A Samurai game report with interruptions.

This post is about a Samurai game using the "Take the High Ground" scenario from the One-Hour Wargame (OHW). In the game I am testing a rule mechanism aimed at introducing the occasional unit reaction into the game. 

I have been trying out a couple of reaction rules over the last week or so, one which I posted last week where a player rolls the dice for every unit they activate. On a roll of 1 or 2, their opponent has the chance to react with one unit providing they in turn roll a 3 or higher. If successful, they can take the opportunity to, for instance, shoot, move a unit to safety, head off a flanking manoeuvre by advancing their own unit, or initiate a counter charge. (More detail is provided in my previous post.)

A close up of an earlier test game.

The most recent reaction rule mechanism, used in the battle report, uses the following steps:

1. At the commencement of a player's turn, place one die for each active unit on the tabletop and any reserves arriving that turn into a dice bag or tin, ensuring they are all of the same colour. Add one extra die of a different colour to the bag.
2. Shake the bag and draw a die. If it's not the differently colored die, the player can move or shoot with one of their units. If it is the distinct die, the opposing player can react by moving, charging, engaging in combat, or shooting with one of their units.
3. Continue drawing dice until the player has finished activating the units that want to, or there are no more dice.
4. Repeat step 1 for the other player.

Preparing the dice bag - 6 green dice one for each available unit and 1 black die for the reaction by the opposing army.

Background…

Set in the midst of the Sengoku period, the Aoi-kage clan launches an unexpected morning assault, shrouded by the early morning mist, aiming to capture a crucial hill to safeguard a vital road. The Raitetsu clan, anticipating the threat, have strategically stationed a third of their forces to defend the hill and have established a camp in a nearby town.

Notes on the rules used…

I have used the Pike and Shot rules from OHW where:

• Ashigaru are treated as infantry but can only move or shoot,
• foot Samurai are treated as swordsmen, and 
• mounted Samurai as cavalry but with only a D6 in combat. 

One foot or mounted Samurai unit can have an assigned Daimyo (commander) and are treated as his personal bodyguard of samurai (Hatamoto) and in combat always roll two D6 selecting the highest scoring D6.

A limited number of Ashigaru units can have addition ammunition supplies that allow them to ignore the first time they are out of ammunition. Also one Ashigaru unit can have cannon which allow them to roll two D6 when shooting and select the highest scoring D6. However, the cannon are lost should the unit move, run out of ammunition, or be engaged in hand-to-hand combat.

Order of Battle

Aoi-kage clan

• 4 x Ashigaru (2 of the units have additional ammunition supplies)
• 2 x Foot Samurai (1 of the Samurai are the Daimyo’s Hatamoto)

Raitetsu Clan

• 4 x Ashigaru (1 of the units have additional ammunition supplies and have a cannon)
• 1 x Foot Samurai (the Samurai are the Daimyo’s Hatamoto)
• 1 x Mounted Samurai

Tabletop Setup…

The tabletop used measures 6 by 4 feet and is oriented lengthwise, enabling all the units to be deployed on the tabletop at the start of the game. The Aoi-kage clan are positioned behind their starting line, ready to launch their assault in the first turn. Positioned on the ridge to the left of the road, two Ashigaru units from the Raitetsu clan remain unaware of the impending threat. The remaining Raitetsu force is encamped in a nearby town and is set to provide support starting from turn 2 when messengers arrive sounding the alarm.

A view of the tabletop from the Aoi-kage starting position. The Raitetsu can be seen positioned on the hill and their camp in the background at the other end of the tabletop.

Two Raitetsu Ashigaru units defending the hills and road. One of them has cannon.

Game report - Opening turns…

Advancing with determination, the Aoi-kage forces pushed towards the ridge, aiming to oust the Raitetsu defenders before any reinforcements could arrive. While they managed to catch the defenders off guard, their hopes were soured by poor shooting and they soon needed their additional ammunition supplies. In contrast, the defender’s shooting was proving to be for more accurate from their elevated vantage point, and the presence of supporting cannon posed a formidable challenge for the attacking forces.

Aoi-kage units advance on the defended hill.

The attacking Aoi-kage forces used a reactions to shoot at the defenders on the hill. Whilst, the defenders used their reactions to quickly move up their reserves once the alarm was sounded.

The defending units are still hanging on and their reserves can be seen not far away.

Gaming notes:

• On the opening turn and after drawing 5 green dice, the attacking Aoi-kage opted to stop drawing any further dice ending their turn so there was no reaction by Raitetsu units. After the game I was thinking I should not have added the reaction die into the bag to reflect surprise, even though it was not drawn in this occasion.
• The attackers used their reactions to shoot to compensate for poor shooting rolls and the defenders used any reactions to move up their reserves as quickly as possible.
• The attackers had used up all their ammunition supplies to offset the out of ammunition rolls.

Middle game turns…

The Aoi-kage clan achieved a breakthrough by successfully routing one of the Raitetsu units defending the hill, establishing a foothold on the right side. However, their momentary joy was quickly extinguished when they saw the Raitetsu reserves arriving and thwarting any ideas they had to outflank the remaining unit defending the hill. In a last-ditch effort to regain momentum at this critical point of the battle, the Aoi-kage Daimyo ordered a unit of samurai to charge up the hill and dislodge the remaining Raitetsu defenders.

The Aoi-kage forces have gained control of the right of the hill and are now faced by the arrival of Raitetsu reserves.

The battle is fierce in the centre.

Aoi-kage samurai about to charge up the hill and in the centre they suffer a loss of a unit.

Gaming notes:

• The Aoi-kage used some of their reactions to swiftly move their Samurai into position to attack the hill.
• The Raitetsu reactions were used for shooting which allowed them to gradually get the upper had in the centre.
• The dice being put into the dice bag are reduced to 4 for the Aoi-kage forces which are down to 4 units. 

End game turns…

As the tides of battle shifted unfavorably for the Aoi-kage, they managed to reclaim the hill. However, their exhausted Samurai, responsible for this achievement, were in a weakened state and ill-prepared for a counterattack by the Raitetsu Hatamoto. In a final desperate effort, the Aoi-kage Daimyo and his Hatamoto charged down the road into the heart of the Raitetsu forces, attempting to divide their line. Unfortunately, their plan faltered as the Hatamoto fell victim to arquebus fire, as the more numerous Raitetsu units, eager to seize glory in the battle, cut down the Hatamoto and Daimyo.

As losses mount the dice for Aoi-kage’s turn are down to 4 dice.

Raitetsu forces regain part of the hill. In the centre the Aoi-kage Hatamoto charge the enemy centre. 

The remaining Aoi-kage unit retires after the loss of their Daimyo.

A poem of the battle described it as so…

As Aoi-kage's fortunes waned upon the hill,

Samurai, though weary, reclaimed with skill.

Yet ill-prepared for Raitetsu's swift reply,

Daimyo charged, but glory met an arquebus sigh.

Gaming notes:

• As units were lost on both sides and the number of dice in the bag decreased, the probability of drawing a reaction dice became higher.

Summary

The bag of dice activation mechanism worked well for me, especially with smaller OHW games consisting of six units. The dice are placed by the activated unit to track activations and is quick with less dice rolling that the previous method to test for a reaction. As the game progressed with unit losses, the chances of reactions increased. This does encourage players to retire units before they are eliminated, so they don’t reduce the number of dice in the bag.

In the game the option of not activating all units, especially after activating 3 to 4 units without interruption, is very tempting.

Watch Out! The enemy are moving during your turn

As a mainly a solo wargamer, I often employ different activation approaches to introduce a level of unpredictability into my games. This can involve using the traditional I-Go You-Go turn based approach activating all the army units at once with chance cards adding a level of uncertainty; or a unit by unit activation approach where each unit dices for its activation and a failed activation roll either ends the active player's turn or prevents the unit from activating during the turn. All too often, it seems, units can frustratingly fail to activate on consecutive turns. Anyway, in recent games with my Samurai armies I have found neither of these methods are really working for me and providing the type of game I am looking for.

The setup for a recent game.

While I do favour the unit activation approach, because it seems to fit well with the feudal nature of Samurai warfare, particularly when gaming large skirmish games which are more free wheeling affairs. For larger battles where units represent larger bodies of troops it can be frustrating. In these situations, the units should be expected to generally follow orders, even if they are slow in following through with their orders and giving the enemy a chance to react first.

Another game in progress.

One activation approach I do like is from a Ganesha games, where one or multiple dice can be rolled with each successful roll, allowing the player to perform an action. However, with a single failed roll, the opposing player gets a chance to react, and two failures ends the player’s turn. This reactive element prompted me to consider trying the following activation approach where on a player’s turn they get the opportunity to activate all their units. However, each time they activate a unit they must first roll a dice to test to see if the opposing player reacts before their activation. 

The simple rule is, if you roll a 3 or higher for the reaction test, the opponent doesn't get a chance to react. But if you roll a 1 or 2, the opposing player can try to react with one of their units, so long as it hasn't successfully reacted already in the turn. They will need themselves to roll a 3 or higher to succeed with a reaction. If they do, they can take advantage of the opportunity to, for example: shoot, move a unit out of harm’s way, block a flanking move by advancing their own unit, or launch a counter charge.

The reactive dice roll of 3+ can be influenced by the following factors:

• -1 The unit is in or moving into difficult terrain (crossing a river, climbing a hill, etc.)
• -1  For an allied unit with questionable loyal to the Daimyo.
• +1  The Daimyo is attached to the unit.
• +1  No enemy units are visible within 12 inches (my maximum movement allowance).
• +1  An urgent order has been dispatched. I permit one order to be delivered to a unit at the beginning of a player's turn, reducing the risk of enemy interference during its actions. (Note - this does not apply to reaction attempts by the opposing player.)

Here are some examples…

A Red unit of Samurai are going to charge the Blue Ashigaru unit. They roll a 2 (black dice) and allow the opportunity for Blue to react, which they successfully do with a 4, and are able to fire their arquebuses before the Samurai charge in.  

In the same situation, an order has been sent for the Samurai to charge, marked by the messenger (Tsukai-ban) wearing a “horo” on his back. This adds 1 to the dice roll of 2 and in this case there will be no reaction opportunity. 

This approach allows a player to follow through with their plans activating all the units they want as you can with an I-Go You-Go method, while presenting the opposition the occasional opportunity to react and attempt to spoil or disrupt the other’s plans. I now need to play a few more games and if all goes well update my rules.

The Daimyo’s headquarters with Maku screen. The Tsukai-ban can be just seen inside getting new orders.

Returning to using scatter dice and templates

Over the last week I finally got around to painting and basing a couple of British mortar units that had been sitting on my shelf for a year or two. The motivation behind painting them is because of my current testing of some World War II rules. The rules could be considered a bit old school, they are heavily influenced by various rules by Donald Featherstone and Charles Grant. While I have settled on the mechanism for direct fire I wanted to use a different mechanism for indirect fire by artillery and mortars using scatter dice and blast templates. There reasons for this approach are:

• It encourages units to be dispersed, as a miss on a target may result in a hit on nearby units if they are bunched up.
• It introduces the risk of hitting one's own troops when calling in indirect fire on enemy units close to your own.

Furthermore, artillery and mortars require observation by their Forward Observation Officer (FOO) for targeting. This approach limits the ability to switch artillery fire quickly across from one side of the tabletop to the other, and I get to use my scout cars and jeeps for a purpose in my games.

Recently painted British mortars.

Scout cars are put to use as FOO to direct indirect fire.

Once a target is observed, the template is placed, and the scatter dice are rolled. Successful hits occur a third of the time, but if fire is off target, the template is moved 6 inches as indicated by arrows on the scatter dice. The effects of hits vary depending upon the type of target:

• A direct hit eliminates any non-armoured unit covered by the blast centre, while hits on armoured units result in immobilisation. 
• Non-armoured units covered by the template, but not its centre, are suppressed unless in cover; while armoured units remain unaffected.

Scatter dice and templates.

When representing the weight of fire from an artillery or mortar unit. Units with one base use a 3-inch template. For each additional base, increasing the weight of fire, the template used is increased by 2 inches. For instance, a two-base artillery unit would use a 5-inch template, and a three-base unit a 7-inch template.

WW2 Battle Report Using an Operation Warboard Scenario

This World War II game report is inspired by the scenario Pont-de-la-Croix from Gavin Lyall's "Operation Warboard" book. There have been some modifications to the forces compared to the book's scenario. 

The rules used in this game are a set of draft rules I've been experimenting and tinkering with for the past few weeks. They are briefly covered here, but there have been recent changes to include scatter dice for artillery and armour can be immobilised, which all sounds a bit old school.

Allied infantry approaching the bridge come under artillery fire.

In this game scenario, a reduced German force defends the village Pont-de-la-Croix against the advancing Allies. The Allies' objective is to secure both the bridge and the town if feasible. While the Germans, if unable to halt the Allied progress, aim to inflict sufficient damage to the advancing Allied force to delay their march forward.

One of my favourite book covers

A photo from the book of the scenario in progress.

There are a few wooded areas on the tabletop and have used green wool to show the wood boundaries, a method I am trying instead of using green felt to mark the area (see post here). 

A view of the tabletop.

The German setup on the tabletop features artillery support placed behind the town’s church. They've deployed two companies: one company defends the southern town area and nearby hedges, supported by an assigned AT gun, the second infantry company holds the right side of the town and a small wooded area. West of the river, a pillbox stands as the sole German presence. Positioned on the north road from the town are a platoon of Panzer IVs.

The German positions.

The Allied force is on the move from the western side of the river, advancing towards the town. The river, which is fordable, requires a full move to cross from one bank to the other. Flanking the advance are two tank platoons, each accompanied by infantry companies. Simultaneously, a mechanised infantry company progresses along the road, while mortars are positioned behind the woods as support.

Allies preparing to advance.

The battle begins slowly as the Allies push forward, their tank platoons flanking each side accompanied by infantry support. The mechanised infantry in carriers cautiously move down the road towards the bridge, when they get a rude welcome from a defending pillbox. Swiftly dismounting, they look for cover amidst hedges and nearby woods. 

With the pillbox's position exposed, the southern tank platoon swiftly swing to their left and targeted it. Momentum is halted as the mechanised company and tanks focus their fire on the pillbox. Things quickly heat up with the arrival of a German anti-tank gun which immobilises one of the Sherman tanks. The tanks divert their fire, dealing with the new threat. After some intense exchanges, the German gun falls silent, but both Shermans are immobilised from the damage they sustained. Despite this setback, they continue their bombarding the pillbox to aid the infantry.

The Allied left flank moves into positions in the woods.

The pillbox is engaged while a German AT gun prepares to open fire.

As the assault on the pillbox rages, on the opposite side of the road, the Allies have advanced into the woods and their tanks have reached the river's edge. As they move cautiously out of the woods to cross the river, gunfire erupts from the small woods, this is quickly followed by artillery barrages. Realising the urgency, the tanks forge across the river while infantry return German fire, successfully suppressing and then eliminating the German infantry in the woods.

With the tanks now on the far side of the river, two Panzer IVs emerge and engaged the Shermans. The tank duel commences on equal footing, initially favouring the Germans as one Sherman sustained severe damage but persists in returning fire.

The Allies advance to ford the river.

German tanks appear.

Amidst the ongoing tank battle where both sides have knocked out tanks. A crucial turning point emerges as the pillbox was finally knocked out, enabling the infantry to push forward toward the bridge and village. As the momentum of the battle shifts unfavourably, and with two advancing Allied infantry companies closing in on the town, the Germans choose to retreat.

An evenly matched battle.

Finally the pillbox is knocked out.

Infantry advance to secure the bridge.

Both forces met their victory conditions: the Germans successfully causing significant damage to the attack while the Allies secured both the bridge and the village. The pillbox posed a considerable challenge for a while, yet once knocked out, the Germans found their options restricted. They chose to withdraw, understanding that the Allies would halt their advance, awaiting the arrival of fresh tanks before resuming it.

Wargaming Plans for 2024

Usually, I don't plan too much ahead for my wargaming hobby. I just start to look around for the next project when the current one is getting to the wrapping up stage. But this year, there's a few of events happening that will affect my wargaming. So, I'm thinking it will be useful to make a plan to keep my wargaming going.

Another couple of Dixon samurai miniatures get painted.

In 2024, the following events are happening: I am retiring, we are moving to New Zealand, we are preparing our house in Australia for sale, and will be painting our new house in New Zealand which will be extended to include a studio for our hobbies - my wargaming and my wife's quilting. All these events have been a long time coming, and it'll put us closer to our adult kids who live in and around Wellington. We'll be shifting countries in the latter part of 2024.

A few more samurai made it off the painting table this weekend.

At various times, I won't have space for my wargaming stuff, so I'll need to downsize to smaller areas and fewer models that I can easily pack away and if necessary travel with. Also, as the year rolls on, there'll be less time for painting. 

Anyway, here's my plan for 2024…

Reduce the number of unpainted miniatures. Keep painting models for my existing armies whenever I can. An example of that is my Samurai, Ancients, and WW2 armies where there are still a few figures and model to paint up.

6mm WW2. Rework my 6mm WW2 Western Desert armies to fit into a small box for playing on smaller 2x2 foot or 3x3 foot area.

Sci-Fi Terrain for travelling. Make some flat-packed 28mm Sci-Fi terrain for skirmishes using my Necromunda figures.

Example of flat packed terrain from the original Necromunda game.

Battling Robots. Try out a BattleTech-style game using wooden blocks for buildings on a 2x2 playing area. Only a handful of models would be required.

Example Battletech models. They come 4-5 to a box. They stand about 30-40mm tall.

Block Armies. Create some generic block armies and terrain for gaming on a compact 2x2 foot area. 2mm scale blocks of figures may be useful.

Steampunk. Create a steampunk game using card-stock 2D miniatures from Okum Arts Games. This will be for when I have no access to my painting table and paints and want to do something creative.

Example of card-stock 2D miniatures.

Hopefully, these plans should keep my wargaming going while we're packing, moving, and settling in, which will take a few months, but I'm hoping these setups will make it work.

First painted miniatures of the New Year

Following a brief break from painting over the Christmas and New Year holiday period. I finally got the chance to sit down and spend some time painting a set of Red Box Samurai Artillery. They were on sale so I bought the box on a whim, hoping it would fit in well with my existing armies. They arrived shortly before Christmas, so were in a way a Christmas present to myself.

Recently painted 20mm (1/72 scale) Samurai artillery

A box of artillery bought on a whim

A closer view which shows my simple block painting approach.

I will have to think about how to integrate these artillery units into the Samurai rules and play a few games. This weekend the samurai armies will be displacing the American Civil War armies that are currently on the tabletop. Initial ideas are to have them as a static unit supported by Ashigaru arquebuses and spears, but we will see what transpires.

The artillery work well with the Minifig S range figures.

Another view of the artillery incorporated into a unit

Happy New Year!