What Ruleset Did You Use In Your Last Game 2016

[Leman]

1. From Shako to Coal-Scuttle, Nordic Weasel

2. ACW Union v. Confederate.

3. Reasonably so, second outing. It is a beta set and a couple of things were still not very clear

4. 2nd time

5. 2 players

It did give a good game with a definite outcome, which was not as bad for the Union as it appeared physically, mainly because the Confederates did not get beyond the halfway line, most of the casualties coming from artillery and musketry. A tip for players - if you have artillery facing troops in the open, and not too much morale to recover, then use command dice 6s for artillery rapid fire - it has the potential to be devastating. However, to achieve an overwhelming victory it is necessary to put in a large co-ordinated attack. We have also realised that to get the most out of the game there needs to be plenty of terrain on the table.

[toxicpixie]

I do like Blucher - planning a game at the club in a couple of weeks (using my 2mm armies though!)

Actually, I kind of regret not going 2mm as you could do a relatively small base (eg 40mm wide) and still look like a proper brigade. That said the 6mm MDF on full size bases looks a treat so I can't complain

Esp. as I sort of regret not going for 60mm wide in 6mm, as that would match mates competition based armies and have given me twice the forces...

[nikharwood]

I've gone with 2mm on *exactly* the same sized bases as the (poker sized) Blucher cards...in terms of scale of 'units' 2mm really does grab this for me...

I've got some pics on my blog here:

French here: http://nikharwood.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/2mm-blucher-french.html

Austrians here: http://nikharwood.blogspot.co.uk/2016/02/2mm-blucher-austrians.html

[toxicpixie]

Oddly enough I was looking at those earlier! I'd thought they were smaller, but I guess you've got three blocks of infantry per "unit", then four "units" and a command group to a base? Or similar for cavalry etc.

They look cracking, as well btw

[Nosher]

I'll be going 2mm for other Blucher Forces as I add new armies, but still have a fair few 10mm figs to finish yet.

If I get hooked by BBB I may well sell off my 6mm FPW and do it in 2mm too, simply so I can buy villages and towns ready made.

[Le Manchou]

Despite the 6000 to 7000 miniatures I paint every year (99% being 10mm), the rules I play the most is by far Battle Cry from Richard Borg and I love it! We play every Friday evening with my 'club' in a German restaurant after having dinner with a few pints of Chinese draft beer.

[fsn]

Despite the 6000 to 7000 miniatures I paint every year (99% being 10mm),

Wow! I bet your house is full by now.

the rules I play the most is by far Battle Cry from Richard Borg and I love it!

You have been assimilated.

We play every Friday evening with my 'club' in a German restaurant after having dinner with a few pints of Chinese draft beer.

You eat German food and drink Chinese beer.  I would say that's the opposite for many of us on a Friday night.

[Le Manchou]

Well, Chinese beer is 10 yuans, German beer at least 25, 3 pints every Friday makes a significant difference at the end of the month!

[toxicpixie]

Sounds good to me, Le Manchou

1. BlackOps by Osprey. Pitched at "modern" small unit action, 4-12 guys a side or thereabouts, played "straight" or cinematic with add ons for Ninjas and "five minutes from now" technology so you can play "Hitman" or "Metal Gear" or slog it out in Helmand as desired.

2. US Conscript rifle squad versus VC Local Force militia in @'65-ish. See, told you it was flexible

3. First turn, made a few bloopers which I picked up on just after some devastating fire but actually nothing too bad. Pretty good for a first run through.

4. 1st time! Test game whilst rest of club busy and I was late.

5. One - me, solo. The card activation and a healthy dose of swapping hats made it quite playable.

I used 10mm figures, the Yanks were single based but the VC are my 1st Indo China figures on CWC/BKC bases, 40mm wide with four figures on. Worked fine, at least with myself. Don't know if others would need more mental fudging but it kind of looks like a fire team/cell together and I used a tiny dice to mark off casualties.

Played using centimetres due to table space, using a D&D battlemap that's close enough to random jungle as no possibility to bring terrain, and it was @48cm by 36cm or close enough to make a four foot by three foot equivalent table.

First turn the US squad leader (Ace) triple activated, moved in, shot up the VC cell leader (Ace), who ducked nobly behind his riflemen who sacrificed themselves for the cause. Then the entire VC force activated (mostly twice!), moved up a little and spread out for cover, shot the US Ace down (who'd advanced well beyond his men), picked off two riflemen and nearly took out the Hog, before the tables swung and the Yanks all activated. It was looking grim, but the squads M79 gunner lobbed several bang on the money shots into the VC riflesquads, decimating them one after another. Suppressive fire from the Hog eventually picked off some more and most of their remaining riflemen on the flank got blasted by concerted "crazy time" M16 autofire.

That took them just over half their force in losses, forcing them to make a 50/50 Break test. Which they failed, and then due to being too close to the edge the survivors were forced to retire off board pursued by a hail of 5.56 NATO!

Cracking little game, took me 40mins to do one full turn (two activations each side for everyone), then half-ish of another - but I'd reached decision point at the end of Turn 1 so that was just mopping up to see what of the VC made it out. Very back and forth, but the "small-ish bucket o'dice" gives a decent enough "bell curve" feeling that it's not all on one throw entirely at the whim of the dice, felt like it should reward "proper" tactics of fire/suppression/manoeuvre and the activation system seems ok. Card driven systems can be tricky but with relatively small card numbers and everyone guaranteed an action twice a turn (possibly three with judicious use of Aces, and the ability to "group activate" with Reserve moves) it didn't feel like anyone was ignored.

Going to try and see if we can play next week, four player stand up fight

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - FogR again!
2) What armies were confronted? - My 1635 Poles vs Pete using Germans
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - yes
4) and... was the first time do you use the ruleset? - no
5) How many players were in the game? - two

Poles are considered one of the 'dog lists' in FogR, and tonight I found out why! 20-5 loss. Six units of German cuirassiers and reiters completely did for me!

[Nosher]

1. Bloody Big Battles
2. FPW Prussians v French (battle of Spicheren)
3. Sort of (felt not too dissimilar to Principles of War which is unsurprising given it came from those rules!)
4. Yes - and it showed!
5. Solo

http://nosherswargames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/bloody-big-battles-spicheren-fpw-in-6mm.html

Game done and dusted in 3 hours very little reference to the rules and feels intuitive after a turn or two. I am sure I got lots wrong, but a read through of things will hopefully put those wrongs right as the actual rules content is thin and relatively easy to read.

[Chris Pringle]

2. FPW Prussians v French (battle of Spicheren)
5. Solo

http://nosherswargames.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/bloody-big-battles-spicheren-fpw-in-6mm.html

Hi Nosher, commiserations on your defeat, but congratulations on your victory! Good-looking game, and I'm glad you had fun.

Cheers,
Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.co.uk/

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Ouch! The French got a beating then! 

[Steve J]

Great looking game and the French boys took one hell of a beating!

[Leman]

Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis XIV, Charles DeGaulle, Marie Curie, Roland ........... where are you now?

[paulr]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - At War in the Americas - Wing Scale V&B
2) What armies were confronted? - Loyalists v Patriots
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, introduced Native Americans on both sides which was new for us
4) and... was the first time do you use the ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? 4

I was asked at short notice to organise our regular Saturday game, it was also suggested that we hadn't played AWI for a while

I took the hint and decided to try and use troops that hadn't been used before...

• Wagons
• Catabwa native Americans
• Cherokee native Americans
• North Carolina Volunteers (Loyalist Militia)
• South Carolina Royalists
• 63^rd Foot

The British ended up with:

• a regular Brigade with 3 battalions and a converged light battalion
• a Brigade of two loyalist state battalions
• a Loyalist Militia brigade of three battalions
• two troops of the 17^th Light Dragoons
• about 250 Cherokee native Americans

The Americans didn't have any unused troops except the Catabwa native Americans, they ended up with

• Lee's Legion with a battalion of light infantry, a battalion of riflemen and two troops of dragoons
• a Brigade of Virginia Continentals of two regiments
• a Brigade of Virginia Militia of two battalions
• about 250 Catabwa native Americans

The wagons were at a couple of farms in the middle of the 10'x5' table the Loyalists came on at one end and the Patriots at the other, 10' apart. The winner was the one who got the wagons off their end of the table.

The Patriots won the race to the farms and garrisoned them with the Continentals. The British Regulars bypassed the farms to the right and took on Lee's Legion on a wooded hill quickly exhausting them but taking significant casualties from Lee's Legion, the Virginia Militia and also the Continentals when one unit was forced to withdraw in the direction of the farms.

On the left flank the Cherokee fought a back and fourth battle with the Catawba slowly gaining the upper hand. The Loyalist Militia 'bravely' screened the Continentals in the farm from beyond musket shot.

The survivors of Lee's Legion escorted the wagons towards the Patriot end of the table before being cut off by the by now exhausted British Regulars and the Light Dragoons.

With almost all units on the table exhausted and it getting late a draw was called.

[FierceKitty]

TWO games yesterday. Ten More Sons, two players, Incas and Conquistadors, and I got thumped but the rules worked. Also White Man's Burden, three players, Save Gordon scenario, and this time I won.

God help me, another battle this afternoon. Shell shock is setting in.

[FierceKitty]

Hep! Devs vvlt! 2 players, Franks and Byzantines, I winned.

[Linstock]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? -

Honours of War - 1st historical set I've played. Used the St Ulrich starter scenario and played using (urgghhhh) counters as don't have any minis yet.

2) What armies were confronted? -

Generic SYW blue people vs generic SYW yellow people.

3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? -

Pretty quickly. Kept everything standard quality and stayed away from the national differences to make things more straightforward.

4) and... was the first time do you use the ruleset? -

Yes

5) How many players were in the game? -

Two - my opponent had never played any wargames before and picked it up fast.

Things move quickly - coming from warhammer the moving, shooting and combat all feel very streamlined, which I liked, but battles are resolved with an almost unseemly haste for my idea of the period. I think this is exaggerated by having such small forces in this scenario and is probably more my problem than anything wrong with the rules.

Used 10mm basing and distances (which approximate to a 1 inch to 1 centimetre conversion). This means a nice small playing area but I think things would feel less cramped and look better if played using the 25mm distances and basing but 10mm figures. Also using the 10mm distances a deviation of a few mm here or there in movement matters more than at the larger scale so everything becomes more fiddly.

All told, a great first game and will definitely be playing more soon.

[Steve J]

This battle does resolve itself quickly so that you can just get to grips with the rules. As you move through the scenarios and more detail is added, then you do get much more of a SYW battle feel.