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Monday 10 September 2018

The Portable Napoleonic Wargame: Work recommences

After a break of a fortnight due to the publication of the first issue of the new subscription year's NUGGET, the problems with the Wargame Developments website, and attending Connections UK 2018, I'm at last back at work on THE PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME book.

Currently I am putting together the battle report that will illustrate how THE PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME BRIGADE rules work. I am using a scenario set during the war between Great Britain and the United States, with my Dutch-Belgian troops standing in for the Americans. I have written the scenario, sorted out the troops for both sides, and have begun work on the terrain.

The draft terrain map for the scenario.
I expect that it will probably take me five or six hours to fight the battle, but as that time will include writing up the battle report as it happens and taking the relevant photographs, this does not seem unreasonable. I doubt if I will be able to set aside a continuous block of time to do this, and it may well need to be spread across several days.

12 comments:

  1. Hi Bob,

    Huzzah! I am REALLY looking forward to this. I am interested to see that you are using hexes rather than squares - any particular reason?

    All the best,

    DC

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    Replies
    1. David Crook,

      It feels good to get back to this project.

      I'm using hexes for this particular battle, but I hope to use a squared grid for other exemplar battle reports.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Looking forward to seeing more. What is the scale of each unit on the tabletop is it a battalion?
    Alan

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    Replies
    1. Tradgardmastare (Alan),

      In the PNW BRIGADE rules each unit represents an infantry battalion, cavalry squadron, or an artillery troop.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
    2. Bob, just a thought: for some of the smaller War of 1812 actions, it might be useful to use a 'unit' to represent a 'grand division' or half-battalion. Similarly, artillery was often present in the form of a detachment of one or two guns, rather than as a complete troop (RHA) or company (RFA).
      Looking forward to seeing these.
      Arthur

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    3. Arthur1815,

      Thanks for the information. I am going to stay with my current battalion/squadron/troop units for the moment, but may well adapt your idea for a modified smaller-scale variant of the rules.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Picked up the cork board - perfect thank you :-)

    Can I ask how you drew the map please?

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    Replies
    1. Andyroo,

      I'm very pleased that the cork board has met your requirements.

      I draw most of my maps using MS Paint.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  4. Bob, good to see you back at work on the Portable Napoleonic Wargame!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arthur1815,

      It's good to be back working on it!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  5. Bob,
    Glad to see you're using the War of 1812 as the basis for your test game. It's always been a favorite of mine, if for no other reason than the battles are all small enough to make it easy to turn them into scenarios. If you ever need advice on uniforms, see the "Toy Soldier Wargame" yahoo group. There are a large number of files I put there regarding 1812 uniforms, and scenarios for the "All the Kings Men" rules that should be easily convertible to your rules. (They are listed under my wife's name [nancella20170] for some reason.)
    Best regards,
    Chris

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    Replies
    1. Chris,

      I recently read a history of the war, and it struck me as being an ideal 'wargamers' war'. Smallish units, lots of space to manoeuvre, and plenty of potential for combined operations on the Great Lakes. It influenced my decision to set the scenario on the US/Canada border.

      Thanks for the links. They sound very useful.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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