The mechanics work extremely well and while there can be some frustrations when you get dealt a very bad hand, limiting your actions for the upcoming year, or when your opponent plays a Herald card at the worst possible time (possibly switching a noble’s allegiance without combat) and there are always times when you want to throw the dice out the window – particularly when Wallace or King Edward is in battle and nothing but 5s and 6s appear on the dice.

Even with these swings, most games end up coming down to mistakes – moving too many units, or too few units, playing an event at the wrong time, forgetting to fortify a home area, and so on. Usually, after a game when you lose, you can think back to a point where you made a tactical error. Yes, the dice can betray you but if you lose a game of Hammer of the Scots you will always have yourself to blame just as much as bad fortune.

A typical game lasts about two hours. Downtime is negligible being a two-player game and one that requires limited actions each round. Most game rounds consist of moving a couple of army groups and then fighting, which both players take part in resolving. Once everyone is familiar with the rules it moves along at a brisk pace.

Even for veteran gamers the term “wargame” can be intimidating. Images of small charts, hard to read maps and stacks of chits tend to the scare even the most experienced hobbyist. (See Michael’s Advanced Squad Leader column) Wargames are indeed a different breed, but Hammer of the Scots flies in the face of all of that without making it too watered down and simple like other “intro” wargames; it’s approachable, easy to learn, and deep enough to satisfy most players –wargaming grognards or otherwise, and should absolutely be in the gaming library of anyone with a hint of attraction to the subject matter.