Supply train!

Bruce had me over for some Congo Gulch this week. The scenario was a supply train had to cross the board to get to the fort (Bruce's old west fort was out on loan so we made due with a stand-in). The number of wagon in the fort (of the three that arrived on board) at the end of eight turn determined victory level.

The locals set up with two units hidden on the board (eight locations to choose from) and an additional unit (owner's choice) arrived each turn at a random board edge.

The first of the ambushers unmasked immediately atop of rocky hill to snipe from a distance. They were charged by a unit of cavalry while the wagon train lit out in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for the cavalry, fire plus the arrival of mounted locals meant they were wiped out.

The wagon train tried to skirt the table edge to avoid the obvious trap in the canyon and put some distance between the  wagons and the revealed locals. Another pair of lucky rolls saw two more mounted troops materialize right in the wagon's path.

This gave time for the rest of the locals to catch up and combine sniping and a charge in the canyon. This basically rolled up the wagoneers' flank.

The wagoneers gamely pushed on but just got overwhelmed by melee troops and could not employ their superior firepower effectively. In the end, all three wagons were captured for a convincing win for the locals. Dinner menu at Fort Donner features long pork for the foreseeable future!

Overall, this scenario offers lots of replayability and several tactical options. I deployed the locals forward to attrited the visiting team. But a different strategy would be to deploy them back and marshal reinforcements for a charge. The wagoneers might also have rushed troops forward and dismounted to create fire bases and a safer path for the wagons.