Quick update

Been busy with 'stuff' last couple of weeks so blog well down lost of priorities but did manage to get in a couple of games with Stephen.

Yesterday we had an outing with O Group which we have not played for awhile. Therefore it took a bit to get back into flow/mindset of system. Nothing inherently difficult just some different concepts and a good deal to re-assimilate. Enjoyable and whet our appetites to play again.

Scenario was from Normandy supplement 'Assault towards Hill 192' with US attacking Fallschirmjager near St Lo.

As always with initial turns of O Group not that much to see on table in terms of figures. 

Last week another outing with Soldiers of Napoleon (glutton for punishment) and despite ditching intimidate and extended line it still lacked much for me beyond the card system. At a push (ie for quick 'we have no time to prepare' points type game) I would play this set but much better sets available even if they require bit more prep. Lasalle 2 fits this quick set up bill much better for me.

Soldiers of Napoleon - French vs Russians 1813 (and a bit of farce)

We decided to give SON another outing today (Stephen a fan of the pick and mix points system) and we played a 3 Brigade (Large Division) 700pt game with Stephen as Russians and I as French.

We both had 2 Infantry Brigades and a Heavy Cavalry Brigade of Dragoons.

Oddly the Russian Dragoons are costed at 11pts per stand and the French (and all other nations) Dragoons are 13pts despite having identical stats, no idea why this is and we have found a couple of other similar point anomalies.

We both like the 'scenario' generation and deployments with cards, which yields a nice plausible situation for a 'balanced', quick pick up style game.

We got into initial turn pretty quickly but again ended up discussing the 'extended line' formation and its merits and demerits (can discern no historical basis for this amalgam of formations/effects) with us both feeling that we could take it or leave it as is but deciding for future games to dump this formation but retain the Light Infantry characteristic (with a 1pt reduction) to see if that sits better with us.

Russians had a couple of large (3 stand) batteries that thankfully rolled completely pants dice but they did score big with a Special Event card that allowed Skirmishers to deploy for free and shoot with hits of 2+ which yielded several hits on my central command of which I failed to save any via Discipline tests. My artillery was more effective but not devastatingly so.

However we came across one of the most farcical rules I have encountered in any historically based rule set in 48yrs of gaming (even beating the 'Broadsides' rule for Brit tanks in desert in Flames of War) namely: 'Cavalry Intimidation'. 

This allows Heavy Cavalry units (and Light Lancers) to use an order to Intimidate (via threat of charge/large horses/glint of lance or armour) any 2 (!!) units within 20" (!!) forcing them to pass 2 (!!) Discipline tests or suffer Disruptions. I thought it only applied to Infantry (as per Harass order) but it seemingly can be used against any unit even other Cavalry and even vs units in cover/buildings or in square with no mitigation to tests.

So with 3 Dragoon units in a Brigade I was able to essentially inflict 12 'hits' on enemy that caused 6 Disruptions !! 

This felt like my Cavalry were firing grapeshot/shotguns/fireballs and was so much more effective than any artillery battery (3-4 dice with round shot) and out-ranges musketry (which only fires out to 10") and this was followed on next enemy card by his 3 unit Dragoon Brigade doing exactly the same (kind of a no-brainer) causing 12 hits/tests of which 5 became Disruptions. With the way hits/Rallies operate in system this is pretty powerful effect in game with zero risk involved.

Mind you Prussian Landwehr Light Cavalry at 8pts per stand can do the same as classed as Lance armed (tad debatable they had training to wield efficiently ?) and also can use Harass vs deployed skirmishers. Indeed these lowly 'lancers' can apparently intimidate Carabiniers, Cuirassier, Old Guard Cavalry, Elite Foot, etc, etc.

We found this to be complete and utter pants (extended line issue seemed suddenly inconsequential) and we quickly decided that we would simply ban this daftness from further outings as games could degenerate into battles of cavalry intimidation rather than firing or fighting. No doubt it could be diluted/amended/mitigated but easier to just bin it.

We drew up a (small) set of amendments to try next game (including reducing cavalry effectiveness in open woods and enclosed fields) and whilst I am willing to try these out, if another issue arises I will likely bin the rules, which would be a pity in many regards especially the card deck order/event system.

I am all for simplicity and playability over needless complexity, but my inner Grognard gets rankled nowadays by anything I perceive as silly/gamey/cheesy especially if little/no historical basis or tenuous plausibility (or lack of designers explanation which at least gives one a basis to agree or disagree with) and a crusty old curmudgeon must draw the line somewhere, bah humbug applies.

Central French infantry brigade which included 3 Militia Bttns to rear (thankfully being out of range/sight they are protected from intimidation as they have rather poor Discipline level)

French right wing with Italian infantry Brigade

The opposing Dragoon Brigades on French left whose powers of intimidation became the stuff of legend !!

Soldiers Of Napoleon another try

We decided to give Soldiers of Napoleon another try out today (mainly as Stephen had gotten a copy as a Christmas pressie) despite our misgivings after previous outing.

We tried a 3 Brigade game (700pts each) with Stephen using his 1815 British/Allied troops and I the French.

We used 1 Pace = 20mm on a 6.5' x 5' table and this seemed to suit well with our 15mm figures and their basing.

Must say we both enjoyed the game much more than before as we simply accepted that 'Extended Line' is awesome in the rules but essentially evens out for both sides.

This formation is a strange hybrid as it is still nominally Line but can deploy its own skirmishers, moves faster than Line, fires volleys same as Line, can charge same as Line and can interpenetrate/be interpenetrated with no detrimental effect and seemingly only downside is -1 Dice if defending in a melee. So they sort of operate like 'super' skirmishers but also screen other units from shooting.

Skirmishing overall is fairly abstracted/simplified but kind of works at scale of game.

We found artillery potentially deadly as no chance to save any hits via discipline tests.

The card system is very good with the variety of each card and choice of Orders, Special Events and Rallies and indeed it generated reasonable terrain and pre-game stuff.

As with all of the authors (Warwick Kincade) rules there are lots options with plethora of traits and special rules and variable sized units (based around a points system that seems fine).

We played 3 full turns but had lot of discussion over the Army selections and unit types and the various options available on cards and orders, but (like any set) things will speed up once we absorb these basics (such as Reserve Brigades only viable in a 4-5 Brigade game). 

As a points based 'balanced' pop up light style Napoleonic game it has certain attractions and is comparable to Lasalle 2 in complexity and scope and we are hoping to give it some further mileage (at least until GDA2 appears).

Will also be interesting to try some of the historical scenarios that are appearing for it.

Soldiers of Napoleon - proper tryout French vs Prussian 1813

Game using Soldiers of Napoleon with Stephen today using 800pt forces with Stephens French facing my Prussians.

Being a 'proper' face to face game I learnt a lot more about the rules and their plus and minus aspects.

Used the random terrain generation system which yielded a fairly open but plausible table and we both just diced for Tactical Orders (both ended up on defence) and Deployments (both standard deployment).

Both really like the cards and the decision points and choices each generates and the Victory Points/Objectives system is rather clever meaning its not just 'smash the enemy'. 

Biggest takeaway was that game is best with units of Cav/Inf being a standard 6 bases (we were using 4 bases) as much more durable especially when being fired at by artillery or skirmish fire as with 4 bases units proved very brittle. 

Rules allow units to be 2-6 bases strong (artillery is 2-3) but 6 seems the most feasible overall.

We started classing units as 6 bases after first few turns and found the game noticeably improved as not using Rally actions as frequently as we did with 4 base units.

Intimidation order for heavy cavalry is pretty potent as it effects 2 infantry units and with 3 French Dragoons on table at start this was pretty nasty as potentially 6 units effected each time .

We thought Skirmish fire against cavalry seemed a bit odd but can see how this is needed in game as counter to heavy cavalry.

The move distances are relatively short (even using the 28mm ranges) especially for cavalry so found it took a long time to get to grips but again this was partly as we were loathe to use Quick March as it incurs a Disruption which is quite damaging to 4 strength units not so much 6 strength.

Brigades can also be pushed by being ordered with sequential cards which again incurs disruption penalty but which also again one is more likely to accept with stronger units.

Extended Line we found pretty good formation (although only available to true Light Infantry) as great for movement (same speed as column) and very useful in terrain, whilst retaining same firepower as Line formation, being better against artillery shots with only a minor -1 dice in combat.

Enjoyable game overall (the cards make it) but unsure if is preferable to other more 'dynamic' sets we use for the period but always nice to have choice/options imho.

Only a couple of pics as engrossed in game (always a good sign)

Soldiers Of Napoleon a brief solo try

Being a grey dank Saturday here in Ulster I managed to get new 'Soldiers of Napoleon' rules put through a brief tryout.

I used the included army lists (covering 1813-1815 in northern Europe) to select French and Prussian forces both of around 800pts. 

There are several sizes of game recommended varying in size from 2-5 Brigades (nominally Division, large Division, Corps and Army) and I tried Corps level with max 4 Brigades per side (generally 3 on table and 1 reserve). 

Points seem fine and as always I view them as simply a starting point to select reasonably balanced forces for quick set up games.

Prussians had 3 Inf Brigades on table with 1 being an Advanced Guard (classed as in Vanguard so must be placed first and to forefront) and a Dragoon Brigade in Reserve. In total 2 Heavy Gun Batteries, 1 Hussar, 3 Dragoon, 1 Grenadier, 4 Fusilier, 4 Musketeers and 3 Reserve (using Landwehr stats)

French had 2 Inf Brigades on table (1 of Provisional/2nd Rate types) with a Brigade of Dragoons also on table with their Reserve being a Brigade of Young Guard. French also used a couple of unit specific options like Heroic Commander, Gunnery Expert and Le Beau Sabre (boost to Cavalry unit in melee) to balance points. In total 3 Heavy Batteries, 1 Light Horse Battery, 4 Young Guard Inf, 1 Light Inf, 1 Line Inf, 1 Veteran Inf, 4 Provisional Inf and 3 Dragoons.

Forces are also rated by Unit Morale Values (familiar to anyone who has used authors Battlegroup WW2 rules) with French totaling 20MV and Prussians 25MV (difference mainly due to Young Guard). 

Units are also rated for Skirmishing ability (0-3) and Skirmish figures/stands are deployed on table if desired allowing Skirmish Fire, along with possible use of usual gamut of Napoleonic formations such as Square, Assault Column, Extended Line (Light Inf only) and of course Line. 

Units have their own stats line which include Discipline level (used to Save from Musketry), Firing ability, Melee ability, Skirmish ability rating and Shock Impact ability of Cavalry.

Rules include a terrain generation system (using the included card deck) and several pre-game options as to deployment types (such as Echelon right/left, Centre Forward etc) and optional special events. This lead to decent looking battlefield and set up.

Prussians set up with Echelon to Right and Steady Advance orders (whilst French used Echelon Left and Defend orders which granted them a line of entrenchments).

The core of the game system is the deck of 55 cards which are multi purpose allowing use as Orders (a selection of varied Movement, Volleying, Cavalry Intimidation and others) a Special Event/Action or for Rallying and inevitably lots of key decisions to make regarding said usage. 

Each force gets a basic 2 cards per turn plus their number of on table commanders (but only of not at risk ie too close to enemy) so each started with 6 cards in my game.

Initiative is established to see who plays first card and play alternates although use as an Event can sometimes allow more than 1 card to be used by a side. 

Only if you have less cards available than enemy can you pass making them go first if desired. Once both sides exhaust card hand an End Phase takes place wherein any Risk to Commanders is dealt with, possible Reserve Arrival adjudicated, Victory Points amassed and Initiative established for following turn.

Movement, Shooting and Combat is all really fairly standard using D6 with nothing startlingly different from several other sets with twists being adjustments for some Events/Actions on cards (maybe a boost in dice rolled due to Fierce Charge or similar). 

Only Artillery stuck out as seeming a bit less potent than usual as usually only 2 dice needing 5+ until at Cannister range when its 4 dice at 4+ but not played enough to be sure and the ability to inflict DP at range is possibly powerful enough.

Big part of system is the use of Disruption Points (DP) which are accumulated through Hits (or maybe pushing units too hard) with a unit becoming Disordered when DP equal number of stands and being Destroyed if DP exceed remaining stands (only in End Phase). 

Units vary in size from 2-6 stands with 4 being average (and what I used) so easy for units to get in trouble pretty quickly.

This is key area of management as the Rallying system means use of cards which are variable in restriction of which Grade of unit can use them and can cost between 0 and 3 VPs awarded to enemy to use them. 

Rallying is bit different overall as it includes 4 options like Withdraw and Rally 1 DP, try to Rally all DP needing 6, exchange a stand permanently for DP removal and Redress Ranks of Disordered units.

I managed 3 full turns but units not really gotten to grips yet but some nice narrative style action via card play with off table Support Artillery shots, Prussian Commander being wounded (with loss of attached Command Points which allow re-rolls and similar), Senior Commander failing to appear (your Superior can visit your section of battlefield),  

Have tried several Order types (not optimally but just to test) with 'Harry and Harass'  (allows LC to thwart enemy Skirmishers at risk of a DP), 'Intimidation' (HC can cause possible DP on enemy Inf) being a couple of more unusual options to standard Movement. Formation Change and Charging types.

Not conducted any Melees yet but looks fairly straight forward process so not tested Cav vs Inf in Line/Square or Attack Column vs Line which are always key points in any Napoleonic set. 

Of course very early days with rules but a lot to like so far within its parameters (only part of a battlefield not a full battle) and the cards are easy to use and interesting in themselves. 

Only a couple of questions arose (nothing major) and only real gripe is the lack of QRS (printed on inside covers) and that the QRS lacks some detail (eg no mention of firing ranges) 

Overall a thumbs up and if you like (Sam Mustafas) Maurice 18th Century rules these have a similar feel regarding card deck use and level of complexity (low to medium) but with of course own feel and twists.

Hope to give these further exploration but planning another O Group game so may get heave ho from table.

Initial forces deployed

French with Provisional Inf entrenched in centre, Dragoons on their right and Line Inf Brigade echeloned forward on hill (Young Guard in reserve to rear due 5th turn)

Prussian Vanguard deployed forward in right echelon (Dragoons in reserve off table due on 4th turn))

French Provisional Inf line entrenchments, note card about to be used to generate 4 Orders (the red disc denotes last Brigade to be 'activated' as consecutive activations cause DPs)

French Dragoons have advanced in distance whilst their left wing engages advancing Prussian Vanguard Brigade

Lots of Skirmishing in this area 

Prussian central Brigade pushes forward

Postscript - played another couple of turns this evening and came upon first real dislike/problem with rules with Inf Attack Columns seeming very powerful in the charge. They get number of stands with 2 additional dice so with my 4 stand units a combat worked out defender in Line with 4 Dice (would be same if also in Attack Column) with the attacking Column getting 6 dice not really a big difference but this could mean a Line target with 4 dice being hit by 2 Columns would face a whopping 12 dice ! This was a problem in original Lasalle. Only caveat in SON is that I have so far found that it is not that easy to get charges in or to co-ordinate them but potentially a game breaker as this is not really how I understand the match up to have worked historically. Maybe house ruling that only 1 attacker per target face would mitigate. 

L'Art De La Guerre - Knights of St John vs Hundred War English (and new Napoleonic set arrives)

Game of LADG today at Stephens to give him some more practice for competition is attending in couple of months 'down South'.

Competition is late medieval (lists 230-268) for which I have no armies so it was a loaner/proxy to field Knight of St John against which Stephen who was trying out a later HYW English list.

The HYW English were an almost entirely foot army (just 2 Irish light horse) and their medium foot longbowmen are bit different than earlier as they are no longer elite but do count as swordsmen in melee and were backed up by several spearmen and a couple of Men at Arms and Elite dismounted Knights and rounded off with a couple of Elite light infantry javelinmen. Total was 23 units with a strategist and 2 ordinary generals.

The Order of St John (a very scratch list on my part) fielded several Impact Knights (some Elite) with some heavy Cavalry Lancers a couple of Medium Bow cavalry and a mix of foot with lowly medium bow, a couple of spearmen and some dismounted Knights as well as a couple of light infantry with firearms and a light infantry bow unit. This totaled 21 units with 2 brilliant and 1 ordinary general.

No much to report as fairly quick game (even after re-setting after getting the terrain set up wrong) with the English shooting proving decisive along with some poor combat rolls (as usual) and the Longbowmen proving more durable than expected, but hopefully giving Stephen some food for thought re army makeup and viability.

Bit of a mish mash of pics as first six are of abandoned game and only last three of completed version

And a new arrival upon my return home (been waiting since Good Friday for these to arrive)

Only skimmed through thus far but the card based orders/command system looks interesting