"Tricorn and Bonnet" is a set of tabletop figure wargames rules for fighting the battles of the Jacobite risings from Killiecrankie to Culloden Moor. The rule set is written to take account of the asymmetric style of warfare between regular European style drilled troops and the more martial clansmen who came out to support the House of Stewart after the 1688 "Glorious and Bloodless" revolution. As with all Wargaming for Grown Ups rule publications the back cover includes a comprehensive Quick Reference Sheet to aid game play.
Army Sizes and Figures
The rules are designed to be played on a grid, so the scale of the figures used is irrelevant as long as they fit in a square. Units are usually three bases in size or two if cavalry. In practice this isn't important either, as the number of bases represent step loses for units, so as long as you can track how many steps have been lost and how many remain then you are good to go.
The battles in these campaigns are small by European standards. The Duke of Marlborough may have commanded nearly 90,000 men at Malplaquet in 1709. Just over five years later his contemporary, the Duke of Argyll, was in charge of about 6,000 in a battle that could have decided the fate of a nation. The Duke of Cumberland lead 50,000 men at Fontenoy. The following year his army at Culloden Moor numbered less than 8,000. What matters in "Tricorn and Bonnett" is the number of effective units, not the number of figures.
But just so that you know, the author's armies are 1/72 plastic, being a combination of Airfix, Red Box, Strelets and Zvezda, and his infantry units number 12 figures per battalion and his cavalry 6 per regiment.
Troop Classifications
Troops are classified in two ways in the rule. Firstly in terms of how they are trained (or not), and secondly how much self belief they have. For training the troops may be regulars, militia or Highlanders, and these classifications determine several things, including how they fight most effectively. Their measure of self belief is covered by their Confidence level, which ranges from Fearless to Wavering. A key part of the game is that the Confidence level for a unit isn't known for sure at the start of the game. Each commander will have some idea of how good the troops are, but they may let them down when it comes to the sharp end.
Style of Play
The game turns alternate between players, with one player activating and resolving actions for units individually before moving on to the next. Each turn includes limited reaction opportunities for the opposing player, such as counter charging or giving defensive fire. The aim of the Jacobite player is to use their fearsome reputation of the highland troops to Intimidate their government opponents through a unique system developed from our earlier rule set "To Ur is Human". This increases the chances of winning hand to hand combat and causing breakthroughs. Government forces must position themselves to make the most of their superior firepower and hope to stand their ground.
Combat System - Firing
Units roll one d6 per base, plus extra dice based upon their training and formation, looking for sixes to hit. There are a limited number of dice roll modifiers. These allow for a maximum of +2 to the dice rolls, with excess modifiers converting to extra dice rolled.
Combat System - Hand to hand combat
Again units roll dice based upon their training and formation, looking for sixes to hit with dice roll modifiers limited to +2 as with firing. This gives a base number of hits for each side and it is the difference between the number of hits that determines the winner and the outcome, whilst also applying attrition to successful units. The system is designed to give quick, believable outcomes with melees resolved in a couple of turns. In hand to hand combat the key differentiators between the combatants are whether one side is Intimidated and the relative difference in Confidence levels. Neither of these is normally known at the point the decision to charge is made. Are your clansmen Fearless or have they had enough and just want to go home? Are their opponents resolute and confident in themselves, or are they prepared to run at the first sign of the Jacobites rushing across the heather?
Morale
Morale tests are taken when units take more hits than bases and in other circumstances too. Their morale status falls from Good Order to Disordered to Shaken to Routed as they fail tests, but this process can be reversed by resolute leadership.
Commanders
Each side will have army and brigade commanders and highland units also have Clan Leaders. Commanders will often be key to victory, and they can intervene at critical times to improve results in combat, modify morale rolls, and rally troops amongst other things. The number of times they can do this is limited both in each turn and for the whole game. Their personal leadership will often be the difference between victory and disaster.
Scenarios
The rule books includes four historic scenarios, complete with historical background, deployment maps and force lists. These are:
- Killiecrankie
- Sheriffmuir
- Prestonpans
- Culloden Moor
These scenarios cover the mainland Jacobite risings from the very first to the last encounter.
Background
The rules contain some historical background to explain why design decisions were made but not a full history. A two page annotated bibliography is provided so those new to the period can acquire relevant background with confidence.
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