Thursday 23 August 2012

28mm American War of Independence Game but.....

....is it ever too hot to game? Last Saturday in Gravesend was like a volcano had been discovered under Posties Wargames shed, it was like a reservoir in the underwear hot, my crackers were baking!

So 6 of the Rejects turned up last Saturday for this game of the AWI featuring quality British troops asleep in their tents with naval support and damn tired Americans who had marched through the night to trap the British (this meant the American units had to roll a D6 every time they moved or fired and on a 1 they lost a quarter in movement or a dice in shooting!) but did I mention it was hot!

Lurker: Ray, you're too close!
Ray: I'm trying to get near the fan!
Lurker: You're dripping on me!
Ray: I'm taking my shoes off, the kids have the paddling pool out next door!
Lurker: Ray, come in and throw your dice and get out of the paddling pool for fecks sake, I'm not moving your troops...it's too hot!
Lurker:......and put your top back on as well!

Anyway back to the game, The American War of Independence or The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) started as a war between Great Britain and the new United States of America, but would expand to a global war between Britain on one side and the United States, France and Spain (some say the Netherlands as well) on the other. The main result was an American victory, with mixed results for the other powers, more here.

The scenario was the British were sleeping in their tents near a port and the Americans had marched through the night to catch them on the hop, we got close with a dice roll but not close enough and one of the American brigades was all militia quality!

Ray, myself and John were the Americans and Surjit and Dave were the British and their Brunswicker allies....

Rules used were Age of Reason and turns were card driven....

Did I mention it was hot!

Battle of View-Point 18th August 1777

Initial table set up.......

The British tents with sleeping troops represented outside, Postie used card to represent the tents...

My brigade with a dice roll has made it to the edge of the woods without being detected....

Ray and John's brigades await the order.....

Contractual Postie shot, his brain fried, well it's the only reason for some of his decisions...

The British redoubt with their main guns facing the sea and not allowed to be moved either but the crew were another thing....

Yet more sleeping British.....

Can you smell bacon?

The port town and ship with cannons!!!!!

The British commander thanking his American host for his hospitality, I had hoped to capture the bugger but he hoofed it....

9 dead with one broadside!!!!!!

....and we're off!

..the American owner thinks about legging it!

Look at the size of this Hessian unit, 24 figures to a standard 16 of most of the Americans.....

The Brunswicker grenaider unit is a little smaller....

This wagon was loaded with explosive by the British and only required a 4, 5 or 6 on a dice roll, it never happened for them....shame!

Some plotting and questions spotted or otherwise known as shenanigans!

The British advance.....

.....from their point of view!

Ray considering another trip to the paddling pool......

I approach the British lines but these fences cause disorder marker for just crossing....

American brigade arrives as reinforcements....

The wagon is assaulted to clear it?

Two routing units were eventually saved but things are tough at the front.....

So the militia sneak around the back of the town.....

The town was a major objective and we threw a lot at it.....

....even from the rear!

The game at the end, a sweaty draw!

We were forced (Americans) to do an army withdrawal check due to severe casualties, which we passed and if the game went on longer I believe we would have won, the British are too strong in defence (and attack) and only some lucky dice rolls kept us in it but did I say it was hot!

57 comments:

  1. My god it was hot in that shed, what the hell were we thinking doing a game that day????????

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  2. Awesome setup though!
    Thanks for no pool pictures as well.

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  3. Great looking game but you were mad to play in that heat! (...and thank you for no moob shots...)

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  4. Very good looking game. I enjoy this period as well. Don't worry about the big Hessian units, by the time of Saratoga, they're much smaller.

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  5. Very good looking game. I enjoy this period as well. Don't worry about the big Hessian units, by the time of Saratoga, they're much smaller.

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  6. Looks like a great game and I second no pool pictures haha

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  7. Well if it's so hot that the figures are melting, or are too hot to touch, then it's too hot to wargame. If not, then just get a paddling pool, or maybe have some naval battles in a bigger pool.

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    1. It was brought up Mark about putting a small table in the pool!

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  8. Great pics love the ship and good to see dedication to playing in all temps :-)

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  9. This is one HOT batrep, Fran! Most enjoyable!

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  10. Now that looks like a battlefield! :D

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  11. I'm sitting here eating my dinner and you're talking about Ray with his shirt off. Jesus Christ man, I'm about to hurl at the thought of it!

    Great batrep Fran and a day gaming with your mates, I think it was worth the heat.

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    1. I haven't been well since and I won't mention the shorts he was wearing!

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  12. Now that's what I call a war game! 28mm splendor! Love it all, the ship looks awesome - have you done any Legends of the High Seas skirmishing with it? Nice building too.
    Well done guys, more please!

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    1. He has one bigger and a couple of smaller ones, no to the rules as of yet!

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    2. Give 'em a whirl, I think you'll find them fun!

      I can just see you and Ray, doing your best 'talk like pirate' !

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  13. Great looking game! I really like the ship and port town.

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  14. Thank goodness no pics of shirtless Ray. There's a limit to what is acceptable on the internet you know.... ;)

    Great batrep - sounds as though you guys had fun despite the sweltering heat in Postie's sauna, errmm, shed

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    1. You really should thank the Lord the Ginger one never took his shirt more like!!!

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    2. Ray said is there any chance you'd go topless, he's cackling in the corner again!

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  15. Thanks for all the pictures!

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  16. Can you smell bacon?

    And the lobster-back! :)

    The game at the end, a sweaty draw!

    Like I said on Ray's blog – you guys were robbed by the referee. Robbed, I say!

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  17. That is one awesome set up you have there. I am impressed. Do you use a 20-sided dice at times?

    Where did you round up the motley crew to play?

    Oh, and one more thing...air conditioner!

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  18. Draw?! How very.. realistic. What's the point of these if they're gonna be THAT realistic. Tsk

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  19. Hey Fran,

    some nice pictures and a good report. Looks like a very good game and a good fun. But I'm bit disappointed that you just reached a draw against sleeping foes... ;-)

    Cheers
    Monty

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  20. Oh the heat this summer! I am done with it! I don't know how you guys made it...I would have been really cranky!

    Now, while the pictures of all the war stuff was great, my favorite was the pig, and yes, now I need some bacon!

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  21. Great pictures! We can hear the guns, feel the wind and smell bacon...wonderful!

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  22. What an impressive set up!

    PS It's cold over here - today it hailed!

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  23. Isn't there a basement or something you can play in instead? Those are generally a lot cooler.

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  24. At least the figures did not melt

    Ian

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  25. Sorry i missed the game Saturday but by the time we got home from holiday late on Friday I was good-for-nothing the next day. While you lot were spit-roasted in Posties shed I was floating on a rubber ring in our pool with a cold beer in my hand. LoL.

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    1. Well how the rich live with their full sized pools, I hear some Olympics hopefuls trained in it, well that's what Ray says!

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  26. Great looking figures and a lovely setup. Can Postie adopt me please?

    Basements and air-con? In Britain? Whatever next - reliable weather patterns?

    Regards,
    Matt

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  27. WoW! WoW! Fantastic looking board set in wonderful period played in my favourite scale of 28mm! Pure eye candy for me!
    Great report and do more please!
    Is that cool Redoubt from Redoubt miniatures Fran?

    Christopher

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    1. You're right it is but with a scratch built extra redoubt added!

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  28. Great report Fran. Love photos of AWI games, always seem to look good.

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  29. love the house and the ship and the battlements!

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  30. You need some little explosive devices scattered about to add some pyro. A bit like Michael Bentine's Potty Time.

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  31. Great looking terrain and that's some "shed" !
    Shouldn't this blog have carried an "X" cetificate... Ray topless eeewww ! - far too graphic .

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  32. Looks like a good time, heat be damned! You guys really play in a shed?

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  33. great set-up and amusing play by play, as always.

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  34. Awesome set up! I especially like the American owner and the spit with the pig on it! Small extras like that really bring it all together!
    Excellent recounting of events!

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  35. A gamer can not be stopped just because of the weather!!!

    Looked like a great game, scenery is awesome!

    Good thinking on the tents. They are actually pretty easy to do. Use card like this, pva glue and gauze. Voila!

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  36. That's a really neat hobby, much better than wow. Not saying I play wow or anything...

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  37. USA! USA! USA! the only 3 words i need to know.

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  38. The heat's not really a problem as long as you get plenty of air to your tackle. Otherwise you can get all sorts of strange things like epididymitis. You also get sweaty and really arsey, but that's not an uncommon state with most wargamers, particularly when they're losing.

    Smashing game though eh? I like the AWI and I've read a fair bit about it, but I'm not sure about the German troops using place cards. Seems a bit formal for that period. anyway,, just a thought . . .

    ;O)

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  39. Very interesting battle report, and a wonderful table.

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