Warlord games rules

[Adamwest]

Hello all
I dont have much experience in actually wargaming more painting/planning and never completing! Something i am determined is going to change this year. I want to use the warlord games rules, my question is as i will be playing these solo how large a game can these rulesets handle and be completed within a day. I.e can i complete a battle the size of cannae in a day (a base representing a 1000 men)?
Can i complete a battle the size of Waterloo (a base represents a regiment) in a day? I want army size battles but not brigade bases! Am i expecting too much?!
Thanks in advance

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

Well Black Powder plays well - i've done several large games with it in 20, 15 and 6mm So I'd say yes.

[Steve J]

Black Powder II gives a good game, but not sure if you'd be able to finish Waterloo as a solo game in a day. For large games, I'd heartily recommend Bloody Big Battles, where you can play Koniggratz or Gettysburg solo in a day, no problem. Both games, like most, are more fun face-to-face, but work perfectly well solo. Hope this helps?

[Adamwest]

Thanks
I read big bloody battles but it just didnt seem to click in my head lile black powder did, no disrespect to the rules maybe just me! I think i need a few practise games im better at learning by doing!

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

WE did get a result with one side of Lepzig in a day at Gauntlet a few years back but that was unit as Rgt rather than btn.

[Adamwest]

I think thats the scale i would go for
1 base - 1 regiment of cavalry or infantry
4 artillery bases - 1 artillery regiment (late 19th century)

[mmcv]

Bit of a long one but I was in a similar boat to yourself a couple of years back just starting into wargaming with a book of Hail Caesar, a 28mm starter set and some big plans!

I've played a few Hail Caesar games and most go a few hours easily enough. Playing solo means some things go quicker in some areas and slower in others. As you have to move all the figures yourself that can take time and fatigue is something to be aware of. When playing with multiple people you can share the metal and physical activities of the game, solo you're on that all the time, so if you are planning an all day affair make sure you've plenty of breaks!

Saying that, HC is generally scenario driven with a fixed number of turns. This means you can set the parameters yourself for the game. So the Roman goal might be to get a certain number of units off the table, or survive a certain number of turns without loosing more that a certain number of units.

They are generally pretty fast play rules, and the division break rules mean you're not fighting a grind to the last man so you should be able to do most battles in an afternoon. I own BP but haven't played it yet (though have played P&S) but it follows similar principles as I understand.

Waterloo was pretty big, there was this event put on: https://www.warlordgames.com/warlord-games-support-worlds-largest-28mm-battle-playing-black-powder/ to replay the whole thing.

Which as you can see was pretty huge.

So an exact recreation would be pretty difficult for a solo game...or a normal house, without using a much more zoomed out scale or ruleset. For something like Waterloo in BP you would have to either "bathtub" it where maybe a single unit represented a much larger proportion of the army, or else split it into a series of separate actions and fight it as a mini campaign where the result of one battle in one area of the field may result in a shift in the dynamics in another part in the next engagement.

I would suggest starting smaller and building up. I got a bit over ambitious at times with wanting to do big engagements and then real life got in the way, so look at what you can reasonably game in a regular basis and start there to build up. That way you can get a feel for the rules and the play without having too much to handle at once. I sometimes make mini, midi and maxi lists for a battle to scale it up or down as I'm able to. Then you'll soon get a feel for how long things take.

One thing, and you've maybe mentioned this previously, it is worth considering single bigger bases for large solo games. You lose the flexibility of having multiple bases for formations but if you're happy using markers for this it'll make your life easier moving one base per unit rather than lots! That'll save you a fair bit of time. Which means you'll have more time to take pictures to share with us all how your battles go! 

[Adamwest]

Thanks for the detailed response! I am exactly like you i want to jump straight into the large battles but i need to start small so i can grt a grip of the rules. As i said previously all my units will be one base to save time (and now that i have done it, in my opinion they do look better than on smaller multiple bases), having said that i realise im going to lose the ability to represent formations and will have to use markers and counters to game effects.

[Adamwest]

Eventually i want a campaign where my units progress (or not) my veteran units gaining elite status and maybe destroyed units being re raised with the freshly raised or levy rule. Basically i want rome total war in miniature form!

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

One thing to beware of - HC P&S and BP are different, but not very, and it's easy to to use the wrong rules. Classic is disorder from shooting, in BP its any 6's unless a 6 to hit, in which case 2 are needed, in HC you need to take a morale check.

[Adamwest]

Thanks for that ian, think that may be the least of my rule errors! I have read online that some people have swapped the turn sequence around i.e firing first then movement? Have you done this?

[Lord Kermit of Birkenhead]

We did it for a while, but have reverted. You would only need to do so in BP.

[steve_holmes_11]

The only thing I would add to MMCV's excellent advice is.

If you're seeking to "Bathtub" (ie scale down) a big battle, then remove the skirmishers.

2 reasons for this.
First you might get  a half battalion sent out to skirmish, you would rarely get a half division, or half corps.
Second light infantry are one of the bits of Black Powder that make the game go slowly.

[Adamwest]

I was thinking of just allowing legere or jagers to skirmish? I know its a completely oversimplification but i have got to be a tad realistic!

[Last Hussar]

I got a bit over ambitious at times

A wargamer? Over-reaching? Are you sure?

BP is really Battalion/unit, though I'm sure it would bathtub to a regiment/brigade.  Waterloo is going to be difficult in one game though.  Sunjester and I will be trying Blucher tomorrow - that is scaled to that sort of battle. The Honour Website has the 100 days campaign rules on it.

A few years back we did a full ACW with BP as a mini-campaign. Divisions were moved on the map, and the battles generated fought. (it was 2015/16, and General Trump would often refuse to move to support Bush, Rubio, Cruz etc. Oh how we laughed...)