Season of Battles solo third encounter with Field of Battle

Sadly due to a bereavement in the family (nasty end to 2017) I had to put this on hold for a couple of days but was great therapy playing it through late yesterday.

Prussia backed into a corner with low National Will and needing a victory in Home area to avoid defeat in Campaign.
Low and behold they managed (just about however) a minor win against the Russians with the vaunted Prussian musket volleys coming to the fore this time decimating several Russian units.
Whilst it was a win costing the Russians 22 Morale points the Prussians had a mere 5 left themselves so a narrow victory indeed.
In the after action phase the Prussians saw a couple of Commanders increase their quality but some units have degraded (war weariness ?) despite using some Victory points to give a  boost
Indeed Frederick dropped his Sequence Deck Quality from Skilled to Average despite his victory (both sides now using Average decks).


Due to Pyrrhic victory the next encounter is still in Home area (Berlin) so Prussians still in dire straits

Another Campaign Action cycle has resulted in a fresh field of battle with the Russians again getting some extra room to Deploy but having to commit their troops before Prussians (2 Commands per Prussian Command).

One thing I forget to mention re Action Cards is that each has a narrative component such as 'Forced March' 'Scouts' and numerous similar notations which you use to build a background narrative to your battle with a bit of imagination involved.
Their is great potential to expand on this as regards the fate of officers and units.
I have not used this as mainly trying to learn main elements of the system.

Also playing solo I have amended one or two things such as randomly laying out the 10 potential battlefields (rather than each side picking one alternately) and also rolling randomly for various other elements designed of course for two players.

But all has worked fairly seamlessly (especially with FOB for which it is designed) and generated several interesting battlefields.

Overview of deployments

The two Prussian Commands on right that done the damage

Some of their victims. Note the reserve command in columns which ended up marching to right flank then trying to scramble back to their left and essentially missing the battle !

Clash on Prussian left wing where their superior Cavalry made hard going of the lesser Russian mounted.

Musketeers shooting up Russian left

Cavalry melee

Musketeers a solid bastion on the right

Prussian left. Marching columns of Russian reserve arrive just in time to turn back to weakened left wing.

Colonels view of Russian foes

Russian left withdrawing just as Reserves appear and deploy

Reserves arrive back on left alas to late as Army folded as Morale depleted

The end on Russian right where Prussian horse has finally destroyed counterparts

The Russian losses ! Prussians lost only one unit but had large casualties during the fracas

And now the armies are deployed once more in the region of Berlin....................

Russian deployment (hills here are Class I (gentle slopes) but woods are all Class II (medium).

Prussia deploys to survive conquest once more

Black Powder: Glory Hallelujah game

Game of Black Powder today at Stephens using his ACW figures and as an opportunity to try out the Glory Hallelujah supplement we both have.
Scenario was from the supplement entitled 'Blacklotts Farm' (IIRC).
I took the attacking 4 Reb Brigades and Stephen his Federals 2 Brigades at start with 3 following.
All units were standard types with the Rebs having Rebel Yell trait (a +1 bonus to close combat dice).
Yanks fielded a 6 gun (ie large) Battery to test this out.

Game played really well and quickly with the various supplement rules adding good period flavour without changing the essential systems or bogging game down.
I like that units can only Move once if they wish to Fire and this pretty much allows use of standard sequence of play without moving Shooting phase to before Command.


The river slowed the Rebs allowing the Yanks to get their Reserve Brigades on table and into the line.
Game really hinged on 1 turn wherein I took 15 casualties across the line and failed to save a single one !
This left units weakened and close to becoming Shaken (3 hits for all Infantry) and I then quickly lost 2 Brigades to failed Morale (we play that a Brigade becomes broken at over 50% losses).
I tried to Break an enemy Brigade on my right with a charge but only managed to force them to Retire and a Shaken unit in my Brigade saw me lose the game as 3 out of 4 Brigades broken.
One Union Brigade was also broken and a Battery of guns lost bit otherwise their lines held and a 5th Brigade had just arrived as Rebs withdrew.
We enjoyed BP again for its fast play aspect and whilst I find the orders/activation system a bit arbitrary it works within the system as a whole.

Back to Freddies last stand tomorrow with Season of Battle/Field of Battle (where at least I am guaranteed to be on winning side !)


Note in later pics below the proliferation of Disorder (yellow) and Shaken (red) markers on my units.......................

Season of Battle second solo encounter with Field of Battle

Played through second battle generated by Season of Battle today (with third in process).

First encounter saw Russia increase its National morale whilst that of Prussia fell.

After each game you roll for units and this saw two Russian units being 'Left out of Battle' (off rejoicing or reforming?) whilst two other fell in quality.
Conversely the losing Prussian side retained all their units and had one unit increase in quality !

After a brief Campaign Action Cycle (playing solo I randomized the battlefield card selection a tad) a new battle was drawn up with Russian gaining some extra room to deploy (see last post) whilst Prussians got to realign a couple of commands (again see last post)



Fought the battle to a conclusion today with the Prussians getting completely trounced this time with a Crushing Russian Victory.
This allows Russians to advance up to 2 Areas on Campaign 'trail' in the case right to a decisive encounter in Prussian Home Base area (I termed Berlin).
The after battle resolutions this time saw Prussia have a unit go AWOL whilst Russians retained their force now with earlier absentees returning.
So Russia back to its initial 22 units with Prussia reduced to 17.
However this time several Russian units increased their elan whilst a couple of Prussians felt the weight of defeat and reduced in quality.
A consequence of winning also generates (based on Victory level what are termed Discretionary Points these can be used to Pursue enemy units or to Recognize your own units.
Essentially points are allocated (1-3 max) to amend a D12 roll to try to reduce enemy quality in Pursuit or try to increase own units quality.
A nice easy to use but flavoursome rule.
Russia failed to induce any of its own troops to improve but did manage to reduce a unit of Prussian Cuirassier by one quality level.




Russian presses forward on left wing with Grenadiers to the fore,

A holding action on their right wing

Center beats of Prussian attack

Usual Cavalry melee

Prussia starts to withdraw (waiting the fateful Army Morale Card to quit the field)

At battle end with Russians pressing forward everywhere

So next game see Prussia in basically 'last stand' mode as any form of defeat in their Home
 area ends the campaign (although with a mere 14 NMPs left they are in severe difficulties anyhow !)
Again Russia has managed to use its Action Cards to procure some extra Deployment Zones whilst Prussian managed to have a potential boost to force moral level on day of battle (sadly a low roll means they are on basic 18 level ie 1 per unit)





Battlefield and Campaign Action cards used to generate next encounter.
Prussians have refused battle once (trying to get favourable terrain card) but are forced to battle on next Action Cycle using map of Russian choosing.

Forces arrayed for final (?) clash.




Russians again deployed forward (into 2 zones)

An unfordable river on one flank  and a dense wood in center is channeling forces

Prussian right wing of 2 Infantry Brigades (now of somewhat mixed quality)

And their left (with Freddie) with Grenadiers and 2 Cavalry Brigades

Russian right with Cavalry in support to rear

Prussian right again

Russian Center and Right with Grenadier Brigade in lead once more

Russian Grenadiers up close

And a Musketeers Brigade (with one unit now Elite quality)
Gun Battery facing to rear to denote limbered status