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| A beautiful winter terrain set up for Saga Age of Magic which I poached from a Sage blog. Everything looks great, I see a forest, a low hill, as well as what looks like a marsh. |
I have been playing SAGA since it was first released in 2011, and I have played even more frequently since the second edition appeared in 2018. Over the past three years, SAGA has clearly become the most popular game at our historical wargaming club in Montreal. David K. has done a terrific job supporting the game, organizing two SAGA nights each month, an annual Grande Mêlée, and, most recently, a three-table Norman Invasion Day.
I enjoy SAGA, even though it is more of a game than a historical simulation. There is a great deal of fun in assembling warbands and working out the intricacies of each battle board. I am not especially good at mastering them, but I do manage to win the occasional game.
For me, SAGA has two downsides. The first is more my problem than a problem with the game itself: it can be extremely competitive, as demonstrated by the many SAGA tournaments held around the world. We have several very good players in our club, although I would consider only a couple of them overly competitive. That is perfectly fine, but occasionally you find yourself thinking before a game, “This may not be a fun night out.” On the positive side, it is still an evening spent with friends, and losing has never been a big concern for me.
The other weakness—and it does not affect every game—is the terrain. For me, much of the pleasure of wargaming comes from its visual appeal, and I enjoy putting attractive terrain on the table. With SAGA, however, this can be challenging. Accurate measurement is extremely important to some players, as it should be. I tend to take a more laissez-faire approach, although I am trying to improve.
Terrain with a vertical element, such as a hill, can make accurate measurement difficult. The same is true when trees or other features are permanently fixed to a terrain base. To solve this problem, many players use flat terrain pieces printed with images of woods, marshes, fields, and other features. This eliminates the difficulties associated with three-dimensional terrain, but, to be honest, it also detracts from the overall appearance of the game. I have noticed that this approach is particularly common at tournaments.
I therefore decided to see whether I could solve the problem—or at least solve it for myself. SAGA uses a standardized terrain setup, with maximum dimensions of approximately 30 × 30 cm for large terrain pieces and 20 × 20 cm for small ones. Smaller pieces can be used, but I think most players would consider doing so a significant disadvantage.
After giving the matter some thought, I designed both large and small terrain bases, along with separate three-dimensional pieces representing the different types of terrain used in the game. These features are not permanently attached, so they can easily be moved aside to allow accurate measurement and the convenient movement of troops. Most of the terrain components were produced using a 3D printer.
This is what I came up with.
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| The vertical pieces that block line of sight are all more than 35mm high. |
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| Clockwise from the top; a large forest, a small marsh, a large hill, a large steep hill, a small scrub land, a small rocky ground with a small ruin in the middle. |
A recent game with the terrain pieces.
Well that is all, by no means does it look as good as modelled 3D terrain but it does work.
