While doing my first play test of Rebels and Patriots last month, one of my buddies asked if the rules could be used for Seven Years War. He had painted a whole bunch of 28mm skirmish figures during the lock downs and wanted to give them a try on the tabletop. I said the rules were written for North America during the period, but in reality could be used for any theater with the right unit tweaks. So, I told him to send me a list of his figures and I we could use them in our next game.
He sent me his list of troops a few weeks later. The forces included a number of French foot and cavalry chasseur units and similar units of Hessians, Hannovarians and Prussians. I did some troop cards for each unit type. He did not have too many units, but I was able to get the points to 28 per side. Slightly less than I had hoped, but I thought it would work. I broke the forces down into two companies of fourteen points, with some unit variation to keep it interesting.
Since the forces were not too large, I decided to reduce the command range for each commander from twelve to six inches. I also organized the forces around small units of infantry and cavalry, so each player would have enough troops to work with. I thought it would also make the armies fragile, so we could get through the game quickly.
I set up the terrain on a larger than normal table (I do not like little tables), as I figured it would look good and ensure we did not have too much packing of troops. I chose the Parol to McClure’s farm scenario.
The attacker (the French) would have to check out all the buildings and under the bridge to fulfill the scouting requirement. As the table was extra sized, I added a fifth structure). I had each player set up six inches in, to make up for the deeper table.
The defenders deployed their regular troops and marked their skirmish unit on a piece of paper to show their hidden deployment, per the scenario. The defender’s plan was to hold behind the forward two buildings and counter attack to hold them. They held back their cavalry to maneuver where they needed to strengthen their positions. The jagers were hidden behind each of the forward buildings.
The attackers then set up their companies and planned their attack. They planned on a minor victory to clear the forward buildings and then take the bridge. If the opportunity presented itself, they would go for one of the other buildings.
Both sides started the game with their initial moves. With the aggressive French moving fast, the Hessians decided to deploy all their Jagers before they got overrun. The reverse slope positions did not work out, as the French were able to seize one building right away and put the second under threat. This put the Hessians on the back foot, from which they were never able to recover from.
Both sides continued their shooting, but the French dice were much more “accurate” than the Hessians. The casualties started to pile up, with the Hessian being driven back across the front. The French continued to press forward, taking the second building. By this point, one of the Hessian companies ran away, leaving only one to win. The French then concentrated on this company with the expected result. The bridge was seized, with the gaming ending on turn eight.
The Hessians lost three objectives and more than a third of their force (two thirds actually). The French had three objectives and their force was intact (they only lost one unit). The game ended in a minor French victory.
We had three new players, but the game still went quickly (faster than I thought by far, considering the new players). In total, we were done in an hour and fifteen minutes! Everyone had a great time, but since we had plenty of time, I decided on a second game!
- Manteuffel