Still struggled to decipher some of the vagueness within rules but hopefully our last play through and house rulings will allow a decent game, which they should do as we will all be playing from same 'Hymn sheet' as such.
Showing posts with label Prussians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Prussians. Show all posts
Sunday, March 06, 2022
Koenig Krieg 3 - photo dump of solo further play test
Thursday, March 03, 2022
Koenig Krieg 3 - a little test game
So Stephen and I just used the points system to generate a couple of 1000pt armies with Stephen fielding Austrians and I the Prussians. We took as good a mix of troops as points limit allowed to test interactions.
Must confess am not a big fan of KK system as always found several loopholes that needed house rules.
And indeed there were a number of issues that needed addressed (of course this was point of play test) the main one being multiple unit musketry and its potential deluge of firing dice.
We did eventually thrash out how we would play these aspects (the musketry took a bit of thought) so hopefully good to go on game day.
There is a lot to like in KK with its (ahead of its time) activation system but certainly as written not really to my taste and feel there are more dynamic sets now for the period, but perfectly happy to use them with our house rules.
This picture sort of highlights the musketry issue. The 3 units are lined up facing each other so logic says they fire singly at each other (with max of 6 dice) however in rules as written nothing to stop all 3 units concentrating fire on central unit (ie with up to 18 dice) as no priority or proximity target rules. We found this unpalatable but proved a bit harder to thrash out than one would think especially when units offset from each other. We essentially introduced a target priority rule and an additional 'support' fire (1/2 available dice) if shooting obliquely.
Friday, January 14, 2022
Field Of Glory Napoleonic - Prussians vs French 1814
I choose Prussians circa Autumn 1813, Stephen choose 1814 French which thankfully my list also covers (I much prefer historical match ups even in point style rules).
I had forgotten just how much I am impressed by the initial set up system in FOGN with the use of various 'stratagems'.
As it turned out with but ended up choosing Flexible Defence but with French as nominal attackers.
Terrain once again fell pretty much in favour of my opponent after selections, positioning and repositioning rolls.
The game was very enjoyable with FOGN doing pretty much what it says generating a Corps sized game with decent period feel that is playable within 3-4 hours.
No real national traits but sort of seems appropriate at this level
Once a Divisional formation starts to suffer losses to its constituent units morale especially with Wavering units it is nigh on impossible to recover but this certainly makes actions such as shooting or melee decisive within the game.
French had 2 Divisions of Cavalry which massed on my right and eventually crushed my wing aided by a Young Guard Division.
On my left I had 2 Divisions assaulting up a large hill but they did manage to turn this wing but too slowly as losses mounted on right.
FOGN has victory system that stops any 'flogging a dead horse' type games as if one side losses are much higher than their foes the game ends and so French won after inflicting 30% losses whilst sustaining less than 10% themselves. Closer loss ratios mean games carry on.
We found the rules easy to get back into overall only really having queries over Pursuit rules a couple of times, they fairly well written and no errata I could find which is in itself unusual even with a 2nd edition.
Only took a couple of pics as engrossed in game
Prussian left facing ridgelines and a 'strongpoint' town
Monday, December 27, 2021
Field of Battle - Father vs Son SYW
Used one of the Seasons of Battle terrain cards to set up table and just selected a force of Russians (22 units in 5 Brigades) and Prussians (17 units also in 5 Brigades), I commanded the Prussians.
Prussians had a superior deck and better leaders (with an additional Move card) whilst Russians had an average deck (and an extra Melee card).
Game was a fast and furious blood soaked affair.
Russians lost 7 units to Prussian 3 but did inflict a steady drain of hits on Prussians.
Both sides ran out of Army Morale at virtually same time but Prussians pulled 2 Army Morale cards in a row and failed to stay on the field on second morale roll.
The game was great fun with lots of incident including Prussians losing 2 commanders in one turn which stymied their temporary advantage.
FOB is so very easy to teach and play.
Table set up prior to deployments from Prussian perspective
Saturday, November 27, 2021
Ulster Wargames Club - Field Of Battle - Zorndorf
I umpired and had 5 players participating as Prussians (David T and Phil) against Russians (Jeremy N, David S and Leslie) on a 6' x 4' table with my smaller 3 base units, but we used standard 25mm measurements which fairly made the game crack along (I would usually use 1/2 or 2/3rds on a 6x4).
Zorndorf is essentially a straight forward slugging match (as it was historically) and so it transpired in this outing.
Prussians held back on their right with Schorlemers Cuirassier Brigade as it faced the inferior more numerous cavalry wing under Demiku and managed to engage this wing effectively throughout game despite Schorlemer being shot from saddle at one point
On Prussian left their cavalry under Seydlitz and Bieberstein faced their counterparts under Gaugraben and this was a bit of and to and fro with Prussians gaining upper hand but just too slowly.
But the story of the game was with the Prussian infantry of Manteuffel, Kanitz and Dohna in the centre advancing against the Russian foot under Saltykov, Gallitzen and Browne.
The Prussians suffered horrendously from the Russian guns (so many 1s rolled vs high Russian rolls) early on and failed to rally on most opportunities.
Some Prussian Grenadiers did manage to assault and almost breakthrough the Russian center but were then repelled and finally destroyed and their supporting formations of Musketeers also suffered high losses and Dohna was also shot down.
This failure by Prussian foot saw their Army Morale dwindle to nothing and Frederick failed to muster their resolve (failed roll on Army Morale card) and they quit the field.
Another excellent game with FOB and it was very interesting to watch the battle develop from afar. FOB is easy to umpire as mechanics are basically simple and the card sequencing makes it easy to explain what players can do each time. The multiple dice types can be a bit confusing for new players but they certainly generate decisive results and aid fast play. The opposed rolls also keeps players engaged in game which is a real benefit in multiplayer games.
Winner and losers both expressed their enjoyment of the game and ultimately that is what its all about no matter the dice results.
David B and John were engaged in a couple of FOGR games but I only managed to take pics of their second game which was an interesting match up of Monrose Scots against an Later Northern Parliamentarian force. Some lovely flags on display again.
Saturday, October 30, 2021
Lasalle 2 at the Ulster Wargames Society
Stephen and I brought along his French and my Prussian forces for another game of Lasalle 2 using Scenario 5 'Hold Your Ground' with French in defence.
Good old slog along a river line with my Prussian Grenadiers managing to take one of the two town objectives but my Line units failing to take the other despite 6 separate assaults !! got nowhere near the third objective in French rear area.
My Skirmishing dice were very poor all day even when I had 28 vs initial French 18 and I only won one phase outright, with 2 drawn (I did get Initiative on those 2) and lost other 5 phases.
Pretty much a toe to toe scenario this one as French can line river with initial forces and tough nut to crack (the extra MO needed to move/charge across river is a real drain) even before French reserves arrive.
Another fun and slick game with these rather enjoyable rules despite (or maybe because of) its abstractions and broad brush style.
Was great to get back to further normality and see people in the flesh as it were instead of via Zoom. I hope to get to Elimination club as well in due course (just have not had a free Friday evening this month)
Besides our game there was a Field Of Glory Renaissance game (Ottomans Turk vs Venetians) and a Chain Of Command game (British vs German).
Prussian right wing attacks
Disorders start to accumulate
The 'two Davids' and Paul with the FOGR clash, I tried to take a pic of the rather excellent flags on display but photo does not do them justice.
The 'two Jeremys' and yet another 'two Davids' and Phil (a newcomer to the fold) battle it out on western front with CoC i
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