Solo Miniature Wargaming (Part 3)

I hope the last post gave the general idea of how I handle the games. Obviously with a larger game and more complex set of rules and or scenario, the play will be more complex and take longer but the general idea is the same.  (Don't worry, the pictures and captions will follow this game to its end.)

Turn 8: British reinforcements (104th New Brunswick Regt and Canadian Fencibles) and the rallied 89th Foot counterattacked and retook the ridge. 

There may be some though who are wondering what more is there, if anything? What happens when the game is over? How long can you maintain interest by playing small, random, scenarios against yourself?

Well the short answer is "Longer than you would think" but luckily its not the only option.

Turn 9 saw both sides regrouping on one flank while  the long range firefight continued on the other.

"Play it again Sam".  How often have you finished a game with a friend and sat chatting about the game and musing on various "what if's"?  The moves you thought about but didn't make, the ones that chance stopped whether command control, random event, variable length moves, morale tests etc or that you thought about too late? How many 'sure thing' combats have you lost when the all the dice liked your opponent better than you? With a solo game, instead of talking about a refight, you can do it and try Plan B or retry the surefire Plan A to see if it was just bad  luck or if there were unseen flaws in the plan.

Turn 10: The British left starts to crumble while the American left rallies and starts to prepare for a renewed assault.

There is also the chance to try a scenario in various periods while the table is set,
that is, if you are one of us who play in multiple periods. Would this scenario work in WWII? What about in Medieval Europe or in Zululand?

Historical battles with a twist are an interesting option. Just played a game based on Waterloo? Got a choice of other periods on hand? Instead of clearing the table completely what about resetting it, maybe 300 years earlier with the King Henry VIII's English bills and bows on the ridge awaiting the French onslaught while watching for the Emperor's Landsknechts to arrive? Will the different weapons and tactics make it a wholly different battle or might it still resemble the later one if the same over all plan is adopted? Since you are controlling both sides you can give it a go without focusing on beating your friend and opponent.

Turn 12. The British left has crumpled after heavy casualties and the British no longer have enough infantry for a solid line. The artillery is cut off and fights to the last, pouring grape into the flank of a rash American attempt to bypass it.

 Rule vs Rule. Solo games are also a good way to test out new rule sets, especially if you don't have a regular weekly opponent.  What I particularly like to do is to play a test game of a new set of rules using a familiar, reliable, scenario such as Sawmill Village or Blastof Bridge, one I know from experience works well with multiple rules in multiple periods.  (eg see Ma-theyre-at-it-agin)

I have also been known to play the same scenario a couple of times in a row with different rules to get a feel for how they compare with each other whether for playability, historical feel, fun or anything else. (eg  Wargames Digest Battle Station - 5 posts, 3 rules )

Turn 14. The light is fading as a last ditch American assault goes in. Both sides are teetering on the edge of army morale collapse.  The British General was shot while trying to steady the 104th and the British are praying for a 2nd Joker to rob the enemy of their last chance.

 Actually, before starting this post I played this scenario with an updated, partially tested, version of my Square Brigadier, found myself modifying it as I went and finally ended up rolling back most of the changes and that was what I used for this game. The replay of the same scenario confirmed my feeling that the rules had wandered off course and had needed to be brought back.

Turn 15. The British get the next best thing, some free rally rolls and first move. Their shooting nearly does it but the American General rallies the Lafayette County Volunteers and leads them onto the ridge and their bravery is rewarded with favourable dice. A tied melee sees night fall with the hill still in contention.  It could SO easily have gone to either side at various points but no, it ended in a draw, much like the battle the "Melee" scenario was inspired by.

However, there is more! In the next post I'll look at various sorts of quick and easy solo campaign options.