What was the last ruleset you played 2017?

[toxicpixie]

Should have posted this last week, but forgot/was busy/dog ate my homework

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? Bloody Big Battles
2) What armies were confronted? Prince "Steady lads" Menshikov's Crimea Russian army versus the Allied French & British under Marshall "By column I meant attack, not march!" Sant-Arnaud and Lord "who are we fighting? The French? What? I'm not deaf you know!" Raglan.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? Pretty much - more so for me than the players, but running a game leads me to too many "errrrrr" moments wanting to Get It Right^(tm)...
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? Several times in for me, couple of times for some, first for others
5) How many players were in the game? Four plus me as umpire

We're going to run through the Crimea campaign at my games club as and when we've a free evening; we started with the Alma last week. My PVC banner map and 2mm figures, and I've popped an order off to Irregular as it pointed up I don't have enough figures so ended up proxying some bases with a mixed bag of Austrians, Prussians, Hanoverians and Saxe Coburg Gotha's!

The Russians took the interesting approach of completely ceding the river line and initial heights, deploying well back across the road to Sevastopol with a massive "grand battery" pointing down the road & valley to Bourloik. This gave the French a seeming head start, as deployed in march column and raced up the road, over the bridge and up the valley, whilst doing much the same but slower cross country up by Almatamak alongside the Turks.

The French then got caught in march column & hammered by the grand battery, before deploying smoothly into line and seeking cover under the steep ridge edges, so they hunkered down and waiting for their flanking attack to get moving and for the British to arrive.

The British... oh the British... Raglan was on fine form, most of them didn't make it over the river until four turns in, those that did raced forward, then stopped to await reinforcements as the Russians detached a couple of units Velichko's 16th Div. to lurk behind Kourgan Hill. He eventually got the Guards moving and the Light Div., and charged in. The 16th counterattacked, as did the Cossacks, getting horribly mauled (no arty support, classic close packed shambling columns against well drilled and aimed rifle fire), and then the British cavalry dove in and drove back the Cossacks but couldn't quite finish them and get back to finish off the infantry. The counter attacks had worked - they'd completely taken the British focus off actually securing the Sevastopol roads and drawn them well out of position leaving the French on their own to do the heavy lifting.

The French had their own problems - Kiryakov's 17th Inf Div and the Hussars were getting mauled, but too late - they held the road, although battered and bruised, and subjected to a terrible flank attack from the Turks , of all people! The only troops on the field worse than the Russians, they shambling in late with a sudden burst of resolve, caught the disorganised Russian Hussars and two infantry units one after another (including a vicious break through exploitation!) and turned the Russian left & centre from holding well to "dude, where's my Division?"  whilst the French struggled up the ridge lines into musketry and cannon fire! But the Russian reserves were still holding against everything the French threw at them and there was no time to clear them off.

It had been too little, too late - as the afternoon drew to a close Menshikov was able to withdraw his battered command & trains into the interior whilst the French & British struggled for several days to restore order to their mess of units and count the butchers bill. It had ended quite, quite badly - for everyone.

[Steve J]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Crom from Matakashi's Tea House
2) What armies were confronted? - Lone Barbarian versus Wolves, then later on Bandits.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Easy to pick up the basics.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Yes
5) How many players were in the game? - Two

A pretty basic set of rules that are quick to pick up and provide a fun 'beer & pretzels' type game. Really would work as a multi-player game with a narrative driven campaign for an evenings fun gaming.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Mortiem et Gloriam
2) What armies were confronted? - 10mm Picts vs 10mm Later Roman
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - utterly
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - no, but it was for Brian who was playing the Romans
5) How many players were in the game? - two

Win for the Picts, was able to get the superior Saxons into the flanks of three Roman units. Close win for Picts

[Chris Pringle]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? Bloody Big Battles
2) What armies were confronted? Prince "Steady lads" Menshikov's Crimea Russian army versus the Allied French & British under Marshall "By column I meant attack, not march!" Sant-Arnaud and Lord "who are we fighting? The French? What? I'm not deaf you know!" Raglan.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? Pretty much - more so for me than the players, but running a game leads me to too many "errrrrr" moments wanting to Get It Right^(tm)...
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? Several times in for me, couple of times for some, first for others
5) How many players were in the game? Four plus me as umpire

Thanks, TP, I really enjoyed your report! Though I say it myself, for a battle that historically was just a rather simple frontal assault, the BBB scenario for The Alma seems to consistently provide amazingly entertaining games. (Admittedly the fact that the players have some pre-game options helps.)

I do highly recommend the BBB Crimea campaign. With five battles altogether it is feasible for a group to get through it within a couple of months without losing interest; and all the scenarios are different and distinctive. The Oxford group replayed the whole thing earlier this year and it couldn't have gone better, the outcome of the entire campaign coming down to the last dice on the last turn of the last game ... final result a tied campaign with 1 win apiece and 3 drawn games.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://uk.groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/BBB_wargames/info
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.co.uk/

[toxicpixie]

It's a cracking scenario - with bad terrain, and the onus entirely on the "best" side, a nice spread of complexity and simplicity in units it works really well. For the Russians the later scenarios felt like trying to knock a wall down with your face (despite scraping a narrow win for Inkerman and a close loss at the Chernaya), but the Alma seems especially good. Attack-defence games can develop into one side being pounded but you have to move your reserves, and get your counter attacks in, shift units to deal with things as they come up, and the disjointed nature of the Allied attack means there's lots of wriggle room and decisions.

[Jim Ando]

Hi
Played a couple of games of pike and shotte . Initially dismissed them for splitting pike and shot into separate units but purchased the ecw supplement which fixed it. Hooked now. Love them to bits now.

Jim

[FierceKitty]

Black Powder; Zulus and Brits. First go at this period with these rules. They're easy enough, but I don't care for the huge moves that they allow (nor, in fact, did the opponent who was demonstrating them to me). Artillery seems absurdly weak too.

[fred.]

That was one of our big problems with BP. And that after they had leapt forwards, the fire fight was very ineffectual.

[sunjester]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - The Pikeman's Lament
2) What armies were confronted? - 28mm Ottomans vs Imperialists
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 Orcs
5) How many players were in the game? - two

We played 2 games in about 3 hours, An all-cavalry fight which the Ottomans won and a more mixed troop pillaging scenario, which the Imperialists won.

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Wings of Glory
2) What armies were confronted? - Russian Nieuport N.11 vs German Albatros C.III 2 seater
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - solo

Scenario from 3 August 1916 - the Latvian N.11 pilot was killed in the historical encounter and the Albatros pilot went on to serve with Boelcke. In the game the N.11 was likewise shot down, principally by fire from the Albatros observer.

Edward

[Leman]

1. Civil War Battles (Peter Pig ACW)

2. Union v. Confederate using the White Oak Road scenario from the rulebook.

3. Reasonably comfortable, although it was their first outing for about five years.

4. No

5. Two players and me umpiring.

I had forgotton how much fun these rules were compared to Regimental Fire and Fury, with which I have become very jaded of late, as the large scenarios are overly long and tedious, even with half a dozen players. I base slightly differently to the rulebook, i.e. infantry are 30mm x 20mm and each base counts as a half base. Doesn't seem to make any difference to moving a unit and makes life easier when casualties occur.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Sabre Squadron
2) What armies were confronted? - 6 Day War Israeli vs Egyptian
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - yes as Gennorm, the author, was umpiring.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - this year, yes...
5) How many players were in the game? - five plus Gennorm.

The Egyptians had deployed in depth, a dug in batta of infantry and a company of T-34s, somewhere in the Sinai Desert, defending a road junction at a settlement. There was a broad belt of mines, a road blocked road and a few rises between them and an Israeli armoured battalion of two Centurion companies and an infantry company, backed up by engineers and a Sherman flail tank!
The Israeli forces sent one tank company straight down the road to engage the tanks and infantry, while the infantry, engineers and second tanks set off left.
The Egyptian T-34s, dug in in a commanding rise, were eliminated by Israeli artillery and long range tank fire.
The engineers took heavy losses from Egyptian artillery crossing the minefield, but being valiant professionals only broke AFTER the job was done. This allowed the Israeli tanks to pour through the gap, ignoring the Egyptian infantry company to their front, skirt around and break into the Egyptian rear.
The Egyptians hustled four platoons of T-54s, that had arrived as reinforcements, to deal with the threat, but lost three platoons to Israeli long range tank fire, in exchange for one lost Centurion!
That was enough, with the Egyptian foot disintergrating from fire from the other Centurion company, the Egyptians turned tail and fled!
Israeli losses: engineer platoon, six centurions, one infantry squad.
Egyptian losses: 7 T-34s, 7 T-54s, 4 infantry platoons.

The Egyptian defensive positions
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Israelis break the road block, artillery pounds the T-34s on the hills, and engineers start clearing the minefield.
(IMAGE CENSORED)

My Israeli tanks break past the Egyptian defenders as our infantry mops them up (with a little help from my third platoon and command tanks), meanwhile in the centre, the Israeli tanks start on their second and third infantry platoon.
(IMAGE CENSORED)

The end, all that remains are the battered remnants of a T-54 company as the Israeli forces surge towards Suez.
(IMAGE CENSORED)

[Steve J]

Hmmm, sadly Will, the photos aren't showing:(

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

And that's why I'm going off Photobucket!

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Try again
Initial Egyptian positions


Engineers clearing the minefield, Marks's tanks begin their rampage


Our left hook

The Egyptian collapse