"28mm AWI Guilford Court House AAR / Battle Report" Topic

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After the success of the last post we move onto the action. Lots of new pics including Highlanders in kilts and Guards in bearskins :-)

A really enjoyable experience. British Grenadier works so well for this period, the're not quick but when you can leave stuff set up its not a problem.

Thanks again for any interest.

Regards, Ken
yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk

Very nice. Thank you for sharing. Just a quick question – how does British Grenadier (the rules) compare to Black Powder?

Beautiful figures.

Tom

Hi TheKing30,

Have to be honest and say I havent played Black Powder. I have played Hail Caeser which I believe is similar.

British Grenadier is quite "old school" with tables and factors, all the things that modern rules shy away from. The rules USP is the Disruption Points system, very basically you gain dps for rough terrain, being shot at etc, you dont take casualties until have 3 dps. Better troops can rally off more dps per turn and therefore last longer. It prolongs the game a bit but for me gives a feel of the period.

If you like the BP, 6 and you're dead vibe then BG wont be for you.

Regards, Ken
yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk

@Yankshire Gamer – thanks to your blog (which I've bookmarked) I'll be visiting my FLGS and asking him to order those rules.

Sounds like the rules will appeal to two different groups. Black Powder works well in a convention setting where you want allot of figures and the game can be played to an end in a few hours. BG sounds like a rule set that you play at home, with your gaming group, that can take several sessions to complete.

Hi TheKing30,

yep that's a spot on summary, they have a number of scenario books (3 I think) which are a good read and useful whatever set you use.

Hope you like them.

Regards, Ken
yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk

A splendid report, Ken. I think Guilford is a very difficult nut to crack for the British using "British Grenadier"….but that's exactly how it should be!

Giles

Good looking game.

Wonderful!! Even with the Highlanders in kilts.

British Grenadier scenarios range from multi-player games (I took part with 11 other people in a "Long Island" game over two days a few years back), or 2-3 hours with two players on some of the "learning" scenarios.

Very nice looking game.

For BG, we use small pebbles on bases to represent the DPs as that doesn't take away from the look of the table.

Our group just did Freeman's Farm refight. For the first time we started using the brigade level command orders, which changed the complexion of the rules quite a bit.

Enjoyable game, but next time we will set it up with the first (Poor's) brigade ready to fight instead of marching on. Too much wasted time in that and not enough gaming. :-)

Thanks everyone.

Cheers history gamer, I really like the pebbles idea, saw it somewhere a while back and it slipped my mind. Will try and get some sorted before our next AWI game in the new year. Our plastic counters get used for everything table wouldn't seem right without them.

We use the Brigade rules and I love the way they work, most of our rule systems have a similar order system so it wasnt to much of a shock. Do you use the Brigade Morale rules ? They can be quite dramatic if you roll low.

Regards, Ken
yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk

Yes, the brigade morale rules are very good. They are important in games like Guilford.

My group is too lazy….. We have never played that battle!!!!

Get a new group. :-)

SM said: "British Grenadier scenarios range from multi-player games (I took part with 11 other people in a "Long Island" game over two days a few years back), or 2-3 hours with two players on some of the "learning" scenarios."

Maybe it's just me and getting older but I find a four or so hour game is about the limit of my interest.

That does look great. Thanks for sharing.

HG,

In terms of actual game-play, I tend to agree. One thing that does bug me about the hobby generally though, is the number of games where someone "concedes" just as you get to the really interesting bit – ie fighting your way off the table.

Local club plays 10:00-18:00 one Saturday a month (includes setting up/pullng down time, so 11:00-17:00 is more like it); good for either multi-player games, or back-to-back scenario-testing (ie playing both sides).

Home-based games (2, occasionally 3, per side) tend to be around 3-4 hours, but get extended to a "sociable" length with food/wine (neither allowed in game rooms), general banter, and anecdotes from any of the guests who have been "doing something interesting recently" (eg embedded journalism in Iraq/Afghan, policing London, scultping new AWI figures, writing, etc)

I find that when refighting historic battles it sometimes help to have the figures almost ready to fight (if you aren't allowing the "generals" to create wide sweeping maneuvers on their own).

Also, no one likes spending multiple moves marching into battle in column, deploying into line, or being the reserve force (Hey John, you come in move 9.)

For our refight of Freeman's we had Poor's brigade mainly in column, so we wasted two moves just watching them deploy. Learned's Brgiade came on just in time (move 9?) to see Poor's run away and the rebels concede the game.

I find this especially true at wargame conventions – start the figures in place just before the action. Just my experience if trying to maximize time and enjoyment.

I've given up on even attempting historical stuff in a club setting, unless I'm developing a new rule set. The Leeds club I attend meet 1900 – 2230 and when you add in set up take down time you struggle to get much of a game in. I've started doing X Wing almost exclusively on club nights now.

One way to get round the time aspect is to speed the rules up and enevitably lose detail, this appears to be the current trend with the mass of 6 you're dead games around at the moment, there just not for me.

The great benefit of having a permanent set up at home is the ability to take as much time as you want with stuff and play to a finish. As I work shifts we can't have a regular game night. Its either an evening or a Sunday 1100 to 1800. With people chatting and consumption of Fish and chips you might only get a few turns done but who cares, there is no pressure. British Grenadier are perfect for these games.

Regards, Ken
yarkshiregamer.blogspot.co.uk

Nice kit Ken, thanks for the report.

Since there have been several postings about Guilford Courthouse games in the past couple of weeks let me make a comment not meant to indict yarkshire gamer in particular but is meant for anyone interested in this scenario…it's all about the terrain. Every battle is impacted one way or another by the terrain on which it is fought and unfortunately terrain seems to be an afterthought to most wargamers.

With regard to Guilford Courthouse, the first line is impacted by fences and muddy fields, the second line is fought completely in the woods and the third line is characterized by a ridgeline on which the American Continentals are deployed.

To their credit I do see fences, trees and what appears to be a raised section that must be the third line in the yarkshire game, which is more than I see in some other Guilford games. I don't mind the Highlanders in kilts or the Guards in bearskins, those inaccuracies don't impact the game itself.

I have attached a link below that provides some pictures of the diorama at the Guilford Courthouse battlefield that I hope gives everyone a better idea of the terrain.

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