Coming Soon

 To a blog near to this one: Gathering of Hosts.

The Gathering of Hosts.

If all goes well, I'll have the battle played and posted by .Sunday evening (Atlantic Time)

What's Next? A Model of a woodpile!

A 1:1 scale wood pile as it happens...

Winter Is Coming!

But, don't worry, the work is coming along quickly and I can't do the physical stuff for 12-18 hours a day, so there will be hobby time as well. The  question is: "What next?"

Any requests?  All will be considered.....

At The End Of The Day

If I'd known this 3 hour game was going to take me 8 days to play, I probably wouldn't have started! However, I'm glad I did.  

Somewhere around turn 11 or 12 of 15, one US brigade has been shattered on the right and the 4th,  recently arrived, has deployed to fit through the woods between the batteries on the central hill, just out of  the photo. The Rebs are starting to think they may hold the line. 

The scenario was of the "Hold the Pass" sort. The Rebs started with a brigade of infantry (9 stands) , a cavalry brigade (6 stands) and 2 batteries (1 stand@). Reinforcements, consisting of another infantry brigade and 2 more batteries, were coming, sometime in the first 6 turns. The Yankees started with a cavalry brigade and a battery on table with another brigade of infantry or battery entering each turn, 4 infantry brigades and 4 more guns in all.  

The defender's mission was to hold the pass till dusk (turn 15).

Suddenly, the Federal artillery found the range and the Rebs were running low on ammo or were just plain tired and the remnants of the veteran Reb 1st Brigade, on the verge of breaking, was ordered to fallback into the woods as the sun began sinking in the sky. 

After a lot of thinking and trying and rethinking and so on, I ended up for the last 1/2 of the game with the sort of fast, simple game that I had wanted.  That the basics fit on one side of a page was a benefit but I'd be happy with two sides of a page. 

Suddenly, as the sun sank (2nd to last turn)  the Union artillery and infantry in the centre of their line, found the range and the Reb centre broke, taking the rest of their shattered division with them. 
The pass was open!

None of the ideas and mechanics were new. Some were revived, borrowed, simplified, and adapted from my "With MacDuff On The Frontier", or from my "Hearts of Tin", and some borrowed and modified from Lawford and Young's "Charge!" and some from who knows what dark corner of my memory.   

(Click here for one page Quick Reference as used today.)

I wouldn't be surprised if I end up trying a version for my 40mm home cast 18/19thC , not quite historical, armies, but, for now, the yard and garden call!  

Another Turn, Another Adjustment

I do get some of the weirdest ideas when fishing about for new ideas for a new rule set. Ideally, I'd know what I want before I start but usually I only know that I want something different from what I had been doing, usually because the old rules were too finicky or too simple. accidentally favoured unusual tactics, took too long to reach a conclusion, or too little time.......etc etc....  Annoying when solo but really annoying and frustrating with guinea players.

Anyway, I got another 2 turns played after my outdoor chores were done (Winter is coming! but a few cords of wood are coming the day after tomorrow so I need to have a spot for a heap of firewood to be dumped.)

The fighting heats up as the afternoon starts to edge towards evening.

I kept getting the new turn sequence confused and it just didn't "feel right" so I rolled it back, trimmed some more old habits and failed new ideas and am ready for another go tomorrow.    

Two Turns In A Day, Sweet ____(modified)

 Life! Well, I managed another turn (sighhhhhh..........)

*** It appears that some people had problems seeing the picture in this recent blogpost. If anyone ever has an issue, please either leave a comment or send me an email so I can investigate. (usually everything looks fine on my end). 

I have reloaded the picture by my usual way which I wasn't able to do last night. I intended to leave both pictures up but..... the computer was ahead of me and deleted the old one without asking. Oh well. Anyway, please do report any such things (after all even with toy soldiers, SNAFU happens.)

The infantry engage.
(Oi! Who knocked that fence over!?)
(I may have to base the fence sections)

Actually, it might have been 2 turns,....(about 15 min each including time for tweaking the still under construction rules as I go...). That's spring for you!