Harald Haldrada's Armed Pilgrimage, game one

Harald is escorting a Byzantine dignitary to Jerusalem.  He brings along a strong Byzantine force, with Gregarius Phillipopoulous, (speedboats for hire very cheap, also kebabs) and the Varangian Guard as escort.

Hassan the Lord of Al-di, bandit, visionary and goat fancier, along with his minion, and shelf stacker Dave, decide to block the future King of Norway.

AMBUSH!

The campaign starts when Hassan plans an ambush to capture the Byzantine dignitary whom Harald is escorting, while they are travelling across a rural area. The defenders include an escort unit provided by loyalist Fatimid local authorities

SET UP

• This scenario takes place along a rural road that runs diagonally across the table. 

THE BYZANTINES

Harald

1 Elite Infantry (Leader) @ 6 points 

1 Light Infantry @ 4 points

1 Light Cavalry + bows @ 4 points Fatamid Escort

1 Foot Skirmishers @ 2 points

Gregarius force

1 Heavy Cavalry + bows @ 5 points

1 Heavy Cavalry @4 points

1 Heavy Infantry @ 4 points

1 Foot Archers @ 4 points

In retrospect Harald took the lighter elements whilst Gregarius took the heavier. 

The Moslem Warband

• 2 Heavy Cavalry, (Leader) @ 4

• 2 Light Cavalry with bow @ 4

• 2 Light Infantry with Javelins @ 4 

• 2 Archers @ 4

The battlefield.

The Byzantines deploy first.

And the Lord of Al-di with his minion in tow, comes on table.

The Byzantines just look menacing.

But those heavy Spearmen are vulnerable to arrows

And Harald loses men to shooting.  Lots of them 

The view down the Moslem arrow shafts as they snipe.

And Gregarious the speedboat salesman earns his pay. 
The Lord of Al-di falls, slain by a Greek dude..

The Byzantines spears guarding the flank are broken and routed 

And Moslem cavalry come sweeping in towards the diplomat.

With those guys on the hill blocking our exit.

Harald buys time sacrificing his skirmishers

And the Varangian Guard charge.  The Moslem cavalry is destroyed.

The diplomat creeps nearer to the edge.

I could be wrong but the diplomat seems to be a Fatamid.

He teaches the table edge as Harald charges again clearing the archers and throwing them back.

More cavalry threaten the Varangian s.  Harald charges for the third time. 

But the Moslems shoot at the diplomat, killing him.  Harald wins his fight but rolls a double 1 when he loses a figure.  

The end game.  Both sides have terrible losses, but the diplomat is dead and Harald is battered.

The Byzantines will be back!

Blood and Plunder the Multiplayer game

Fat Errol's big day out

4 players with randomly assigned factions

The English and the French

vs the Spanish and the Caribs

The setting- a fictional Carribbean island.  A French and English force land to sort out Don Lardo and his ally King Golden helmet.

Errol Thynne, Privateer.  Portrait by van Clomp.

The Game

The battlefield 

The English and French advance.  Apparently the objective is a pie hidden in one of the two buildings.
I may have misheard that.

And fat Errol discovers that whilst he loves pies, he doesn't like arrows much.

The Young warriors hide in a field delivering the goods, but neglecting the "sound of thunder rule!"

The sea dogs rout the warrior archers

Can't help myself!

And batter them in pursuit

The Spanish Captain lies down 

And the victorious Sea Dogs are shot down

A lot of musketry but the prone Spaniards avoid loss

The charge of the lanceros.  Never underestimate a man with a bamboo pole. 

We've searched one building but the loot is in the other.  Nearing the end of the game we surge towards the second building.

The natives get a unit inside first.

But it's a stand off 

Some desperate posturing but the gig is up.  The English and French alliance can't take the objective.

End of the game 

And losses have been over 50%

But Fat Errol lives to eat more stolen pies in future games.

Fredericksburg the closing stages

"Ours to lose Longstreet," Stonewall" Shaun Jackson told me as we took up the reins of a battle left at the critical midpoint.  I think he had a point!

The previous game had led to some thoughts:

1.       The bases used are too deep. That’s easily remedied.

2.       On reflection (and recalculation)  reintroduce the right shift for Firers with Skirmishers. It was removed for historical reasons but probably should be there for the sake of maths and game balance.

3.       Cavalry need a small tweak, as follows………..

The BBB rules as written do not distinguish between mounted and dismounted cavalry. Firstly, because they were written with mainly the FPW in mind, where lance and sabre armed cavalry are the norm, and secondly to keep the mechanics as simple as possible.

Cavalry in the American Civil War, deserve a little more consideration.

ACW cavalry would operate effectively as mounted infantry. In BBB there is a big difference between cavalry and infantry. While mounted, a unit is treated as a Cavalry target, meaning the firer enjoys a right shift, and the cavalry gets no benefit from cover. Once dismounted they are considered as infantry, can use cover, and don't suffer the right shift for a Cavalry target.

As dismounting and remounting was intrinsic to their function I don’t think there should be a movement penalty involved in them doing his. However, I think there should be distinction between the two different states in game terms.      

Suggestion:

If cavalry with firearms do not move in the Movement phase, they can be considered dismounted; you could place a base with horse holders as a marker to indicate this. When being shot at in the Opponent’s Defensive Fire phase they are treated as an infantry target.

Cavalry with firearms are considered mounted if they move or change formation in their Movement phase. Give them a marker (white cube). They can still fire in their Offensive Fire phase but with this caveat (half factors).

Whatever their state, they are always treated as mounted for Evading, and for Movement & Retiring distances.

Longstreet overlooks the Rappahannock crossing at Fredricksburg

And that a silenced Union battery leaving the area.  So quick it blurred.

JEB's boys and the Yankees go at it for a few rounds

And Jackson holds his line 

More silenced Union guns 

But the bluebellends are massing to cross

Longstreet pulls back that exposed Division.

But he loses on the left to overwhelming cannon fire and an infantry charge.
Touch and go for everybody though 

And they start to cross

And they work the flank.

My reserves cover the objective.

And the treat from the centre vanished.  We killed most of it.

That sweeping right flank attack struggles.  JEB is still at it 

Finally they come for Longstreet

And he redeploys to face it.

Some of our best units hold that entre now unopposed.

Bayonets.  It's a mass attack

And my remaining reserve refuses to move.

The right flank attack materialises 

They are knocked back from the ramparts, and its the last turn.

The gap we were so concerned about is plugged by Hood.

And over on the right Jackson holds like a brick wall

A victory for the rebels.

What a great game!