What the last rules set you played in 2022

[paulr]

A link to the pictures of the above game for those who missed it in collegialhoagie's project thread
https://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,21641.msg348427.html#msg348427

[pierre the shy]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - For King and Parliament
2) What armies were confronted? - Scots Royalists vs Covenanters in a refight of the Battle of Kilsyth 15th August 1645.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Very, including the Celtic Fringe add ons we are playing with
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 4
6) What went well? - I spent a fair amount of time researching and writing up this scenario, and I think I have captured the essence of the battle pretty well. A BIG thanks has to goes to DGuy (Bill Linhart) for his excellent terrain map drawn in FK&P terms (i.e. fitted to a grid).
7) What could have been improved? thought I had relabelled everything but missed one of the Irish regiments 

We started this game last night and will finish it at our next session in a couple of weeks, so I will do a proper write up once its finished. So far the odds are fairly even, though Balcarres' cavalry brigade has been roughly handled by Nathaniel Gordon's Brigade, much to Lester's (the Gordon brigade commander) delight as he is of Gordon descent himself   
 
However we left the game at the stage where MacColla's highland brigade are about ready to charge into Ballie's Covenanter infantry line.....and of course I'm looking after Ballie's brigade and the reserve line of untried Fifeshire militia...oh @#*% 

[steve_holmes_11]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Irregular Wars
2) What armies were confronted? - Rajputs attacking Mughals
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, almost everything ran smoothly, though we forgot to roll for commander casualties on a regular basis.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - Two, myself and Westmarcher.
6) What went well? - We managed two fairly quick games in a single afternoon.
7) What could have been improved? Random events took a vice like grip on either game.



Westmarcher and I decided to try a more cavalry oriented run out with Irregular Wars, so picked Rajputs (with fierce lancers) against Mughals (with classic Lance and bow cavalry).
Some randomisation at the beginning assigned Westmarcher the Rajputs on the attack.
I laid out a table with minimal terrain.

The force selection dice gave us both rather small contingents. 
The Disease and Mishap phase then played havoc with the Rajput force.
They were weakened to a point where the first shot of the Mughal cannon scattered two units and caused two more to waver, as morale collapsed.
The remaining Rajputs launched a couple of half-hearted attacks, but the game was over before our tea break.

We decided to change sides and armies, using the same troops for the replay (This saved a lot of setup time).
Disease and mishaps saw the Rajput commander set off on a death of glory ride at the Mughal line, with a few other units making shorted uncontrolled advances.
The commander slammed into the Mughal cannon, but was enveloped on each flank, and then the rear - going down fighting as his force tried to react.
A classic morale collapse followed, as units lost resolve through seeing their commander slain, and then having near neighbours flee.


I certainly enjoyed both games and attempting to resolve the slings and arrows that random events threw our way.

We have now played 4 (or 5 or 6) games of Irregular Wars and the defenders have won each time.
There's certainly a friction penalty for the force attempting to advance on a well-set defender.
We are contemplating skewing the odds a little by giving the defender 4 force picks and the attacker five.

[paulr]

Definitely sounds as if the odds need skewing, the classic rule of thumb is the attacker needs a 3:1 ratio for a successful attack

[Gwydion]

3:1 is certainly an oft quoted rule of thumb for modern era (effective rifles, infantry hugging the ground) warfare but I don't think it was required or often achieved in black powder and earlier battles.

[Steve J]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - BKCII.
2) What armies were confronted? - British vs Germans 1944.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Very.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - Solo.
6) What went well? - The Churchill Crocodile flamethrower which was devastating and a game changer.
7) What could have been improved? - If I'd been a bit more with it after the Covid & Flue jabs would have helped.

[Steve J]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Black Powder II with Glory Hallelujah! supplement.
2) What armies were confronted? - Abdul the Abulbul Emir vs Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Very.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - Solo.
6) What went well? - The Emir's early advance and some amazing morale saves allowed them to win the game.
7) What could have been improved? - Both sides shooting.

[steve_holmes_11]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Honours of War
2) What armies were confronted? - Prussians (Westmarcher) and Austrians (Myself)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, I regard this as the game where our rules knowledge "clicked" referring to the rulebook for just two obscure situations.
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? - Excellent scenario that brought both armies into contact quickly.
7) What could have been improved? - Both sides rolling "dithering" commanders for their Cuirassier brigades.


We fought over a town and control of a nearby bridge.
The Austrians won the foot race to seize the town, and were subsequently blasted out of it by well handled Prussian infantry and artillery.

The Prussians maintained a cohesive infantry force in the centre, while the Austrians failed to take advantage of a cavalry advantage on a wing.
The Austrians compounded this error by leaving their howitzer in the rear to lob mostly harmless shells.
The Prussian tactic of wheeling their guns into cannister range to win the firefight proved far more effective.

I mentioned above that we now know the rules.
At least one of us is still seeking effective strategies to use his army.