On Friday evening I popped over to Andrew's place for another game of the current favourite rule system, The Devil to Pay.
Andrew had suggested an early (i.e., pre-1840) Colonial game, using the rules. This was good for me as I was able to pull out my Wellington in India collection, made up of the "Redoubtable" (pun absolutely intended!) Redoubt miniatures figures of the same name.
Two brigades each - Andrews consisted of one 5 unit infantry command and one 4 unit cavalry plus a battery of guns - mine were two infantry brigades (I don't have a lot of cavalry for this era), one of 5 units the other 4 plus a battery.
The game lasted about four hours, with a break for dinner, and I was home about 10pm.
Here are some pix
Initial deployment (Brits on the bottom edge) the few trees were impassable and blocked line of sight.
Each of my Brigades had one European battalion and the remainder "Native."
The Chooky Wellington commanded the 5 infantry unit brigade.
Two of four mounted units that, along with a gun battery, comprised Andrews right wing.
Andrews left wing made up of five infantry units.
My plan was to refuse my left flank and hold off Andrew's cavalry/mounted infantry (for they were both/either) and advance with my right-hand brigade to take on his infantry.
Andrew advances towards my refused flank
Some very nicely painted figures from Andrew, as always!
The first two mounted units dismounted to assault my lone battalion, supported by a battery of guns.
One thing with these rules is, a lot can happen without the appearance of the table changing a lot! We had several rounds of firing and rallying, including a couple of Carpe Diem (spelled it correctly this time!) turns each, without the overall situation changing dramatically.
On my right, after several rounds of musketry, I sensed an advantage and moved forward, expanding to the right so I overlapped Andrew's force.
The left-hand brigade moved forward slightly too to conform with their comrades to the right.
Having got within 6 inches, I won a Carpe Diem and elected to charge (first time ever in these rules!)
Sweeping success, the Madras infantry regiments obliterated the two forward units of natives, who were wavering on one or two bases after repeated volleys of musketry, and then doubled down by breaking the reinforcing fresh unit in the second line.
Andrew reciprocated and pushed back the 74 Highlanders and a unit of Madras infantry on my left flank.
Andrew, in a excess of fairness for which I am very grateful, decided that, under these rules, his cavalry were unable to charge my adjacent unit in the flank, without reforming into a different formation.
In the meantime, I changed again with two infantry units on my right and won both combats - even when a unit carrying three casualty markers assaulted one of Andrews fresh units, rolling 3 dice to 5, I beat them and pushed them virtually to the edge of the table!
Andrew called the game at this point - he had lost one cavalry unit and three infantry units, whereas although I had been pushed back in a couple of melees, I had not actually lost a unit at all. We could have carried on for sure, but Andrew felt in that situation, his force would have withdrawn, and I was happy to agree!
We could have added a bit of nuance by perhaps making my two British units elite and doing the same for a couple on Andrews side, but the game worked fine as it was.
Having played these rules a second time, I think I got quite a lot wrong in the ACW game - I don't think I should have been able to have units spread out all over the place, the way they ended up in that game. The only way to do this is for the brigade commander to expend an order and actually TELL a unit to go off independently (it then receives three order tokens rather than the standard 2). I am pretty sure in the ACW game, all my units were acting "independently" i.e., not within 1.5 inches of each other - but we just carried on regardless!
Anyway, nice to get a game in at the end of the working week - hope wherever you are reading this, you are getting plenty table time too!
Interesting looking game with lovely miniatures. Rules often do take a few games to get to grip with all their mechanisms.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like the look of the game Peter! That will be our challenge with the rules...playing more than two or three games before we move onto a new set!
DeleteI agree with Peter on needing several games under the belt before assessing whether the rules “work” for you. For me, several playings are required before proper game tactics develop. For some rules, more games than several are needed before the whole thing begins to gel. Don’t switch to another set of rules before you reach that point.
DeleteI think you need 3-5 games to get au fait with rules and by then you should have an idea as to whether they work for you or not.
DeleteThanks for your advise gents...I agree with you all!
DeleteSome rules more than others. 3 games is the magic number I think. Any more I start thinking that the rules are too complex or badly written. The problem is sticking with it and not wandering off to something else. Lot of times wargamers get stuck in a loop of constantly learning / relearning rules which can take some of the fun out of the decision making because you don't feel like you're making informed choices. 😀
DeletePS. i LOVE the little graphic cut outs of casualties and such behind the lines.
Great looking game Keith and thank you for the report.
ReplyDeleteAndrew seems to be a gentleman and great host! Not sure that if I was losing that I would argue against my cavalry charging your infantry in the flank 😁
Thanks Ben...and exactly my feelings in respect of Andrew's fair playmanship!
DeleteThanks for the compliments - another thing I noticed later in the rules is that a melee's winner is Disordered, so they need another Move activation to reform before they can charge again anyway. Unlike other rules such as Black Powder where (particularly) cavalry would have followed through, contacting anyone near their front, fighting the new melee straight away (I think).
DeleteAh...right...so some of my charges next activation perhaps weren't possible either...we live and learn!
DeleteOh Keith, what have you done?! I was trying to resist some form of HEIC gaming but this has weakened my resolve considerably;). In all honesty I have a good core force (unpainted of course) for both sides with a bit of leeway on how units were dressed etc. Certainly easier in this regards if you play mid 18thC, but the Sepoys are a challenge, especially their head gear. Nothing that will stop me of course as and when I get around to it...
ReplyDeleteHahaha Steve...your unpainted figures are 10mm I assume? You may have to look away, as I am planning a Wellington in India parade for my next post in a couple of days...photos are already done!
DeleteGet thee behind me Satan;)! Can't wait to see the parade Keith:). Yep, you guessed right, 10mm all the way for me. I've already started some research and who could resist elephants with light artillery or camels with jezzails? Not I Sir, not I!!!
DeleteSounds like a great collection Steve, what are you waiting for?! I only have the British side and rely on others to provide the targets.....I mean, opposition! Elephants in 28mm sound expensive 😊
DeleteStill researching Keith, so a while before any orders go in. Also trying to stay focussed on the France 1940 campaign, despite this and other distractions!
DeleteAh, right, I misread the earlier comment about research and thought you already had some figures in the lead pile, Steve....the pressure is off, in that case!
DeleteInteresting game and great looking armies
ReplyDeleteCheers Scotty, I really like this collection too...it doesn't get on the table often enough....mind you, NONE of my collections do! 😏
DeleteBeautiful looking armies and great fame sir!
ReplyDeleteGame^
DeleteThanks Michal...good to see I am not the only one who sometimes posts typos!
DeleteA nice sized game and I like Andrews spirit of play. Nice armies, the cavalry in particular caught my eye.
ReplyDeleteThanks Norm, yes I agree, most people I know (including me!) would have argued for a charge! Andrews logic was that firstly , the rules say the charge must be drawn at forty five degrees from the centre of the charging unit o the target unit and secondly, his unit was overlapping the impassable terrain so could not fit through the available space at the required angle.....I, needless to say, was happy to agree with him!
DeleteYes, his cavalry in this collection is particularly fine.
Very nicely done and you have itched that scratch again, I think I could do some colonial gaming with very limited additional troops.🤔
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt - I generally enjoy Colonial games - next time, I may use my partially done 1840.s collection (partially because it's basically infantry only!)
DeleteSounds like you need to buy and paint something so you can achieve your colonial ambitions!
I have never played a colonial game, but Andrew's figures are enough to tempt me. Some great variety and colourful uniforms in there.
ReplyDeleteYou mus have some colonial troops in amongst those many unpainted armoires, Lawrence?? 😂
DeleteWhat did I say to Michal about typos??! It doesn't help that Blogger just inserts its own version of any error, rather than drawing your attention to it with red underlining....my comment related to unpainted ARMIES, obviously! I would not even know armoire was a word, if I had not played a few games of Frostgrave!
DeleteThat's funny, I think you mean grimoire (a tome of spells), not armoire (a free standing wardrobe) :)))
DeleteWell, now you point it out..... 😃
DeleteGreat looking game Keith. I do love the look of Redoubt figures.
ReplyDeleteThanks Ray...they are big buggers, but some nice sculpting and poses....I particularly like the standard bearer with the pole resting on his shoulder!
DeleteEnjoyed the report and like the sound of the rules Keith.
ReplyDeleteThanks Richard, they seemed to work quite well with this era even though designed for ACW!
DeleteIn my opinion, Wellington in India and the Sikh Wars are a wonderful combination. They have the structure of conventional armies along with the color of colonials (and some passage out of Flashman seems to inevitably spring to mind).
ReplyDeleteTotally agree Ed. as to Flashman, I have been trying to purchase the models of him from various novels (currently listed on SHQ Miniatures as Victorian Personalities) fo some time, but they have been " unavailable " for the last two to three years ☹️
DeleteI'm guessing that someone in the 3D modelling world probably makes a Flashman (I personally don't know much about this area, but have friends who are constantly scoring all kinds of figures and terrain via various web sites where those sorts of things are listed).
DeleteYes that's a good point Ed....maybe I should Google that and see what I can find!
DeleteA cracking looking game Keith…
ReplyDeleteThis is another of these very attractive periods that gets my butterfly fluttering….
All the best. Aly
Thanks Aly...there are more figures available now too, than when I went down this path....your mates the Perry's have a few native troops and Brits in Round Hats tacked onto the end of their metal Napoleonic range that I would probably use if starting today....
DeleteVery nice looking game! Enjoyed the description of how the rules seemed to be run a bit more fluidly than the acw game.
ReplyDeleteNot all that familiar with the Indian units or their uniforms but I like what I see and those flags are super cool.