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.  

a tribute to H.G. Wells' "the Battle of Hook's Farm"

To kick off my solo Imagi-Nations campaign, I decided to accept H.G. Wells' challenge with his "Battle of Hook's Farm".  My campaign will be experimenting with Bob Cordery's "the Portable Wargame" and "Developing the Portable Wargame" as its rules. They are a simple, unique and adaptable set of rules. My grandson, Eric contributed his Legos for the buildings.

Map setup on a Chess/checker board for "The Portable Wargame" rules

(click on photo to enlarge)

                                                            close up of chess/checkerboard

 

                                                 Map setup with my 8 X 8 with 2 inch squares board
                                                           (click on photo to enlarge)    

                    The legendary Red and Blue armies made with Risk 2003 replacement parts
                                                             (click on photo to enlarge)

 The troops arrive on the table. This is my best interpretation of Wells' description. If you have a better interpretation of the troop setup please comment or contact me.

H.G. Wells' "Little Wars" courtesy of the Gutenberg Project and scenario description provided by Bob Cordery's Developing the Portable Wargame.

Remembrance-great-war-and-little-wars

Remembrance-great-war-and-little-wars