"The Battle of Valcour Island, October 11th 1776" Topic
11 Posts
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Tango01 | 11 Jul 2020 1:07 p.m. PST |
"My visit to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History back in August, in particular the exhibit on the gunboat Philadelphia, gave me a little bit of an obsession, and I was determined to mount a game of Valcour Island as close to the 243rd anniversary as I could…"
Main page link
Amicalement Armand
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DisasterWargamer | 11 Jul 2020 6:56 p.m. PST |
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Tango01 | 12 Jul 2020 4:07 p.m. PST |
Happy you like it my friend!. (smile) Amicalement Armand |
FlyXwire | 16 Jul 2020 4:11 a.m. PST |
Looks interesting for sure! |
whitejamest | 16 Jul 2020 9:28 a.m. PST |
It was a fun game to run, and hopefully I'll be able to do it again this year close to the anniversary. But I think next time I'll stick closer to the Flying Colors rules and not tinker with them as much. |
epturner | 23 Jul 2020 5:46 p.m. PST |
That was very nicely done. I'd be interested in reading more about the vessels you used. Eric |
doc mcb | 25 Jul 2020 8:47 a.m. PST |
Has Arnold any chance at all? My impression was that he delayed the British by building a fleet and forcing them to build one too, and then to chase him down and destroy him. Which delayed Burgoyne's invasion until the following spring. But isn't the fight itself pretty one-sided? The set-up is beautiful, btw! |
whitejamest | 26 Jul 2020 7:23 a.m. PST |
Thanks guys, glad you like it. Epturner, are you asking about what specific models I used to represent the different vessels? Somewhere I've got a list I drew up, I'll dig it out. Doc, I agree. There is no chance of Arnold actually managing to hold the lake against a force greatly superior to his own in numbers and firepower and overall skill. The battle itself is not really what delayed the British move south, but rather the fact that they were forced to take time to build up their forces to counteract Arnold. So the campaign is pretty one sided, though the battle itself is something a little closer to a draw, at least while the first day's fighting lasts. The game is another matter though, since the Flying Colors scenario is intended to be balanced in a way to make it possible for either side to win. The incentives are very different for a one-off game of course. Neither side cares about the ultimate fate of the gunboats, since they don't have a victory point value, and so do not trigger break-off tests or contribute to scores. And the American's are given an "audacity" bonus, as Flying Colors calls it, which gets added to firing results rolls and break off tests. A British player is unlikely to anchor his huge flotilla of gunboats at a distance and trade fire at long range to protect the boats, so the whole affair tends to be a lot bloodier than the historical battle. But that's always an issue with single battles compared to campaigns. Still a lot of fun though. |
doc mcb | 27 Jul 2020 5:03 a.m. PST |
I do something similar when gaming the Alamo. The Texians cannot win the battle, of course, but can win the game because that is based on Mexican body count. It stays tense, sometimes, down to the last half dozen defenders holed up in one building, but only needing to inflict 3 or 4 casualties on the attackers to win the game. And again, that is a most impressive game table. |
Tango01 | 14 Apr 2021 3:46 p.m. PST |
This looks interesting… Valcour: The 1776 Campaign That Saved the Cause of Liberty
link
Armand |
historygamer | 15 Apr 2021 5:42 a.m. PST |
Wow, nice looking game. Well done. |
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