What was the last ruleset you played 2018?

[Hwiccee]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?      -    Twilight of the Sun King 2nd edition
2) What armies were confronted?       -       Refight of Blenheim, 1704 - Confederates/Imperialists vs French/Bavarian
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?      -       Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset?       -       No
5) How many players were in the game?      -    4, 2 novices and 2 experienced.
6) What went well?       -     It was a good game and great fun. The 2 novices were a 15 year old who plays Fantasy and his dad who was in his 1st game. They both enjoyed it and hopefully will play again.
7) What could have been improved?      -       not to be such a hot day.

We played Blenheim, 1704 yesterday. Two players a side, one novice and one experienced player a side. We were using some makeshift terrain. As we didn't have all the correct figures some units stood in for the real ones.

It was a interesting game. The Confederates (the 'British') choose to avoid attacking Blenheim and Oberglauheim, the 2 fortified villages, and instead pile everything through the gap between the villages. Meanwhile the Bavarian Elector on the Franco Bavarian right had decided that he was going to counter attack Eugene's Imperialist facing him. The odds on this flank are fairly even and the Elector was an experienced player facing a novice 15 year old Eugene.

This meant that the French in the gap, commanded by an novice, between the villages were quickly in a lot of trouble. They launched some spoiling attacks but couldn't stop the Confederates establishing themselves across the stream, despite the Confederates often struggling to actually get across.

Meanwhile the Elector's and Eugene's troops both advanced toward each and met in the open. The young novice player playing Eugene then took a big risk. He sent part of his infantry (the Danes) to screen the enemy infantry. The remaining infantry (the Prussians) intervened into the massive cavalry fight that was developing between the opposing forces. This drew in the French cavalry reserve in the centre but the presence of the Prussian infantry was proving decisive in the cavalry action & the young Eugene was slowly getting the upperhand.

It was probably at this point that both Franco Bavarian commanders made the 'mistake' that would cost them the game. Both left most of the forces in the two fortified villages in those villages, rather than move some out to intervene in the ongoing combats. This in particular doomed the French in the gap between the villages.

The French did eventually realise they needed to move out of the two villages and indeed did some serious damage when they did so. But it was to late to save the game. The Imperialist broke through their opponents and combined with the loses on the other flank it was enough to break the Franco Bavarians.

I managed to take a few photos, but I don't seem to be able to upload them

They are here if you are interested - https://www.facebook.com/groups/157679378378394/

[toxicpixie]

NIce - as a defender fortified positions are often a trap you end up trying to hold onto too dearly; a canny attacker can either screen them and hit you elsewhere or force you to devote too much to actively hold them - good move on risking the Danes alone screening off the infantry and concentrating force (and combined arms!) against the French on the left.

[Hwiccee]

Toxicpixie: Yes this was certainly the case. The French very much got fixated on the villages.

The Danes and that flank were commanded by a 15 year old playing his first historical game and he was excellent. He got the idea straight away and beat an experienced (pushing 40 years gaming) player hands down.

You will also be happy to know the French managed to 'kill' no less than 2 of their commanders when re-rolling for an unimportant failed morale check and getting even worse - when has that ever happened before

[toxicpixie]

"You might as well reroll it with your commander, you can't do worse".

Ooops.

Yeah, that's familiar

[Leman]

I seem to recall there is now a third edition.

[Leman]

1. FoG

2. Roman Slave army v. Roman Late Republican

3. Reasonably comfortable - still find some of the manoeuvres a bit too weird, eg. Troops from one end of the line leapfrogging over the entire unit to end up at the other end of the line. I know we have to make compromises in games but that one just seems too unbelievable.

4. Played loads and still not comfortable with them, but it's what my fellow club members play.

5. Three players - one Roman and two Serviles .

6. Well, at least my boys killed Crassus.

7. Then the Romans killed both me and Crixus. Spartacus was elsewhere on the day.

[Hwiccee]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?      -    Twilight of the Sun King 2nd edition
2) What armies were confronted?       -       GNW Swedes vs Russian, a what if battle in 1708
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?      -       Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset?       -       No
5) How many players were in the game?      -    2
6) What went well?       -     Everything
7) What could have been improved?      -       Again another hot day we could have done without. We need to boost the Russian defences next time - outnumbering the Swedes more than 2 to 1 and defending a river is not enough.

The game is a 'what if' set in 1708. It is based on a real position the Russians took up to block the road to Moscow in what would have been the campaign deciding battle in 1708. But the Swedes had already decided to move South and so never attacked. It does though give a chance to use the Swedish army at its peak strength, something it never got to do in reality. The Swedish launched an attack all across the line. On their left the cavalry there ran into trouble and two attempts to get over the river were repulsed and they then switched to defence. In the centre the infantry got across the river but then got bogged down in the Russian horde. It was becoming an attrition battle, not good for the very outnumbered Swedes. But help was on hand as the Swedish right completely trashed their opponents and then started to roll up the line. Soon they were smashing into the flank of the Russian infantry centre - the end was swift.

The game went very well, especially as it was played in the afternoon at a busy show by 2 players. We will run it again but next time beef up the Russian defences. In any case you can see some shots here.  https://rollaone.com/2018/07/16/the-what-if-battle-horka-1708-at-joy-of-six-2018/

[Westmarcher]

Great looking layout and game. Epic! 

[T13A]

Hi

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?      -    Fire and Fury Brigade 2nd Edition
2) What armies were confronted?       -       Union v Rebels
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?      -       Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset?       -     First time with 2nd Edition
5) How many players were in the game?      -    4
6) What went well?       -     The new bits worked well e.g. different kinds of artillery
7) What could have been improved?      -   The jury is still out as to whether the new bits in the rules are actually worth it at the level the game is played at.

Cheers Paul   

[Chris Pringle]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?      -   Bloody Big BATTLES! (BBB)

2) What armies were confronted?       -       Hungarians vs Austro-Russians, Hungarian War of Independence, 1848-1849. We were fighting the battle of Pered, which is a kind of Hungarian Waterloo, a dozen eerie similarities:
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com/2018/07/guess-which-battle-this-is.html

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

4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset?       -     First time in over a month ...

5) How many players were in the game?      -    4

6) What went well?       -     Truly exciting game, everything going against the Hungarians at the start, but we pulled it back and salvaged a draw on the last move, almost snatching a win. The scenario has a sort of self-equilibriating mechanism: both sides have the option, if things are going badly for them partway through, of upping the ante and trying to commit reserves from elsewhere, with the risk that larger enemy forces they are pinning offtable will arrive earlier, or that they themselves won't turn up where they're needed. That was what saved us on the Hungarian side, we gambled and it paid off. And the best thing was catching up with the rest of the gang, as I hadn't seen them for over a month because of various travels.

7) What could have been improved? - None of the guys could stay for our usual post-battle pint! 

[Leman]

1. Tin Soldiers in Action

2. SYW Prussians v Austrians

3. Very comfortable, despite my later comments

4. Played this set a number of times now

5. 2 players and we played the scenario (same one in my batrep but a different opponent) three times over four hours

6. I learnt a lot about the nuances in the rules that I hadn't cottoned on to before, namely as the rather poor translation gave the impression actions had to be done in a certain order, which they don't.

7. Well, you never know. Now I am more aware of how this game should be played I may do better. I have now lost this scenario 6 times.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Sabresquadron
2) What armies were confronted? - Soviets Tanks vs Canadians
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - utterly (but I was playing the author)
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - nope, but the first time for the Canadians on table
5) How many players were in the game? - two
6) What went well? BMPs with Spandles caused nearly all my casualties.
7) What could have been improved? My T62s died, all of them.

Full report on the blog tomorrow, but for a long time it looked like it was going to be an utterly one sided affair for the poor Soviets!

I still lost, but we did inflict some losses in the end.

[Captain Chook]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Dragon Rampant (after having played a lot of Sellswords and Spellslingers recently)
2) What armies were confronted? - My approximation of First Age (Tolkien) Orcs and friends Trolls and wargs) vs "Elves" (used Saxons as stand-ins)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Mostly - I have used these quite a lot in the past
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - see above
5) How many players were in the game? - One

The new:
6) What went well? The activation system makes the game quite unpredictable - this is good in some ways, particularly for solo play - but there seems little ability to formulate much of a strategy and most play is just very reactive.
7) What could have been improved? Remembering all the rules

[FJAdams]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - NetEA for Epic Armageddon Tournament
2) What armies were confronted? - Me: Orks Opponents: Krieg, Space Marine Imperial Fists, Krieg
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Mostly. Fortunately there were experts for technical help
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - Two in each round
6) What went well? First Game: Nothing. Second and Third games I lost both but on points
7) What could have been improved?  My lack of skill, and not playing an army that I couldn't kill most of what he put on the table


Same Weekend Before and After the Epic Tournament

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Warmaster
2) What armies were confronted? - 1st game Me: Wood Elves, Opponent: Chaos Elves, 2nd Game Me: Ogre Kingdoms, Opponent: High Elves
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? -No
5) How many players were in the game? -Two
6) What went well? Ogre Rhinox Riders shutting down his left flank, Doing so much damage to his dragon it became a non-factor
7) What could have been improved? Not rolling giants go crazy in 1st round making them not able to get into the battle

[Womble67]

Hi all

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian vs German
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 3

23 Jul 2018, Russian vs Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian vs German
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 3

16 Jul 2018, Russian vs Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian vs German
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 4

25 Jun 2018, Russian vs Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian vs German
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 4

25 Jun 2018, Russian vs Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian vs German
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 2

18 Jun 2018, Russian vs Germans, Club

Take care

Andy

[Leman]

1. FoG

2. Trajanic Romans v. Dacians

3. Not too bad

4. No

5. 4 - 2 commands each side

6. Remembered how to actually play this game

7. Still  got battered - a lifetime to learn, 57 lifetimees to master.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Epic
2) What armies were confronted? - Swim Hann Eldar vs Blood angel Marines
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, even though it was  first time not playing my regular opponent
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - 5th
5) How many players were in the game? - two
6) What went well? Jet bikes mobility and counterpunching abilities
7) What could have been improved? My motivation dice (so many failed activation rolls) and my hit rills vs armour!

Great game both had a lot of fun and v close. My first loss 1-2), just couldn't crack his elites!

[/quote]

[toxicpixie]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Bloody Big Battles by Chris P, Vincent Tsao's 1st Bull Run scenario
2) What armies were confronted? - Union amateurs versus Confederate blunderers
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, but as I get little time to play I really need to read and reread before playing, and get more practise in
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Not at all. I did forget the play sheets I laminated so it was awkward but even the newer players (who've at least a scenario or two under their belts) were ok in a turn or two
5) How many players were in the game? - Four
6) What went well? Evans holding Matthews Hill, JEB Stuarts initial cavalry charge along the road from Newmarket into the undefended open flanks of two Union brigades, Jacksons recovery of the middle objective on Henry House Hill. The pre-printed battle map on PVC banner paper.
7) What could have been improved? Our dice. Oh my god, our dice. I don't think we got a single base loss from our fire, our mitivations were generally awful, and I routed two of our own Brigades off the table due to abysmal recover rolls. Mind, the Union weren't a lot better. Oh, our charge into Sherman's brigade where we caught them in March Column should have gone much better, too!

Superb scenario. Everyone is terrible. Command is abysmal. Almost everyone is Raw and Fragile, and armed with smooth bores so it becomes a close range flailing mess of idiocy, usually decided less by ones opponent than by sudden collapse in your own brigade cohesion after minimal casualties. Immensely fun, and a really well built scenario. We had to call it at the end of Turn 6 due to time with most objectives in dirty rebel hands, but only because the Union hadn't occupied them yet, as barring Jackson on Henry House Hill and some unsupported artillery which was skeddadling we'd got nothing anywhere to hold them with! Our final reinforcements had come on and blundered, and we'd have been lucky even with three more turns to get the useless slave owning aristo's and their befuddled cronies and lackeys anywhere useful.

End result was about 2500 casualties on the Union side with 500-100 run off, and double that on the Confederate side! It's safe to say that Vincents line on "the Confederates collapsed in victory as thoroughly as the Union collapsed in defeat" was entirely interchangeable

[Leman]

I've had a couple of goes at that scenario  and it is a toughie trying to get anyone to do anything.

[toxicpixie]

It certainly is. Fortunately it's easy enough to lurch up to contact, usually, as being Raw & Fragile & competent officer-less isn't too bad whilst in good order, but by Ghu as soon as the shooting starts it goes south very quickly! You'd have thought our having the finale, fresh, uncommitted reserves would have swung it but they just lurched on and stopped. I think my partners inability to roll above five on 2d6 for shooting had spread to all our dice for everything by then...