Sword and the Flame

Event Deck

by Dick Bryant

The Sword and the Flame is already one of the more unpredictable miniatures games with its randomized turn sequence and movement distances. Still, in the MTV-inspired spirit of “too much is never enough,” And That’s the Way it Was Press and Patrick Wilson now offer a deck of event cards to spice up your desperate colonial battles.

The cards are printed on reasonably sturdy stock (feels like 10 point card or heavier) but the individual cards aren’t separated or perforated; you’ll need to trim the edges and slice them apart, preferably with a table-top paper cutter. If you expect to give them heavy use (not a bad assumption), laminating would probably be worth the money.

The cards are on six sheets with eight cards per sheet for a total of 48 including four blanks. All have the same attractive, color design on back evoking the TS&TF theme and B&W text on the front. The 44 printed cards are divided into 19 native events, 19 British events, and six “Universal Misery” events that can afflict either or both sides. The side-specific events are evenly split between beneficial and harmful. Most of the beneficial events tend to be reinforcements in varying amounts and types (subject to available troops, of course). The detrimental events are more creative, which makes them more entertaining as well. A few examples — “The Dogs Are Burning Our Village” sends a native unit fleeing in panic in reaction to a rumor; “Poisoned Water” penalizes a few randomly chosen British units that suddenly come down with stomach cramps; “Lt.’s Gone Barmy” consigns one platoon of regulars to following random, often nonsensical orders from their drunk/panicked/sunstricken officer.

Aside from a few careless typos that don’t affect the cards’ usability, these event cards do their job of spicing up the game. They are best used in limited quantities — the instructions suggest allowing a 1-in-6 chance for an event per turn, and I’d say that’s about right. Doubling that to 2-in-6 would make for a chaotic but still playable battle. Much more than that would draw you into the realm of cartoons, which is by no means a bad thing but not everyone’s cup of tea. That’s not to imply that the events themselves are cartoonish. In small doses they actually make the game more realistic, enforcing some of those inexplicable incidents that the History Channel loves to make documentaries about. If you’re not hung up on mathematical precision in your colonial games (even if it’s not TS&TF), these event cards are an easy way to add variety and some unexpected twists. 6 cardstock sheets/$18 + S&H; available from And That’s the Way it Was, 213 3rd Street NE, Hickory NC, 28601-5124; phone (828) 324-0751, fax (828) 324-6486; online at http://www.thewayitwas.com; - Steve Winter.

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