Ongoing Pbem game using Combat Mission Afrika Korps 'engine' to play a scenario set in Normandy re action at Cheux.
I am defending Germans with John M as British on attack.
Hard to believe I have been playing some form of this game on PC since year 2000 !
Difficult to show an overview (as hidden units) but couple of screenshots of German units.
German reinforcements arrive in form of StugIII
Only had brief skim through but essentially seem to be a meld of original set with parts of the 'Modern' (at least they were then !) set covering 1950-1985 along with some other ideas from author (Bill Farquhar which I believe is a pseudonym) with revised armour classes.
Spotting is now deterministic rather than old set ranges but to hit system and converting hits to kills seems similar, though I do see mention of pure Suppression fire (hit points and area based) that I do not recall from early set.
For example the sequence of play now resembles the modern set
No QRS included (boo) but one is available from the Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/949803497279917/) as is link to Lulu print (rules £9.99 plus P&P)
Will have to give them a good read through and a playtest at some point as nostalgic connection to original set.
Steven chose the Allied force under Marlborough and I took the French and we used broadly historical deployment.
Great game that saw us both lose all our Morale but with my lot failing their Army Morale on second test.
Highlights were my right wing crushing the opposing Allied horse (4 units destroyed) but being unable to exploit this gain due to lack of move opportunities despite also routing the redoubtable Dutch Foot Guards (buggers came back fully rallied later) !
On Allied right the English contingent lost their general early on which thwarted any progress by them, but their guns did truly terrible damage on my foot Regiments across the Petite Gheete area routing several units which failed to Rally.
In center it was an attritional 'ding dong' of a battle with Allies taking Ramillies itself, then French retaking half (it was 2 x BUA) then losing this again in short order.
French were just beginning to at last turn the Allied left and were advancing across the Gheete when the Army Morale came into effect and ended proceedings.
Super stuff once more and so easy for Steven to pick up and play.
French left behind Petite Gheete (a class II stream within another area of Class II rough), note British units all in disorder as Orkney is hors de combat (he did come back later)
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Just a little insert to state (as if it were not obvious) how much I have enjoyed the Field Of Battle series of rules over the years, after catching the system 'bug' with original Piquet rules.
For me such a satisfying blend of playability, and historical flavour with the 'chaos' (for want of a better word) factor that I prefer overall in my gaming (be it via Pip dice, cards or whatever) which I can tweak to my hearts content without ever really breaking things and I bought in fully to the design premises clearly stated by authors (Bob Jones and Brent Oman)
I can honestly say I have never had a 'bad' game using FOB despite my dice often trying to spoil things for me !
Piquet in particular was a rather 'Marmite' set (players seemed to either love or hate with a passion) which I get to a degree with randomness of cards, the multiple dice types, and ever changing initiative system, but then several other rule sets are treated similarly (I know some that detest Black Powder or WRG style).
FOB toned down/'balanced' things a good deal with equal initiative and card runs whilst retaining same basic combat systems and simplifying system overall.
I get that some players can feel a lack of control ('the game is playing me, its not me playing the game !") with card/initiative randomness especially compared to more traditional sets, I guess your pays your money and takes your choice/variety is the spice of life as you play the hand you are dealt.
But I always feel games play out 'historically' (such a subjective thing in wargaming) overall feeling much more like battle accounts I read with the inherent unpredictability of events and action and yet in a fun and often exciting way.
I of course enjoy several other other sets of rules for differing reasons but always find I am comparing the experience of using them to FOB and it is usually my go to set nine times out of ten for horse and musket period.
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Eventually managed to get some Humbrol 'cement' type glue (with rather pungent fumes) to complete the 1/48th King Tiger build, with the affixing of those bloody fiddly track sections.
As such glue is slower to dry/bond than super glue types this allowed required realigning and pushing to and fro of said sections.
So now its onto a paint job for the beast in due course.
I fielded my one and only army the Early Imperial Catholic and Stephen fielded Later French (so a wee bit out historically but not by much).
Usual 800pt armies but using the latest (2020 ?) amendments.
Considering we have not played in so long the game went very well, with only couple of things we needed to look up or learn anew despite it being a bit more complicated/involved than usual fare for us of late (probably an age thing but we tend to simpler types nowadays).
The game really turned in second phase of melee when several French foot completely pulverised my line of Late Tercios.
Compared to LadgRenn we sort of prefer the big infantry formations in FOGR but much prefer the 'Squadron' style single units of mounted in LadgRenn.
Overall enjoyable outing and great to see these armies on table again.
First outing for gas bombardments (by nasty Boche) in this game, although did not last too long as a breeze card dispersed the cloud.
A very gritty game with lots of close assaults on foxholes and trench line with Germans decimating French for Surrender win.
We used a newer edition of rules (2024) than last outing and I found the online army lists much easier to use than older version (more 'Armies' but less options per list).
I selected a Minas Morgul Orc list with the Witch King of Angmar on a Fell Beast as main 'character' with a Troll (well one just has to) with a selection of Orcs and associated Orc Captains with a couple of Spectres (as experiment), points total was 650.
Stephen fielded a Rivendale Elf force led by Elrond with lots of Archers, Eleven Swordsmen, a few mounted Eleven Knights (bow and lance) an Eleven Bannerman and with a couple of other Hero leaders whose names I forget.
A fun game that has a simple basic system with the complication coming from the various abilities and traits of the troops and the Heroes and how these are enacted and how they interact.
But this generates a myriad of options and decisions to make combined with the use of Might, Fate, Initiative and Heroic actions and indeed give a nice Middle Earth feeling to proceedings.
Stephen loves points based pick 'n mix and this system feeds that very well.
Overall an enjoyable foray into the fantasy realm (I do like a bit of Middle Earth).
A few pics from later in game ie after Troll had been knocked on his butt by an Elrond special ability (knocks down all enemies within 3") and surrounded and pummeled to death (he is just visible in last pic in front of Fell Beasts head) after wandering ahead of main force.
Club meeting today and I put on another FOB3 game this time using scenario 'Le Garde Au Feu' from GDB scenario booklet as basis
Scenario is set during Lutzen 1813 and depicts the afternoon counter attack by the Imperial Guard around the 'four villages' defended by a Prussian and Russian force.
French were commanded by Mike and Simon with the 'Two Daves' (Dave T and Dave M) tasked with holding off Guard with their Allied force.
French had 32 units with 2 Old Guard,12 Young Guard, 4 Line, 4 Second Line some Skirmish screens and supported by Guard Lancers and Line Lancers with several batteries of guns (some Guard standard with one Battery static on heights), they also had 45 Morale.
The French had to place 2 Brigades in off-table reserve (they choose the Old Gde and Gde Cavalry).
Allies had 24 units with 4 Prussian Line, a Prussian Guard Brigade with 2 Gde Musketeers, a small (3UI) unit of Gde Jager, 4 Russian Grenadiers (although Pavlov unit starts as a village garrison), 4 Russian Second Line, Skirmish screens and Prussian Cavalry Dragoons and Hussars, a unit of Russian Gde Hussars and several gun batteries, they started with 35 Morale.
Game was another cracker with lots of action and incident.
Highlights were Russian Gde Hussars being Routed but then Rallying and charging two units in flank destroying them but then being charged in turn on their flank and annihilated.
One Prussian Gde foot were ignominiously Routed with 3 hits by OG Guard guns but they too manged to Rally (and restore all UI losses !)
Most entertaining (at least for Umpire) was the OG Foot Brigade failing 5 times (1 on a D10) to appear but then once they did they were 'supercharged' getting 3 moves twice and essentially winning the game by inflicting musketry losses, which expended Allied Morale and of course an Army Morale was turned and the Allies quit the field.
However it transpired that the French had only 1 Morale chip left so very close to collapse themselves.
Quote of day was from Simon "how to win by rolling ones" as indeed the French had a deluge of such rolls especially early on.
Pics of varied quality as seems to depend on angle of shot how lighting effects
French Young Guard formations advance near Rahna
Also at club were two other games (another had to cancelled due to travel issues after Storm Eowyn) and as usual I have no idea how these turned out
Phil and co had a Pony Wars game using Man Who Would Be King rules in 20mm (Pics stolen from Phil as mine out of focus)
Dave M put on a WW1 game using (I think) One Hour Wargames rules
