The Battle of Lessies Moor in 3x4 using FK&P

[d_Guy]

This is a refight of Andrew Brentnall's Lessie's Moor using his and Simon Miller's soon to be released, For King and Parliament. While the rules are strongly rooted in Simon's To the Strongest!, they bring much of the flavor of the ECW period with the unit types and tactics thoughtfully considered. The rules are grid based so using 10cm squares I was able to condensed down the huge battle recently demonstrated at Colours to fit into somewhat less than 3 by 4 feet (8 boxes by 12 boxes ).

FK&P continues to be a fun play with great solo play potential.

The early stages of the battle. In the foreground is the village of Loxley Barrett with the Royalist army deployed just beyond. The Roundhead horse is beginning their intial attacks on the Royalist left:



Some of the fighting around Loxley Barrett near the end of the game:



The full report and pics are here:
https://inredcoatragsattired.com/2017/09/25/the-battle-of-the-three-ninnies-lessies-moor/

[fred.]

Good report. And a very nice looking game, have you had some terrain upgrades?

[Leman]

Excellent looking game.

[sunjester]

Great report, sounds a lot of fun. That's a nice looking table you have there.

[Steve J]

Excellent stuff and a great looking game. Look forward to these rules being released.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Great game, lots be the lighting and terrain.
Erm... has anyone else spotted the names?
Dumdedumdedumdedumdedumdedumdedumdedumdum...

[toxicpixie]

The campaign is set in Borsetshire

See, I'm paying attention!

[Techno]

I haven't listened to the Archers for so long, I'm not sure who's still in it.

Great stuff, Bill.

Cheers - Phil.

[pierre the shy]

Looks very nice D Guy.....great battle narrative too..

Even has Elves in it so it must be good 

Just the sort of C17 set up I would like to end up with eventually.

A question about FK&P rules - they use grids like Too the Strongest (which I have not seen played myself) - how do such "gridded" rules avoid becoming a bit "chess like" in there moves etc?

Sounds like a good set for solo play though? Do they have a general release date in mind for them yet?  

Just looking at all the options Paul  

[Roy]

 

[mollinary]

Looks very nice D Guy.....great battle narrative too..

Even has Elves in it so it must be good 

Just the sort of C17 set up I would like to end up with eventually.

A question about FK&P rules - they use grids like Too the Strongest (which I have not seen played myself) - how do such "gridded" rules avoid becoming a bit "chess like" in there moves etc?

Sounds like a good set for solo play though? Do they have a general release date in mind for them yet?  

Just looking at all the options Paul  

Hi Pierre,

I confess, when I first came across Simon's rules I was a bit put off by the grid, for the same sort of reasons you mention. However, after a few plays I was entirely converted. The grid completely removes those irritating and time consuming arguments about how many inches a unit can advance, what is the angle it can oblique, stopping just 1/8" out of musket range, etc, etc, etc. The boxes are only marginally wider than the standard units, and moving straight ahead is a simple thing today. Moving diagonally is doable, but is a bit more tricky. Funnily enough, when units deploy in essentially linear formations, then movement tends to be essentially linear too! I think far too many rules allow units to pirouette about battlefields like twinkle toes ballerinas. Manoeuvre was complicated, particularly In the chaos of battle, and units tended to do things as simply as possible. The rules reflect the problems of moving large bodies of men around.  On solo play, I have done a lot during my playtesting as we developed the rules, and they have worked well. On release, no firm dates set at present, but we may look at some sort of electronic release by the end of the year with, if all goes well, a release of the all singing, all dancing, hard copy by SALUTE. Everything takes longer than you expect!

Mollinary

[toxicpixie]

We've been fans of the various Peter Pig square based games for some time - it actually works very well in practise, and FK&P looks to be no exception to that

[d_Guy]

Thanks for the comments.

Let me again emphasize that it is Mollinary's scenario that cleverly uses "The Archers". I had never heard of "them". However, I much enjoying researching the backstory and pouring over the many detailed maps of "Borsetshire" and its towns and villages.

@Fred. I like working on terrain more than painting figures. The major upgrade is to fully embrace the use of battle mats and cloths. I spent the last three years trying to come up with my own terrain systems (multiple attempts). But the mats are the simplest and best for the time and space I have. I'll confess that looking at several photos of Leman's battles convinced me of this. The hedges and buildings are old but I don't get to use them much out on the "Fringe". The walls are foamcore covered in rubber texture material and painted.

@Pierre. Thanks or the narrative comment! Mollinary has addressed your questions (from the horse's mouth so to speak  ) I was pleased that he and Simon had given me a chance to work with the draft rules, which are proving to be a good deal of fun. Let me tack on about grids. Coming out of the boardgaming world I like the idea of discrete zones (which don't even really have to be equal or symmetrical) since they can be used to compress your play area into small spaces with no effort. Each "box" has a set of defined characteristics (just like your units) so play is quicker and smoother. Since all  wargames are abstractions, it is pretty much a decision about how much abstraction is acceptable to you. 😀

@Pixie. I played and liked the gridded Regiment of Foote 2. The rulebook contains several well conceived historic scenarios (which might be worth the price of the rules!). I will revisit their gridded scenario for Inverlochy (1645) when I set that battle up for FK&P as my next endevour.
The problem I had with the rules was the musketry was TOO abstract! I understood the reasoning but just didn't care for it.

[toxicpixie]

Hah, Regt. of Foote was the one we didn't get on with ofc, but Squarebashing and PBI were superb!

[Norm]

Nicely done .... grids ...... Hurrah!