"Battle of Abensberg 15mm" Topic

I've posted an extended play report of my battle of Abensberg on my blog.

link

The rules are Field of Battle, 1st edition. For those interested in pretty pictures, there are more toward the end of the post.

Fantastic battle report and explanation of the rules. Thanks very much.

Many thanks, I'd been wanting to learn about how these rules work – just the ticket!

Wow! Amazing timing. I've just read through Field of Battle 2nd Edition and am quite literally about to sit down in the next couple of hours to read through a second detailed time and mark up the rules with a view to trying to teach myself how they work.

Feels like there's a great game in there BUT, quite a lot of curious new mechanisms and I'm not sure how everything fits together.

Then I check TMP and here is your post!!! I'll print it out and sit in the library with the rules and read through.

Many many thanks, Nick

What a stirring write up with great photos, and a very detailed walk through of the rules! I have posted the link to the Piquet (includes Field of Battle)Yahoo Group.

For any interested, I will be running the Great Cavalry Engagement at Liebertwolkwitz with Field of Battle, 2nd edition, at Historicon next month, on Friday evening July 15th.

Peter

I'm wondering, why was 1st ed used for the game? Is it better than the 2nd ed (as occasionally happens with rules)??

Durban – I used the 1st Edition because that's what I have. I've never bothered to buy the 2nd Edition, partly because I'm happy with the 1st and many of the changes in the 2nd were already covered in various house rules I use anyway.

For an excellent overview of the changes between editions, see Gonsalvo's excellent comparison here: link

When I started, I found the rules very easy to learn, because the cards pretty much tell you what you can do, and the charts are simple -- if you are firing, just go down each row and apply any appropriate modifiers until you reach the bottom of the chart, then roll your dice. The QRS is one page in large print with everything you need. Simple, and after a few games, things move very quickly. It's also a great system for solo gamers.

The changes in the second edition aren't major, but do improve the game substantially, in my opinion. As tshyrock says, some of his house rules anticipate or partially replicate some of the 2nd edition changes, like his house rule allowing a unit to charge up to 6" on a Melee card. The post of mine that he links to pretty much sets forth all the major differences between the two versions.

Well thanks tshyrock, great play through. I know it must've taken a lot of effort to document it so well but it has made everything a lot clearer. Something like this would be good to include with each sale of the rules. Anyone without prior Piquet experience will be puzzled by several mechanisms.