Punic Wars Battle - with 'Battle Command: Ancients & Medieval'

Last post, I talked about ‘Midgard Heroic Battles’, with the promise that we would do the same battle with the Piquet/FoB3 based: ‘Battle Command: Ancients and Medieval’ (BCAM) by Brent Oman/Piquet Wargames.

Again, I offer the compare-and-contrast style previously completed for ‘Field of Battle vs  Volley and Bayonet’ Both sets target similar periods (or at least play-styles as Midgard has more fantasy elements and sorcery etc.) but deliver very different experiences.

Midgard explicitly embraces a “heroic deeds” ethos, with systems for battle, heroes and reputation at work - inspired by sagas and legends. BCAM spans Biblical-era wars through the Wars of the Roses and stays firmly historical with a strong emphasis on command friction and fog of war, evolving from DNA and mechanics of the Field of Battle/Piquet family.

I just played the Punic Wars scenario again  – much more tense, more drama, more to and fro of initiative. Excellent game, right to the wire…

Core Philosophy and Feel

• Midgard is narrative-driven and cinematic. Heroes are game-changers who lead from the front, perform Mighty Deeds, and can duel enemy champions. Battles are designed to feel epic and heroic — charging your warlord into the fray is  encouraged and decisive. Reputation (victory points) is tied directly to preserving the army’s prestige and the heroes’ glory.
• BCAM is a command simulation. Leadership quality, card decks, and the Action Matrix create constant friction and tough choices. It’s less about individual heroics and more about managing an army under imperfect information and limited control. The feel is closer to a gritty, decision-heavy historical recreation — broad-brush but tactically rich.  

The feel is very different – but the tense play definitely came from BCAM today. Midgard does give Hollywood/Iliad heroism; but BCAM offers command chaos and actual drama.

 

Activation and Turn Sequence

• Midgard: Semi-alternating IGOUGO with an Attacker/Defender role
1. Mighty Deeds phase (heroes refresh points).
2. Attacker moves
3. Melee (including hero single combats).
4. Defender repeats movement + melee.
5. Alternating missile fire. Units can become fatigued (fewer moves) as stamina drops.
• BCAM: Card-driven, non-linear sequence (core Piquet/Field of Battle DNA). Each side has a small deck (8–9 cards). Initiative, leadership quality (CiC rating), and the new Action Matrix determine what you can do (less randomness – more choice).
• Cards offer primary actions (Move, Melee, Infantry Fire, etc.) plus secondary options via the Matrix.
• You constantly choose where to focus limited command pips — whole army, a command group, or a single unit. Multiple decisions and built-in friction.

Critical take: Midgard is smoother and more predictable, though has many systems operating on different ‘wavelengths’. BCAM is more tense and re-playable for players who love  “what do I do – what can I do -  with this card?” moments.

BCAM’s system reduces downtime compared to older FoB systems. There is some administrative overhead, but it's quite unique.

Combat and Morale

• Midgard: Units roll Combat Dice (based on type/quality). Hits must equal or exceed the target’s Armour value to cause Stamina loss (basically HP). Fresh vs. depleted units matter. Support saves, secondary/supporting units in melee, and hero interventions add depth. Morale is baked into reputation and stamina.
• BCAM: Opposed dice with modifiers, armour classes, and UI attrition (like Field of Battle). Skirmishers and evasion are more nuanced for ancients. Pursuit rules and morale checks feel grittier…and battle is bloody, gaps open up, and you have to command the army, not hero systems.

BCAM gives more granular period flavour (especially light troops and missile fire).

 

Victory Conditions

• Midgard: Reputation-based. Start with 8–10+ tokens. Lose them when units rout or heroes die. First to zero reputation (or most at scenario end) loses. It elegantly rewards heroic preservation and punishes reckless hero deaths, but the system needs to managed in game.
• BCAM: Classic Piquet-style army morale/break point via cumulative UI losses and morale checks triggered by cards.

Midgard’s system feels more “heroic”; BCAM’s is more attritional and realistic.

 Midgard captures the “heroic age” element. Lots of systems/traits/dice/hero elemnts, but tactically deep once mastered.. Encourages aggressive, characterful play. There are some gamey systems – many traits and d6 systems (re-roll 1s, 5 and 6s hit etc. etc.) – systems not always intuitive. Needs multiple plays to manage systems. There are more modern systems akin to Warhammer Ancient Battles, Hail Caesar, or Dragon Rampant.

Battle Command: Ancients and Medieval: Outstanding command-and-control simulation. Always intuitive. The Action Matrix creates constant meaningful decisions. Excellent fog-of-war feel (always a bonus). Solo-friendly. Scales well across the entire ancient/medieval spectrum with period-specific tweaks (evasion, skirmish). Demands more plays - realistic command friction, tough tactical choices every turn, and a system that rewards clever use of limited resources.

Both are strong modern rulesets that avoid (most of the) bloat of older systems. BCAM is superb if you already love the engine.

Early cavalry action on the Roman left

Some of the Roman units are unstoppable - the Carthaginians avoid them where possible

Gauls pushed back on the left, despite their willingness to press the attack

'ELE-CAM'

Carthaginian pressure...as Romans fare poorly on their right

Gauls suffer on the Carthaginian left, and their commander goes down

The Gauls on the Carthaginian left have been all but stopped - with a dead commander. Greek mercs hold the centre against a strong Roman counter-attack.

 

'Diskoball the Mighty!'

'Havnoball' the squeaky

'Bothballs' goes down

Elephants still very active despite losses - they have only broken once...causing minor devastation

Greek Mercs on the Roman right

Severe pressure on the Roman left and in the centre, as Greek mercs move and stop the Roman juggernaut - critical times, as Army Morale runs out for the Romans

By game end, a close run thing, the Carthaginians force the Roman centre to break, and a withdrawl of the remaining force. Another excellent game.