The 'Sharp Practice' Forum ~ View topic

Drummer boy Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 3

Bullied by one of the club members (heâ€™s much taller than I am, though our weights might be similar) I offered to start a club â€œSharp Practiceâ€™ campaign. In order to prevent one side or the other being dreadfully outnumbered â€“ and expecting a relatively low commitment to the campaign â€“ I decided that the â€˜playersâ€™ would be British (or allies) whilst the French would be run by the GM (me and perhaps one or two in support). Figures would be provided by the participants, so we planned the first game for five weeks from the initial idea â€“ the first Tuesday in November. Subsequent games will be played on the first Tuesday of each month. After a few weeks it became plain that there was a lot of support for the gameâ€¦ and in fact I ended up with fourteen players, most of whom had not played the game before. A challenge, to say the least.

We had already decided on the basic parameters of the game: each player controlling (initially) a single Big Man and a group of 12 infantry. The Big Men would start at initiative 1 and (hopefully) progress; the groups begin as regulars and may also progress to good or even elite. When I discovered how many people wanted to participate, I adjusted my plans and had three players provide and play the French troops while I went into full-time umpiring mode.

For the first scenario it was important not to make things too complicated. The British were to prevent the French from controlling a road exiting the centre of the (12â€™ by 5â€™) board. On either side of the road were a couple of ridges, and beyond them on the right flank a house and walled enclosure; while woods covered the left flank. The first British player to arrive was immediately nominated Colonel, so Billy had control of the British deployment. As people arrived they were allocated positions which saw a Spanish company on the extreme right with a British company near the house; two companies behind the rightmost ridge, two more covering the road and behind the left hand ridge and one covering the woods. A light company covered the front of the left hand ridge; and a late reinforcement arrived (in the nick of time) on the road.

The French were formed in two battalions in column of divisions more-or-less opposite each ridge, with an additional company of voltigeurs who moved into cover opposite the house to defend that flank. Now the French were given strict orders by their Brigadier (me). They were to advance in column until the main British line was spotted, at which point they might deploy into line and complete the attack. In my innocence I had planned that the British would use their reverse slope and severely trounce the French; everyone would see how the rules worked and the campaign would be off to a rollicking start.

What actually happened was rather different. The British Colonel ordered the companies behind the ridge to advance (â€˜My men like to see the enemyâ€™) permitting the French to deploy early on; and at least in the centre were able to dominate the fire-fight, having eight companies against five British. The British on the two ridges were badly shot up; as were the three companies defending the road itself; but in the process they severely mauled four French companies while the two facing the right-most ridge failed to take advantage of the situation and control the high ground. On the extreme left a British company, supported by the lights were on the brink of throwing back a French Grenadier company and, by threatening the flank of the second French battalion would have held it up also. On the extreme right, the Spanish major cleared the enclosure twice with massive volleys (in spite of there being no French present: Fuego!) then advanced and (at extreme range) took on the volitgeurs.

At this point we had to call an end, but I was impressed at how close we had come to a conclusion after two and a half hours playing time. My take on the battle was a French winning draw: though the British argued that they still held the road the French were poised to thrown them off both ridges and then clean up the remaining defenders. Everyone had a good time, and I still had a voice at the end of the evening.

The game looked good, with compact columns of French deploying against the thin red line. Terrain was present but not dominant.

In terms of the rules, people were reasonably clear at the end of the evening, but the distinction between Big Man Initiatives and Group/Formation Actions was the most confusing point. I had omitted certain things and altered others: I used bonus cards and ignored rolled random events (I did put movement and fire random effects into the bonus pack). I used two Tiffin cards (actually a Tiffin and a Vino card) and the turn ended when both had come out, to enable most players to get to do something each turn. I also forgot a couple of details, but as rules were applied evenly, no-one suffered.

I gave each of the British a character card as somewhere to record their unit strengths at the end of the game; but I also rolled up characteristics which might have some effect later on. In fact the Spanish major was a lush; his first action was to search the house for wine and, having found some, I immediately determined that he would end his turn when the Vino card appeared â€“ a fact that did slow the Spanish down dramatically, although you would not realise it from the glowing after-action report sent to his superior.

Now itâ€™s time for me to consider the lessons for the next game â€“ and to come up with a challenging scenario. There will be a supply train I think, or maybe a village to plunder; and the French, at least, have cavalry and artillery availableâ€¦

Hopefully pictures will be posted at some point on our blog - http://phoenixhorseandmusket.blogspot.com/ - but they are not there just yet.

Peter

Sounds like a good time, Peter!

I have to agree -- the greatest confusion when learning and playing the game is the distinction between Group and Formation actions....and which rules and modifiers pertain to which.

Plus, players come into SP with preconceived notions and rules conventions which may be much different.

An option is to go up a level from skirmish and call a Group a "Company" and treat it as a "formable" unit. SP plays wonderfully that way, too.

Chuck

Sounds great. I really like the concept of your campaign. I would love to be able to do something similar.

Drummer boy Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 3

csholti

Actually we are using the group=company concept. I even considered giving the Brits 8 man units against the French 12 (since the Brits have 10 companies to the Battalion) but in the end decided not to bother for the campaign. If I need to justify it I could consider the British being at full strength (having just arrived in-theatre) whereas the French are much reduced due to detachments and sickness. And yes, I do allow individual groups to act in formation - apart from forcing the player to consider facing, since most units are formed it increases the casualty rate and speeds the game up Very Happy

Drummer boy Joined: 23 Oct 2009 Posts: 3

Here is a link for a few pictures, and the Spanish account of the battle:

http://phoenixnapoleonics.blogspot.com/

The first game I ran -- a "learning game" for my friends -- I got the rules for Groups and Formation all wrong. I treated Groups as Companies that could be Formed. But looking back, it made for a fun game.