Fall In 2009 - The Game I Ran!

Howdy all!

Well, as promised, here is Part 3 of "Lord Ashram's House of War Fall In 2009 Coverage!"

In my first two posts on the subject, I posted some photos from some random games I saw, and some photos from some games I actually played in.

This year, I also hosted a game! It was a 10mm Napoleonic battle, using the same figures and terrain that you've seen on this blog. I used my newest rule set, Brigades and Bearskins, that seemed to go over well... you can download it at the above link. I definitely learned a bit about the rules... they generally went over rather well, as everyone felt they were very simple and, indeed, a few folks said they were the most fun rule set they had played over the weekend, thanks in no small part to the lack of seventeen thousand charts! There are some tweaks I need to make, however... I'll get to them soon:)

It was a good time! We had six players all together; two gents who wandered by and joined, a family of three that played, and myself. And while the beginning was very slow (it is hard to explain rules when A) you are SO familiar with them and B) you've had a few drinks) it did pick up quickly!

Anyway... on to some photos!


First up is a shot of the French left flank... in the center you can see the main French advance on the chateau, and to the right of that the mass French attack on the ridge... a ridge the British were also making a bee-line to!
The British artillery in the center opened fire on the French left, forcing the troops there to begin to take Steady! tests and softening them up as three brigades of British and Allied infantry advanced across the stream to attack...
The British closed on the French, who realized pretty quickly that they were heavily outnumbered... their cavalry had already been routed thanks to some musketfire, and now the infantry was on its own...
The action was fierce, and while the French managed to pound the British a bit, they simply could not hold on... the British eventually pushed the French back and routed them...
... allowing them to cross the stream again and advance towards the French center.
In the center both sides made a break for the ridgeline in the center of the board. On the far flank of the ridge the French got there very fast, while in the center the British got there first. However, the Old Guard got to the center immediately thereafter. Some incompetent commanders did not follow orders, leaving the British short of troops in the center, and the British cavalry was also caught being too aggressive and was punished... and it was finished off as the Old Guard climbed the ridge and smashed into the British lines that deployed just as they arrived. The first brigade of British infantry was crushed, but an Allied brigade managed to stand and fight.
Meanwhile, on the far flank on the edge of the ridge, there was a fierce fight as a British brigade attempted to get up the hill in the face of French musketfire. The British managed to rout two of the nervous French battalions but all of the redcoats were eventually routed, while the French recovered their nerve and returned to the edge of the ridgeline, leaving it firmly in French hands.

Unfortunately this is where we ended, as folks got tired... learning a new system is pretty draining! On the plus side, we played for almost five hours! The folks who played I think had a very nice time... one kind gent (the commander of the doomed French left flank) actually said it was the most fun he had had in a game all weekend, and his wife even enjoyed herself immensely! While tiring, it was a lot of fun, and I'd love to have another shot at a game now that everyone knows the rules!

Oh, by the way... if any of the players read this, I'd love to hear from you, and please, if ANYONE happened to have taken a photo of the game I'd love to get a copy... I was so busy trying to keep it going that I barely took any photos!