Monday, November 13, 2017

Battle of Hook's Farm with the Portable Wargame

Monday morning arrived rainy and raw. No morning walk today. The board was setup and the cup of tea was hot.

I prefer learning a new rules set with the help of my usual playing partner, Frank. Two heads are better than one, but I had committed to a solo practice game.   I would be using the "Two Kills Option". So here goes...  Please remember to click on the photo to see an enlarged view. 

     Initial deployment from Mr. Wells' Blue side.   Initial deployment, the Prince of Sciatica (red)

                                                             Turn 1 the Red army takes the church

 Turn 2 was Mr. Wells moving first
 Blue takes the farm and artillery sets up in designated positions
 Red would move first on turn 3
 Red's left flank would see the first fire. Blue was throwing a flurry of musket hits. 
 Red's cavalry on both flanks are forced to withdraw. Blue takes a casualty at the farm.
Red seizes the initiative in the center 
                      After several back and forth turns, Red loses his artillery at the church
 Red's reserve infantry moves into the church while the battle for the farm continues.
 Red continues to get poor results on his flanks
 The crucial battle for the farm goes well for Blue
 Red forces a retreat in the center, but fails to gain any other successes


Blue applies pressure on its right flank 
 Blue's cavalry routs the red cavalry.
Mr. Wells commands his blue troops to success up the hill toward the barn. 
 Red's exhaustion points reach 15
Blue continues to press its advantage. 
                                                            Victory for H.G. Wells' Blue army.

It was a great way to spend a rainy Monday morning. I know the rules better now, than before.  I could tell the moments when the battle was turning and recognized important dice rolls. Trying to work through the rules solo and to do it while trying to document it was a bit crazy. I am looking forward to playing this scenario again solo (without annotating and taking photos) and with my friend Frank. "The Portable Wargame" and it's companion "Developing the Portable Wargame" are a simple, fun and unique set of rules that are expandable to multiple eras. They are both available on Amazon as inexpensive downloads for your Kindle app.  

2 comments:

  1. What an excellent battle report!

    This is exactly the sort of battle that I hoped wargamers would fight using my rules, and I hope that you will continue to enjoy using them.

    All the best,

    Bob

    PS. Thanks for the recommendation. It is much appreciated.

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  2. My pleasure, Bob. I am still trying to get the hang of battle reports. I also want to try the Portable Wargame rules using the boards and terrain from C&C and Battlecry150. BTW, the game lasted 15 turns. You will be seeing more battle reports from my PW games in the future. I also posted a link to TMP and if you like will create a Portable Wargame group on Facebook. All the best with your projects.

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