Why Hammer of the Scots is Still a Great Block Game

In 1995 Mel Gibson released Braveheart, Hollywood’s take on the legendary Scottish warrior William Wallace (1270-1305 AD). The movie would go on to make over $200 million at the box office and earn 10 Academy Award nominations, eventually winning 5, including Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director for Gibson.  

In 2002 Columbia Games released their version of the Scottish Wars of Independence, Hammer of the Scots. Over 15 years later, Hammer is still regarded by many gamers as one of Columbia’s very best, and one of the most popular block games on the market. The secret of its ongoing success can be attributed to several factors.  

First, Hammer of the Scots tells a great story. With so many games on the market to choose from, many featuring similar mechanics, a compelling theme can often make or break a game. In the case of HotS, the history and theme is beautifully captured, both through its components and through game play.          

Columbia broke out the “big guns” for HotS, treating fans to their 24mm blocks. Anyone who has played a game with these bigger blocks knows how appealing they are on the board. Even more importantly, the labels for the 56 blocks beautifully capture the Scottish nobles heraldic arms, as well as English knights, archers, infantry, and even Wallace  himself. Add to that a deck of 25 illustrated movement and event cards, and an  outstanding map designed by artist Karim Chakroun, and you have a game that just looks good on your table.                      

The game itself was designed by Tom Dalgliesh and Jerry Taylor, introducing a formula that would later appear in such popular offerings as Crusader Rex and Julius Caesar. Game turns consist of the following: Card Phase, Move Phase, Battle Phase, and Winter. Cards determine initiative and movement points per turn, with 5 event cards in the mix to capture the unexpected element of war.           

Since this is a block game, fog of war and step reduction are present. Blocks in HotS each have a corresponding combat rating, which is indicated by a letter and number, such as A1 or B2. The letter determines when a block attacks. All A blocks attack first, then all B blocks, then all C blocks. The number indicates the maximum roll that will score a hit. This elegant feature allows for the fighting prowess of Wallace’s forces (A3) to be simulated without burdening the players with excessive rules or charts to reference. It keeps the learning curve short and the game play fast.      

Hammer of the Scots is not a hard game to learn. It’s also a simple game to introduce to someone new. However, it’s not an easy game to win. In the Braveheart scenario, which is what I usually play, the English and the Scots each face their own unique paths to victory. 

In addition, HotS contains a neat mechanic in which Scottish nobles switch their loyalty when they are eliminated in battle. The game includes double blocks for nearly all nobles, allowing for them to play for either the English (red blocks) or Scottish (blue blocks) at any given moment. By the end of a 2-3 hour game a noble might very well have flipped their allegiance back and forth several times. The object of the game is to control a majority of Nobles at the end of the scenario. There are also several sudden death conditions for victory too.       

If there is such a thing as the quintessential block war game, Hammer of the Scots might just be it. The component quality is there, the theme compelling, and the game play elegant and easy without sacrificing strategic depth. If it’s been awhile since you’ve played Hammer, it might be time for you to get this classic back on the table.

Photo credit: Brian Williams   

What Makes These Little Wooden Blocks So Special?

In a previous post I explained what defines a block wargame, beginning first and foremost with the blocks themselves. Recently I came across an excellent explanation of the central game mechanic of block wargames written nearly twenty years ago by game designer Steffan O’Sullivan. 

So what makes these little wooden blocks so special? As O’Sullivan explains:

“The wooden blocks are roughly 1" by 1" by 0.5" - like half a domino that can stand on end a little easier...Only one face has unit information on it. Normally, that side is kept towards the owner of the piece. This means that you can see all of your units, and what they are, and how strong they are, but you can only see the backs of your opponent's pieces. You can tell where he has units, but not what they are nor how strong they are.”

This is what’s known as fog of war and it’s key to capturing the realism and confusion historically found in war. It also means that you do not know the strength of your opponent until you actually engage them in battle. O’Sullivan continues:

“There are numbers around the edges of the side facing you. The number on top represents the current strength of the unit. As the unit takes a hit in combat, it is rotated to the next lower number, one step per hit until eliminated. In combat, you roll a number of six-sided dice equal to the current strength...” 

The brilliance of this system, pioneered and perfected by Columbia Games, permits players to record step reduction with minimal effort. In the above picture, featuring a Roman legion from the game Julius Caesar, we see a block which initially plays at a four dice strength, which then decreases (rotating counter clockwise) with each hit taken in battle. 

“These two factors - easy fog of war and step reduction - mean that a wooden block game can achieve very sophisticated simulation with a minimum of strain on the gamer...consequently, even the most complicated wooden block game is still on the low side of moderate complexity by wargame standards.”

Don’t be fooled, however: strategic depth and satisfaction of play are not sacrificed for this simplicity. And that, in the end, is the brilliance of the block system. 

If you haven’t done so yet, check it out for yourself!

Block Wargame Strategic Principles

(Pictured: EastFront 2nd Edition by Columbia Games)

For those new to block wargames the challenge of achieving victory might seem at first a bit daunting or even downright elusive. From the scale and scope of the mapboard, to the sheer number of blocks in play, to the luck (or bad luck) of the dice rolls, new players...and even a few not so new ones...might question just how much a part strategy plays in winning. 

Recently I came across an article which speaks to this very question. Writing at the Columbia Games site, Seth Owens provides five strategic principles for block wargaming, five rules of thumb to guide the wargamer. 

1. Patience. When the back of the box says 1-3 hours, that’s exactly what it means. When playing a block wargame it’s important to understand that you cannot rush your offensive. Some scenarios do require one particular player to be more aggressive earlier in the game, but this isn’t the same as being impatient or careless. As Owens notes in his article, “Block wargame offensives typically require considerable preparation...and it may very well take several rounds of fighting, possibly spread over more than one turn...to get a result.”
2. Equanimity. Cool under fire. The great generals throughout history maintained their composure in battle. “The Fog of War in Block wargames inherently flusters many” says Owens, “US Grant had an epiphany early in his career when it dawned on him that his enemy was just as afraid of him as he was of them.” Recognizing this as well, players need to execute their plan of action and avoid predictability, never wavering despite the occasional setback.
3. Know when to retreat from (losing) battles. Dice rolls will go against you. Troops will be depleted. Hanging in a skirmish too long, well after it is evident that the odds are against success, is a recipe for defeat. In many games supply points allow a compromised unit to be strengthened. However, lost blocks are often irreplaceable. Hoping for miraculous dice rolls to stave off likely defeat is a great way to lose a game. 
4. Economics. Owens notes, “Most of the block games involve some rudimentary economic considerations as damaged units are repaired and new units formed.” Often the availability of resources or supply points rely upon territorial control. What may seem a lower priority during earlier turns will likely increase as the game moves on. 
5. Principles of War. It’s important to note that this fifth principle was named by Owens in the first article but part 5 was never completed. For this final principle, however, we can deduce that he was referring to the same Principles of War that were written by Carl von Clausewitz in 1812 for his sixteen year old student the Crown Prince (and future King of Prussia) Friedrich Wilhelm IV. They are: concentration of force at decisive points with superior numbers; given the choice between being bold or prudent in War, choose the boldest course; and when the odds are against you rely upon equanimity and for best use of your available means for victory.

See if you can remember to apply these strategic principles the next time you get your favorite block wargame on the table. Doing so may be the difference between victory and defeat.