"ECW;Victory Without Quarter- 1st game." Topic

I was going to run a solo game or two to get used to the rules but an opportunity to play a game against some of my pals arose so I went for it. The game is a free set of rules designed for fast play ECW battles. It is card-driven, simple yet redolent of an ECW-flavour.

The scenario used about 75% of my figures & involved a Scottish Covenanter army trying to wrest control of 3 objectives from a English Royalist army. Additional Victory Points were to be gained by damaging or destroying enemy units.
Figures are mostly metal, Tumbling Dice 1/72 scale.

theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link
The table with the two armies deployed.

theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link
Re-enforcements. To arrive when the right card was drawn. This was nail-biting in that the Royalists arrived quickly whereas the Covenanters late- in the nick of time.

theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link
theminiaturespage.com‌ ‌"TMP link
theminiaturespage.com‌ ‌"TMP link
My beloved Covenanters have always been 'easy-beats' so I was keen to see them in action in a game that gave them potential.

I and a friend who'd never wargamed before took the Royalists. We built up a strong right flank & waited for re-enforcements to arrive on the left whilst our excellent cavalry dominated the centre.

theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link

Meanwhile, the Covenanters quickly seized strong points.
theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link

The Scottish artillery played a pivotal role.
theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link

Amazingly, the inferior Scottish cavalry drove off the over confident Cavaliers
theminiaturespage.com‌

‌"TMP link
theminiaturespage.com ‌"TMP link
Prince Rupert was killed though his dog, Puddle, joined up with a Royalist courier, sent by Charles to seek aid.
theminiaturespage.com‌ ‌"TMP link
Too late.
Biggest disappointment? My Scottish dragoons who did nothing.
url=https://postimg.cc/zHrzdbjP] ‌

The game & rules were both great. We played it out in under 3 1/2 hours but keep in mind I was the only one who'd read the rules prior to the game & although two of my pals are veteran wargamers, the fourth wasn't. Bigger, faster games in the future, I think.

I was worried the card deck might prove to be intrusive. It wasn't. The Event cards were a great hit. I think there may be too many artillery cards so we will cut these back next time. The only other proposed tweak is to allow units to "shimmy" sidewards or backwards for 2" in the movement section.

The rules seem to be what I've been looking for.

Thankyou for that review.
I, like you, have been looking for a set that would do the ECW and although I have VwQ I have not tried them out. I was a bit sceptical about the card system, particularly the 'turn over' but nothing a house rule can't fix.

cheers
Jon.

As always, it's down to personal taste. I didn't like the card system in 'The Flame & the Sword' – I think that counts as heresy on TMP, BTW.

What makes this different to TSATF is that the card not only activates single units but also it can also activate commanders. This means you can get substantial parts of your army working as one – it's not always piecemeal.

This gives a greater sense of action. AND it gives commanders a genuine role.

The "other" cards benefit, too. The Reload cards, the Event cards & he Re-enforcement card I added for this scenario.

Does the stop-start nature of the VWQ deck mirror the amateur nature of ECW command? I think so. We used two 'turnover' cards which meant sometimes rapid back & forth & sometimes quite long periods of issuing orders.

If you give the rules a go, I'd be eager to read your views.

Thank you for sharing. A set of rules that I haven't tried out yet.

I've always found these to be excellent rules for solo play. The card draw adds a lot of suspense and goes a long way to compensate for the lack of a live opponent. I'm glad they're still being played.

Well, KYPD, thank you for your excellent site which was & is a source of information & inspiration.

I'm fairly ignorant of the period & if my armies have any historical validity, your site was a factor.

The gent who designed them based them off of Field of Battle somewhat IIRC. I have always liked how the looked. Just needed to get the armies ready. Nice to see you were able to run a game. Looks great!

Thanks

John

Nice looking armies and glad the rules worked well. I have the rules but not played yet. Need to give em a go. Thank you for your post.

<blushes>

Praise indeed. Thank you for your kind words Ochoin about something that has the goal of keeping me out of mischief.

The cheque is in the post 😉