"Chitral Territory NWF 3 August 1890 (Campaign game)" Topic

Chitral Fort – British Sortie – LAF NWF Campaign

With the pressure mounting on the Chitral garrison
Colonel Dano MacGurule orders a sortie to clear out the Chitralis and allied Pathan tribesmen from the fort's outbuildings and surrounding gardens. The tribesmen have been sniping the defenders from sangers they had built in the vicinity of the fort, as well as from the gardens walls, and from the fort's outbuildings.

Col. MacGurule:
"What is the current situation Captain Lucas?"

Capt. Lucas:
"Colonel, we've spotted tribesmen to the south of the fort manning sangers sah! I'm sure that's where we're taking so much of the accurate musketry from."
Col. MacGurule:
"Lucas old boy, I need you to organize a sortie to clear out those troublesome tribesmen from the area."
Capt. Lucas:
"Yes sah, I've already ordered the Gordon's and the 40th Pathans to each have a platoon meet me at the main gate on the double bayonets at the ready, Sah!"
Col. MacGurule:
"God speed Captain! I'll see you in the mess later for supp and a whiskey."

Check out my blog for the picture heavy AAR:

link

This game is part of the larger epic NWF Campaign being run on the Lead Adventure Forum by our friends Piero and Giorgio in Italy. It's in the Colonial Adventures board. "Never trust anyone on the Frontier" an ….epic NWF Campaign. There are currently active gamers in Europe and across several states in the USA. My personal Area of Operations is the District of Chitral in the NWF.

A great looking fun game, and proof that you can have fun with under 100 miniatures. IMHO, TSATF loses a lot of its charm when there are too many figures on the table.

Thanks Nick! I played it solo as part of our NWF LAF Campaign, and it worked out really well. My 2nd game in my AO was run at the recent HMGS-South Hurricon as one of the regular sessions. That game was huge, but still worked out really well. Both parts I & II of the Bulgur Pass scenario are posted on my blog. The next installment will be a game of my Chitrali and Pashtun forces vs the invading Russians and Tajik allies. My buddy Rhingyll (Bob) is coming into town to play out the next scenario in our AO of the campaign.

I see you have a lot of those OG Boer War highlanders. How do you like them?

At what number of figures does everyone think TSATF starts to bog down?

Au pas du Charge,
I do like my OG Highlanders. I actually like the entire OG NWF range, and when you add in the Old Glory Army Deal it's a great way to field an army affordably. Though I do like the sculpts of my Perry Highlanders a bit better.

As far as TSATF bogging down, I honestly don't think it's the number of troops as we play huge games with a ton of troops all the time and have had excellent results. I believe it comes down to the number of units per player, (2-3 max) the scenario (critical to the flow and momentum)the players themselves, and mostly the GM. I've seen small games bog down and large games move quickly. For large games the GM needs to be Johnny on the spot and keep things moving. There are many ways to do this, as has been discussed in previous threads. I'd be happy to share my ideas if you are interested?

SgtGuinees, well put! The key, IMHO, is being able to retain the two signature mechanics of TSATF that give the game its unique flavor: randomized card activation and the one on one hand to hand combat. It's most challenging in a multiplayer game. In a one on one game the Imperial player can probably handle 4 units and the native player however many units the rules call for, usually twice or one and a half times as many depending on the campaign.

Nick, exactly my friend. In a small game a player can handle about 4 units and maybe a gun, in the larger games I usually limit it to 2 units per player. The random card activation is key and we even throw in more chaos with event decks!

Thanks for your input and your clarifications Nick.

@SgtGuinness

I like the OG NWF and Boer War ranges too. Some say their poses are "cartoonish" which is why I wanted your input on them; you've obviously had vast experience with all the available ranges suitable for the NWF.

By all means share your thoughts on game flow, maintaining engagement and interest, scenario design and whatever else you think makes for an exciting game.