What the last rules set you played in 2021

[FierceKitty]

Sunjesters dice again?

Do they?

[sunjester]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? Victorian SF variant for Sellswords and spellslingers
2) What armies... &**% off
3) What, look did you feel comf... GO AWAY
4) Was.. SHUT UP AND EFF OFF
5) NO REALLY JUST SHUT THE F UP
6) 

I will post a battle report on the blog, after the memorial services have taken place!

[Westmarcher]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Honours of War (SYW)
2) What armies were confronted? - Austria vs Prussia. It was a scenario taken from the Honours of War forum which the author (Keith Flint) had found in the Vintage Wargaming blog and which he played when the rules were being developed some 8 years ago.
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, very much so compared to the Black Powder game the week before.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No, although not for a long time.
5) How many players were in the game? - Me and the Schizo (solo)
6) What went well? - For the outnumbered Austrians, it was winning the race to the river that separated both armies and thus being able to command this.
7) What could have been improved? - The Prussian plan was similar - get to the river and cross it before the Austrians could command this. But they failed and were hammered as they tried to cross. Perhaps it was unlucky dice or simply poor tactics in the execution of the Prussian plan but, if playing it again, I would probably try to get their artillery forward much sooner before attempting the crossing in the face of the enemy. The rules themselves are really slick and I find them much better than Black Powder.

[FierceKitty]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - White Man's Burden again
2) What armies were confronted? - Zulu and British
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, easy one.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Nope.
5) How many players were in the game? - Two.
6) What went well? - Two disordered and much-depleted units fought off a bayonette attack by the redcoats.
7) What could have been improved? - Crummy movement rolls, and my Zulus decided thay'd had enough at the same time that the Brits did.

[mmcv]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Twilight of Divine Right
2) What armies were confronted? - Parliamentarian and Royalist
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Not at first but moreso by end
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Yes
5) How many players were in the game? - One
6) What went well? - My choice of using red dice clearly favoured the Royalists as it is their colour and the rolls came up well for them. Even the usually feisty cavalry managed to mostly stay in control.
7) What could have been improved? The Parliament forces had a few bum rolls and their morale wasn't up to much.

Interesting ruleset and one I wish to explore further. This was a small test game using some unpainted 2mm I have for the period.

Full details here: http://mmcvhistory.home.blog/2021/02/03/twilight-of-divine-right-test-game/

[kustenjaeger]

Greetings

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Chain of Command
2) What armies were confronted? - US vs Italian, Sicily 1943 (and the previous game British Para vs German, Arnhem 1944)
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Not at first.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No (it's been 6 years or so since I played))
5) How many players were in the game? - Four
6) What went well? - very entertaining - Pzkw IV interrupted US turn and blew up a Sherman spectacularly
7) What could have been improved? Our (US) tactics.

Edward

[Big Insect]

Greetings all - my 1st game of 2021 & my 1st game with another real-life opponent since March 2020

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - L'art De La Guerre

2) What armies were confronted? - 200pts aside Palmyran v Greco-Bactrians

3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, very much so - I am a big fan of LADG and despite almost a year of not playing it, it came back like 2nd nature

4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? No, I've been playing with this set for many years, since it was 1st translated to English, in both 28mm and 15mm & now on-line. I have played in 300pts doubles matches, and also the fast-play 120pt version (which I really like) as well as the standard 200pt game.

5) How many players were in the game? - Me (Palmyran + Armenian ally) v Andy Unwin (Greco-Bactrians)

6) What went well? - this was the first time I'd played an online table-top game using the TTS platform (& Steam & Discord - for VOIP) and it took me a couple of evenings to get the technology set up (my security software really did not like the TTS download to start with) - but with Andy's able assistance that got resolved and we spent c.30 minutes going through the gaming table - how you picked up and moved units, laid out terrain, generated dice rolls and casualty counters etc. etc. I had to go back to school on how to use a mouse (LoL) but it was a huge help. So it was a great game despite me loosing 21 to 13. Some of the mechanisms for laying down and moving pieces to exactly where you wanted them was a bit tricky, for a cack-handed old geezer like me but I think with (a lot) more practice I'll get there.

7) What could have been improved? - the rules work fine - although I think there is a new v2 due out shortly picking up on some of the more obvious errata and adding and tweaking some of the army lists - which will be good. The TTS set up is good (once you've learnt how to turn off the terrible introductory background muzak!). However, I used a standard Palmyran 200pt army that some other kind player had set up in the archive. It was a very Cataphract 'heavy' list so whilst it had a lot of hitting power (& armour) it was very unmaneuverable and had little that could cope with the dreaded 'heavy death star' with a 3 x pike and 2 x elite elephant combo in the Bactrian central division. So next time I'll be spending a bit more time ahead of the game to customize my own list to allow me more foot Archers and maybe some allied Roman Legionaries ... but we'll see. I might consider using a Hatran with Parthian allies - but that will require a Cataphract Camel playing piece, which is currently sadly missing  

Great fun and a lot of new learnings.

[Last Hussar]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Blood, Sweat and Tears
2) What armies were confronted? - British vs Italian, Sicily 1943
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - I wrote them
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - 3rd game + 2 solo
5) How many players were in the game? - two
6) What went well? - Proof of concept appears to be working
7) What could have been improved? Sunjester whining over the scenario map. The PBI on the 2" mortar were incapable of estimating range.

The first game in the next SJ/LH historical campaign (to be played interspersing the VSF).

"Lieutenant - this bridge on the map - make sure you control it. It is a link between the beaches and the paratroops at Syracuse."  The platoon lost two men permanently (KIA, wounded). Thus next game 2 bases will start with a -1.

The smoke from the 2" was consistently long by 10-15m.
"Drop smoke in front of the bridge to cover the men"
"Yes sir, drop smoke on the bridge" (drops smoke)
"No, in front of the bridge."
"So to the left of the bridge then."

Because of the nature of the campaign and how the games will fit into that (company commander in Italy from 43 to 45) the British would always win tonight. Sunjester's ongoing mission is not just to complete the scenarios, but to keep the unit effective.

The Italians were a section - 2 MGs with approx. 10 riflemen (that is 2 bases MG, with 3 bases of rifle). The British advancing (quickly) from the Husky beach heads were a full platoon.  Table was approx. 3ft x 3ft (about 200m square)

As proof of concept I feel it again went well. British manoeuvring by the book until people started shooting back, when it all got fragmented. It is activation by card, 1 card per section with Leaders having their own cards. As the only way to close assault is to have a leader order it on their activation, you need the Lt and/or Sgt in the right places. At that point you need to decide is the amount of fire on the enemy going to be enough, as they don't test for hits until they are activated.

The Italians were disadvantaged by, in scenario terms, being jumped by a bunch of hairy arsed Tommies acting as a platoon, where as they were just controlling the road bridge, so were more fragmented. This disadvantaged them twice - firing they could not concentrate/coordinate fire, and as a target all shots hit single bases, rather than be spread to near by bases. This is important, because firing doesn't go all against one base, it spreads to those near by, so taking hits off the target. (The more bases in the area of fire, the less effective the fire is as it gets spread around).

For once Sunjester threw average dice. I continued my 30 year streak of rolling high when I want low, and vice versa.

Next game...

The Platoon leader has just enough time to organise the defence of the bridge as the Italians counter attack.

[paulr]

Good to hear the rules continue to survive contact with the enemy

[mmcv]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Twilight of the Sun King
2) What armies were confronted? - Swedes vs Saxon and Russian Allies
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes much more so after my test game of Divine Right
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Yes, though very similar to my last game
5) How many players were in the game? - One
6) What went well? - using historical Swedish tactics payed off
7) What could have been improved? The Allies dice rolling was abysmal, repeatedly failing morale tests completely to rout after a single charge.

https://mmcvhistoryhome.wordpress.com/2021/02/06/twilight-of-the-sun-king-test-game/

[Steve J]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Honours of War
2) What armies were confronted? - Prusskia vs Ruthenia
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Very, as I was involved from early development and playtesting
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Nope
5) How many players were in the game? - Solo
6) What went well? - For a simple meeting engagement, the game played well. The Ruthenians got the important Shooting Initiatives when it mattered and the Die Gods were on there side.
7) What could have been improved? The Ruthenian command rolls early on and the Prusskian shooting die, which didn't quite roll high enough to turn the tide in their favour.

[Steve J]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Rebels & Patriots
2) What armies were confronted? - Prusskia vs Ruthenia
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Very
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - No, but a bit rusty. Being invovled in the playtesting meant most things came back to me.
5) How many players were in the game? - Solo
6) What went well? - As a quick game to refresh things before a 'proper' game later on, it all worked out fine. A few things to clarify in my head.
7) What could have been improved? - Nothing really.

[mmcv]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - To the Strongest!
2) What armies were confronted? - Aztecs vs Tarascans
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Reasonably - forgot a few bits first turn or two but was grand after that.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Nope
5) How many players were in the game? - Solo
6) What went well? - First run with new armies. Tarascan shooting was devastating at the start but the Aztec war machine ground them down once close combat was joined.
7) What could have been improved? - Aztec saving rolls for the first half of the game were abysmal. The terrain favoured them though as it prevented the Tarascan archers from flanking them.

(As seen here: http://www.pendrakenforum.co.uk/index.php/topic,20552.0.html)

[Scorpio_Rocks]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Saga: Age of Magic
2) What armies were confronted? - We managed to get in 4 games over he weekend, so played with all possible armies
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes - despite this being our first game in the "Age of Magic" we have played previously in the ages of the Crusades, Vikings and Hannibal. The base rules are the same with additional magic rules.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Ish... see above
5) How many players were in the game? - Two (I have a "support bubble")
6) What went well? - The games as a whole - we loved the easy system to build and stat your forces allowing us to play a new "period" without buying any new figures.
7) What could have been improved? - As always the only improvements needed were in my tactical acumen (it appears getting your War Lord killed in the first turn is NOT conducive to winning...) and dice rolling!

[FierceKitty]

1) What ruleset did you use in your last game? - Ten More Sons!
2) What armies were confronted? - Hussites and Catholics
3) Did you feel comfortable with the ruleset? - Yes, easy one.
4) and... was this the first time you used this ruleset? - Nope.
5) How many players were in the game? - Two.
6) What went well? - We captured the Hussite general, though at the cost of most of our own cavalry.
7) What could have been improved? - Hmmmm. Both sides had morale tests, but my crusaders came off second best there. Those Czechs are, as I expected, a very tough army, though I can see potential weaknesses. The secret may be to hit them in many places at once with the more numerous crusader horse, and mass crossbow shooting at the weaker foot, if there is any.