Hi lads....here's a sample 100pt British Army for Maurice....they are bases based so that they can be used for Maurice and Might and Reason (more bang for your buck ;))
http://www.sammustafa.com/honour/maurice/
http://www.sammustafa.com/honour/might-reason/mr.html
2 x Elite infantry ...Grenadiers, Blackwatch
6 x Regular infantry.
4 x Artillery.
1 x Elite Cavalry.
3 x Regular Cavalry.
National Advantage Lethal Volleys
The Sheffield and Rotherham club have now got quite a collection of armies...ie Prussians, Austrians, French, Bavarians so a few campaigns will hopefully be taking part as well. My next army will probably be the Ottoman Turks and possibly the Polish :)
looking forward to the release of Maurice :)
Paul "Duke of Clarkeshire" :)
(http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad74/paulus52/M1.jpg)
(http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad74/paulus52/M4.jpg)
(http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad74/paulus52/M3.jpg)
(http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad74/paulus52/M2.jpg)
Looking good, we'll be expecting some BatReps then!
8)
Really nice looking army, nice crisp painting.
Great looking army ;)
Been hearing lots of good things about Maurice and will probably *dip my toes* when its release.
In terms of Maurice what sort of size army is 100pts using the system? Are we talking small, medium or large army? If this is a medium sized force I can see a certain attraction in that it shouldn't cost too much to indulge in yet another period.... :o
What a wargames whore I am!
Hi Nosher ...the 100 pt army is the standard game size for Maurice ....but you can play battles with larger forces
we base them on 2 x 1 inch bases so that we can also use them for Might and Reason :)
Maurice is well woth a look as we have played quite a few Historical Battles....ie Fontenoy and Minden ....the next one we refight will be Brandywine for the AWI.
here's a very brief Battle report of the refight of the Battle of Minden
....after following Savs Might and Reason Minden scenario amd using the guide from Maurice about scaling Historical Battles. ....its scaled down for an evenings game probably about 2 to 3 hours of game play.
The Forces
Brits Army Morale 16
2x Elite Infantry
6x regular Infantry
1x Elite Cav
3x Regular Cav
4 Guns
NA Lethal Volleys, Steady Lads, Oblique.
French Army Morale 18
1x Elite Infantry
10x Regular Infantry
1x Elite Cavalry
5x Regular Cavalry
2x Guns
NA Oblique
2 Notables per side
(http://www.britishbattles.com/seven-years/minden/schlacht-von-minden-800.jpg)
The game was played on a 6x4 table and played in about 2.5 hrs ...we deployed the armies as per the Historical map above :) I tried to really scale it down to see how the Maurice rules coped with a smaller scale refight for an evenings game.
After a few rounds of Bombarding each other Sporckens Brigade advanced against the central French Cavalry position lead by the Notable Jamie de Laurie (+1 to Combat score when Defending) ....
The cream of the French Cavalry lead by the Notable Sir james Chaffee an exiled English Catholic (+1 to combat score when Charging) charged the steady British lines who then quite historically stood their ground, shouldered their muskets and repulsed them after about 3 charges (I think the Brits got an epic point for this gallant defense :)...Sir James was shot off his horse and will not be leading anymore French cavalry charges :)
(http://i923.photobucket.com/albums/ad74/paulus52/Minden.jpg)
As I've quickly realised 18th century cavalry are not really up to the task of frontally charging steady infantry in line!....especially Britsih infantry with the "lethal Volleys and Steady Lads!" National advantage!
In the end the French Morale collapsed and they decided to head back to Minden....as per the real Battle...the british cavalry force lead by Sackville did not get involved in the battle :(
Thoughts on the game...
Because we deployed as per the historical map we made the mistake of having too many forces per side (I think to started off with 6...I think we should have used about 4 per side ....the game played historically accurate but for the French they could have fought better with a free deployment :)
Newcomers to 18th century warfare (me included) should take heed and read the footnotes and FAQ's in the Maurice ruleset as you can forget about other wargaming rulesets that give you complete control of every unit in your army ...in Maurice you have to play the 18th century period correctly or else you will be in far a hard time >:(
The card play gives you plenty of interesting choices....should I use the card for its command span or should I use it for that tasty event?
Its a long time since I have played a wargame that has lots of different elements and that makes you really think about command control for 18th century warfare ...adding Notables, Epic points and National Advantages in to the mix makes the game plenty of fun.
Well done Sam ....a nice new gaming ruleset for wargamers who want to try out 18th century warfare!
Paul Duke of Clarkeshire :)
This looks good to me, I've got Might and Reason and Maurice Lite so may very well get the full Monty from North Star.
Thanks for sharing. Great painting job!
:-bd
Great
Could You post pics from You French army?
Thanks
Sam Mustafa does a great job writing rules. I think he tries to make them inovative. There are a couple of things, however, which concern me about Maurice. It seems that the rules can only handle 15-20 units, including cavalry and artillery. I prefer larger battles. I'm also concerned that game play will be slowed down by having to measure command span, measuring which units are in command, figuring out which cards to use for the command and then measuring movement for each unit. And I guess the final thing which concerns me is that it seems to be geared for two player games instead of multiple players per side.
In your game, did you feel any of these concerns affected the game play?
The PDF version of the rules are $30. If I felt I would actually play them I'd have no problem paying that but since I do have some concerns I'd feel better paying $10 or $15.
Hi Shecky ....In the Maurice ruleset their are chapters informing you of how to refight Historical battles and also 3 examples....ie Kolin, Fontenoy and Brandywine :) and also a chapter on how to play Multiplayer games ie doubles etc....I think Maurice will make age of 18th century gaming very popular this year....checkout Sam's Honour site and have a look at the forum for scenarios that will appear for Maurice and the wealth of scenarios on the Might and Reason page.
http://www.sammustafa.com/honour/might-reason/mrscenario.html
Paul
Looks good - I've just d'loaded the Lite version & will give them a run out with my SYW Austrians & Prussians...I still remain undecided about Black Powder to be honest, so I'm hoping these might fit the bill :)
Hi Nick ....the Maurice Lite version is just a very small taster....and will only give you a glimpse of what the full version is all about.
Paul.
Quote from: paulus on 25 March 2012, 10:56:55 AM
Hi Nick ....the Maurice Lite version is just a very small taster....and will only give you a glimpse of what the full version is all about.
Paul.
Absolutely - I love Lite versions that I can have a scrap with before parting with cash for something that might not be 'right' for me :)
Well, I broke down and paid $30 for the PDF version. The rules are very clear and state a number of times that they are for a two person game. Even the section on multiple players just assumes "doubles" - two players and two separate armies on each side. This probably won't go over well in my gaming group as we usually have 2-3 people per side, each taking a command. There's always the guy who drops by for an hour or so who assumes a command for a few turns.
The rules also stress that the ideal army size is 15-18 per side and that anything over 24 will probably break the system. Like I said, I like big battles (and I cannot lie, lots of figures just make me cry :) With the shifting scale of the rules, a unit could represent a battalion or it could represent a brigade. Brandywine can be done with 18 units per side as can Kolin. I'm not sure I agree with that approach.
I enjoy the Might & Reason rules but what I've found with Sam's rules is that you have to have a certain mindset in your approach to the game. Right now I don't have that mindset. I'll probably give the rules a better reading, talk it up with my friends and then decide if it's worth playing.
Hi Shecky ...In my opinion Maurice has been designed to give a fun game that can be played for an evenings gaming....we usually play 2 per side and the choice of cards to play can be very fun indeed :)....Now I know how Commanders feel when they have their Chiefs of Staff explaing to them why you should order your troops to do something completely different :-\
The Volley phase is a tough choice as well (do I fire in the hope I get the first shot in or will the enemy get the first shot in)....do I use the tasty event or do I use the card for its command span?
The Notables help with the command as well....just hope you've picked a good one!
For Historical Battles....try the Fontenoy scenario...its a really good one ....plus you don't have to have too many units and it can be played in an evening :)
Have a look at this post on the Honour Forum by Greg Savvinos the writer of some very good scenarios for Might and Reason
http://www.sammustafa.com/honour-forums/maurice-other/historical-scenario-creation/
cheers
Paul
That's it - I'm a convert :D
http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,4939.0.html
Thanks for the heads-up on these Paul - top-notch :)
After reading the rules this weekend and thinking about them more I think I'm being converted. Thinking about M&R, I realized most games had about 15-20 units - the same recommended size for Maurice. I like some of the national attributes and noblemen cards. I'll buy the cards when they come out and play a game, but it seems I will like the rules.
Just started a sample game with the 'Lite' download. Liking them a lot. The multi purpose cards make for interesting tactical decision making.
Will probably by the 'full' set.
Chad