What Ruleset Did You Use In Your Last Game 2016

Started by Steve J, 01 January 2016, 08:37:34 PM

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Bertalucci

Duh Hullo

1) Sharp Practice II (with 15mm figures & bigger unit sizes)
2) AWI - British vs Duh Americans
3) Very, like an old air of jeans
4) Our very first game, and we got loads wrong, missed lots of the special abilities of individual units and got so caught up in the action we forgot the Force Moral almost completely
5) Two

But - boy are they good (I lost)

Playing again tomorrow afternoon at Washington Wargames Club, this time British Loyalists vs American Southern Militias.
These are the armies straight out of the film Patriot, and tomorrow I get Tarlton.
Scenario No 2 - Both sides are searching for the Major's wife, each for his own Honourable or Nefarious reasons

Leman

Patriot - there's me thinking you were playing historical and not fantasy. Don't forget to don the nazi uniforms, invade Russia and burn the peasantry in the local church.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Hwiccee

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - From Sedgemoor to Staket
2) What armies were confronted? - Jacobite vs Williamite 1691
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes and no
4) and... was the first time do you use the ruleset? - Yes and no - the game was a play test of an extension of ECW/TYW rules to cover this era
5) How many players were in the game? - Eight plus an umpire


The game was a large playtest of a development of the Warr Without an Enemie ECW rules to cover the period 1680-1720. The game featured 2 tables notionally some distance apart. On the largest table the Jacobite manned a defensive position and were being attacked by a larger Williamite force. This was a mixed engagement. The smaller table was a cavalry clash with a larger Jacobite force was trying to defeat a blocking Williamite force. If they could do this they could, after a suitable interval, join the main table.

As it turned out we were probably a bit over ambitious with the number of figures used. 6 of the players had not played the system before and so the game went relatively slowly. On the main table the Williamites made progress and probably had the upper hand but it was all still to play for. On the secondary table the Jacobites suffered from a run of poor dice but managed to defeat their opponents and as the game was ending were traveling to join the main battle when we ended the game. The Williamites successes had put them into a position where the victorious Jacobite cavalry would arrive on the main table behind the Williamite lines. So at this point with the main Jacobite force bloodied but undefeated it was decided the Williamites would pull back and we ended the game.

d_Guy

Quote from: Leman on 15 October 2016, 03:52:28 PM
Patriot - there's me thinking you were playing historical and not fantasy. Don't forget to don the nazi uniforms, invade Russia and burn the peasantry in the local church.
Mel REALLY doesn't like you guys!  :)
Encumbered by Idjits, we pressed on

Matt J

It's because he was brought up as an Aussie...
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Zippee

Quote from: Hwiccee on 17 October 2016, 02:29:35 PM
1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - From Sedgemoor to Staket

Staket? Crikey but that's a pretty obscure battle reference to name a set of rules after!

Leman

1. FoG

2. Carthaginians v Gauls

3. Reasonably. The gamers who play these rules are very patient with me, and I get plenty of help. Consequently I am getting better at using a set that originally I found incomprehensible.

4. As a result I am getting more comfortable with these rules.

5. This was my 5th game. Should be ok by my 25th.

6. 3 - one Carthaginian, two Gauls, including me with a sub-command of three battle groups.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Hwiccee

Quote from: Zippee on 17 October 2016, 04:44:18 PM
Staket? Crikey but that's a pretty obscure battle reference to name a set of rules after!


It is only a working title but we are struggling to find a good one. This time has always had problems with names and doesn't even have an agreed 'period name'. The current name does at least more or less cover the time period and scope of the wars covered.

So if you have any good suggestions I am all ears :)

p.s. As a Brit I wonder how many non Brits know about Sedgemoor?

Roy

Some variation of a 1970s (?) rules set. Pony Wars, I think.

Far better than a lot of the 100+ page rules books you get today!
Rimmer: "Aliens."

Lister: "Oh God, aliens... Your explanation for anything slightly peculiar is aliens, isn't it?

Rimmer: "Well, we didn't use it all, Lister. Who did?"

Lister: "Rimmer, aliens used our bog roll?"

Zippee

Quote from: Hwiccee on 17 October 2016, 06:46:31 PM

It is only a working title but we are struggling to find a good one. This time has always had problems with names and doesn't even have an agreed 'period name'. The current name does at least more or less cover the time period and scope of the wars covered.

So if you have any good suggestions I am all ears :)

p.s. As a Brit I wonder how many non Brits know about Sedgemoor?

Fair enough but there are better known battles in the GNW  :D

Yeah there is no good period name - or possibly too many good names for much of the period but not all.


I doubt Sedgemoor is known by many Brits at all - it's wargamers you need to address and I dare say any of those with a passing interest in the period(s) would recognise it

Duke Speedy of Leighton

Most people will know the name if they travel down the M5 on holiday, as there is Sedgemoor services!
You may refer to me as: Your Grace, Duke Speedy of Leighton.
2016 Pendraken Painting Competion Participation Prize  (Lucky Dip Catagory) Winner

paulr

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? – De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) 3.0
2) What armies were confronted? IV/6a Syrian 1092-1286AD v IV/2 Cilician Armenian 1071AD-1375AD
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? Yes
4) and... was the first time you used the ruleset? Second time for DBA 3.0 but played several games of earlier versions of DBA and also DBMM
5) How many players were in the game? Solo

I decided to give the newly painted Armenians a run against the Syrians that won the last test game.

The Armenians end up invading Syria, choosing to come on through the ploughed area to deny the Syrians terrain. Fortunately the first PIP roll was not a 1 so the ploughed areas counted as good going.

Poor PIPs left the Armenians stranded but limited PIPs meant the main Syrian line couldn't support their Ligh Horse



On the left the Syrian Light Horse managed to kill one of the Armenian Bow but were then overwhelmed by the Armenian Knights. On the right the Syrian Ligh Horse were tying down three Armenian Spear.



Finally the infantry came to grips and the Syrian Warband broke through the centre of the Armenian Spear, the 6-1 helped overcome the side support



Unfortunately the Warband pursued into the midst of the remaining Spear and was counter attacked by one of the Armenian Knights and despite rolling high was killed



The Syrians committed their Cavalry to support the remaining infantry and after some success one of them was caught unsupported by an Armenian Knight and 6-1'd



A 4-3 victory to the Armenians and another enjoyable game :)
Lord Lensman of Wellington
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toxicpixie

Looking really good!

DBA 3.0 is a major improvement then, not just in writing style and clarity but actual rules?
I provide a cheap, quick painting service to get you table top quality figures ready to roll - www.facebook.com/jtppainting

paulr

There are a number of changes in the rules and so far all of the interactions are improved :)

The writing style has not significantly improved but the diagrams definitely help ;)

Figures 14c and 14d helped when the Syrian Light Horse caught the Armenian Spear in column :)
Lord Lensman of Wellington
2018 Painting Competition - 1 x Runner-Up!
2022 Painting Competition - 1 x Runner-Up!
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toxicpixie

18 October 2016, 08:27:57 AM #554 Last Edit: 18 October 2016, 08:29:32 AM by toxicpixie
Well, at least the diagrams are better then :D

Nice looking troops and matching looking board as well!
I provide a cheap, quick painting service to get you table top quality figures ready to roll - www.facebook.com/jtppainting

Nosher

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Konflikt 47

2) What armies were confronted? - US and German

3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes

4) and... was the first time do you use the ruleset? - No, 2nd game but flowed well

5) How many players were in the game? - solo

Purely infantry battle with weird war Schreckwulfen and Totenkorps, SS Shocktruppen and US Rangers and Heavy Infantry.

Highlight of the skirmish was a US Rangers Flamethrower team failing it's morale check against a unit of Totenkorps and the resulting friendly fire causing maximum casualties on a nearby Ranger unit which routed as a result of the blue on blue.

At full strength the US Ranger sections were rolling 21 firing dice (2 for each rifleman and three for the LMG).... even this didn't save them.

Not everyone's cup of tea, but at least I'm getting some use out of the weird war miniatures I've had knocking around.
I don't think my wife likes me very much, when I had a heart attack she wrote for an ambulance.

Frank Carson

Leman

1. ITLSU (If the Lord Spares Us)

2. Russian v. German 1917

3. Definitely not. This was our first game with them. (see below)

4. First game

5. Two players.

By the time I went to bed last night I was totally bewildered by these rules. Perhaps other players could help me out:

1. How many times can a blind or unit spot?. My mate reckoned as many times as you like if blinds are in view, which made the blinds almost pointless as one unit immediately auto spotted both my dummies and an infantry battalion.

2. Totally confused about suppression - the rules state that suppression is removed when the unit card is turned, but the markers are not removed until the end of the following turn (T break card?) and until then the removed suppression is added to the total suppression, but what about suppression gained during that following turn. At one point I had units with 5 or 6 mini dice next to them - how on earth does one keep track. This seemed to me to be an unnecessary and over complicated rule.

3. The rules are very unclear on machine gun units. My mate reckoned that if my machine gun unit (4 models) received 6 suppression, then when they returned fire each model had to count the 6 suppression. This also destroyed those machine guns in rapid time.

4.  And I really can't cope with the spunk rating - I'm not a 14 year old schoolboy.

So many unclear points in those rules that caused confusion and frustration that it has thrown my entire 15mm Belgian project into question. I think I will have to look elsewhere for something to use.
The artist formerly known as Dour Puritan!

Zippee

19 October 2016, 05:01:17 PM #557 Last Edit: 19 October 2016, 05:11:18 PM by Zippee
Quote from: Leman on 19 October 2016, 12:32:25 PM
1. How many times can a blind or unit spot?. My mate reckoned as many times as you like if blinds are in view, which made the blinds almost pointless as one unit immediately auto spotted both my dummies and an infantry battalion.
I reckon you need to redefine the term 'mate'  :D I think's you was robbed.

Quote: 4.1.1 When the Blinds Move card is turned, unspotted troops of that force – those which are still represented on the table by the blind marker - may move, spot or 'decloak' and fire (voluntarily deploy).

Blinds get to do one thing - move, spot or deploy, they don't get to take multiple actions. Only commanders get PIPs to undertake multiple actions. Units get a number of dice as 'actions' blinds don't. I have no idea where your mate got the idea blinds could spot more than once - where was he getting the number from? Was he allowing each blind to attempt to spot each visible blind? Utter nonsense anyway, you get to spot once with each blind, that's it.


Quote2. Totally confused about suppression - the rules state that suppression is removed when the unit card is turned, but the markers are not removed until the end of the following turn (T break card?) and until then the removed suppression is added to the total suppression, but what about suppression gained during that following turn. At one point I had units with 5 or 6 mini dice next to them - how on earth does one keep track. This seemed to me to be an unnecessary and over complicated rule.

Quote:
11 Suppression points sustained in the firing round cannot be removed until the end of the next turn, thereby remaining in place for the targets next move and fire phase.

To be blunt we disregard this - it's an unnecessary complication and memory challenge, I don't believe it benefits the game one whit. Unit activation is random, there's no guarantee you will be able to try and remove suppression before receiving more fire. it's just plain redundant.

Quote:
11.2 Suppression can be removed in the following ways:
1. By the Brigade HQ which can allocate some of his command pips to the unit. One point is removed for each point allocated by the HQ. (see 11.2.1)
2. Battalion HQ can use some of it's points to remove suppression (see 11.2.3)
3. Individual companies/squadrons/batteries can remove suppression by taking an individual unit test (see 11.2.5)

This I think is fairly straightforward - suppression removal can (only) be attempted before movement or firing when activating a lone unit or by the Battalion HQ on the turn of the unit card, or by Brigade PIPs.

Quote3. The rules are very unclear on machine gun units. My mate reckoned that if my machine gun unit (4 models) received 6 suppression, then when they returned fire each model had to count the 6 suppression. This also destroyed those machine guns in rapid time.

Most MGs tend to be individual teams added to infantry units as per

Quote:
3.1.1 MG's attached in this way cannot be specifically targeted, and therefore count as part of the ordinary infantry unit at all times. When the unit incurs kills or suppression points, the players must dice to determine whether the kill is on the MG section.

So in this instance although you add modifiers for each MG (-1 for 2 suppression) the suppression is assigned to the whole unit, MGs can't be 'sniped' out of the game. So 6 suppression here is across the unit, some may be on the MG but you don't count the effect of 6 on the infantry and the effect of 6 on the MG the total is spread randomly.

MG units are a different thing, they are a unit just like any other unit.

So in this instance the 6 suppression on the unit are on the whole unit but unlike infantry you must fire each MG separately, therefore the impact of that suppression for firing must also be spread across all 4 sub-units. It doesn't say how to distribute the suppression, you can either do the same as above and randomly apply it or apply it evenly across the sub-units. The short version is that the unit had 6 suppression not that each MG had 6 (or the effect of 6).

I'm surprised you had such MG units on the eastern front - not my area of specialisation though.

Personally I think your mate was trying to have his cake whilst also stuffing it in his gob as fast as possible.  :D

Quote4.  And I really can't cope with the spunk rating - I'm not a 14 year old schoolboy.

Sometimes the attempt at being 'in period' is just a step too far - just change the word. Some of the unit classification names suffer here as well.


QuoteSo many unclear points in those rules that caused confusion and frustration that it has thrown my entire 15mm Belgian project into question. I think I will have to look elsewhere for something to use.

To be fair they are a very early set, 11 years old now and like the other early sets of TFL rules they were very much to be played by those that knew how to play them. At the core they do work, you just have to do a bit of editing and interpretation. They could really, really do with a revised edition but I'm not sure that's at all likely given Rich's workload currently.

paulr

I generally agree with Zippee but there are a couple of things we do differently

Quote from: Leman on 19 October 2016, 12:32:25 PM

1. How many times can a blind or unit spot?. My mate reckoned as many times as you like if blinds are in view, which made the blinds almost pointless as one unit immediately auto spotted both my dummies and an infantry battalion.

Agree, Each blind or unit can spot once if activated

Quote
2. Totally confused about suppression - the rules state that suppression is removed when the unit card is turned, but the markers are not removed until the end of the following turn (T break card?) and until then the removed suppression is added to the total suppression, but what about suppression gained during that following turn. At one point I had units with 5 or 6 mini dice next to them - how on earth does one keep track. This seemed to me to be an unnecessary and over complicated rule.

We use a label covered in plastic which we write on with white board pens. It is divided in half; Current and Total

All suppressions are recorded in the current section during the turn, these may not be removed. Add the Total and Current suppressions to determine how many supressions a unit has.

When the Tea Break comes up add the Current suppressions to the Total and wipe the Current section clean

Supressions may be removed from the Total section as described in 11.2

Quote
3. The rules are very unclear on machine gun units. My mate reckoned that if my machine gun unit (4 models) received 6 suppression, then when they returned fire each model had to count the 6 suppression. This also destroyed those machine guns in rapid time.

We play that supressions apply to a unit so if an infantry company with an MG attached has 6 supressions both the rifles and MG fire with 3 less dice. In an MG unit with 6 supressions each MG fires with 3 less dice, but will get 2 more dice each for the extra MGs (4 in unit)

Quote4.  And I really can't cope with the spunk rating - I'm not a 14 year old schoolboy.

Just be glad none of the units had Spunk "Damn Sodomites" :-[

QuoteSo many unclear points in those rules that caused confusion and frustration that it has thrown my entire 15mm Belgian project into question. I think I will have to look elsewhere for something to use.

Stick with the rules they work really well and give a great game

PM me if you would like a copy of the Quick Reference sheets I put together
Lord Lensman of Wellington
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Bertalucci

Quote from: Leman on 15 October 2016, 03:52:28 PM
Patriot - there's me thinking you were playing historical and not fantasy. Don't forget to don the nazi uniforms, invade Russia and burn the peasantry in the local church.

Sorry correction, for our 2nd game, the forces were made up of Southern Militias and British Loyalists as per the rules not as per Mad Max. And yes I do know that it was the Americans who burnt down the church not the British. I think the cinema call it artistic licence, I would hazard travesty as closer to the truth but still better than Last of the Mohicans.

We played Scenario No 2, variation, find the  Majors wife and bring her home.
Random deployment and random location of the Majors wife.

Highlights -
Mutual destruction of American infantry unit and one of the British Dragoons in our first cavalry melee (both players rolled high on all dice) and the exploits of this fine chap:
I quote 'Captain Hugo Beeton is extravagantly wealthy with few connections. He is known to be an honourable chap, is no looker but thoroughly charming. He is a towering giant with no remarkable abilities.' Having only just about managed to get the troop under his command to march almost the full length of the table to the far most buildings, Capt. Beeton managed on the penultimate turn, after many attempts, to find the Major's wife in a one room hovel. She must have hidden behind the door! Then on the final turn as the British Loyalists moral fell to zero, mainly because all but 10 figures had been killed or routed by withering American fire, he convinced the good lady to mount his saddle and they rode off back to Fort Murray. Although how the Captain was going to phrase the after action report as a victory, having lost all of the men under his command is unknown.

Great fun and only took 2 or so hours start to finish.