Games we are playing include a large American Civil War campaign, using the “Fire and Fury” rules to fight the battles.  So far Washington was captured by the Confederacy, then recaptured by the Union, who then drove south and have now captured Richmond.  the western front seems to have settled into a slugging match with neither commander able to gain the upper hand at the moment.

We are also playing a small (and very bloody) Wings of War campaign.  This WW1 dogfight game is great fun and a quick filler.  So far the Germans won day 1 and drew day 2, but the allies have won the fight by shooting down 2 of the Germans last week.

Colin and Zob are playing a DBA campaign, sorry but they seem to like it.  To make it really interesting they are doing the Roman civil war, so they are both Romans!

In between these we are also playing a wide range of other games, next week seems A & Z doing DBA while the rest of us will be playing a WW2 game using Peter Pigs PBI2 rules.

Old RSS feed

Old RSS feed

Old RSS feed

Mat’s M’Tor’Hed forces have lost ground, but may regain some after the fights. Colin’s URINE faction faces battles on all fronts, while Nathan’s Righteous Movement seems to be struck by lethargy as they dig in to attempt to hold onto their gains. Panjo’s Boys from Z’boooooo are picking fights all over the place.

See, that’s what happens when you hit 50!

Despite initial set backs against fortified positions and ambushing bushwhackers the forces of the Union soon pushed the rebels back from Louisville. A rebel cavalry brigade was cut off and captured by the 1st Illinois Cavalry, while the 1st Rhode Island and 1st Missouri Infantry smashed through one rebel unit after another and ended up driving off the entire left flank of the rebel army.

Casualties were light for our gallant boys. Of 35,500 men engaged in the battle there were 1,050 confirmed killed or seriously wounded, 4,500 suffered light wounds and 600 are missing, possibly captured. The estimated size of the rebel force was over 30,000 men and over 2,000 were killed or seriously injured, nearly 6,000 are thought to have received light wounds and there are 2,400 prisoners under guard.

With Louisville now safe it is thought that General Thomas will reorganise his troops and secure the rest of Kentucky from the secessionist’s. I can only hope that those in the southern states will come to their senses and end this futile rebellion of theirs.

For those who have not yet realised, this is a report from one of the battles in the first turn of an ongoing American Civil War campaign, played using Fire & Fury rules and assorted 15mm figures

Big gains for Panjo in the north and Nathan in the south. Mat and Colin maintain some land, while Andy is wiped out. (Sorry Andy!)

After choosing forces you set up the scenery and then allocate “purses” to such things as subterfuge, supplies, weather and various others. You then roll against your opponent with the victor either gaining bonuses, such as extra arrows, or messing with the opponents force, such as moving units once they are deployed. This part takes a fair amount of time but really makes the game. It’s very annoying when the unit placed to defend the hill on the flank is suddenly repositioned directly in front of your cavalry in the center.

After all the sneakiness is done the battle itself starts. Generals roll to activate units, with the score needed dependant upon the quality of both the general and the unit, plus the distance between them. Activated units get action points and you then do what you can with them. There is also a nice “opportunity fire” section that allows the non-moving players units to fire on enemy units that are within short range of them during the other players turn. Shooting is simple to work out, while combat takes a bit more work but seems to work out well. Unless you consistently roll low like I did at the start and Mat did at the end. Morale is caused by losses and can result in units holding position, retiring or routing.

All in all I liked the game we had and will (hopefully) be playing it again soon. I would recommend it to anybody who is looking for a fun evening’s game that isn’t too serious and I’d give it an 8 out of 10.

The mortars opened fire causing little damage being inaccurate, and one burst and expolded killing all the gunners.

The ironclads had to turn broadside to avoid the island fort, this was a critical manover as the USS Cairo had limited armour to the rear. Heavy cannon fire and hits from mortar shells soon penetrated the inside causing much damage and fires. The rudder was shot away leaving the vessel out of control.

The USS Benton carried on, passing the island destroying the fort and mortar rafts.
It was a costly action with the loss of the USS Cairo but mission was accomplished by the actions of USS Benton which remained almost undamaged.

Big gains for Nathan (Grey) and Panjo(Blue). Mat (pink) and Andy(dark green) lost ground, Colin (light green stayed the same and Zob (red) was wiped out.