Friday 18 November 2022

Midway PBEM game cancelled (postponed perhaps)




Unfortunately and somewhat surprisingly, I have not had enough takers (not even close!) to get the PBEM battle up and running and so I will kick this into the long grass for now and perhaps look at it again next year.


Thanks to those who expressed an interest. Should I have another go at getting this game going, you will of course automatically be given a command within the game.


Attention will instead turn to my own Napoleonic rules (stop smiling at the back Mr. W. :-) )


I will use the Generic Multi-Period scenario mentioned in the post on 11th November to explore various aspects of the rules and try to develop some of the rule changes that I have been working on. If any of those playings produce anything of note, I will bring it back here as a post.


One of the rule areas that feels a little awkward are the two types of skirmishing. The first is where the entire battalion can collectively go into open order, such as with French light infantry. The other is Line Skirmishing, where a line just throws out its flank companies to screen the rest of the line. Hopefully I can get this nailed down to something that doesn’t keep dragging the player back to the rulebook to remember the differences in effect between the two deployments types. 


In the ‘bridge’ scenario, I am initially looking at making the flank reinforcement for both sides a cavalry only option rather than allowing an infantry unit to flank and emphasising that both sides can reinforce (flank manoeuvre) from the same board edge if they choose to.


Other than that, the Jours de Gloire boardgame system - with the battle of Ligny is about to go onto the table.


Resource Section.


My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ is being re-configured to showcase various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current ongoing projects are up to. Link.


https://commanders.simdif.com


9 comments:

  1. Sorry to hear you didn't get enough takes Norm. As mentioned I know enough of the battle for it to unduly influence my decisions. I also wonder if it's due to it being a Naval battle rather than a Land based one? I for one have precious little knowledge of the formet, but plenty on the latter.

    Fingers crossed you get to 'resolve' your skirmish issues in the forthcoming game/s.

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    1. Hi Steve, not sure. I think from a PBEM perspective, the carrier naval aspect is the more interesting as the player essentially sits in a bubble and there is genuine fog-of-war.

      The player really should get that sense of isolation, desperate for news and information to come in either from spotters, radio or reports from his / her strike air strike ..... while all of the time fearing that enemy planes are going to suddenly appear on the horizon.

      The commander is likewise fully hostage to whatever information his captains choose to feed them. You just know something will be missed like current locations, headings, damage, sightings etc and all of this is done while the captains are trying to locate an enemy and have their planes ready to go.

      I have played solo and 2 player carrier naval games and losing a major asset like a carrier is a blow, but you crack on with the rest of your force because you can. In this game, the carrier is you - you are the asset, so there is personal investment, a sort of emotional connection to the game that I doubt you could really get from other forms of play.

      Yes, I hope I get the skirmishing thing sorted out. My feeling is that if I struggle to remember and implement, then I can't expect anyone else to.

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  2. Too bad. I thought this idea offered some excellent possibilities and was looking forward to following the campaign.

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  3. Hi Jonathan, I think it had a lot of potential to entertain.

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  4. "who??? Me smiling??? Never!" Sorry there werent enough takers, Norm, but will be following Napoleonic progress closely :)

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  5. Hi Steve - with the decks now clear, I hope to pick up my first ‘trial’ this afternoon and put the newly painted cuirassiers to test!

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    1. Ooohhh everyone loves a good Cuirassier unit on the table!

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  6. Unfortunate a lack of interest, but hopefully lots more to keep you interested 👍

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  7. Hi Matt, yes, the rich tapestry of wargame life is very giving.

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Thanks for taking the time to comment