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Tuesday 27 November 2018

The Portable Napoleonic Wargame: The last battle is progressing well

Although it is taking me longer than I expected to fight through the last battle that will be featured in my book, it is getting towards its climax.

As I won't be writing a battle report for this blog (it will be featured in detail in the book) the following photographs will give some idea of how it is progressing.






6 comments:

  1. Bob,
    Are the troops in the same hex as the white house - which must represent a BUA - deemed to be occupying it, or merely passing through? Have you got a visual way of distinguishing the two situations?

    I think it a pity there is no powder-smoke; it would be a good way of distinguishing infantry units in Close Combat from those that are not engaged, or whose light troops are imagined to be skirmishing with their opponents. One could represent the latter by placing a strip on which were mounted a few separate 'puffs' of smoke, between formations, without placing any figures. Close range volley-firing would be shown by a continuous wall of smoke along the unit frontage. An idea to mention in the book, perhaps?
    Best wishes,
    Arthur

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arthur1815 (Arthur),

      The white house represents the farm at Twee Heuvels, and the troops in that hex are all deemed to be within the built-up area ... and are thus in cover. Once they leave the hex, they are back in the open.

      I have experimented with using something to represent smoke, but the end results did not look very good. If anything, they looked rather untidy. I might mention it in the book if I can fit it in in someway.

      As the main unit of manoeuvre is the division, I have not differentiated between skirmishing and all-out combat in the Big battle rules.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Bob,
    That makes sense. However, you might still wish to indicate that troops are occupying a BUA - garrisoning buildings, making loopholes, barricades &c. - rather than merely traversing the area; there are implications if they are attacked there. Perhaps rule that troops that have been present in a BUA for a complete turn have occupied it.

    I suppose the smoke is a matter of taste, but I just can't imagine a Napoleonic battlefield without clouds of grey smoke!

    Skirmishing immediately before Close Combat is, indeed, included in the latter; I just like the idea of being able to tell whether divisions are engaged in skirmishing, without calculating effects, in the turns before one advances to close with the other.

    Currently going through the Division Battle. Ive finished the first 44 pages and will email you notes later today when typed up.

    Regards,
    Arthur

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Arthur1815 (Arthur),

      It would be relatively simple to make the change you suggest regarding built-up areas.

      The use of smoke can enhance the look of a game, but some of the details were too easily obscured in the photographs.

      I look forward to reading your comments, although I'm not sure how easy it will be to make any major changes to the rules.

      All the best,

      Bob

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  3. Bob,
    Nice to see your steady ane very sound progress with the Napoleonics...you must be well pleased with employing part of your vast Del Prado Collection for this Project.
    Cheers. KEV.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Robertson,

      Using the figures on the tabletop has made collecting, renovating, varnishing, and basing the figures really worthwhile ... and I hope that I will use them for many years to come.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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