What was the last ruleset you played 2018?

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice one gents

[toxicpixie]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Bloody Big Battles, twice over
2) What armies were confronted? -  Crimean War - Russians on one side, French/British/Turks on the other
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Myself, yes. The two new/ish players pretty much, definitely so by the end of the second game
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Not at all, and not even for the two scenarios played!
5) How many players were in the game? - Three in the first, two in the second
6) What went well? - Rules/metagame wise, everything. The rules are simple and play easily, and are understandable very quickly. In game... my coordination as the Allies was pretty poor and I was rather overconfident.
7) What could have been improved? - First game the Russians needed to push harder, earlier. Second game I really needed to not get tricked by their feint!

We played the "small" Balaclava "training scenario at the club a few Wednesdays ago. Myself as the rather stretched Allies, two clubmates as the hordes of Russians. One had played before (he defended half the Alma line previous scenario!) but isn't massively confidant/assertive (he's a strip of a lad and only done any wargaming at all very recently!) and a new club chap whose rather more outgoing and confident; they were both au fait with the rules within a turn or two, but getting the shambling hordes of Russians to do what you want is hard work (in game terms they're Passive and lack generals - the infantry is very "lurch forwards-stop just when you wanted to carry on-someone else lurches off on their own", and getting the guns up and unlimbered somewhere useful is a nightmare!). Their attacks on the Causeway redoubts went in well enough, and one unit slipped past the embattle Turkish gunners and towards Balaclava proper. That ran into the Turks and the 93rd/RM and got shot up, the supporting cavalry did much the same. I couldn't hold them off the Causeway though, despite a brave sacrifice of both the Heavy and Light Brigade.

I'd tried to envelop the attackers on the middle redoubt with the 93rd and Turks from the south and the cavalry from the north but the sheer mass of Russians just kept forcing me back and my losses told more than theirs - The tiny two base British units suffer - all it takes is a reasonably lucky shot with a decent amount of firepower and they lose a stand and are gone. Their Veteran and Skirmish ratings help keep them up but it's always knife edge once the RUssians get a firing line together. Worse for the cavalry as they can't shoot and have to rely on reckless charges!

However, this bought me time. British reinforcements arrived and started off to clear down the Causeway. I realised at the last minute they wouldn't make it to the end two objectives so diverted north to seize the one on the Fedoukine Heights as it was barely held by the Russians but too late - we had to call time at turn 5 of 6, which had turned a possible allied recovery and win into a definite draw. The guns on the hills and works at Balaclava did heroic service in support of the troops penning the Russians on the Causeway, and when a big Russian brigade slipped through the gaping hole in my lines and headed first for the objective above Kadikoi and then onto Balaclava they shot it up so badly it ground to a halt! Fortunate as that would have given the Russians the game and then some.

If they'd pushed a little more aggressively early on, or been able to muster enough units to support each other on a drive to Kadikoi/Balaclava they'd have had a handy win. The cavalry and the Turks and the 93rd/RM sacrifices were not in vain, but it's a very tight scenario for either side I think.

Second scenario was at the boardgames meet my sister & BiL help run on a weekend in Wolves. This time just me and Harri (younger club mate), again with him taking the Russians and me the Allies but this time at Inkerman in the fog. This did not go well for the Allies. Mind, it wasn't exactly a ringing success for the Russians in terms of losses, either! The scenario has three set objectives for the Russian, and three "possible" objectives of which one (chosen in secret) is real... they also have a choice on reinforcements - the historical attack in the north against the British, or what was Gorkachov's feint in the south against the French being the real attack. I got completely faked out and assumed the "dummy" objective that was real was one of the British positions, then "worked out" it was definitely Sandbag Battery. I'd shifted my meagre reserves north and was moving them east to Sandbag when a shedload of Russians appeared in the south and assaulted the French on Sapoune Ridge!

The fog was brutal to us both. I couldn't use my musketry range advantage, Harri couldn't get his guns into action without being shot to pieces unlimbering at grapeshotte and musket range. When either of us had the fog lift or got in close enough to fire (I think five full turns of seven were at 3" visibility?!) it was brutal. I'd foolishly started to shift the French unit at the Woronzov Redoubt to enfilade and shatter the few initial shambling Russian units there so they could then release someone to go help the British in the north. Thus one of the big French units was caught out of position, and despite a valiant and bloody attempt to fight its way back got surrounded and shot and sabred down. The Russians them steamrollered into the Redoubt before my reinforcements could change direction and occupy it. The Sapoune Redoubt held, but the repeated Russian assaults all over the shop meant I couldn't leave anywhere undefended as it would either concede or open the flanks of the other objectives.

At this point the RUssians looked to be on course for a draw as Lancaster and Home Batteries were holding well enough, and it looked like a swift envelopment of the Russians there would free up more troops for the south. As I ordered the men forwards the fog lifted. The Russian guns emerged, their riflemen found the range, and almost all the small British units got shot up and lost a base, removing them! Those two base units are very fragile :S This left just an artillery battery holding Home, and with their first good set of coordinated movement rolls the Russians swept it aside and occupied it in force! With my reinforcements having had to go south and the troops on Gordons and Lancaster fully engaged (against to be fair dwindling and badly mauled Russians who'd suffered hideously!), there was literally no way I could retake it.

Guaranteed Russian draw, and a victory for them hinged around the Woronzov Redoubt. The gallant Franco-British reinforcements kicked them out once, then were ground back again as the Russians seized it en masse, and the rest of their troops staggered and shambled up the steep slopes to protect it. Even fairly fresh and vastly better quality the Allies troops just couldn't get back through the mass of Russians swarming across it, and as the fog lifted fully were forced to retire back towards the now rather truncated and perilously exposed siege lines.

The Russians had bought Sevastopol another few months of resistance, although at the cost of thousands of lives. Actual Allied casualties weren't too bad, but whilst Harri's determination to stick to the plan and spend lives to keep me pinned and confused had paid off in the strategic terms it had gutted the regiments involved, costing them thousands of casualties and no few guns. Still, come the Chernaya they would be in good stead and the survivors buoyed up by victory!

[FierceKitty]

What ruleset do you use in your last game? -A Hundred Circling Camps
2) What armies were confronted? - Geenyuine Sutth'n Genn'lm'n and Dam' Yankees
3) Did you feel comfortable with ths ruleset? - Sho' 'nuff.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No
5) How many players were in the game? - Two
6) What went well? - Finally got the timing right in launching my cavalry charges (admittedly, once was blind luck. I broke a Yankee flank just by getting the jump in movement order; had they got the jump on me, my horse would have been the victims. But I was risking a dime to win a dollar). The pursuit of the beaten Northerners after the battle was deadly.
7) What could have been improved? - Could have had Halle Berry as one of the players. That aside, got my Virginia foot blown to bits by Yankee artillery, which took some of the pleasure out of cutting down the Iron Brigade and the Arizona Zouaves.

[Chris Pringle]

6) What went well? - Rules/metagame wise, nothing.

I hope you meant that as the answer to "What could have been improved"! 

Many thanks for terrific reports of what sound like exciting seesaw battles. Hopefully young Harri is gaining in confidence as he gains experience, as well as having a good time along the way.

Cheers!
Chris

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

[toxicpixie]

Duuuuurp, yes, that was the "what could have been improved" question

Yeah, not a lot of improvement needed if any there, Chris.

On my proof reading/reading the question skills however...

Yes, pretty seesaw/knife-edge for both. The Russians are a very tough army to fight with, they're like a massive sledgehammer except it's made of flesh and very soggy and when your brain tells your arm to do something the nerves don't always fire The Allies quality (and indeed quantity in most of the Crimea battles) is easily a match for them but then the Russians don't need much to claim at least a morale victory, so you have to really perform commanding the Franco-Brits!

[fred.]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Bloody Big Battles, twice over
2) What armies were confronted? -  Crimean War - Russians on one side, French/British/Turks on the other
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Myself, yes. The two new/ish players pretty much, definitely so by the end of the second game

Good write up - any pictures?

[toxicpixie]

Sadly not, I get far too into the game! On top of that we're using my 2mm Irregular blocks on a pvc printed battlemap - much as I like them and love the cost and ease of use they're not amazing visually!

[Leman]

layPed Ronin again. WiWhat went wroed out again. ng, everything. What went wel. absolutely naf all!Cl early this computer works rather like the game did!

[toxicpixie]

I'm not sure if you're drunk or the computer is

[ErHo]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? -  Age of Sigmar starter set

2) What armies were confronted? -  Chaos vs Sigmar's eternal bois

3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Nope

4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Yes

5) How many players were in the game? - 3

The new:
6) What went well?  We got to play something new for everyone, some of us have played WHFB years ago.

7) What could have been improved?  A lot as to be expected in a starter set, these weren't the real AoS rules.   Its very streamlined, but its bland.   I miss running Brettonians or Dwarves in WHFB

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Mortiem et Gloriam
2) What armies were confronted? - White Sheep Turkmen vs Ottoman Turks
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - yes, but neither of us had used these armies before.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - nope
5) How many players were in the game? - two

The new:
6) What went well? White Sheep could stand up in a fight to Ottomans, and broke their cavalry centre, nearly taking a unit of Jannisary's too!
7) What could have been improved? For me, not much, superb thinking game, which will get its full write up tomorrow.

[Leman]

1. BBB

2. Ausrtians v. French 1859

3. Very comfortable, played many times

5. Two players

6. A tense game which went the whole 7 moves of the Montebello scenario.

7. In terms of game rules nothing. In terms of individual game play: when rolling on the firing table, the number of 'one year out' rolls was phenomenal on both sides, the most common being when an eight was needed a seven was rolled. The French had two turns where attempted assaults rolled low and failed to materialise, which allowed Austrian reinforcements to appear. One of those was a unit of Grenzers who managed to take the northern French village whilst the French were otherwise engaged. Despite a valiant assault, the French were thrown back in turn seven and the Austrians claimed the victory.

[Shecky]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - Mortiem et Gloriam
2) What armies were confronted? - Late Achaemenid Persians (me) vs. Classic Indian (Grant)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - yes
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - 2nd time for me, 1st for Grant
5) How many players were in the game? - two

The new:
6) What went well? For me, nothing. I lost my entire left flank which consisted of cavalry to elephants and chariots. Other than that,  despite the length of the rules they really are quite easy to understand. The charge, shooting and other combat mechanics are really very easy.
7) What could have been improved? I should have charged his archers and elephants sooner with my hoplites. I was too apprehensive of them and allowed the Indians to dictate the battle.

Interest in MeG is starting to build here in Texas. There's a tournament in Austin next month which Grant will attend and since I've played once before I agreed to run a few learning games. 

[Steve J]

1) What ruleset do you use in your last game? - To the Strongest
2) What armies were confronted? - Paphlagonia vs Latium (Imaginations armies)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Pretty much
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - 3rd or 4th time for me, 1st for Keith, my opponent.
5) How many players were in the game? - Two
6) What went well? - Keith picked up the mechanics pretty quickly and I kept the game pretty simple, so that we could focus on mechanics, rather than the detailed rules. In the end two easy wins for me and both games went along at a fair old lick.
7) What could have been improved? - A better QRS sheet with a tad more detail added, to save looking through the rulebook. Things such as bonus cards for flank attacks etc. just to help cover the major things during the game.

[Duke Speedy of Leighton]

Nice 👍  Shecky