The Berbers invade Spain: Madaxeman ADLG (& travel!) reports

[madaxeman]

In the dark and cold month of January an intrepid band of Central Londoners set off very early one morning to head to Heathrow, and then onto the sunshine of Southern Spain to take part in the annual Akra Leuka ADLG tournament in Alicante.



Of course, going all that way just to play toy soldiers would have been daft, so the trip had long since developed a frightening degree of mission-creep by adding in a couple of nights in Valencia, a military museum trip, a visit to a mountaintop castle, much Iberian gastronomy and quite a few different types of alcoholic refreshment.



But, at the heart of it remained one of the biggest ADLG gatherings of the year, with 68 players drawn from all over Europe coming together for a marathon 6-game competition themed where every army list had to be led by one of its greatest historical generals ("Strategists" in L'Art de la Guerre terminology).



After much consideration I had ended up plumping for the Berbers, mainly as they had successfully invaded Spain (and most definitely not because I thought they were a "good" army under ADLG).
The event itself then saw this somewhat scratch Berber host taking on the Ghaznavids, Timurids (twice), Byzantines, Feudal English and also the Ottoman Empire, and all of us taking on some extra pounds no doubt in the tapas bars and restaurants of Southern Spain too.



With 6 games, a lot of tourism, a range of opponents from across the continent and an account on ChatGPT I've ended up absolutely throwing the kitchen sink at the whole "writing up the match reports" thing this time around, including video analysis, stats and odds charts, randomly generated Berber oaths, somewhat spurious pen-pictures of the Great Generals involved in the fighting, AI-generated poetry and army list analysis as well as the usual terrible jokes, irrelevant captions and other badly written nonsense you are probably already well used to.



So, put the kettle on and brew yourself up a Sangria as now is your chance (as long as you are sitting comfortably..) to share that epic experience in the Battle & Tourism Reports from Alicante 2023.

(Link to reports : https://www.madaxeman.com/reports/Alicante_2023_A.php )

[Marine0846]

A great report,
sounds like you had an excellent time.
One question if I may ask,
did you have more fun gaming or eating.
Really cool to see the terrain of that part of Spain.

[Atheling]

Is this the same Spanish tourney where you met Jesus a while ago Tim?

[carlos marighela]

Thank you! That was a most entertaining read.

[madaxeman]

Is this the same Spanish tourney where you met Jesus a while ago Tim?

That was Seville I believe !

[Atheling]

That was Seville I believe !

I was in a fit of uncontrollable laughter for about an hour when I heard it on your podcast.

Great report by the way and despite not being ADG player I always enjoy the craic on your podcast and the cartoon "bubbles" on the Bat Rep/AAR's   

[Old Hob]

I thoroughly enjoyed the full report on your website.
Also, thanks for the 15mm manufacturers review page. Being new to the scale, that has saved me from some ill-advised purchases.

[madaxeman]

I thoroughly enjoyed the full report on your website.
Also, thanks for the 15mm manufacturers review page. Being new to the scale, that has saved me from some ill-advised purchases.

Always glad to be of service!

(Although at some point I probably need to go through and update it... been putting that off for a while now!)