Pike and Shot is an excellent game, based on warfare in the early modern period. It's loosely based on the Field of Glory miniatures rules,Pike and Shot is an excellent game, based on warfare in the early modern period. It's loosely based on the Field of Glory miniatures rules, and does a good job of conveying that sort of feel--without having to paint any figures!
The game comes with 30 historical scenarios, ten each from the Italian Wars, the English Civil War, and the Thirty Years War. In addition, the random battle generator does a fantastic job of creating varied maps on which to deploy armies from nearly every faction which fought in the century and a half represented in the game, including The Holy Roman Empire, Spain, the Catholic League, Sweden, France, Transylvania, Poland-Lithuania, and Ottoman Turkey. This era saw infantry fully regain its dominance on the battlefield, and the blocks of mixed pikemen and musketeers rule the field. Cavalry still has its place, protecting the flanks and pursuing broken units, and artillery starting to play a key role. Proper use of the three arms in combination is the key to victory.
The game is turn based, with squares instead of hexes. This worried me at first, but the movement mechanics account for the greater distance when traveling diagonally, and the squares allow the common checkerboard formation used at the time to be reproduced in the game. Numerous factors, enumerated in the rules, influence combat, and the in-game reports can be toggled between simple and detailed, the latter for those who want to know every modifier which contributed to a combat result.
Fire combat, especially against the massed pike-and-musket squares, can be vicious, and it's quite possible to rout enemy units simply by several rounds of shooting. Eventually, though, units will close for melee, which can last a number of turns as men fall on each side, until one unit breaks.
Proper use of terrain and attacks directed at the flanks of enemy units will aid in breaking the enemy, but the pike-and-musket squares are unwieldy, and it takes some effort, preparation, and good timing to approach an enemy flank successfully. It doesn't help when units rout, and the enemy which was engaged with them hustles in pursuit. If the pursuers are yours, you lose all control of them for a couple turns; if they belong to the enemy, their pursuit can place them behind your lines, which is not somewhere you want enemy troops to be. Cavalry pursuers often leave the battlefield altogether, with only a small chance of returning to the game. All of this makes for a very intense experience.
The game can be played solo or versus another human in PBEM. The AI is excellent, and will provide a solid challenge, and Slitherine's PBEM system is smooth and easy to use. I've played quite a few PBEM games with no problems, and they can be finished in a couple days--even less if you and your opponent have time to sit and play for a while.
I don't hesitate to recommend this game to anyone who enjoys turn-based, battle-level games. Fans of the period will be especially pleased, but anyone who likes a good challenge should easily get their money's worth from Pike & Shot.… Expand
