Sunday 27 October 2019

Smallish game at a smallish show

So, to Fiasco. It seemed fairly well attended, especially during the morning and we fielded the usual large number of questions. Most of them were about either James' scratchbuilt buildings or the cloth. One or two people asked what rules we were using, but mention of Piquet didn't elicit any subsequent interest; trendsetters we aren't. We were putting on a fairly small game as James is being a bit dilatory on the Peninsular painting front. Anyway, it looked fine - not too crowded - and were able to play to a conclusion quite easily.

It was triumph for Wellington, but so it should have been. The scenario gave him a far better deck, command dice etc and my plan wasn't much more sophisticated than let's use our ability to move more often than the French to advance on a broad front and sweep all before us. The layout wasn't hugely different that that which we have played over over the last three weeks and the action ended up taking place on the same hill at one end of the table with, once again, a good proportion of each side's units not getting into action. It was a comfortable win and would have been even easier if I'd been paying attention; the French didn't perform too badly in the circumstances.

As for the rules:
  • It's hard to judge the skirmish rules because nobody really did anything with them; although, let's be honest, that probably means they're not working.
  • I liked the new rule that the first UI loss makes no difference to combat.
  • I still don't like the town fighting rules, but have no better suggestions.
  • The technique James has started using to encourage attacking (basically morale points for objectives, but with a twist) is excellent in principle, but the practical details don't seem to have been thought through.

Purchases were limited to what I had ordered in advance:
  • Slopes from Kallistra; even small hills and ridges seem to require shed loads of the things.
  • Gaullish chariots from Newline Designs; no explanation necessary.
  • Bases from Warbases; the laser cutter I have access to will only be economic for bespoke items.
I didn't take any photos, but there are a couple of our game here, both of which are somewhat spoiled by the sight of yours truly leaning heavily on the table as if I have lost the ability to stand up straight. Mr Ashton is right about the lighting.

1 comment:

  1. Your Peninsular War game may have been small but no less impressive. Superb table!

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