What was the last ruleset you played 2018?

[Hwiccee]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?           Twilight of Divine Reason
2) What armies were confronted?                             Scots vs English, 1651
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?             Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? For 1 player yes
5) How many players were in the game?                   2
6) What went well?                                                 Everything
7) What could have been improved?                         Nothing really


Our club put on a game in the high street of a local town - the Battle of Worcester, 1651. So we had lots of shoppers, passers by, etc,  coming to talk and ask questions. We got loads of interest and managed to play the game to the end as well. We are hoping this might bring new recruits but it did at least show the hobby to lots of people.

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

1) Warband
2) Taurian vs High Elf
3) Yes
4) Yes for me
5) 2
6) Played very well
7) Worked well, one or two points could be a bit clearer in the text.

There were one or two questions, mainly about impetuous rules.

[paulr]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?           Twilight of Divine Reason
2) What armies were confronted?                             Scots vs English, 1651
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?             Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? For 1 player yes
5) How many players were in the game?                   2
6) What went well?                                                 Everything
7) What could have been improved?                         Nothing really


Our club put on a game in the high street of a local town - the Battle of Worcester, 1651. So we had lots of shoppers, passers by, etc,  coming to talk and ask questions. We got loads of interest and managed to play the game to the end as well. We are hoping this might bring new recruits but it did at least show the hobby to lots of people.

Well done those men

Was the local town Worcester by any chance

[sunjester]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game?           Black Powder
2) What armies were confronted?                             Union vs Confederate
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?             Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? No, but it was out first game using the Glory Hallelujah! supplement
5) How many players were in the game?                   2
6) What went well?                                                 Everything
7) What could have been improved?                         No much, remembering to use the new rules all the time would help


This was a really good game. Two Union brigades faced a surprise attack by four Reb brigades, with 3 more Union brigades marching down a road to reinforce them. The reinforcements arrived from turn 2 on a 4+, once the first brigade was on he could test for the second etc. As the Rebs I decided to pin his front with two brigades and send the third on a flanking manoeuvre. The last brigade, which was a small one, would take a small wood at the end of the Union line, near the entry point for the reinforcements and try to stop them out-flanking us.

It worked brilliantly for me, after a slow start the flank attack crashed into the Union line and rolled it up. The Union reinforcements were slow to arrive, and when the did the first brigade on promptly blundered and marched off in the wrong direction. Once they were, on the space was so congested they could not deploy their guns or make a firing line, but had to feed their units in piecemeal. The attempt to out-flank the Rebs through the wood was bloodily repulsed. I was greatly helped by my opponent's inability to pass a morale test, in fact at one point he felt he had succeeded by rolling a 'Retire Disordered' instead of a 'Rout'!   It was like playing Last Hussar

The game ended when the third Union brigade broke, the Rebs had only lost 3 regiments! Medals all round to the regiment that led my flanking attack, they destroyed three Union regiments and a gun battery in 4 successive turns of melee combat!

I really like Black Powder, I know it has it's critics and I agree the basic rules offer a rather vanilla game that is neither fish nor fowl. But treating it as a template to build upon with period specific amendments makes it into a great game. Glory Hallelujah! does a fine job for the ACW.

[Hwiccee]

Well done those men

Was the local town Worcester by any chance

It was indeed

[Leman]

That does sound like a stirring game. I must admit that Glory Hallelujah is the best of the Black Powder supplements, although I don't play Napoleonics, so can't comment on the Albion etc supplements. I did find the C18th supplement rather disappointing. However, my major beef with BP is the overly chatty style resulting in crucial rules being hidden in mountains of superfluous text.

[Womble67]

Game i've played since the New Year

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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

15 Jan 2018, Russian v Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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? - 6

15 Jan 2018, Russian v Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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

24 Jan 2018, Russian v Germans, Operations Room

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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? - 6

29 Jan 2018, Russians V Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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? - 6

5 Feb 2018, Russians v Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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? - 6

12 Feb 2018, Russians v Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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? - 6

19 Feb 2018, Russians v Germans, Club

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Rapid Fire
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian v 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

21 Feb 2018, Russian v Germans, Operations Room

Hope you enjoy these

Take care

Andy

[toxicpixie]

That's a lot of Rapid Fire!

Go to rules of choice for you, I'm betting

[Womble67]

That does sound like a stirring game. I must admit that Glory Hallelujah is the best of the Black Powder supplements, although I don't play Napoleonics, so can't comment on the Albion etc supplements. I did find the C18th supplement rather disappointing. However, my major beef with BP is the overly chatty style resulting in crucial rules being hidden in mountains of superfluous text.

There is an index file now for Black Powder Rules

Black Powder 1st Edition Main Rulebook Index

Take care

Andy

[Womble67]

That's a lot of Rapid Fire!

Go to rules of choice for you, I'm betting

Yeah we definitely do like Rapid Fire Rules at Grimsby Wargames Society but then that was where they were born

Take care

Andy

[toxicpixie]

Ah ha, yes, that might influence the decision a bit

[Womble67]

Ah ha, yes, that might influence the decision a bit

[paulr]

Good looking games Andy

You don't often see opposed river crossing games, must have been "interesting"

[Womble67]

Good looking games Andy

You don't often see opposed river crossing games, must have been "interesting"

The river crossing game was organised by Mike Barnatt using all his figures and vehicles in 20mm we won't mention that bit lol.
All the scenery belongs to the Grimsby Wargames Society.

It was actually really difficult to get a cross as I was under constant fire and most of my forces were obliterated in the water I never actually managed to get to the opposite bank thankfully my other Russian allies managed to get a cross.

It turned out to be an absolutely fantastic game lots of laughs were had and I dare say will play The Same game again at some point.

Is definitely worth playing something like this as it's not the normal you have to think about smoke trying to obscure your troops in the river and of course moving as quickly as you can

Take care

Andy

[Leman]

Thanks for the index Andy. That should work well with the GH special rules summary.

[Womble67]

Thanks for the index Andy. That should work well with the GH special rules summary.

No problem glad I was able to help

Take care

Andy

[Hwiccee]

Yesterday we had a great day at our club where amongst other games I ended up 'running' 4 games - its a long story.

In chronological order.

Game 1

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game?           Twilight of Divine Reason
2) What armies were confronted?                             Battle of Fleurus 1622, Spanish vs Protestants
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?             Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? For 1 player yes, the other had played a single game before
5) How many players were in the game?                   2 + 1/4 of an umpire
6) What went well?                                                 The scenario worked
7) What could have been improved?                         The players not passing every army morale test and most morale tests!

This was a test of a 'small starter' scenario for the rules with the Spanish having strong infantry but weak cavalry and the Protestants the opposite. It was a cracking game that we expected to be over soon and the plan was they would then play another battle (Cheriton 1644). But both players kept passing their unit morale tests and later on when casualties mounted their army morale test and so it turned into a real bloodbath. It was technically a Spanish victory but there was very little of their army left to celebrate it.

Game 2

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game?           Twilight of Divine Reason
2) What armies were confronted?                             Battle of Cropredy Bridge 1644, Royalist vs Parliament
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?             Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? For 1 player yes, the other had played before
5) How many players were in the game?                   2 + 1/4 of an umpire
6) What went well?                                                 A flowing game with a lot of movement, unusual for this period
7) What could have been improved?                         The scenario worked generally but some tweaks were needed

The game starts with only a small number of Royalist on table, the rest arrive as reinforcements. This meant the Royalists were initially very hard pressed and were forced back to their reinforcement arrival point with loses. But the rest of the Royalist army was arriving and they managed to form a fighting line and stabilise the situation. With more Royalists arriving they switched to the attack with some success when disaster struck - the King was killed when rallying a wavering unit! From then on it was, not surprisingly, downhill for the Royalists a relatively easy Parliamentarian victory. It would probably also have meant an end to the war with Waller, the commander at this battle, as the Parliamentarian hero of the war.


Game 3

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game?           Twilight of the Sun King
2) What armies were confronted?                             Jacobite vs Williamite, 1690
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 + 1/4 of an umpire
6) What went well?                                                 The scenario worked and gave a good looking game
7) What could have been improved?                         The Jacobite commander forgetting to bring all of his cavalry.


This was a test run of the game we will run at an upcoming show, the WMMS (Alumwell to locals) show in March. It is a fictional scenario set after the Battle of the Boyne. The Jacobite rearguard are trying to hold off the Willaimite advance guard. It was a hard fight for a time but the decisive blow came when the Jacobites 'stand in' cavalry - spare Williamite cavalry taking the place of the missing Jacobites - defeated their immediate opponents. They had the chance to win the battle by pressing on or playing safe. The player choose to press on but with limited success and was eventually defeated. A very close game that could have gone either way.

Game 4

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game?           Mit Blut Und Eisen
2) What armies were confronted?                             French vs Prussian 1870
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset?             Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? 1 player had played before, the others had not played a game before
5) How many players were in the game?                   4 + 1/4 of an umpire
6) What went well?                                                 The system and game worked well - the idea of the game was to get more people interested in this era
7) What could have been improved?                         More troops! The group are short of figures for this era so hopefully the players will now buy more.

The game was a fictional fight with 2 French Corps vs 4 Prussian Corps, but only 2 Prussians initially. The French started on table in a defensive position and 2 of the Prussian Corps marched on to attack them, the other two were under the command of the experienced player and would arrive as reinforcements. This meant the Prussians were initially outnumbered and so player cautiously awaiting the arrival of the the other 2 corps. The French attempted to take advantage of this to beat up parts of the 2 Prussian corps on table. They had some success at this when the other 2 Prussian corps arrived partially behind the French flank - it was a random roll for when they arrived and where.

To cope with this the French pulled back to their original position, or at least most of them did. Depending on who you believe one unit stubbornly held its ground as the rearguard to give the rest time to pull back, a more balanced view might be they kept failing to move. The unit kept failing to move but proved to be stubborn and so 'fought to the last man' & slowed the Prussians a little. We also had at this point a 'give me 5 minutes' moment. One of the French players who didn't know the period tried to rescue the beleaguered unit by charging with his cavalry - he lost the entire division in a single turn.

In any case the French mostly got back into their position but had been weakened. Pressing their advantage the Prussians moved in for the kill. To cut a long story short the French corps, 2nd, most battered by earlier events failed it's Corps morale and thus exposed the French position. The new players seemed to enjoy the game and one at least has decided to get some figures.

[toxicpixie]

We also had at this point a 'give me 5 minutes' moment. One of the French players who didn't know the period tried to rescue the beleaguered unit by charging with his cavalry - he lost the entire division in a single turn.

I dunno, that sounds like he actually WAS thinking like a heavy cavalryman of the time

And his assumptions rudely abused just like the real ones...

And that's a lot of games, nice one - I'll see if I can wander over for a bit at WMMS, I'm hoping we'll have a cavalcade to run ours again so I'll have time for a wander.

[paulr]

Sounds like you were a busy boy, Hwiccee

It also sounds like you ran four cracking games, well done

[Leman]

1. BBB Mars la Tour in 10mm (Photo AAR to follow)

2. Prussia v. French Imperial

3. Extremely comfortable with this set and have played many times - all games thus far have been FAW, ACW and FPW.

5. Two player game - approx 3 hours encompassing 11 moves

6. The game flowed well and was again nail-biting to the last move. Could a six base French unit successfully assault Vionville and claim a draw - The luckless, passive, out of command French rolled a three - victory to Prussia.

7. The French could have done with a lot more luck when rolling for movement. Their passivity and lack of commanders resulting in a lot of no or half moves. At least three French batteries were unable to unlimber all game. All very historical though.