Don Diego's jungle adventure

Don Diego de La Vegas has found a remote Caribbean island with a good anchorage.  He intends to claim it.  The current owners, a Carib tribe intend to see him off.

1–2 BREAKTHROUGH

The attacker tries to push deeper into enemy territory.  The defender must stop them!

◊ LAND Game 

SETUP: 

The entire board is land terrain, but no specific terrain set up is required.

DEPLOYMENT:

Defending player chooses one board edge; the attacker takes the opposite. 
It is suggested that the defender’s deployment zone is measured and marked at the board edge to determine if the scenario objectives have been met.

GAME LENGTH: 
Six turns

OBJECTIVES: 

» Defender gains a Strike Point if the attacker has a unit completely in their deployment zone. 
» Attacker gains a Strike Point if the attacker has no units within 4” of the defender’s deployment zone by the end of turn 4 or later.

Scenario: The Anchorage (Breakthrough)

Background

Don Diego de La Vegas has found the island he has been searching for. It possesses a fine natural anchorage, fresh water and a sheltered bay. He intends to claim it before anyone else can.

Unfortunately, the island is already claimed.

A Carib war party has gathered to drive the strangers back to their ship.

Don Diego must force his way inland and secure the anchorage. The Caribs must stop him.

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Table

Rather than the original scenario's completely bare board, I have three distinct areas as part of a three game mini campaign:

1. The Landing Beach — attacker’s edge

A strip of open sandy beach, perhaps 12–18" deep.

I fought this as an attack on the Gslleon.  The Cadibs lost horribly but ghave now regrouped. 

2. The Jungle — centre

Dense Caribbean vegetation, palms, scrub, rocks and perhaps a couple of small clearings.

I'd put the jungle in roughly two large irregular patches, leaving several routes through it. This gives the Caribs places to hide without making the whole table difficult terrain.

3. The Anchorage — defender's edge

This is the important bit.

The far end of the table represents the shore of the sheltered anchorage, with perhaps:

• a small sandy cove
• rocks
• palms
• a freshwater stream
• a rough Carib settlement
• canoes pulled up on the beach

The actual anchorage will be represented by a blue-water area at the table edge.

Deployment

Don Diego

Deploys within 6" of one short table edge.

His men have come ashore from the Galleon.

Caribs

Deploy within 12" of the opposite edge, but not necessarily in one solid line.

I'll allow them to deploy hidden 12" into the jungle terrain.

This is important because it gives the feeling that Don Diego doesn't initially know where the defenders are.

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The Objective

I've slightly changed the original Breakthrough objective to fit the story.

Don Diego's objective

Don Diego gives the Caribs 1 Strike Point if, at the end of a turn, he has a unit:

completely within 12" of the anchorage table edge.

They gain an additional Strike Point if ghe Don has a unit completely within 6" of the anchorage edge.

This gives him a reason to keep pushing rather than simply sitting in the jungle shooting.

Carib objective

The Caribs give 1 Strike Point to Don Diego if he has no units completely beyond the halfway point of the table by the end of Turn 3.

They gain another Strike Point if they prevent Don Diego from reaching the anchorage by the end of Turn 6.

If Don Diego is killed or driven back to the beach,  ye loses 2 Strike Points.

That makes him behave like the swaggering adventurer he is supposed to be, rather than just being another officer.

And if he personally reaches the anchorage, the caribs get 1 bonus Strike Point.

That feels very Don Diego de La Vegas: "Gentlemen, this island is mine."

The jungle 

The Don leads his men along the jungle track.

And the Caribs creep closer

The poisoned arrows fall.

And the Caribs use the go prone tactic to avoid musket fire.

Wind change, dust in the air

The volume of arrows is telling.

And the Carib muskets discover they have a long reload process.

Even so the Spaniards suffer.

The arrows are dropping Spaniards all across the line.

A charge by the Carib warrior archers

And the Don is captured.  Two additional strike points.

The Spanish flee as the Don tries to buy his freedom.

The Spanish vs Carib games come to a dramatic end!