BATTLE DAY 9TH JULY 2022

[Colonel Kilgore]

Thanks for sharing the feedback and pictures, chaps.

Is the plastic tray beneath the tea mugs a new innovation? Look like a good idea to reduce risk of flooding the table.

Simon

[Smiley Miley 66]

That actually is a good idea, the plastic tray to put your cup in. One I will introduce in my cabin as well as Entoyment. Thanks Derek.
A good day I put everything in the car except my two boxes of Troops. Must admit didn't fancy doing another 30 mile round trip to go and get them !
As Colin said a quick eyes on the rules before the day is a good idea if you can.
But that was my problem on Saturday, having played the rules Tuesday. I then put my soldiers out of sight to get Hammer iron out for Wednesday. Got my scenery etc together than totally forgot about my troops ! Good intentions etc.
Anyway our Southerns tried to do battle against the Union, but afterwards found out that there was a. 100 point difference as Stewart had opted for a "Western force" as "Weymouth"Mike wasn't advised by Stewart that the +30 in the rules meant you got an extra 30 points to play with !
Must admit I kept looking and saying that our army looked a bit small !
Then bad luck struck again losing 2 units completely with 4 5/6 on the late and loses so off they went and basically never turned up. So unfortunately with the force being 100 points light away against the opponents plus the 2 missing brigades it never really got any better than that. Try as we might it became a fighting battle to just try and hold on. But we managed to keep the Union victory to only 48 points and not a full blown rout.
The one that kept cropping up at what point does a Linear  not become a wall or sunken road if between the main body of fighting men? As troops walking down a road with a "wall" down one side  and troops firing at an angle firing effectively over "2 walls" can decimate that unit when they can only see the first base at the beginning of a wall ?
If that had been a wood or building there ? There would be no LOS or question about being able to fire at them ? Except again the first unit coming out at the top of the road ?
So is it worth then havin a wall/fence/sunken road/Linear ? At all ? Any other game system the LOS would be obstructed in some way and at least become a Partial and the troops would have been claiming some form of cover ?
Martin always says these roads were only tracks, hence why you can't have everything on the road passing each other etc, but apparently my Brigade was walking down a 3 lane freeway? So the whole Brigade could be seen by all and sundry, So which is it ? If I had know that I would have had them go up the road 3 bases wide not treat it like a narrow track that I was led to believe?
Cavalry v Guns twice in 2 days the guns have actually halted the charge at the falter test ? so it is actually worth looking at "to stand", it's not to say it will happen everytime ?
But other than that I t was a good game.

[Moggy]

I find the whole falter test thing seems a bit "off" the number of times a vastly superior (in number if nothing else) charge ends because of a poor dice roll is disappoining.   I feel that unsupported guns being charged from cavalry would, whenever possible, would try to escape unless it was a short range charge when they would have no chance to run.

Like Miles the linear fence rules do need some clarification as do the crestlines of hills. Maybe we ned to have some lines drawn on our hills to show crests!

Apart from that a good time was had by all.


Many thanks to Stewart for putting it on.  Yes, despite shaking fingers managed to escape the shop without looking/buying anything more.


Derek

[Stewart 46A]

Morning Miles,
I had anEastern force with +70 , Mike also had eastern force with +30, so difference of 40 points not 100 and we both had musket armed units.
You advised Mike to reduce his attack/defence dice which resulted in a large difference so on the defenders losses you  lost a lot but you did risk losing bases instead of taking them off and losing 3 bases from 6 on a number of units wasn't good.
But  we did have a good game with poor Generals it was hard to get more then. Two units doing anything worthwhile
each turn .

Next ECW if you can make it

Stewart

[Sean Clark]

The crestline issue has always been troops on a hill template can be seen.

Regarding cover from linears...

Remember  that units are brigades, so in effect 3 or 4 regiments, representing 1500-2000 men.  Though  they manoeuvre as a single block of troops, this is abstracted from the reality of what would actually be 3 or 4 independent units moving together.

Cover rules in games that abstract to this level are tr8cky. What does a wall or a fence on the table represent? A single piece of wall? Could 1500 men recieve cover from it?

I think for me, due to the abstraction, a general rule of a unit needs to be 50% behind cover to gain a bonus might make sense. But then, the half pocking out and nit covered by a fence actually represents around 750 men, more than the average regiment, without cover.

Locally we use the following amendment.

All cover saves are:

Long range in cover: 2+
Long range in the open/short range in cover: 3+
Short range in the open: 4+

If ⅔ of a unit are in cover they gain the cover bonus, always judged in favour of the defending player.

It takes a group of friendly players to work these things out. And if a group feel like they want to change something, then do it. Its a tradition going back to Featherstone where you use house rules to fit how you play.

Of course the issue is when we all come together, and play a game once or twice a year. So maybe CWB could have  a page of accepted errata and clarifications until such time as it is rewritten. 

[Colonel Kilgore]

Careful, Sean - don't get Martin started on any more rewrites quite yet! 

Simon

[Moggy]

The rules do say that if half the unit is in cover then it is treated as in cover.   

I agree that a large body of men do not really "hide" behind a fence so I think I would then to say they could be called behind it if front centre rank (shooter) to nearest facing centre rank (if in doubt use largest frontage available) runs across it. That then avoids the odd bases peeking out.

Derek

[Smiley Miley 66]

I did advise him but you had already decided the points etc.
You told us you had a Western force not a Eastern force ? So which was it.
When I asked Mike about the plus 30 points he said you said nothing about it ? He wasn't aware of it ?
So what I put down yesterday was what I was told. Or did you all fib ?
So going by what I was told , the force we had was 100 points different to yours ?
Now you have changed your story then it's 70 points different? Or was Mike lying too ?
Yes I know we had muskets on the table. That's was across both forces.
Where did the light gun come from ? There must be light guns in there ?
Guns 3-5 smoothbores and 0-4 light guns ? If the Ill advised points putting an extra cavalry base then another smoothbore could have been paid for and used ?
But anyway it was an enjoyable game. A good day and thanks for organising it, in the fact we need to play these rules more often than we do ? As these are one of the best sets of rules made, even though they are quite old. We need to be playing this at least 2-3 times a year ?
But the force in front of me looked light ? Before any thing was taken away. The 2 bad throws myself and Mike made with the 4D6 made the situation worse. Then you wanted us to sacrifice even more of the force with the lates and losses ? We had no more troops we could loose, but road entrances to bring on the reinforcements we did have?
I think next time a bit of time going thru the rules and set up with a newbie would have been advised, then we could have sorted any miscalculations out ?
You said to me before there's the book make a force ? If you don't know the rules, how the forces should be etc, you have no chance of setting up a correct force. It doesn't matter how much you have played other PP Games if you have never played that rule set you are at a disadvantage? One game with you and Martin the other day can't being warrant knowledge of the game, and me not knowing what points were used didn't help me out either ?
So I think we must have a quick run down of a game setup etc, especially if newbies are involved, also stops us all running on some of the "last" play tested rules that those of us have been involved in lately and any other sets just because that's what we have been playing?
So its not meant to be a dig, be just we should be more mindful of those playing and trying to promote the rules ?
Also goes to show we do need to do these Battledays more often ?
A lesson for all of us should be learned ?
Must admit my morning started off bad from the time I got up.... To getting to Entoyment.
But what I reported on here was what I was told or lead to believe?
Miles

[Sean Clark]

The rules do say that if half the unit is in cover then it is treated as in cover.   

I agree that a large body of men do not really "hide" behind a fence so I think I would then to say they could be called behind it if front centre rank (shooter) to nearest facing centre rank (if in doubt use largest frontage available) runs across it. That then avoids the odd bases peeking out.

Derek

Good idea.

[Smiley Miley 66]

This game doesn't need a rewrite, more of a modern approach and tidy up ? They would be re rolls allowed as standard in places, maybe a slightly better X reference, but this was one of the first to have a lot of things properly X reference from the play sheet.
It's just little odds and bits need playing with ? Not too sure if PP have nearly gone thru all of the copies ?
It's still a game we should play a lot more often !
Miles

[Sean Clark]

Miles

Ive always said its my favourite game. I honestly think its the best ACW game of its kind. It gives a great game in a couple of hours with little fuss.

I suspect it falls victim of those of us who play a lot of RFCM games in that we misremember rules from elsewhere. As said before and by you, one or two clarifications would do me fine.

[Moggy]

Maybe just an errata sheet so its in writing.

Derek

[Sean Clark]

Agreed.

I'd be happy to collate peoples issues and produce a single sheet of combined thoughts. Anything on it would be unofficial, but possibly considered for future battle days. All with Martins approval of course.

Ill start q new thread.