Last week, I was able to play a remote wargame with Jon from Palouse Wargaming Journal, where we tested some rules he has been developing for his War of the Roses (WotR) collection. It was a real treat, especially after spending the previous few days under the weather with a cold. Fortunately, I was on the mend in time for the game. Jon has written up a full game report, which you can find here. Below are a couple of close-up photos showcasing his wonderful WotR collection.
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| A Battle prepares to engage… |
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| The archers retire and in go the men at arms. |
While we did not use all of Jon’s rule ideas in this session, he seems to be gradually incorporating them as he plays more games, and this was also the first time for me with these rules and the WotR. From my perspective the rules effectively conveyed the tactical limitations of the period. For instance, one rule mechanism which I really liked was to do with the changing of a Battle’s orders which is influenced by the aggressiveness and quality of its leader. This can, and did in the game, result in a Battle holding its ground defensively when you really want it to advance and engage the enemy, and another occasion where a Battle remained on the attack when it would be much wiser to pull back and reorganise the troops.
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| The current distraction. |
It is tempting to explore how the rules, especially the order mechanism, would work in a Hundred Years’ War game using my old Minifigs. However, I have already been sidetracked this week with some Sci-Fi gaming, using the same One-Hour Wargames scenario (#19: Static Defence) as my last French and Indian War (FIW) game. As for the FIW campaign, my plan is to return to it this weekend for the third and final, decisive game in the mini-campaign.
