Best Laid Plans . . .

Once again go awry.

I'm on holiday for the 4th. A belated happy Independence Day!

Anyway, my holiday began on Wednesday when I decided to take a day off. I finally had time to play a game so I decided to do another scenario of my (now) ongoing fictional Florida in the Revolution campaign. I finished the game and tried to download the pictures. Long story short they are stuck in cyberspace. The pictures and game report will have to wait.

Yesterday morning I decided to play another game. But then Onyx decided to sleep on my board. Game over.

I did spend much of the day pondering wargame rules. Later I ran an experiment in a micro-game using a 5 x 7 square board. I used an opposed die roll mechanic, which seemed appropriate given the scale of the game.

I'll post about it after I experiment a bit more.

A Storm's Brewing

Last week I mentioned that I was in a summer lull. Fortunately I feel that the lull is going to break soon. I haven't played any games yet but I have started some ancillary actions.

• I got back into painting my latest project. Still some work to do but made progress this weekend. (I'd do some painting now but there is a cat sleeping next to me so I can't get up.)

• I have a 4-day weekend coming up and I'm planning a game. Last Independence Day I played out a fictional American Revolution battle set in my home state. Thinking about a sequel!

From a PBS program about Florida in the Revolution
https://www.pbs.org/video/the-american-revolution-in-florida-hfcu7l/

• I should finish the War of the Emperor's Balls using Simplicity in Hexes, which I started last month.

• Finally, I have a hankering for some fantasy action. Thought about HoTT but just not feeling it. I toyed with the idea of creating a Simplicity in Hexes variant. That is still a possibility but I started looking at One Hour Wargames. One of my issues with those rules was tracking 15 hits but I thought of a variant where units take 4 hits. I would like to try it out. I may even pull my 3mm fantasy armies out of mothballs.

3mm Fantasy - Evil vs. Good

The Summer Lull

Given that it's been 3 weeks since my last post, I'd have to say that the summer lull is in full swing. I started painting my latest 3mm project but that has stalled.

I have been busy, however. Two things in particular have been commanding my attention.

LARP
A few months ago I mentioned that I was preparing for a new LARP. The concept was to take my regular Amtgard group through an immersive adventure. I even wrote new rules to streamline the game. People had fun but most were not interested in a repeat. By and large they prefer being stick jocks whereas I wanted something more flurby.

But not all is lost. A few people, including my wife, were interested in a real roleplaying LARP. We decided to reboot the campaign with a smaller group. Essentially it's like playing D&D but with acting out our actions rather than just describing them. I had to spend some time preparing the new backstory and developing quests. Last weekend we had our last adventure, which I describe on my LARP blog.

The group was quite pleased with the adventure and we can't wait for the next one (got to spend some time prepping for it). In the interim, we are looking to up our game. For example, we've been using Amtgard swords, which are essentially pool noodles on a stick. I purchased some weapons for my wife's character.

They are actually foam replicas. The cat is not a weapon.

Cross
I have also been spending a lot of free time working on a volunteer project for Cross International.

A friend works there. She asked me for Excel help (after 30 years or so of using Excel I'm pretty good at it). Well, that project has turned out to be more extensive than expected.

As a result of the above 2 projects, I have not had any time for wargaming. Hopefully the long July 4th weekend (I have that Thursday and Friday off) will give me a chance to play a game.

Generic Army Update

My latest project is underway. I received the figures from Magister Militum and have begun to paint.

I decided to start with a slightly reduced army for the 2 main combatants - red and blue. The initial armies will consist of 4 heavy / line infantry, 2 light infantry, 2 heavy cavalry, 2 light cavalry, and 2 artillery.

Heavy / Line Infantry (left) and Light Infantry (right). I cut down the pikes on the heavy infantry; the finished product will be able to stand in as either pikemen or musketeers.

Heavy Cavalry (left) and Light Cavalry (right)

Artillery crew and gun

I have begun painting the red and blue armies. Infantry

and cavalry

The project has stalled a bit due to work but I hope to get it going again soon.

Never Forget

Never forget the ultimate sacrifice made by our valiant defenders.

We remain free because of them. Thank you.

Battle of Hook's Crossroads

Reveling in his victory at Apostrophe Hill, the Marquis des Aix-En-Pains sat in his pavilion sipping on the finest local vintage. With the drubbing he gave the Duke of Bad Schmaltzberg, he did not expect their war to continue. However, he was surprised when a messenger entered.

"Excellency! Bad Schmaltzberg is advancing!"

"What? Where?!" exclaimed the startled Marquis.

"He is trying to march around our right flank!"

Quickly the Marquis acted. He called his commanders and ordered them to prepare to move out. They would cut off the Duke's march and again punish him for his temerity.
_________________________________________________________________________________

The Duke's forces (bottom) approach the crossroad but the Marquis has blocked the road.

The Marquis sets up a defensive position on the hill (left) while the Duke advances.
There is a cavalry clash on the right; the Marquis's troopers are forced back.

Firefights erupt across the line.

The Duke's infantry takes the worst of it.

One of the Ducal infantry battalions flees. However, the Marquis's horse is overrun (right)

The Ducal cavalry tries to turn the flank while volleys thunder across the valley.

Time and again, the Ducal cavalry charges, only to be driven off.

Another Ducal battalion flees.

And another. As the Duke's assault on the hill grinds to a halt, the Marquis rushes to take the crossroads. The Ducal cavalry retreats. One regiment is felled by musketry.

 The Marquis's men reach the crossroads as the final Ducal cavalry are slaughtered.

The Duke's infantry drives the enemy from the crossroads but cannot seize it themselves.

With more enemy troops closing in, the remaining Ducal battalion decides to retreat from the field. Another victory for the Marquis!

Game Notes

• According to the scenario rules, this is technically a draw because neither side controlled the crossroads at the end. I am calling it a narrow victory for Aix-En-Pains because they have a decided advantage.
• An odd situation cropped up at the end of the game. Per the Simplicity in Hexes rules, victorious attackers do not take vacated ground. This happened in turn 14; the Duke's infantry wiped out the enemy battalion holding the crossroads. The Duke's men could not follow up. In the next turn, the Marquis positioned infantry adjacent to the crossroads. The Duke could not seize the crossroads; his men would advance adjacent to but not facing an enemy unit. It seemed like an illegal move! I may have to look into Kaptain Kobold's suggestions for SiH.

Generic Army Project

I know I'm crazy. In the midst of a miniatures purge I just ordered a big batch of 3mm miniatures from Magister Mililtum! Why would I do something that crazy?

It all stems from a concept that has been brewing in my mind. At the smaller miniature scales, general unit information (foot vs. horse, formation, and general uniform colors) is visible but uniform details are very difficult to discern. It dawned on me that I could use that same figures to represent units from ancients through the horse & musket eras. How is that so? With judicious selections I can build generic units of heavy infantry, light infantry, heavy cavalry, and light cavalry (although I'm also adding some artillery specifically for gunpowder eras).

Here is my plan for the generic armies:

• I ordered the minis from Magister Militum's 3mm line (I found that 2mm is a bit too small for decent photos)
• I plan to build 3 armies - red, blue, and white or brown (for natives)
• Each army will consist of 4 units each of heavy infantry, light infantry, heavy cavalry, and light cavalry plus 2 units of artillery
• Composition of the different categories of units:
• Heavy Infantry - Renaissance (i.e. ECW) pikemen in helmets. I plan to cut the pikes down to spear size. I chose to do this because they have helmets without shields. They can represent either spear-armed ancient/medieval infantry or helmeted musketeers.
• Light Infantry - Ancient skirmishing archers. At a distance the bow could be taken for a musket. Either way, they should be distinguishable as skirmishers.
• Heavy Cavalry - Age of Reason cuirassiers (because of their body armor without shields)
• Light Cavalry - Age of Reason hussars

What about my existing 3mm units? While I think they look good, they are obviously restricted in temporal scope. My fantasy armies are equipped with shields and my horse & musket armies wear tricorns. Thus, they are expendable. I'm holding onto the horse & musket figures for now but ultimately plan on replacing them when the new armies are ready.