Today I taught my brother Josh to play Charge! over Discord.
A bit tricky. But interesting, as it turned out.
I picked the classic Sawmill Village again for the scenario.
Like my previous Charge! game, I reduced the table size, moves and ranges, substituting cm for inches.
Navarre Regiment, Bulkeley's Regiment and Royal Ecossais.
Essendale, Royal Kempston and Calein Highlanders.
Setup.
As per the scenario, we set up in opposite corners. In hindsight (given it took us three hours to do this) we should have set up across the long edges. The goal was either to seize the center of the field, or reduce two of the opposing three battalions to under 50%.
I took photos after each move and sent them to Josh over Discord. It may have been my phone, but I eventually found that Discord could not save photos I took to immediately post them - I had to go back and forth between Discord and my camera app. My brother was patient, though.
Turn One- we're both in column.
Josh, underestimating distance and moves, formed into line early.
Discovering he hadn't enough room between the buildings, Josh "obliqued" forward and to the left, keeping his gun on his right flank...
While my infantry debouched into the field from the hills.
By turn 6, my gun has found a commanding position on the hill, but Josh has formed his line and is plinking away at my gun with his own.
Turn 8: I have two regiments in line to Josh's three. My third is hot-footing it around the tower.
Musketry begins. My gun is down to one crewman.
The French line is breaking up as Josh attempts to put all his men in position to fight. Close-range fire begins.
Turn 11: the firing is furious. My gun is now unmanned.
Josh's left-hand regiment is down to half strength and will have to fall back out of the battle. My nearly-equally-reduced right-hand unit forms into column (meaning it can fight in four ranks to Josh's two).
As the French unit retreats, Josh hopes to lay on to my flanking column before his own lads get into his line of fire.
Turn 12: My column is badly hurt by a volley but then charges in...
And wins the combat, as my flanking column overruns the left-hand French and manuevers...
... into position to charge a flank.
At top center, my center regiment is marking away out of range of Josh's swinging right flank, as it is one man from being half strength and thus losing me the game. This is because in front of the French line can be seen my worn-out assault column falling back out of the fight.
On turn 15, the 14-strong French to the left are retreating; I've narrowly won.
End result:
Two French regiments reduced under 50%.
One British regiment reduced under 50%, another at 17 strong out of 32, and gun knocked out.
I'd say honours were about even.
Mistakes were made, of course.
Shooting is semi-simultaneous, so that those killed in a turn may return fire in the next. I thought that only happened during the same turn rather than the next, so that Josh (as the first player) lost troops to my return casualties fire, but could not in turn fire his own casualties in his next turn.
Unit-retreating begins at 50% strength, not 50% minus one.
An understrength unit is not simply wiped out when contacted, but still fights - if at half effect. This made a difference when my flanking column contacted Josh's understrength unit and we decided that, as in Warhammer, it was automatically eliminated.
Finally, playing the game photo by photo was wearying, and video would have been quicker and clear. (The catch being that an overhead camera would make it hard to tell flat units apart...) I couldn't figure out how to start; a video call would have done the trick, but then I think I could not have taken photos for this blog.
Ah, well. It was a practical experiment, and above all I got to play a game with my little brother, which happens quite rarely. Even with voice and still photos only, it was enjoyable.
I am almost done with the Saxons for the 960 Project; just a flag or two and a handful of alternate shields to add and then I can send them off to Peter Dennis. (He's offered to base them for those of us across the pond, so shipping in an envelope shouldn't be too difficult.)
There will also be gaming at Das Krieg Haus 2 this weekend, and I'll try to make it. See you after.
Thirty-five posts for the year. Not much in comparison with past years.
I haven't actually got much gaming in last year. The club has moved closer to me, though, so I hope to visit more frequently.
There has been more "preparation". Things like building up collections and obtaining new rules and terrain.
I have some Warlord Pike and Shotte on the way.
Games Workshop terrain to paint.
Speedpaint markers also on the way.
The Paperboys Hastings 960 project - 300+ figures cut.
Ready to edge and stiffen.
I've been wanting to take some time off. A lot of time off. The first week of the new year will do for a start; I will not be back at work until Monday the 12th. Some of this time will be spent on self-care - making appointments, visiting the bank, housecleaning. But I'll try to do some hobby, too. I ought to be able to finish my portion of Hastings 960 at the very least. Painting some terrain is the next part - the GW hills and barriers. I hope to have the Speedpaint markers in my hands next week, which (as there is a grey) will be used on the stone walls, while leather-brown will do for the fences. In the meantime, I've had a large brush, green and brown paints waiting for me to try them on the hills. So those are my hobby goals for the first third of January.
Looking ahead? I want to try some Pikeman's Lament, and minis for that are coming. For the club, I have really got to get cracking on the damn Picacho Pass scenario, and March or April would be a good target. I also need to practice Charge!, and the scenario books I picked up last year should help with that. I might be able to run a remote game or two with my brother.
Farther ahead, my employer is planning to commemorate the United States' 250th birthday. I doubt I can get away with a wargame at work, but painting or papercrafting minis is a possibility, for display if nothing else. Last year's Olustee diorama went over well, as did a display of WWII facsimile memorabilia. Another thing I'd like to do would be a folk music concert.
And more time off. Undecided whether I'll go to the Orlando conventions this year, but am thinking of visiting the UK at some point, and maybe New Zealand to visit my sister (she's near Christchurch on the South Island). If the former, I would like to visit Nottingham, meet Peter Dennis and do the "lead belt" tour. I have about four months saved up, so we'll see.
Wish me luck. Here's hoping your own "gaming resolutions" are as successful. Keep your friends close, and take care. Thank you for reading.
Work has been <bleeping> tiring this week. Hopefully that will turn around tomorrow, as we have a couple new staff joining us. In the meantime, I've only got bits and pieces done, but they are usefully inspiring nonetheless:
Basecoated my Citadel hills in white. Will finish them in speedpaint green, brown and grey.
Received and read much of Talking Miniatures:
A remarkably good oral history of Games Workshop.
I'm serious. It's worth the money.
Started on my bit of the Hastings960 project:
Three sheets of Saxon Fyrd (300 figures).
Trimmed.
Frames separated...
... and folded.
Next is gluing them all - then cutting with my new Beaditive and Fiskars scissors.
This is a test strip on 80gsm paper rather than the requested 120gsm. If you see a green tinge, it's because I experimented with a speedpaint marker on the edges.
Tested a speedpaint marker on a couple Reaper Bones orcs (no good pics).
Finally, a treat - my talented brother has made some progress on the LDV I sent him. Here's the first Scottish militia!
A how-to, mostly Speedpaints:
Undercoat: Slap-chop Cap: Caribbean Ocean
Skin: Pallid Bone and Crusader Skin
Straps: Pallid Bone Hair: Dark Wood
Uniform: Noble Skin and Tyrian Navy
Boots: Grim Black
Weapons: Broadsword Silver
Base: AK Muddy Ground
Base highlight: Pro Acryl Pale Yellow
Base detail: Vallejo Scorpy Green
Ready recruits.
My intent was to have only the guys in tam-o-shanters be in Scottish Republican grey, with the other twenty being more generic, but my brief confused my brother who has never painted historicals before. Part of the problem may have been a picture that scanned fuzzy.
He was a bit disappointed, but hey, I'm not going to look a (beautiful) gift horse in the mouth here. I'll take what he gives me and work with it. The guys in caps could be Scottish BUF, or Republican militia who couldn't find tams. VBCW offers plenty of explanations!
All in all, a productive week for him, not so much for me, but still - making progress!
Happy Solstice, Merry Yule, or whatever you celebrate. Life gets brighter from today (in the northern hemisphere, anyway). See you around.
Today, in a bit of a change for the annual club Regatta, we played Mark Ritchie's Fighting Instructions instead of the usual Limeys and Slimeys. To be fair, this is because it's part of Mark's 1562 campaign set in our home state of Florida and using his rules - and Limeys and Slimeys can be swingy, especially in boarding combat wherein either you win big or lose big.
That said, we had some of our own amazing incidents...
7.5x12 foot table - a bit smaller and more cramped than at Das Krieg Haus 1, but there is stuff still to unpack, and either move or sell, that will free it up.
Closeup of a brig, though all ships were assumed to have three masts.
The scenario.
The French are Huguenot while the pirates are Dutch, so it seemed fair for me (the pirates) to ally with their fellow Protestants and share any treasure won.
A typical ship card. Note that "hits" are fewer than in L&S, so this ship has only six crew, five hull points and seven sail points.
At bottom left are the sailing points - with wind on a given quarter, you get that many moves in a turn, each of three inches. so a small ship with six move points and the wind on its aft quarter could move 18". One of these moves can be spent to "back," or not move, while 60-degree turns can be taken with increasing point expenditure. Minimal turns are free. So, for example, the above craft could move 15" and make a 60-degree turn, or 9" and a 120-degree turn, but could not turn 180 degrees because it does not have seven points to spend.
The game is semi-simultaneous, with each move "segment" taken at the same time and then firing altogether. Wind is highly variable, and can put you in irons unexpectedly, in which case you can make a single 60 degree move that turn in order to continue moving next turn. Otherwise, you drift 3". Ships without steerage way also drift, though with the gulf stream rather than the wind.
One of my pirate brigs, with a carronade two centuries ahead of its time! Figures in our sea games are always cosmetic.
My ships did not come onto the board until about turn four, which set the stage for my participation - mostly on the edges and out of the way. While I could come on in any corner of the board I liked, one was too far away, one would have gotten in the way of the French, and one occupied by the Spanish.
A couple turns in. The Spanish (upper right) must shepherd their treasure ship to the other short edge of the board. The French (left) set out to block them. My pirates are not yet on the board, just out of the way of the moves. (incidentally, gun range is 60".)
Two of my ships, with the Pirate Queen (perhaps a young Grainne O'Malley?) in the larger.
Huguenot flagship.
Spanish about to take the long way round.
Opening fire - my bowchasers vs. John's broadside.
The squadrons close.
I get a couple reinforcements.
I had one bit of luck - rolled a 12 for damage on a hull hit to the enemy's next-largest ship. This is a critical, and I ended up doing 2d6 hull point damage. You'll have noticed that few ships have more than a dozen HP, and after a few turns of fire have lost some. I rolled boxcars.
The ship didn't sink outright or explode, but its crew were now too busy pumping to fight. They struck, giving us half their victory points (full if we ever got around to boarding, which didn't seem likely).
I attempt to grapple and board.
It should be noted that at this point, the pirate ship to center left has one hull point remaining. My intent was to abandon it, board and seize the white ship it is hitting here.
One - I fail the grapple roll.
Two, a shot into my hull sinks my command ship outright.
The oncoming Don flagship. Behind it can be seen a merchantman proxying for the ship I knocked out earlier.
Crossing of the ways. We didn't have period French flags... Anyone know what the Huguenots' looked like?
So by this point I'd lost two ships, but they were back on the board as reinforcements - behind the Spanish at this point.
The Spanish and French were heavily engaged in a messy melee in the center of the board while two of my small ships (upper right) were basically running away while the ones at the bottom right are trying to catch up with the battle.
While both sides had equal honours in terms of damage, the Spaniards were cut off from their objective and increasingly too badly damaged to escape. So we halted early and agreed the French had won. I had not actually seen much action other than losing two ships by fairly bad luck, but my lucky shot early in the game had stopped up the Spanish strategy by a) getting in the way and b) losing a shield for their treasure galleon, which we hadn't actually taken yet but sure as hell wasn't getting away.
I spent much of the game in irons and just firing pot shots, but the Regatta is more about socializing than winning. We had a couple new members, Mike and Milton. Milton has just retired from California and edited a couple old colonial-wargaming journals, so that is an extra vote in addition to mine and Jeff's. The catch is that he plays The Men Who Would Be Kings rather than The Sword and the Flame, but I have long wanted to try the former and, as I mentioned in the previous post, am thinking about its relative The Pikeman's Lament. So I look forward to the opportunity.
Will not be gaming next week as I'm at work, but might get in some Battlefleet Gothic after Christmas. I also dropped by the game store to supply some hill-painting. Picked up green and brown speedpaint, and a nice broad scenery brush. May try that tomorrow.
Last but not least, part one of Oriskany Jim's Christmas Carnage:
Not sure how I got onto this. Might have been when I idly googled Warhammer Historical, and turned up 1644 and its derivation Warhammer Historical English Civil War. I always preferred the turn-of-century style of GW games - not just the rules but the style of writing and illustration. So I read both of these. And then...
Pike and Shotte
To Kill a King (Pike and Shotte supplement)
The Pikeman's Lament
From Pike to Shot 1685-1720 (by Charles S. Grant)
Ironsides (by Howard Whitehouse)
Regiment of Foote (by Peter Pig)
Dominion of Pike and Shot
Wargaming Pike and Shot (by Donald Featherstone)
Not all of these are yet received or read, but ... yeah. I have half a mind to order the Pike and Shotte starter box and try Pikeman's Lament with it. (It would provide an opportunity to use the 28mm Warhammer walls I just got.)
Curiously, I can't find out exactly what's in the box! There are 58 pike and shot figures in addition to cavalry and "forlorn hope"/commanded shot, but the regiment shown in the pictures has 36 figures (12 pike, 24 shot). Two of those would be a lot more than 58 - and if it is a two-player starter, there ought to be two full regiments at the very least, which would mean each might number twenty-four plus some sort of command... All the reviews I can find focus on the rules rather than the minis, which seems unusual for starter sets.
Anyway, whatever there is ought to be enough for two small Pikeman's Lament forces. A lot of people (including my local gaming group) dislike the activation system of this series of rulesets, since there is a very good chance that some or even all of your units will just skip their turn, repeatedly. However, I think I have a way around that - specifically, the way Bob Cordery does it in Bundok and Bayonet. This is to allow the order to go through when failed, but any movement must be away from the enemy.
Partly it's just because it's the last one I've read, but the Dominion ruleset is my current focus. There is a lot of buzz on the Facebook Portable Wargame group about the series, and the fact that it is solo, quick and can be played with my small Wofun ECW collection is appealing. I printed it out and in the process discovered that material can be sent to the printer in "booklet" form - even more useful as I have been asked to make club copies of the 1981 Charge! too.
Speaking of the club, the annual "regatta" is tomorrow at the new location, and I hope to be there and provide a battle report and pics afterward. Hope your holidays and gaming gifts are as good as mine are shaping up to be. Til next time!
