What Was the Last Ruleset You Played in 2024?

[Scorpio_Rocks]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Pike and Shotte
2) What armies were confronted? - Williamite (English, Dutch, Danish, Irish) and Jacobite (English, Irish, Scots, French) - Ireland 1690
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes. Very this was a demonstration / Participation game
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Not for us but for many of the punters, yes
5) How many players were in the game? - 6 plus a couple of helpers and over the course of the day 10-15 show-goers.
6) What went well? - Very friendly game and quite happily surprised by the good things said about the game and our figures - all Pendraken of course!
7) What could have been improved? The river separating the forces was an issue especially at the coast end of the table and bogged forces down a little

A genuinely good time was had by all at the excellent Hammerhead 2024 show - will add some photos in the week   

[pierre the shy]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Pike and Shotte
2) What armies were confronted? - Williamite (English, Dutch, Danish, Irish) and Jacobite (English, Irish, Scots, French) - Ireland 1690
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes. Very this was a demonstration / Participation game
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Not for us but for many of the punters, yes
5) How many players were in the game? - 6 plus a couple of helpers and over the course of the day 10-15 show-goers.
6) What went well? - Very friendly game and quite happily surprised by the good things said about the game and our figures - all Pendraken of course!
7) What could have been improved? The river separating the forces was an issue especially at the coast end of the table and bogged forces down a little

A genuinely good time was had by all at the excellent Hammerhead 2024 show - will add some photos in the week 

Thanks to whoever already posted a report on Hammerhead on Youtube you can have a 2 minute "flyover" view of this game:

Its the first game on the report and got to say looks VERY impressive 

Good stuff 

[Gwydion]

Lovely looking game.
I couldn't take two minutes of that music though!
28 minutes would have me throttling someone.

[Scorpio_Rocks]

Thanks to whoever already posted a report on Hammerhead on Youtube you can have a 2 minute "flyover" view of this game:
Its the first game on the report and got to say looks VERY impressive 

Good stuff 

Thanks - nice find!

[paulr]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - For King & Parliament with the Celtic Fringe extra rules
2) What armies were confronted? - Covenanters v Royalist (Kilsyth from the Montrose scenario book)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No, but it was the first time for 2 players 
5) How many players were in the game? - 7
6) What went well? - a very enjoyable day for all involved with the Covenanters managing a very narrow hard-fought win
7) What could have been improved? - based on the feedback from the other players not much, if anything

Last weekend Pierre the Shy and I were invited back for a repeat of the Kilsyth scenario from our Montrose scenario book.

Most of the players returned and swapped sides, a couple of new players joined us.

This game played out significantly differently from the first with both sides making some different tactical choices. The game was even more closely fought with either side able to win depending on the outcome of combats in the last few turns.

[MooseDontBounce]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Et sans résultat! (ESR) Series 3 from The Wargaming Company
2) What armies were confronted? - French v Austrian, 1809
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - no, been using them for over 10 years
5) How many players were in the game? - 2
6) What went well? - Austrians had the upper hand but poor command/deployment rolls allowed the French to win. Probably very historical.
7) What could have been improved? - My dice rolls! LOL.

[Roy]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Flames of War 4th edition(?) and some homebrew bits
2) What armies were confronted? - Canadians & Heer at Juno Beach 6 June 1944
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Nope. But that's because I don't own them and have never read them.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - 2nd.
5) How many players were in the game? - 3-ish. 2 vs. 1/umpire
6) What went well? - the homebrewed bits to simulate the tide and issues reaching and crossing the beach
7) What could have been improved? - since I was playing with other people's toys I've got no room for complaint, except to say that me knowing the rules would have helped. So the answer is me.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Warband! First game since lockdown friendlies Vs my daughter!
2) What armies were confronted? - Barbarian's Evil Men (Dragon men) Vs Pendraken Goblins (Big Jason et al) using 'Ambush' scenario.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Not for me, but it was for my opponent and at Leighton Buzzard club
5) How many players were in the game? - 2
6) What went well? - Excellent game with these rules as usual, went down to a tight draw as Mort has an early start tomorrow due to moving house. Dragonmen had lost two units of knights to the ambush, gobbos had lost an archer and two wolf rider units.
Mort had the basics of the rules within minutes. Really flowed and we must have played two dozen turns!
7) What could have been improved? Remembering to take my phone so I could take photos of the game to raise awareness and write a battle report. Also my rules lost the front cover tonight too! 

Lots of interest from the club players and lots of compliments about my figures and the basing. Hopefully get some more games in soon.

[Martin1914]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Duel of Aces
2) What armies were confronted? - RFC (6 Camels: 2 Aces, 3 Regular 1 Green pilot) vs German Imperial Air Service (3 Albatros: 2 Aces, 1 Green pilot)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No, but it's been a while since we last played, and we introduced more aspects of the game.
5) How many players were in the game? - 2
6) What went well? - Enjoyable game for both players. For the Brits destroying the balloon on the very first pass! Then being able to gang up on the Germans
7) What could have been improved? - German tactics. They chose to go for the Brit top cover aces first and then ran out of ammo with only one kill. They had to get out of 'Dodge' protecting the newbie.

Result: RFC win. Brit losses: 1 Ace. German losses: Balloon and 1 Ace.

[Last Hussar]

Game of Chain of Command with Number One Son.
I've only played 2 or 3 times with Sunjester, before the Pandemic, so effectively new(ish). Not entirely comfortable - sure there are things I missed, and I kept forgetting that the attacker rolls only for prospective hits, and cover is on the defender's roll.

As it was a learning game we took a platoon (British - him v German - him) each and did a "meeting" scenario.

I did well in the pre-game manoeuvre, and had an entry point on his left flank. I was pleased when I used my CoC die to charge round his flank and catch a 'team' in the open, but less pleased when that meant he returned fire on my platoon that was in the open (because I had charged round his flank...)

On my left my half squad did well, catching a section from behind, effectively making them non-effective. However my centre section was shot to sh... pieces.

It was very static- two lines shooting at each other - but as a introduction to the game I'll let this go, I don't think we really set up properly. He's borrowed the rules as he is slowly getting his mates away from 40k

Me: "What's Bolt Action like."
Him: "WW2 40k."

[steve_holmes_11]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Valour and Fortitude
2) What armies were confronted? - French v Austrian most likely 1809.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Fairly
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Yes
5) How many players were in the game? - 2
6) What went well? - Enjoyed the decisive and battle focussed style of the rules
7) What could have been improved? - Rules and lists font too smallr.

[paulr]

I've been a little remiss in not reporting on my games, so...

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Homebrew WWII
2) What armies were confronted? - Germans v New Zealanders - Italy 1943
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, our regular host is the 'author'
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 3
6) What went well? - An interesting hold the crossroads scenario, the 6pdr dug-in at the crossroads performed well above expectations
7) What could have been improved? - arrival of both sides' reinforcements, we both managed to repeatedly roll just below the reducing target to bring them on

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - General Quarters I/II
2) What armies were confronted? - Italians & Germans v British - Med 1942
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? - 2
6) What went well? - Interesting combined air and surface actions that all flowed very well
7) What could have been improved? - The fate of well-known battleship

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Black Powder + Glory Hallelujah
2) What armies were confronted? - Confederates v Union 1861
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Fairly, but still find some of the mechanisms strange
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - 3
6) What went well? - The Confederate plan
7) What could have been improved? - The Union plan

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - For King & Parliament + Celtic Fringe
2) What armies were confronted? - Irish v Anglo Irish - Liscarroll 1642
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? - 2
6) What went well? - An intriguing and enjoyable scenario that plays differently each time
7) What could have been improved? - The Anglo Irish going from the jaws of victory to defeat in about 3 turns

Not bad for a weekends wargaming  

Pierre the Shy and I played the naval game and Liscarroll at the two day Call to Arms show and we got a lot of positive interest from others gamers

The WWII and the ACW games were on the Friday and Saturday evenings at our regular host's wargames room
Pierre the Shy didn't have enough brownie points for the evening games

[paulr]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - General Quarters I/II
2) What armies were confronted? - Japanese v Allied – Leyte October 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? – 3 on the first night, 4 on the second
6) What went well? – it was an interesting game for both sides and the rules handled a very large game really well
7) What could have been improved? – the Japanese torpedo aim and their ability to avoid torpedoes

To mark the 80^th anniversary of the Battle of Leyte Gulf we played a 'what if' action. The Japanese Centre Force has pushed past the escort carriers of Taffy 3 and the old battleships of Seventh Fleet, fresh from the Battle of Surigao Strait, have to defend Leyte Gulf and the landing forces.

This message from Admiral Kinkaid, commanding Seventh Fleet, sent in plain text as time was vital, conveys the sense of crisis during the historic battle:
MY SITUATION IS CRITICAL. FAST BATTLESHIPS AND SUPPORT BY AIR STRIKES MAY BE ABLE TO KEEP ENEMY FROM DESTROYING CVES AND ENTERING LEYTE.

The forces involved were the historic Japanese Centre Force and Allied forces that fought at Surigao Strait.

	Japanese	Allied	Total
Battleships	4	6	10
Cruisers	8	8	16
Destroyers	9	27	36
Total	21	41	62

The game was played over two evenings. On the first night the Japanese advanced south with their heavy cruisers trying to overcome the Allied cruisers and fend off the destroyers. The Allies advanced north with their battleships to the east. This allowed the Japanese battleships to keep the range mostly over 20,000 yards. Most of the American battleships had older fire control radar which was ineffective at these longer ranges.

The first wave of American destroyers had launched their torpedoes with limited success. At the end of the first evening the second wave had just launched their torpedoes. The Japanese heavy cruisers had suffered damage and responded with their torpedoes aimed at the Allied cruisers. The West Virginia (US battleship) had been slowed and forced out of the line and some of the other US battleships had taken hits. The Allied cruisers were suffering.



On the second evening Pierre the Shy joined us and was given command of the first section of the Japanese Centre Force, including Yamato. This didn't go as well as he hoped as the Yamato had already been slowed by the fire of American battleships, all of which had been firing at her. Three American destroyers, although damaged, managed to fire 15 torpedoes at her. Some, but not all, missed and Yamato began to slowly sink before he could fire her guns.

The US battleships spread their fire across the remaining Japanese battleships as the US destroyers continued to launch waves of torpedoes, hitting the three remaining Japanese battleships and some heavy cruisers. The Japanese Destroyer Squadron to the east of their battleships launched torpedoes at the American cruisers heavily damaging the Denver but missing the Minneapolis as she unexpectedly turned towards the Japanese battleships. The, so far, unengaged Japanese Destroyer Squadron to the north of the Japanese battleships would be able to withdraw intact.


Purple dice show the remaining turns until the ship sinks, the heavy cruiser Chikuma has already sunk.

At this point the fleets had taken the following damage:

		Japanese			Allied
	Sunk	Crippled	Damaged	Sunk	Crippled	Damaged
Battleships	1	1	2		2	1
Cruisers	1	4	1	2	2	2
Destroyers	1	1	1		5	12
Total	3	6	4	2	9	15

The Japanese conceded at this point. On checking the victory points, the next day, the Japanese were ahead at this point 74 to 62.5. This would have rapidly changed as their crippled and damaged battleships and cruisers were finished off, giving the Allies a total of 120 victory points. The Allies were already withdrawing their crippled and damaged ships.

The Japanese in the end were overwhelmed by a swarm of angry Fletcher class destroyers^{TM Drachinifel}.
 
I'm going to do some research on reloading torpedoes at sea and what other destroyers were available to Seventh Fleet. A rematch with fewer American destroyers would be very interesting.

[paulr]

The Seventh Fleet had 90 destroyers so 27 wasn't even a third of those available

[pierre the shy]

On the second evening Pierre the Shy joined us and was given command of the first section of the Japanese Centre Force, including Yamato. This didn't go as well as he hoped.......

Well I DID get to roll the dice to see how many turns it would take to sink     

[steve_holmes_11]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Valour and Fortitude
2) What armies were confronted? - Union and Confederate (It was American Civil War, so little flexibility in that respect).
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, through two interpretation mistakes emerged after the game.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Ho
5) How many players were in the game? - 2
6) What went well? - Swift and decisive rules that enable movement rather than impede it.
7) What could have been improved? - Another hour to ply through to conclusion.

[Keraunos]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Blood Red Roses
2) What armies? - Lancastrians and Yorkists, who else?
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes.  Simple, elegant concepts that give a good feel for the distinctive character of battles of this period
4) and....was this the first time you used the ruleset? - Yes
5) How many players in the game? - Me, myself and I
6) What went well? - Movement mechanics that feed into combat effects; innovative but easy to pick up combat system.
7) What could have been improved? - My reading the rules properly.

[Glorfindel]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Warmaster
2) What armies were confronted? - Empire and Goblins
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes (should be - we've enjoyed them for many years !)
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? - Tactical challenge caused by combination of pesky Goblin artillery (causing havoc at range), pump wagons (causing random mayhem to my well ordered lines) and chariot counter-charge threat if my knightly charge failed to hit home.   I lost but really enjoyed the game.
7) What could have been improved? My dice rolling !!

[streetgang]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - The Men Who Would Be Kings
2) What armies were confronted? - Zulu and British
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, they are very simple and I've played them before.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No, the second.
5) How many players were in the game? - 2
6) What went well? - They always give a cinematic feel, lots of dice and lots of casualties!
7) What could have been improved? the scenario "Run for the Hills" is a tough one for the British to win...

[pierre the shy]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Big Battle DBA
2) What armies were confronted? - Paul's 10mm Republician Romans and allies vs Carthaginians and allies
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, very
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - no, we have a fair bit of experience with them.
5) How many players were in the game? - 4
6) What went well? - The Roman's defensive dice rolling was decisive in the very last combat to see who won. It was a very close game coming down to a contest between a element of Roman Spearmen vs some Carthaginian Auxilia....of course I rolled a lot less than the Romans     
7) What could have been improved? The Punic Pacyderm Corps did not have a good day. They deployed directly opposite the Roman camps where our scouts had detected large quantities of cream buns being readied for the aftermatch function....unfortunately the dastardly Romans deployed their Psiloi light troops to defend the camp and they made sure none of the elephants got close enough to snaffle a single bun 

We had quite a hoot last night playing this game. Didn't take any pictures sorry.