Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Different vs Better

Mid-summer is not the best season for testing wargame rules here, especially not with games designed to happily last a few hours. Its just too damned hot in my games room from around 10 until 6 and there are too many other things needing to be done. But after several days of one or two turns a day I'm done.
About 4 turns in. Reinforcements have arrived and been deployed on both sides and a bold cavalry charge has cleared off 1 unit of Rosmark light infantry. The big gun (which is the primary target for Rosish forces) has been manhandled out of the entrenchment and aimed at the enemy.  
The game was enjoyable in parts and frustrating in parts as I tried to sort out what I want from the game. This would be easier if I was starting from scratch but then I wouldn't be "here" if I were. (I'd be casting troops  in Shakos and gluing them on multi-figure stands)

Several things became abundantly clear however. The first, already known,  is that changing several key rule mechanisms several times during a game makes it  next to impossible to asses the game as a whole even while allowing a good comparison of the "feel" of each approach. The second, also known, is that while some mechanisms don't work, others are merely a choice between two valid approaches which deliver a different "feel" to the game.

A slightly earlier overview of the armies deploying.  
At times I wondered if I should just give up and play Charge! or seperate the two projects entirely but a large part of me wants this sort of rules for these figures and this campaign  and I want it to work on this table and without losing my compatibility for those joint convention games so the die is cast.

Late in the day the Grey Squadron of the Yellow Hussars are broken by an exceptionally stubborn bunch of Wild Geese.  Its a little hard to see but the Pandours brushed aside the Veteran militia without even breaking step. Only a halt by the Cautious Pandour Brigadier prolonged the game to 10 turns.
Luckily the game felt just right at points so I'm on the right road. A bit of history, a bit of storytelling and a bit of toy soldiering.

5 comments:

  1. Sometimes I love certain rule mechanisms because they give the result I feel is right. By the next game that self same system is infuriatingly unrealistic*, so I guess it is necessary for a couple of games to be played before they can be binned completely.

    * Yes I am referring to Fire and Fury!

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    1. Agreed. Its even more annoying when one has written them oneself....

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  2. Nice looking game Ross, thanks for sharing!

    You said: ".....At times I wondered if I should just give up and play Charge!...."

    But: Isn´t Charge! a difficult ruleset for solo-playing?

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    1. I found writing secret orders for both sides to be beyond me so I rolled each turn to see you would go first and that worked well. That the units and ranges etc are too big for my smaller table. Last time I had to cut units and all distances in 1/2.

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    2. It also goes too fast with just a few units!

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