Malburian game with Black Powder

Game at Billys tonight with Bryn and Shane using his excellent 15mm Malburian troops and Black Powder rules (they use original version).
Big game with 8 Allied Brigades against 6 Franco-Bavarian Brigades.
Franco-Bavarians (Bryn and Shane) where set up in nice defensive posture behind a shallow with a few walled areas as well and some 'Forlorn Hope' units of dismounted Dragoons occupying 3 Town areas across the river.
Billy took the British contingent with a Danish Brigade whilst I commanded a Dutch and a German Infantry Brigade with 2 Brigades of Dutch Cavalry.
Being Black Powder it was a fun fast and furious game with Allies coming a cropper on the river banks and being overwhelmed on our left by 2 large French Cavalry Brigades.


For the period I personally would have a couple of house rules especially regarding shooting ranges and arcs of fire, and I still dislike the standard Black Powder charging through units system.
Billy had given Platoon Firers +1 dice shooting which is quite powerful (at least potentially !) I would have made a bigger difference between 'Shock' doctrine Cavalry and 'Firepower' doctrine but not sure how best to do so ?

One nice house rule chaps use I would use for all games is that Cavalry that charges takes a minimum of 1 hit (to reflect Blown Horses) which works quite well meaning mounted essentially only have 1 fresh charge per game.
The game certainly flowed well with minimal issues arising despite ALL of us forgetting the -1 to Command Rolls when close to enemy !!!

One odd occurrence I have not seen before was a unit charging but being forced to do a Break Test from Closing Fire and being destroyed but this has no effect on nearby friends, whereas if it had closed to combat and been destroyed all nearby friends would suffer a Break Test.
Seemed tad odd but maybe with the brutality and all or nothing nature of Break Tests its just a game balancing issue ?
Easy to house rule of course and bend things to your own ideas for any period (pretty much as I do for FOB).





Dutch horse on right wing with German Infantry

Dutch Infantry in centre

Billys Brits on our left

Centre of French deployment

Shanes formidable defence lines (Brigade of Swiss in red)

Dragoon unit in town which took 5 turns to be turfed out by Dutch Guard !!

Approaching town on right

Billy advances but note massed French mounted array on their left.

The Franco-Bavarians (Shane and Bryn)

Overview of Allied centre and left

Assault goes in on town

And I try to turn French left

Bavarian Infantry move to support their left wing

Still fighting for that damn town !!

Game tomorrow evening at Le Ducs with Mr B using his 10mm WW3 kit and Seven Days To The Rhine rules then its Battle of Kolin with Warfare In Age Of Reason rules at Mr B's on Thursday and Elimination Club begins again in Friday, tis a hard auld life being retired and a war gamer :-)