A blast from the past - Johnny Reb III

An outing for a rules system I have not used since late 1980s namely Johnny Reb (by late great John Hill). 

I played the 2nd edition for 6mm games back in the day and later purchased JR3 but never actually used them in anger (not sure why ?)

Stephen keen ACW Buff that he is was keen to try these as a 'meatier' set than Regt Fire & Fury or more 'big battle' fare like Field of Battle or Black Powder systems so I was happy to give them an outing and had a brief read through, although they have a lot to absorb.

Scenario was a modest sized affair from Charge magazine and I think based on a minor action from Gettysburg campaign (?) all kit was from Stephens 15mm collection.

I took Reb defenders (one Brigade) and Stephen the Yankee attackers (two Brigades). We had reserves Brigades due to arrive but failed to get that far.

There is a lot to like with excellent Orders Chit system (the progenitor of that in Command Decision) that is easy to pick up as is the basic Shooting (the counting of 'figures firing' felt rather retro) and Movement systems (although some aspects like oblique moves are in errata not rules).

But we struggled understanding the ebb and flow and intricacies of the Charge Phase, as there are such a lot of possible interactions and permutations (with errata substantially clarifying/changing several aspects from published rules). 

This was not unexpected as I recalled the Charge Phase was always complex to understand fully especially when multiple units and situations involved. 

The application of which units count as supports and from what position/s, was confusing and we were unsure of when units could use additional firing instances (depending on order used, range etc), all in all a lot of 'moving parts' to consider and had us scratching aging heads. 

Most definitely a set that needs more careful reading (they are not that well laid out) and play on table top (several queries only became apparent in practice) but we intend to give them more playing time to see if we can iron out the kinks or house rule certain areas to our satisfaction if needs be.

Rebels defend crossroads as Yankees attack down turnpike road 

Rebel cannon 'teleported' onto hill so we could visualise 'overhead firing'