"Sixty-one Sixty-five Rules questions" Topic

Preparing for my first game tomorrow and had a few questions.

Leader activation bonuses?
- They seem to be issued by the NCO and the LT vs being an in command bonus? Are the +1s stackable for the 2 leaders or is it an either or?

Skirmishes?
- I don't understand their activation? Seems like they have to roll just like a squad? Do they role the same time as their squad or are they independent? Seems like they can roll 1,2 or 3 dice just like a squad?
- if so, can 2 failures from skirmishes cause a turn over?
- after starting 1S from their squad, are skirmishers free to move anywhere since they don't need to be in command or are they some how connected to their squad?
- so basically are skirmishers just another light squad?

Corporals?
- I understand the corporals ability to rally his squad. It doesn't sound like it requires an action to do so and can occur anytime in the players turn regardless of whether the squad has been activated or not. However the sergeant Oreilly comment says to save the squads actions for movement in combat rather than waste them on rallying?

Thanks
Ken

No. Being 'In Command' means you get the Leader's Bonus (+1 to Activation). It does not stack as (page 6) because you are on 'In Command' once. Your goal is to get all of your leaders within range of each other and to the troops by establishing a chain of command.

Skirmishers activate separately. "Skirmishers need not be in command. They always activate with their own Quality score." (page 6) "They always have Q3 and the Resolve Special Rule (so they activate on a 2 or better) and don't need to be in command." (page 14)

As they activate the same, they use the same mechanic. They can also cause a turnover.

Yes, they can move about however they want. BUT: "A pair of Skirmishers who take 1 loss immediately perform a Morale check: roll 3d6 against the survivor's Q. If he rolls more successes than failures, the surviving soldier receives a free Medium move that he may use to join a friendly Squad. Otherwise, he is removed from play." (page 14) SO if the survivor is not within an M of a squad when it tests, it is eliminated.

"Skirmisher" is a misnomer. They are the squad's sharpshooters, so it is better to think of a squad sending forth their best marksmen to raise a ruckus.

Corporals command the squad (page 3 and 7), but are not Leaders (page 6 and 7) and thus are a part of the squad's numbers. Rallying is not an action when the Corporal does it ("At any point in the owning player's turn (before or after the Squad activation), the Corporal may try to rally… page 7). Sgt O'reilly's is telling you to use the Corporal to rally, instead of using actions. See page 15: "The soldier remains Shaken until: the player spends one or more actions from the Squad to rally each individual Shaken soldier (one action rallies one soldier) or the Corporal tries to Rally him (see Corporals)." Actions have 100% chance to rally; Corporals have to take a Quality test and can cause a turnover.

Playtest Part One: link
Platest Intermission: link
Playtest Part Two: link

Q&A with the author (Sergio): link
More Q&A with the author (Sergio): link

Idea for smoothing out activations: link

Good gaming!

Dale

Dale – thanks so much for the great info.

One last question. Chain of command. I understand that the squad can be in command simply by being 1L from the Captain and that the NCO and LT are not needed. Conversely, can the squad still be in command with a chain of command that goes only from the NCO to the Captain or from the squad to the LT to the Captain – all within acceptable distances. In other words can the NCO or LT be left out or are there only two paths -
NCO to LT to captain
Captain to squad

Page 6:
Therefore, a soldier is "in command" if he is:
within 1M from an NCO;
within 1L from a Lieutenant;
within 1L from the Captain.
An NCO is in command if he is within 1L from a Lieutenant or the Captain.

So yes, the NCO or LT can be left out of the chain. What you cannot do though is do something like CPT -> LT -> NCO -> Some other NCO -> Squad. You can't use an NCO or LT outside of your true, organizational chain of command to extend your range. In this last example, the reason the chain is broken is because the NCO cannot be in command by another NCO.

Have fun!

Dale

Thank you. Clearly missed that section. Plain as day.

I had the same feeling as you, that the squad are too small. I really like your alternate shooting effects table.

I'm thinking that leaders should be like skirmishes an remain uneffected by terrain in movement.

Why do you think skirmishes are Q3 with resolve vs what ever Q their parent squad is plus resolve for the independent movement. More consistent with your idea of sharpshooters vs skirmishes.

BTW – still building my ACW figures so I am also playing with AWI.
I am limiting muskets to a range of just 2L.

I am not sure why skirmishers activate so easily. Given you are supposed to play a single unit (Company) there should be no differences in Q from squad to squad.

Ultimately, I stopped play 61-65, but not because I did not like the rules, but because of what the game represented, which was a single infantry company in action. Every unit was essentially the same, and who wants a game where every unit looks alike. Despite the fact that I did not play it that way, I felt like I was playing it "wrong".

Now that I understand the concept of "bathtubbing" (where you play rules at one level – like units are squads – but the game as a whole represents another level – like units are battalions) I find you can play these and other rules enjoyably where each squad is different and you have cavalry, artillery, etc.

I still think the basic unit needs to be larger and the casualty rate a little lower. As the author Sergio always told me: you bought them, they are your rules now. Do what you want.