Every now and then, I make enough changes and tweaks to my Two Flags - One Nation rules, to necessitate the reprinting out of a new draft.
In a last minute exercise, I threw down a game to just make sure that nothing was immediately outstanding or awkward after the changes. Plenty of terrain was used so that the ‘difficult’ terrain, disorder and skirmish rules would be put through their rigours.
There have been some other changes, such as weapon ranges and the relationship with movement. The management of movement has been streamlined to be easier and less parade ground orientated.
So, there have been enough changes and red ink scrawled over rule pages to justify a reprint.
This time though, I am going to do something a little different and get these printed by a Print on Demand service, rather than using my own printer - simply to give me a nicer presentation for the next round of development.
The game was useful as it identified a careless mistake that I had made regarding skirmisher fire. I suspect the mistake was actually made on my napoleonic set and then dragged across to the ACW set as I try to keep the engine of both sets pretty much aligned.
The following are just a collection of table shots from the game and as always, are clickable.
Resource Section.
My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ showcases the various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying at the moment and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.
Great pics Norm - I like your river pieces; did you use anything special for the water effect?
ReplyDeleteThanks, they are bought sections from The Last Valley. he doesn’t have a website, but he does have a facebook page, which is not locked, you can have a look for things and then just order by phone. He attends quite a few UK Wargame shows.
Deletethe water surface looks to be a blackish gloss varnish.
Thanks! I thought that you may have painted the sections black or very dark green and then varnished - I've got some Warbase river sections to paint and I'm looking for ideas!
DeleteI have just dug a length out. It looks like they have put a blackish paint down first. I imagine it is a blackish brown rather than a pure black …. But it is very black! This paint has been wrapped onto the edges and is visibly matt - tending to suggest that the colouring is just black.
DeleteI am assuming therefore that the water surface is a clear varnish and that does to be gloss, rather than say satin. So perhaps a 2 part process, matt black paint and varnish.
the varnish might have a stain in it because some of the stones on the river looked to have stained darker where they are contacted by the varnish.
the banks by the way are done with a sort of dyed sawdust.
Sorry for the long link, but the water is probably done using this product, which the Vallejo Water Effect is basically the same as. I haven't tried it yet, but hope to do so this year:
Deletehttps://www.amazon.co.uk/Winsor-Newton-237ml-Medium-Acrylic/dp/B003T0NXPC/ref=rvi_d_sccl_33/260-0186297-5954961?pd_rd_w=GACNE&content-id=amzn1.sym.d56e60fb-87bc-405a-a95d-c5e322a9b3d9&pf_rd_p=d56e60fb-87bc-405a-a95d-c5e322a9b3d9&pf_rd_r=FEMEFCF6V9MZQHK67NAB&pd_rd_wg=pBpZm&pd_rd_r=df484727-9001-40fc-81d0-a6f50d0d5059&pd_rd_i=B003T0NXPC&th=1
Thanks Steve, I have the Woodland Scenics version and have used it on my marshes.
DeleteNorm/Steve J - thanks for the information, most helpful.
DeleteA great looking table and toys you have there Norm
ReplyDeletethanks Phil - I am finding that figures and games actually look nicer in the flesh than they do when seen via a camera …. am I the only one that feels that?
DeleteGreat looking minis and terrain sir!
ReplyDeleteThanks Michal - it is a joy to use them.
DeleteSuper looking game layout. Can you summarize the rules changes?
ReplyDeleteThanks Jonathan - Infantry are moving 8” short range is 9” (and the max for smoothbore / carbine) long range is 12” for rifles musket. Units now just lose 2” whenever in difficult terrain (so they still look like they get a meaningful move).
ReplyDeleteUnits can just be picked up and moved into their new position on the proviso that no part of any base moves further than allowed. Moving within front / rear arcs are normal, moving outside of that arc (fancy foot moves) is ½ movement.
Skirmishers (open order) lose a D6 when firing. Firing from buildings is lose 2D6 (these two factors are not cumulative).
I picked up an account of 2nd Manassas today, the idea being to read it from the point of view of the rules to see whether the book narrative and the rules are connecting.
Once I get the new draft done, I will do a follow up post.
Thanks. Which Manassas account?
DeleteIt is the Osprey Campaign book (95) covering Second Manassas.
DeleteHaving rules in a book form makes it so much easier to spot 'errors' in the text, compared to viewing on a laptop etc. Plus of course you can annotate it to your hearts content.
ReplyDeleteCracking looking table and love the Zouaves hidden in the cornfield, which really does look the business with all your other terrain:).
Thanks Steve - that cornfield is no doubt going to end up in every ACW game :-)
ReplyDeleteI already know that I will struggle to write notes in a proper book …. But I shall pinch my nose and jump in with both feet! :-)
You could use post-it notes to start with, then simply update the relevant text, print it off and paste it into the book. GW did this with Mordheim years ago to correct errors and add updates and it worked a treat. No need for them to re-print the book etc and for us players we were happy bunnies!
DeleteAh, Post-it notes, exactly so!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful looking battle Norm….im not sure you can any longer class this spectacle as a battle in a small space 😀
ReplyDeleteThanks Matt, a momentum is certainly gathering!
ReplyDeleteA fantastic table and armies for just a rules test Norm!
ReplyDeleteAnd the corn looks great in its first game.
Thanks Ben, the butterfly is strong, I had stopped painting Wars of the Roses in favour of the napoleonic project and now I want to get a few more ACW regiments done …… what to do? :-)
ReplyDeleteI really need to read these rules. As the internet's ACW Aficionado and Czar (self-appointed, invested by the power of me, in the court of public opinion where the public is also me) I've been remiss in my duties. for some reason I thought they were hex based? But I don't see any hexes in those BE-YUT-TIF-FULL pics of your ACW collection in action. 😁
ReplyDeleteThanks Stew, these rules have taken a number of formats over the years and most recently have been hex based. The current version takes the hex set and converts / delivers to the open table.
ReplyDeleteOnce you get the rules stable after updates, I may bring them back out onto the hex grid for a refresher.
Deletethen I'll use the hexless version. 😁
DeleteLovely pix Norm and I agree with the first flurry of comments that the river is the piece da la resistance as far as the terrain goes...fantastic
ReplyDeleteThanks Keith, A lot of game tables in the UK have terrain from The Last Valley, especially his trees. For the river, I think I got lucky with the light …. For a change. :-)
ReplyDeleteSplendid looking set up for your ACW collection and it sounds like the rules are making progress!
ReplyDeleteBest Iain caveadsum1471
Hi Iain, with Black Powder, Valour & Fortitude and my own rules, I have a bit of choice at the moment.
ReplyDelete