the bottle of booze on left was actual booby prize but since I am tee-total this was given to more appreciated recipient (Ghurid Coughlan to help with his cough)