Napoleonic solo action - using Black Powder (and Clash of Eagles)

Got in some action on table with solo Napoleonic game.

I started of using General D'Armee rules but found those difficult to use in solo mode so after some deliberation I decided to use Black Powder (a 'Marmite' set like Piquet) with add-ons from the excellent Clash Of Eagles supplement.

BP works pretty well for solo play as each side completes its turn in its entirety before other acts with only minimal interaction such as Closing Fire (if charged) and fighting in Melee.

Not a big fan of the 'buckets of dice' melee system but to be fair it does make things exciting to a degree.

I used 2/3rds of written ranges so Infantry shoot out to 12" and Field Artillery to 24", I think I would reduce the maximum Musketry range to maybe 6" as 12" just looks too long on table with 15mm troops.

Most certainly a fast playing game with BP (at its core it is a very simple game) and the Clash Of Eagles supplemental rules go a long way to generating decent period flavour, if one can remember them all in heat of battle !

I would personally place it well behind Piquet/FOB, Shako and GDA/GDB in pecking order but it does appeal for large multi-player games as very free and easy gameplay 

Couple of pics from session with Gen D'Armee, note Hesitant Marker on Brigade at stream and Brigade Skirmish Screens deployed (a system I stole for FOB).

And from the Black Powder sessions:

French push forward on left

Action in centre (note French Lt Inf in Mixed Column formation (ie with skirmish screen)

French Brigade crosses stream under fire from Prussian artillery

French pushing forward across the field

Prussians hold ridge line as French push in centre

Prussian Dragoon reserve committing itself to right flank as a unit of Uhlans were overrun

Victorious French Chasseurs force Prussian foot into square as they advanced after melee

Prussian line under pressure

French have taken the village

Prussian holding on left

A Blunder sees French Brigade Retire one move after crossing stream !

But they then get a double move and push forward

Exchange of musketry and casualties mount on both sides

Prussian Reserve Battalions arrayed as French Columns advance

Prussian Dragoons tackle more Chasseurs (after destroying a unit) but melee is indecisive (both units Shaken)

French Column shaken by artillery but survives Break Test 

Another French column Shaken and forced to Retire behind village (In BP units Retire 1-3 moves or are Broken and removed instead of Routing on table)

More Shaken French in centre

A unit of Prussian Hussars broke themselves against a 'Hasty' square on left but the square now charged by fresh Prussian foot.

Overview

Napoleonic game set up

Napoleonic game set up on table today (mainly to try out new large polystyrene hill shapes) with Prussian against French Spring 1813.

Not a formal scenario as such just a French attack against Prussians defending a ridge line (runs whole length of 6ft table edge).

Not decided which set of rules to use as yet but something covering Battalion level combat most likely.

So many sets to choose from !! but with Piquet family being best suited to solo play it may be hard to get past using one of those.

Colonial Twilight - solo play

Not much wargaming this week (for various reasons) but have set and begun playing the ever excellent COIN series game, Colonial Twilight with the Medium scenario.

My son is (hopefully) coming home for Christmas (to bubble) in a few weeks and keen to play this with him so getting some practice with rules and system again.

Still awaiting arrival of All Bridges Are Burning (which has been delayed from supplier)

Panzer Grenadier Deluxe - St Nicholas Farm scenario - solo play concluded

Completed solo play through with a narrow British victory after taking St Nicholas Farm.

A couple of devastating Artillery stonks on the farm decimated the defenders and once British took possession just not enough Germans left to wrest control back.

British did take a good few infantry casualties especially from German MMGs (MG42) but the PAK40 had no effect as British tanks never came into its line of sight.

Shermans did give effective support fire to their Infantry

All in all a fun game with these flavoursome WW2 rules.

Really looking forward Mr Browns new 'O Group' set which appear to be faster playing without being too simplistic.

Having played this and a couple of Rapid Fire Reloaded games in solo mode during current lock down phase here in NI it does highlight the difficulty in many regards playing WW2 solo.

Hard to play without properly hidden units, which are very much 'meat and veg' of a WW2 game (I mean I just knew where that Pak40 was) and despite my using several attack/defence and set up plans (I then diced for selection) it is still harder to ignore the '100ft General' aspect in this period than in horse and musket or ancients.

Still good way to learn or refresh knowledge of a set of rules.

A bunch of variable quality photos as I messed around with settings on camera apps on phone and iPad.