Richard and I did it again. Well, we went back and looked at the Northampton game from a few days ago. The game didn't run as Richard had expected, and we had some fairly wild dice swings, and he wanted to step through the action, taking hits based upon probability rather than dice rolling.
I played the Yorkists, and followed my own advice. I marched down the road promptly in March Column, shielded by the cavalry off screen to the left.
I then swung round in sequence, and headed off across Delapre Park in a slight echelon, aiming to hit the fortification in sequence from left to right.
I took a little bit of damage from archery and the cannon firing. I focussed on shooting up the Lancastrian right and centre, leaving the unit on one end with the possible traitor untouched.
In we went, Fauconberg first. It was a tough first round of fighting...
We punctuated the game with some long discussions, and rounded it off with more. There are real challenges with wargaming this battle, and I think we concluded it would work best as a solo game, with the Lancastrians on auto pilot.
I don’t recall wild swings in the dice during the inaugural game but that may because my commands did not close until late in battle and I was not paying attention. I do remember several guns blowing up. This situation seems better suited to solo play. Next time a battle has all of the action on one side of the table, it would be easier to see the beautiful troops and action if either the camera was repositioned to look down on the fortifications or the table was spun around.
ReplyDeleteThere were disproportionate 6s down the Fauconberg end of the line from time to time. The main aim of this play through was to calibrate the scenario so that if luck evens out the Yorkists win by Grey's betrayal. It would be better to have the camera the other side, but I don't know what technical issues Richard may have.
DeleteBTW Those are late 70s Minifigs. I'm not sure anyone would call them beautiful.
Given 70s Minifigs on the table, perhaps Richard had the camera strategically placed?
DeletePerhaps. I had some of them, back in the day. Functional is the fairest word for them.
DeleteWe have had some fun playing Northampton but there is a fair degree of chance involved - will Grey defect and how much effect does the rain have on the artillery? All outcomes are possible!
ReplyDeleteThe battle all turns on the betrayal. It isn't the most tactically interesting. It takes about 30 minutes, all told, which is just slightly longer than the board game of it I designed and published for the Northamptonshire Battlefields Society.
DeleteAnd I'm interested! Of course, the battle is not indicative for a wargame, but Gray's betrayal and the capture of the king can be beautifully played back.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of things important and interesting about battle, but alas it isn't great material for a game. Except for the one I designed.
DeleteGreat Game and Report! Love the figures.
ReplyDeleteNeil
http://toysoldiersanddiningroombattles.blogspot.com/
Bit nostalgic for 1970s Minifigs, are you? I will pass the message on, as they're not my toys.
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