Trying larger units and a Punic War game report

With an upcoming holiday later this week, I have not done any modelling or painting. Instead, I decided to get my 1/72 scale plastic Carthaginian and Roman armies on to the tabletop. I usually play variations of the One-Hour Wargames Ancient rules, often fielding 10–12 units per side rather than the six typically suggested in the book’s scenarios.

My units typically consist of two 4" x 3" bases with up to 12 figures per base for heavy infantry, around 9 for light infantry, and 4 to 6 figures for cavalry.

My usual ancient game setup on a 6 by 4 foot tabletop.

Not wanting a large battle, I decided to play a couple of One-Hour Wargames scenarios with the usual six-unit limit. As I was setting up for the game, I thought I would try doubling the number of bases per unit. This worked very well for the heavy infantry, forming a solid block of some 48 figures that look quite impressive and gave the unit a real sense of depth. However, doubling the bases did not work out so well for the light infantry, not only did the four-base blocks seem to look wrong, but the extra depth made it difficult to position them in front of the heavy infantry. In the end, I opted to keep them as two-base units and treated them as half-units, eliminated after taking half the hits of a standard unit but still retaining their full attack value.

A 4 base unit of Roman heavy infantry and a 2 base unit of light infantry.

Game Report...

One of the One-Hour Wargames scenarios I played using the larger units was Scenario #25: Infiltration, set up on a 4' x 4' table. In this game, a smaller Carthaginian force is attempting to break through a Roman army blocking their escape route. A portion of the Roman army holds a hill overlooking the road, while additional reserves are expected to arrive along the road from both the north (left) and south (right). The Carthaginians arrive from the north-west corner with the objective of getting at least two units off the northern end of the road to secure their escape.

The battle started with a Roman heavy infantry unit occupying the hill overlooking the road. Their orders were to hold until reinforcements could arrive from the north and south.

The Carthaginian cavalry vanguard advanced swiftly, pressing ahead while light infantry began  skirmishing fire upon the Roman position. Roman reserves were sighted approaching from the north.

Harassed by the enemy light troops, the Romans upon the hill advanced to drive them off, only to find themselves confronted by the Carthaginian war elephants. At the same time, additional Carthaginian formations moved forward to engage the arriving Roman reinforcements.

With little room for manoeuvre, the opposing cavalry found themselves committed against formed heavy infantry, both suffering casualties accordingly.

The Carthaginian cavalry are ultimately routed. Roman reserves were being slow to arrive and move into position.

The war elephants continued their destructive work, scattering Roman light troops and throwing the southern Roman reserves into confusion. To the north, the momentum swings with the Carthaginians as they rout the Roman cavalry.

The road north remained blocked, but the Roman infantry holding it were weary and attacked by persistent fire from Carthaginian light troops.

At length, the Roman blocking infantry broke, opening a path of escape, but Roman reinforcements press forward, seeking to restore the situation.

A unit of Carthaginian heavy infantry and light infantry seized the opportunity to break through and escape up the road.

Two units succeeded in escaping the Romans, though one was a 2 base unit of light infantry.

Two units succeeded in passing the Roman line, though one was a 2 base unit of light infantry. As to whether they should count toward the victory conditions I am uncertain. So I will call the game a draw.

The game was most enjoyable. The larger units certainly added to the look of the game, and who does not like pushing large blocks of troops around the tabletop?

Here are the rules used...

This ruleset is a variant on Neil Thomas’ One-Hour Wargames Ancient rules. They include additional unit types, movement activation, and differently sized units.

Units Types

The game is geared towards the 2nd Punic Wars and uses the following units types:

• Heavy Infantry (4 bases)

• Gaul Warband (4 bases)

• Light Infantry (2 bases)

• Cavalry (4 or 2 bases)

• Elephants (2 bases)

• Catapults (2 bases)

• Generals can be assigned to either a Heavy Infantry or Cavalry unit for the entire game.

The units need to be consistently based. A full unit is 4 bases and a half unit is 2 bases. Light infantry, elephants, and catapults are always half units. Cavalry can be either a full unit or a half unit..

Sequence of play

Each player takes a turn to move, shoot & melee with their units in the following sequence:

1. Movement

2. Shooting

3. Combat

4. Eliminating units (& berserk elephants)

After both players have had their turn, check the Army’s Fortune.

The game ends after 15 turns.

Movement

During the movement phase a player can attempt to move their units. The procedure is:

• The first unit moved each turn is free.

• After that, roll 1D6 each time you wish to move another unit. A 2+ is success, a 1 is a failure and no more units can be moved this turn.

• Each unit can only be moved once per turn.

A unit may move up to the distances listed below:

• Heavy Infantry - 6”

• Light Infantry, Veteran Heavy Infantry, Warbands & Elephants - 9”

• Cavalry  - 12”

• Catapults - cannot move, only pivot.

Turning - Units turn by pivoting on their central point. They may pivot at the start or the end of their move.

Interpenetration - Only light infantry may pass through other friendly units (and vice versa).

Moving and shooting - Units that have moved or turned may not shoot.

Terrain

Terrain has an impact on a unit’s movement and combat.

Woods - Only light infantry & warbands can enter

Towns - No effect on movement & treat as broken ground for combat

Marshland & lakes - Impassable to units

Rivers - Can only be crossed at bridges & fords

Broken Terran (e.g. Rocky, Fields & Streams) - Only infantry may enter. Provide cover to Light Infantry and Warbands in melee, but no cover against shooting.

Roads - Units moving all their move on roads add 3” to their move distance, but cannot charge.

Hills - Units defending hills are treated as being in cover.

Charges

Charges are resolved by moving the attacking unit into contact with its target. They are subject to the following restrictions:

• Elephants. Cavalry may not charge elephant units as they become spooked.

• Turning. A charging unit may turn once, at the start of its move. This evolution may not exceed 45 degrees.

• Limited Engagement. Only one attacking unit may contact each face of the target (these being Front, Left Flank, Right Flank, and Rear).

• Fighting. Combat is resolved during the Combat phase.

Shooting

Only light infantry and catapults can shoot. The procedure for shooting is as follows:

• Units may only shoot at a target within their frontal facing.

• Light infantry have a range of 12” & assess the number of hits by rolling a D3.  Half the number of hits (rounding up fractions) when the target unit is: in cover, heavy infantry, or elephants.

• Catapults have a range of 24” & assess the number of hits by rolling a D3. (There are no modifiers.)

Combat

Units only inflict hits during their own player turn. To assess the number of hits:

• Heavy Infantry - D6

• Warband (Gauls) - D6+D3

• Light Infantry - D3

• Cavalry - D6

• Catapults - cannot attack in combat situations

• Elephants - D6

Modification to the number of hits:

• All units, except elephants, halve hits when attacking heavy infantry

• Halve hits when attacking units in woods or defending a river.

• Roll 2 D6 and select the highest score if a general is assigned to the units.

• Double the hits for flank or rear attacks.

Catapults - Are automatically eliminated in combat.

Turning Within Combat - Units may turn to face an attack upon their flank or rear if they are not simultaneously being frontally engaged. 

Eliminating Units

Full units are eliminated once they have taken 17 or more hits, and half units after 9 or more hits. 

When an elephant unit is eliminated, check to see if it goes berserk. Roll a D3 and:

• On a score of 1 the elephant immediately charges the nearest friendly unit with 12” & inflicts D6 hits. After which the elephant unit is removed from play.

• On a score of 2 the elephant immediately charges the nearest enemy unit with 12” & inflicts D6 hits. After which the elephant unit is removed from play.

• On a score of 3 nothing happens & the elephant unit is removed from play as any other unit would be.

Pre-Battle actions for an English Civil War game

Having recently painted another base of English Civil War (ECW) infantry, it was not long before I wanted to get the miniatures onto the tabletop for a game or two. I often use a variant of the One-Hour Wargames Pike and Shot rules and chance cards for my ECW games. As this was a one-off battle I thought I would try and incorporate a pre-battle game that would influence an army's deployment, composition, and also its readiness.

My initial idea was to create a deck of pre-battle cards that players would draw from, but that approach did not seem to be that interesting and lacked any decision making. So I asked ChatGPT for help in coming up with ideas for a set of rules using pre-battle cards. The rule ideas it suggested were very useful and I only needed to make a few adjustments.

The rest of this post covers the first draft of the pre-battle rules and an example of how they were used to create a narrative. The actual battle report will have to follow in a future post, as this post is already getting rather long.

An ECW game beckons.

The pre-battle rules take 10-15 minutes to play and are written for a tabletop game using One-Hour Wargames (or variant) which incorporate the use of 15 chance cards. The chance cards are important as this is how the army's readiness is represented.

OHW rules using chance cards. Each army has 15 cards and a card is draw at the start of each turn.

Sequence of Play

The pre-battle campaign is played in a series of turns. In each turn:

1) Select Campaign Action. Both players secretly choose one of three campaign actions:

• Advance Aggressively
• Consolidate Forces
• Secure the Region

The same action cannot be selected two turns in a row. For example: A player could choose the Advance Aggressively action in Turn 1, Secure the Region action in Turn 2, then Advance Aggressively again in Turn 3.

2) Reveal the chosen actions. Both players reveal their chosen action and resolve their effects (see next section).

3) Repeat or End. The game continues until 3 turns have been completed, or until a total of two Advance Aggressively actions have been selected in the campaign (regardless of which player selected them).

For solo play I roll a D6 to decide the first action. 1-2 Advance Aggressively, 3-4 Consolidate Forces, and 5-6 Secure the region. After that is a D6 roll 1-3 and 4-6 to decide from the 2 available actions as you cannot select the same action in twice in a row.

Campaign action cards. Alternatively you can just write down the action.

Campaign Actions and Their Effect

Advance Aggressively

• +2 CP
• Army composition - Halve the number of artillery units (round down)
• Draw 1 card

Consolidate Forces

• +1 CP
• Army composition - Double the number of dragoon units
• Draw 1 card

Secure the Region

• 0 CP
• Army composition - Halve dragoon units (round down)
• Draw 1 card, if it’s a disadvantage, discard and draw again (keep the second draw)

What to Track Each Turn

1. Campaign Points (CP). The player with the most CP at the end will choose the tabletop edge and deploy their army second.
2. Event Card Draws. Cards drawn during the campaign influence the Chance Card deck used in the battle.
3. Army Composition. Modified based on the last campaign action taken (e.g., fewer artillery, more dragoons).
4. Advance Aggressively Tracker. Once two Advance Aggressively actions have occurred in total, the campaign ends.

Ending the Pre-Battle Campaign

When a second Advance Aggressively action is selected or 3 turns completed:

1. Add up CP totals for each side.
2. Resolve card effects (as per the drawn Pre-Battle Event cards).
3. Determine army composition based on each player’s last selected action.

The player with the highest final CP chooses the tabletop edge and gets to deploy second. In the event that the CPs are equal, then roll a D6 to decide a winner. The winner chooses their tabletop edge and must deploy first.

Chance Card Deck (for the Tabletop Game)

As mentioned before I use a modified chance card deck from One-Hour Wargames for my English Civil War games. The composition of the deck can change with the pre-battle event cards drawn. The cards used before and changes are as follows (numbers in brackets are the number of cards):

Initiative (2): One unit may move twice, move & shoot, or shoot twice.

Rally (2): 1–3 units remove 1–3 hits (roll 1D3).

Confusion (2): Units must roll 3+ on a D6 to move. Any failure and no more units may move this turn.

Resupply (2): An infantry, dragoon, or artillery unit that’s out of ammunition is resupplied.

Panic (2): The friendly unit with the most hits takes 1D3 additional hits.

No Effect (5): Nothing happens.

Pre-Battle Event Card Effects (10 Cards)

These cards are drawn during the campaign phase. The cards modify the Chance Card deck used during the tabletop game or CP totals:

Officer Rivalry. Replace 1 No Effect card with a Confusion card.

Captured Supplies. Replace 1 No Effect card with a Resupply card

Poorly Trained Recruits. Replace 1 No Effect card with a Panic card.

Troops Get Paid. Replace 1 No Effect card with a Rally card.

Return of Veterans. Replace 1 Panic card with a No Effect card.

Spy in the Enemy Camp. Gain +2 CP.

Powder Spoiled. Replace 1 Resupply card with a No Effect card.

Rumours of Treachery. Replace 1 Rally card with a No Effect card.

Inspiring General. Replace 1 Confusion card with a No Effect card.

Clubmen - Pillaged the Wrong Village. Lose 1 CP.

 

 

Some Pre-Battle event cards were quickly made.

Playing the Pre-Battle Events

I opted to play the Royalist forces and used dice to drive Parliament's decisions.

Turn 1

• Royalists chose to Secure the Region. They get zero campaign points (CP) and drew "Clubmen - Pillaged the wrong village" which they discarded and drew "Troops get paid" which will add a rally card to the chance card deck.
• Parliament chose to Advance Aggressively gaining 2 CP. They drew "Spy in the enemy camp" which gives them another 2 CP.

Turn 2

• Royalists chose Consolidate Forces. They get 1 CP and drew "Captured Supplies" which will add a resupply card to their chance card deck.
• Parliament chose to Consolidate Forces. They get +1 CP and drew "Inspiring general". This will remove a confusion card from their chance card deck.

Turn 3

• Royalists chose advance Aggressively. They get +2 CP and drew "Powder Spoiled". This will negate the captured supply card removing a resupply card from their chance card deck.
• Parliament chose to advance aggressively. They drew "Poorly trained recruits" that adds a panic card to their chance card deck.

Parliament with a total of 7 CP will have the deployment advantage being able to choose the tabletop side and deploy second. In addition they will remove a confusion chance card and add a panic card to their chance card deck. As they were advancing they will halve their allocated artillery.

Royalists will only add a rally card to their chance card deck, having gained and lost a resupply chance card. As they were advancing they will also halve their allocated artillery.

The game's narrative from a Royalist perspective...

Sir Charles Blackthorne, commanding Royalist forces in the county of Northmarsh, had received word that a Parliamentarian army was advancing to contest his hold upon the region. Cautious by nature and loyal to the Crown, Sir Charles had spent the past weeks sending his troops off to secure the region and getting loans from Royalist sympathisers to keep his troops in pay.

Upon learning that the Parliamentarian force was under the command of Sir Nathaniel Cleve, a seasoned officer with experience from the wars on the Continent, Sir Charles resolved to draw in his scattered troops and prepare for battle.

His scouts reported the capture of several barrels of gunpowder from a local storehouse, yet hopes were dashed when it was later discovered the powder had spoiled, likely owing to prolonged exposure to damp weather.

Determined not to linger indecisively, Sir Charles gave the order to march leaving his artillery train to follow up behind. Yet as his force advanced, it became clear that Cleve had either anticipated his movement or had been warned by a treacherous spy. The Parliamentarian army was already in position barring the road ahead.

A closer view of an ECW game.

All is now set for a game.

A Wars of the Roses remote game

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.  

A Battle prepares to engage…

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.   

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.

A new book and playing around with rules

Currently, I have my 20mm WWII collection set up on the tabletop as I am testing out some rule changes for combat and activation mechanics. A few photos from one of the test games below.

On the subject of rules, I recently picked up “The Fundamentals of Tabletop Miniatures Game Design - A Designer’s Handbook” by Glenn Ford and Mike Hutchinson. The book arrived the day before Christmas and I am treating it as a present to myself.

A recent purchase

Rather than reading it cover-to-cover I am dipping into different chapters to read about specific design aspects that catch my interest or areas where I’m seeking ideas. The book has 235 pages and is organised into three main sections:

• Miniatures as Medium
• Raw Materials
• Miniature Rule Systems

Each section contains multiple chapters that discuss various elements of game design along with their advantages and disadvantages. Examples of games using the discussed mechanics are often provided. At the end of each chapter, there’s a helpful summary along with suggested experiments to try out with the rules. The chapters are listed below and give an idea of what is covered:

Section 1 Miniatures as Medium.

• What Are Tabletop Miniatures Games?
• A Brief History of Miniatures Games.
• The Spatial Relationship.
• When Should Something Be a Miniatures Game?
• The Hobby Games Loop.
• Players of Tabletop Miniatures Games.
• Sources of Fun.
• The Victory Imperative.
• Fantasy and Narrative.
• Dramatic Focus. 

Section 2 The Raw Materials.

• Miniatures and Measures.
• Scale and Scope.
• Uncertainty.
• Dice Mechanics.
• Card Mechanics.
• Genre, Theme and Setting.
• Resources.

Section 3 Miniatures Rules Systems.

• Setup and Deployment.
• Activation and Initiative.
• Movement.
• Close Resolution.
• Line of Sight and Ranged Actions.
• Terrain.
• Control Removal.
• Damage.
• Victory Conditions.
• Special Abilities.
• Scenarios.
• Campaigns.
• Forces and List Building.
• Conclusion.

I have probably dipped into a third of the chapters so far. I have found them all easy to read and clearly written, averaging 8-10 pagers per chapter.

The authors of the book also have a YouTube channel where they have quite a list of videos where they discuss many of the topics covered above (https://www.youtube.com/@RuleofCarnage). I find I generally listen to them while painting.

Matchbox Challenge - Drafting the Rules (Part 3)

This weekend, I have been drafting the rules for my wargame in a matchbox. I now face the challenge of somehow fitting them inside the matchbox without shrinking the text too much. However, before getting to the rules my first task was to create some hit markers to use with the ship status cards. They are small card squares 5x5mm with a Red Cross drawn on them, front and back so no need to worry about turning the fiddly things the right way up.

(For details behind the wargame in a matchbox challenge see the blogs Man of Tin and Duchy of Tradgardland.)

Matchbox contents. The rules are yet to be added.

Hit markers for use on the ship status cards to track damage.

A box contents list has now been added and stuck to the inside of the drawer. 

For the question of how to best to fit the rules into a somewhat full matchbox I may have an answer. The current solution (still a work in progress) is to see if I can make full use of the matchbox itself. By unfolding the box, I can write on both the inside and outside surfaces. To keep everything intact, I’m using some paper tape I made which slides over the outside to hold the box together.

The paper tape holding the matchbox together.

With the drawer removed the outer matchbox can be opened up and used to write the rules.

Draft Rules…

Since this game fits within a matchbox, it felt fitting to use matchsticks for the measurement of movement and shooting distances. I have now included five and a half matchsticks for this purpose. Below are the draft rules. I plan to use the inside of the matchbox drawer to sketch out how movement works, replacing the current photos I am using below.

ACW Ironclad Wargame

This is a matchbox wargame for playing riverine battles of the American Civil War on a flat surface of 2 by 1 foot. 

Game Setup

Lay the two lengths of string on the tabletop to represent the riverbanks, ensuring they are spaced between 4 to 5 matchstick lengths apart. Decide the direction of the river's flow and position the flow marker.

Sequence of Play

Each game turn is divided into the following phases:

1. Movement and Ramming 
2. Shooting
3. Damage Resolution
4. Repairs

Movement and Ramming

Ships move one at a time, starting with the one furthest upstream and proceed downstream moving ships.

On their movement turn, a ship has 3 choices:

1. Stay stationary,
2. Move half a matchstick length, or
3. Move a full matchstick length.  

To move, place a matchstick touching the bow of the ship and facing straight ahead. Then slide the model forward so the stern aligns with the other end of the matchstick.

At the start of the move.

At the end of the move.

Turning - Ships moving half or a full matchstick length may turn up to 45 degrees at both the start and the end of their movement, pivoting at their centre. Stationary ships cannot turn.

Effects of Damage -  A ship with a damaged boiler can only move half a matchstick. A ship with a damaged rudder can only turn once, either at the start or the end of its movement.

Riverbanks and Sunken Ships - Any ships that make contact with a riverbank or sunken ship becomes stranded and immobile for the rest of the game.

Ramming - To ram, a ship can only turn at the start of its movement. If the ship makes contact with an enemy vessel, roll a die, consult the damage table, applying damage immediately. 

Shooting

Shooting is simultaneous and all ships get to shoot (even those engaged in ramming). The procedure is as follows:  

1. Select Target - A ship may target only one enemy ship with a clear line of sight.  
2. Range Calculation - Roll a die and subtract 1 to determine the shooting range in matchstick lengths. Apply the following modifiers to the score: -1 if shooting forward of the bow or rearward of the stern, and -1 if the ship has sustained gun damage.  
3. Damage Resolution - If the target ship is within range place a hit marker next to the ship as a reminder they have taken a hit and need to resolve damage in the next phase.

Damage Resolution

When a ship is struck by shooting or ramming, roll a die and consult the damage table below:  

1 = Glancing Blow - No damage.  

2 = Crew Casualties - The ship cannot make repairs.  

3 = Hull Damage - Permanent; cannot be repaired.  

4 = Damaged Guns - Reduce all shooting rolls by 1.  

5 = Boiler Damage - Movement is reduced to half a matchstick.  

6 = Rudder Damage - The ship can only make one turn during movement.  

Record all damage on the ship's status card using the hit markers.

If a ship has already sustained damage to a specific area, no additional damage is applied to that area. For instance, if a ship with existing hull damage is struck again in the hull, the result is ignored. 

A ship with four hits begins to sink and can take no further actions for the remainder of the game. It remains in place as an obstacle to other ships.

Repairs

After all damage has been applied ships that are not sunk and have not taken crew casualties can attempt a repair. Roll the die and compare the score to the repair list:

1-3 = Repairs fail.

4 = Remove gun damage

5 = Remove boiler damage

6 = Remove rudder damage

A game setup and ready to play.