Author: <span>Andy K</span>

On To Richmond! An ACW Megagame Report

We present Society member Peter M’s report on an operational megagame he run earlier in the year. As noted by Peter, this was a committee / map game with no figures on the table, but the editor has taken the liberty of including a picture from one of Stephen’s ACW games played at the Society as the header, purely for the aesthetic effect. We also owe Peter an apology for taking so long to post this article.

Over to Peter:

Despite having suffered my previous multi-player efforts (the ‘Platoon’ VietNam firebase defence and ‘Over The Top’ in 1918), May 9^th saw a large group of players descend on the club to try my megagame of operational and reputational actions in the mid-1863 period. For those unfamiliar with the term, megagames differ from ‘normal’ multi-player encounters by:

- - Being team-based, reflecting higher levels of command and requiring communications
  - Generally, take place with maps rather than figures
  - Actions take place over several days (sometimes weeks), so planning is key
  - Above all there is the dreaded ‘fog of war’, with only vague information on enemy forces or even friends!

Background

This time I chose a game I’d run twice before, a ‘What If?’ scenario based on some passing references I had come across many years ago about strategic options discussed by both Union and Confederate governments following Lee’s greatest triumph at the Battle of Chancellorsville in May 1863. Each side had apparently considered the advantages of a ‘spoiling action’ in the Shenandoah Valley, albeit for very different reasons…

Right from the beginning of the war, the Union had always had plenty of ‘thrusters’ in the Army and Congress who wanted to see more action (at a distance) and less of this sitting around training, logistical stuff. That even minor successes could lead to significant personal gain (as with MacClellan) was not lost on many of these men, and they would be willing to take great risks with even green troops as resources were abundant. Except among the officer corps. Given this abundance of men and matériel, and in part to shut this faction up while the Army of the Potomac recovered, a thrust south into the Valley would create a crisis for the Confederacy by threatening the politically ‘wobbly’ state of North Carolina, removing a key food-production area, and placing a substantial force on Lee’s flank should he decide to move north or even stay in place.

On the ‘other side of the hill’, there was much discussion within the Confederate Govt in Richmond, Virginia as to What To Do Next. Yes, the previous victory was magnificent, yet again bloodying the poor old Army of the Potomac (but not demoralising it, as they would find out in July). But with an entirely defensive overall strategy (by default rather than real conscious decision; one big reason they ultimately lost), it really rested on waiting for the Union public to get tired and give up! There are plenty of documented accounts of the planning conference called by Davis (who really wanted to be general-in-chief rather than President), with the most famous idea being for Longstreet and Lee to take one corps of the Army of Northern Virginia by rail to the West front, replacing Bragg. Then, with 125,000 veterans, drive north into the heartlands of St Louis, Cincinnati etc and dare the Union to attack. However, Lee was fixed with his giant ‘raid’ into Pennsylvania and besides was heavily into reorganising the army follow the death of Stonewall Jackson.

As almost every strategic move by the Union was either predicted, signalled in the press or betrayed by a rather efficient network in Washington (or all three), it is impossible that the South would not cobble-together some counter-force to this new Union plan, and thus we have the basis for the game.

The System

Previous outings had involved rather more players (up to 50 last time), but still I was both pleased and not a little relieved that the club managed to field four teams. I also decided that teams would be roughly corps-level, with three players per team having wangled key positions as divisional commanders, each overseeing three brigades of infantry with a few additional extras.

As both sides are assumed to be putting together rather an, ah, ad-hoc set of units and commanders not necessarily drawn from the first rank, I came up with a ‘unit profile’ not just with the usual orders and combat strength, but also a profile of the brigadiers, in the style of the NPCs you might encounter in an RPG. These would reflect their ability to organise their forces for supply and march speeds as well as how well they could deploy that unit strength in battle (‘lastest with the least’). Apart from furthering their own personal reputations (and/or bank balance), the player would have to manage their units via interactions with their NPC brigadiers (the little dears). OK, but who was in command of the corps? You may well ask…

Given the generally poor level of high command in all the armies (with a few key exceptions), and to add another dimension to the player experience, I arranged that the corps commander would also be another NPC, but less a ‘Rommel’, more a ‘Sgt Wilson’! These would be influenced each turn by the players bidding their precious reputation points to get the ‘ear of the commander’, then issuing orders in his name.

So, the player forces ended up with:

Union:

- XXIV Corps (drawn from the Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee), under NPC General Lee (no relation)
  - 2^nd Division, under General Legg (a West Pointer of promise but overlooked as a pre-war Democrat)
  - 4^th Division, under General Campbell (from a major manufacturing background, plus supply)
  - 6^th Division, under General Livermore (organised many militia units for his brother, the Senator…)
  - ORDERS: Essentially, they were to co-operate with the fanatics of XXVIII corps, but on no account lose control of the railways or valley exits to the NW.
- XXVIII Corps (a temporary title, not yet approved by Congress), under General Godfrey
  - 10^th Division, under General Kirk (a prolific author of military treatise and romantic fiction)
  - 12^th Division, under General Johnson (helped to design the Washington defences, siege expert)
  - 14^th Division, under General Smith (veteran of Mexican War, much praised by Gen Santa Anna)
  - 16^th Division, under General Roche (ex-Navy, ex-cavalry, ex-Episcopal Bishop; pre-war Democrat)
  - ORDERS: They were to drive south, clear any ‘residual forces’, and prepare to thrust into Central Virginia. Ideally winning the last battle but letting others do the work!

Confederate:

- IV Corps Army of Northern Virginia (provisional) under General Lincoln (no relation)
  - 11^th Virginia Division, under General ‘Liberty or Death’ Ockleford
  - 13^th Virginia Division, under General ‘Might Makes Right’ Simons
  - 15^th Virginia Division, under General ‘Freedom Now’ Gibbs
  - ORDERS: To blunt any drive into the valley and prevent any threat to Lee off the SE section of the map.
- Carolinas Relief Force (a temporary title, not yet approved by Congress), under General Abernathy
  - 1^st South Carolina Division, under General David ‘Burn Washington’ Simes Snr
  - 3rd North Carolina Division, under General Tony ‘Don’t Tread On Me!’ Pellett
  - 5^th Georgia Division, under General Sean ‘States Rights’ Holden
  - 7^th Provisional Cavalry Brigade under Christopher Simes Jr (a protégé of JEB Stuart)
- ORDERS: To cover the southern exists to the valley at all costs and embarrass the uppity Virginians!

Some Rebels plan, others discuss… Note Gen Simons is awake

In addition to these player teams there were also the current ‘occupation forces’ which were the remains of the three small Union and Rebel contingents left to watch things in the Valley after the former’s thrashing by Jackson in his classic 1862 campaign (still studied by military students today). The Union was grandly titled The Department of the Shenandoah and based centrally at Winchester (which changed hands 73 times during the war!), it was therefore an independent force not directly under anyone’s control. But it still had four decent brigades and could be ‘persuaded’ to co-operate – if enough political influence could be brought to bear. Or anyone noticed they were there… but more on that later.

The Confederate force was similar, currently hiding in Front Royal behind a river and entrenchments under General Jubilation T Cawnpone, who hoped that no-one would notice. At the start of the game neither the War Dept in Richmond or the State capitals of North Carolina or Virginia seemed to have any idea of who controlled them, although they did draw a lot of supplies…. Unbeknownst to the players, therefore, the two sides were in effect identical, the Union having more artillery whereas the Confederates had much better cavalry (and more accurate reports).

The final aspect of the game – which was, you recall, centred on the players, not their respective causes – was to reflect the impact of the ‘larger picture’ of the war and their part in it, plus possible effects on operations in the field. To model this, while the umpires struggled to process orders and decide on cavalry reports the players could chat and indulge in four main areas of ‘extra-military activity’ by risking their precious reputation points and sometimes cash to try four tables:

- Inventions – either personally or being paid to flog some new idea to their War Dept
- The Power of the Press – giving briefings to the hordes of story-hungry journalists following the armies
- Investments – primarily the flogging of War Bonds to provide loans to their govts (on a nice commission)
- War Plans – to lobby the War Dept and Congressional committees with yet more war-winning ideas

Each of these tables (via rolling 2d6) therefore had the potential for substantial gains – but also the risk if any move backfired (being charged with fraud could be a career-limiter).

SO, WHAT HAPPENED?

Still with us? Well, what now follows is my own somewhat limited take on what took place on the map and combat tables. As to why and how the players got there, that will be down to future historians (and possibly litigation). Opening moves in any large, unfamiliar game would always be slow, not helped by yours truly frantically setting-up, explaining rules – oh, and coping with last minute drop-outs and no-shows…

- XXVIII Corps began by probing generally south (good, good; knew they’d get the hang of it) from Harper’s Ferry, although General Smith’s progress was not as fast as planned when he discovered that the railway only ran about 20 miles from his starting position and he could have gone faster with a hoop-and-stick!

The umpire explains which way is north to XXVIII Corps

- General Johnson, however, drove along the all-weather Turnpike (ignoring the Union forces in Winchester – except for a nice lunch), until confronted by no less than the two divisions of Simes Snr and Holden (from the Carolinas Relief Force) just south of Strasburg heading north along the same road, aiming to take the forces at Front Royal in the flank….
- Meanwhile General Kirk stayed on the East of the river, which meant that he quickly came on to Front Royal from the flank, thus negating all the defences which faced north across the river… He then had a sharp action with the Valley Defence Forces – sharper than it could have been in fact, as Cawnpone was actually in the process of bugging-out but his tardiness vs Kirk’s speed forced the action! Unsurprisingly, therefore, the Union force “…drove-off…” the Rebs – but then decided to follow-up, without waiting for support and with the uncrossable N/S river between them and Johnson the other side. More of this anon…
- As mentioned, the Carolinas Relief Force decided to thrust up the central valley, cleverly using both the railway (for supplies) and the all-weather Turnpike for speed. Early operations seemed to be something of a shock as they realised (to their horror) how spread-out their NPC-led brigades could become if ‘given their head’(!), but they wisely took a turn out to close-up and also collect stragglers. However, there was also the issue of geography to consider as the main valley was itself split north-south in several places by extensive hills if not actual mountains. With scant roads between them, any Union force striking south along the Western edge could cause acute embarrassment, as there was only the provisional cavalry under General Simes Jnr allocated to that whole sector…
- …Which is exactly what the Union XXIV Corps had planned! Driving quickly south from Cumberland, General Legg gradually drove the Confederate cavalry ahead of them, acting under the suggestions of newly-transferred General Roche (back at corps HQ), with General Campbell’s division (one of the drop-out players) in reserve. Although it did cost some time, slowly and inexorably Legg became the most southerly division in the valley. A point not lost on the Governor of North Carolina, as he explained – quite forcefully – to the players of the CRF team during an ‘interview’ later in the game!

While XXIV Corps plans its next move, General Roche (in hat; +10 REP pts) composes a telegram to Lincoln: “I’m a celebrity, get…”

- This little chat, a few threats, a bloody if victorious action against Johnson near Strasbourg, and an even bloodier one by gallant General Pellett holding the passes to the West of the Turnpike, not against a ‘probe’ but in fact the bulk of XXIV Corps, persuaded the CRF that they had done enough for now. A two-pronged attack on Legg (actually ordered back north) by Pellett and Simes Jnr was sufficient to satisfy the Governor – for now – and allow Simes and Holden to retire gradually, unmolested. Just in time, as it turned out, given the large XXIV Corps forces hovering in their left-rear near their lines of supply and with three other dented but unbowed (and very well-armed) Union divisions ahead….

The high watermark of the Union advance (umpire version)

- Meanwhile, the slightly undermanned Rebel IV Corps had been feeling it’s way north, aided in great part by General Gibb’s intelligent use of the railway network to shift the base of operations quite some ways up the map. General Simons was the first actually in action as he ran first into General Cawnpone (heading south at some speed) and then swiftly followed by Kirk’s forces in pursuit. An appeal to Cawnpone’s sense of duty (plus a substantial bribe and threats) caused his force to ‘support’ Simons’ units, and in another battle drive the Union back at some speed into Front Royal, which Kirk quickly fortified.
- The last critical acts were therefore in the NE of the map. An attack by Simons and Cawnpone drove Kirk’s battered forces over the river from Front Royal, but they were then reinforced in the nick of time by General Smith, whose use of the massed Corps artillery tore large holes in the Rebel ranks and forced them back. This was even more tense at the start, as a degree of enmity had arisen between Smith and Kirk after several scurrilous stories appeared in the Washington Post questioning Smith’s fitness for command (rightly, I think, but not for these reasons), and attributed to Kirk who had by now scored phenomenally high on the ‘Power of the Press’ charts! However, duty prevailed (more reputation points for that) and honour was satisfied. For now…
- Finally, there was General Gibb. Having detrained half way up the map, he then manoeuvred north in a series of well-connected right-hooks which eventually both severed the line-of-supply for Kirk at Front Royal (although they were by now leaving via Winchester), and ended the game within striking-distance of a very lightly-defended Harper’s Ferry, causing consternation in Washington, and the recall of XXVIII Corps! Lee would be proud……

That then concludes the ‘alternate history’ of 1863. I did have a combat system, but it was intended for multi-player contests, so a bit too much for the several smaller actions which actually occurred, necessitating some rather ad-hoc rules but still trying to reflect both force-balances – and fate; sorry guys. So, what might have happened to our heroes? Well, given their historical counterparts my suggestions would be…

UNION:

- General Johnson is offered the No2 spot to General MacClellan in his bid for the Presidency next year
- General Scott is offered a Chair on the Board of Procurement in Washington (not a position, just a chair) …
- General Kirk (heavily wounded at 2^nd Front Royal) may retire and co-operate with General Lew Wallace to work on the latter’s ideas for a sweeping historical/biblical epic provisionally titled ‘Get Hur’….
- General Roche is appointed to French Liaison Officer, headquartered in Paris….
- General Livermore is appointed to command of the Dept of the Valley (until later in 1864 when he remembers a pressing engagement) …
- General Legg is to be Head of Tactics at West Point…

CONFEDERATE:

- General Simes Snr is appointed by the Governor to command the defences of Savannah…
- General Holden is transferred, with the Governor’s support, to the Western theatre to assist General Pendelton in the defence of Vicksburg…
- General Pellett is made Chief Procurer for the South Carolina militia (I think it was about munitions, but…)
- General Simes Jnr is transferred to the Army of Northern Virginia under General Stuart…
- General Simons is appointed to command of the Valley Defence Forces, in place of General Cawnpone…
- General Gibb is commended by both Lee and President Davis, being allocated immediately to a prestigious post in Longstreet’s 1^st Corps of the Army of Northern Virginia – under General Pickett…

Thanks once again to all the players, but especially to my long-suffering fellow umpire Chris Steadman, without whom the whole game would not have worked as well as it did. And if anyone who is chuckling at all the small cock-ups or missed opportunities after reading this, well, try it – and see how you fare with the dreaded blank map and uncertain allies…….

Next time I may stay with the 19thC (1814 France, 1859 Italy, 1854 Crimea), or perhaps go back to a point when Rome was in crisis – there’re plenty of them.

Society Meeting 22/08/2026

Andy shares a few photos from the games at the latest meeting.

A very good turnout for this meeting with five games in progress.

We open with a WW2 Operation Sealion game, using 28mm figures and Chain of Command rules put on by Alan K.

Above we have the view from the German end of the table.

The British helpfully make sure the Germans can read the minefield signs,

A break in the cloud cover as a German section approaches the minefield. Have they noticed the signs?

British regulars take position behind a hedge.

The Local Defence Volunteers occupy some hasty defence positions.

A couple of German tanks fall victim to the LDV’s improvised anti tank weapons, a Northover Projector and a Fougasse (one of the German players apparently noticed the oil drums under a hedge at the T junction, but didn’t mention it to his colleagues!).

Tony P and some of the FOG regulars ran a 6mm Ancients game.

A lot of members use 6mm figures on the same size bases intended for 15mm figures, this lets you depict formations such as the cavalry wedge.

The main battle, looks like both sides had some good die rolls.

Stephen and Andy concluded their “Lackland Goes North” Barons’ War campaign. A write up to follow (eventually).

Angus Balfour and his highlanders, including Father Ninian. Part of Stephen’s army.

Some of Baron Andrew’s Mounted Sergeants charge to finish off some Highland Rabble after they’ve been decimated by his crossbows.

Laird McTook’s troops approach the river bank

Laird McTook, who appears to have forgotten his horses!

Baron Andrew’s deputy Lord Eric charges Laird McTook’s knights (although on foot these were treated as mounted, simply because Stephen forgot to being his cavalry box)/

Peter M ran one of his Victorian Sci Fi games, the Earther invasion of Mars, using some wonderful kitbashed / scratch built 6mm flying ships.

Martian and Earther flyers cross over a Martian city

A close up of one of Peter’s magnificent flyers.

And last, but by no means least, David S and Chris S ran an Infinity 28mm SciFi game. They made a lot of their scenery from domestic waste materials.

David & Chris built most of their scenery from waste material, including packaging, straws and bottle tops.

David’s troops (I think) in their bright orange suits. +1 to hit?

Your first mistake, mate, was to come out from behind the plastic straw pipework. And it may well be your last.

That’s all for this week.

Three weeks until the next meeting, you can see what’s on on our diary page.

Work in Progress Wednesday (19/08/2026)

While Jeremey takes some well-earned time off, Andy rounds up members recent modelling and painting activities.

We’ll start off with a completed item (pictured above); Tony has repurposed some bits of Nerf guns from a haul he dragged out of a skip at work. He described the process:

“After a good wash, I stuck a few random bits of plastic kit and resin details to them, sprayed them red and painted a few areas in black, silver and grey. The initial plan was for Chris Foss-style bright and shiny colours, but I went a bit heavier on the rust and muck and I’ve ended up with industrial grime instead. The stripes were done with a stencil held in place by hand; hence they’re a bit wobbly. Not intended for any specific use or scale, they should serve from 28mm exhaust vents down to giant 6mm industrial chimneys.

Obligatory rhyfler for scale.”

(Ed: Those Quar get everywhere!)

Next we have Stephen, who claims to be “out of figures to paint”, (Ed: WHAT!?) so he has started a couple of modelling projects, including a new building for the Crusades…

The start of another Crusades building from Stephen.

Next up we have Marcus who continues work on his scatter terrain for various games systems.

Chris St is focussing on basing up some painted miniatures, some 15mm SYW Russians and some 28mm Undead. The latter are for Midgard rules, on 120mm wide bases, which makes the SYW figures bases 40mm wide.

Chairman Mark continues his Arnhem game project; the building is a copy of an actual building from the area at the time.

A des res in downtown Arnhem courtesy of Chairman Mark

And finally, some work from me, firstly some Wargames Atlantic Sneakfeet, think Hobbits in a Sci Fi setting, light infantry with a couple of snipers.

Andy’s Sneakfeet (yes, one is awaiting his head, it’ll go on once the sniper rifle is painted).

And, finally, some Wargames Atlantic Einherjar, Dwarf heavy Infantry also in a Sci Fi setting.

That’s all for this week, Jeremey will be back in charge next week.

Society meeting 8th August 2026

Andy rounds up the games at a recent society meeting.

Only one historical game at the society at this meeting, a Fields Of Glory clash between Alexandrian Macedonians and Later Selucid armies using 6mm figures.

A pike block appears over the crest of a hill

We welcomed a contingent of South London Warlords members who came down to help society member Peter (who has “dual nationality” as it were) to run a couple of Sci Fi games based on the 1970’s TV series UFO.

Some of our guests from the South London Warlords

The first game is set in space, where SHADO Lunar Interceptors, guided by S.I.D. (the Space Intruder Detector), attempt to locate and destroy alien UFOs before they can land on Earth.

The space game table with a row of alien UFOs

A Lunar Interceptor releases its missile.

Lunar Interceptors, S.I.D., a UFO and a transport ship

Unfortunately, some of the UFOs always seem to elude the space borne defenders, which means the SHADO ground forces need to hunt them down and eliminate them.

SHADO mobile units search for the aliens.

The hexagonal tiles are laid as the SHADO mobile units explore, so the SHADO operatives never know what they are about to encounter.

Last, but by no means least, the Quar enthusiasts, and a newbie, tried out the Clash of Rhyfles rules again.

Andy’s Crusader contingent on the march, figures loaned by Tony & Phil.

Andy’s Crusaders advance to the blasted woods

Jeremey’s Gwyntish contingent (in red) dispute ownership of the ruins with Phil’s Crusaders, supported by a tractor.

But it wasn’t totally one sided, the Croftyrans also took casualties. Slightly out of focus at the rear in white is Stephen’s musician, Private Maurice Dancer

Off to one side, the Croftyran camp, not a game objective but Quarnest Hemingway (in white, typing at the table) serves as a Pluck counter.

The Gwynt contingent’s scatter gun lets loose.

Gwynt also fielded a tractor, a recent kitbash by Jeremey

That’s all for this week.

You can see upcoming games in our diary.

Society Meeting 25/07/2026

Andy shares some photos of games at the meeting on 25/07/2026.

PETER – 10mm AWI. A Shot Heard Round The Pub.

Smoke drifts across the battlefield as the British approach the rebels

The Continentals approach the British lines.

MARK J – 28mm WW2 – Chain of Command, Operation Martlet.

STEPHEN – 15mm Vietnam – Charlie Don’t Surf: ‘Battle For AnLoc April 1972’

ARVN deploy, 1st Platoon mounted in M113s, 2nd & 3rd platoons to either side on foot, and NVA mortars falling in front of them.

USAF about to bomb the first NVA platoon

The second NVA platoon open up as the ARVN approach the village

ARVN 1st Platoon occupy the elephant grass and prepare to out flank the NVA

If you would like to see what games are coming up at the Society you can see our diary here.

That’s all for this week.

2026 Open Day photo round up

Andy shares a 2026 Open Day photo round up.

Yesterday the Society staged its Open Day, putting on half a dozen games.

Here are a few photos in, roughly, historical order

Barons War (13th Century)

Andy’s sergeants charge Stephen’s Lowlanders

The remnants of Andy’s Knights charge Stephen’s Burghers, while the crossbows and spearmen guard the livestock

Stephen’s knights charge through the village, Andy’s Crossbows in front of them and archers behind.

Andy’s spearmen close on Stephen’s Burghers

Stephen has fallen! Only one of his knights left.

Andy’s Sergeants vs Stephen’s Light Cavalry

Commando raid, WW2, 1940’s (0200 Hours Rules)

Vietnam (1960’s – 70’s) Charlie don’t Surf rules

Technicals, somewhere in Africa, 1970’s – 80’s, home grown rules

Technicals parked up ready for their next game.

Apologies to David, I only got one photo of his game, if any are shared by other members I’ll update the post.

We now depart history for some more whimsical,and fantastical, games.

A Clash of Rhyfles, battles with the Quar.

… their opponents, the Principality Of Gwynt

A Crusader Cook / Medic on the latest mechanical contraption rushes to the casualty’s aid.

And finally, some Dragon Rampant.

A three way stand off? Ogre vs Dragon vs warriors

That’s all for now. Our next open day will be in June next year, but if you fancy coming along to the club we meet between 10:00 and 17:00 on the second and fourth Saturdays of the month (only the first of these in December) at Linton Village Hall, Linton Hill (A229), Maidstone. The first two meetings attended are free for prospective members, and subs are prorated.

You can find more details and directions here.

A Most Ignoble Feud – Part 1

Andy reports on the first day of a Barons’ War mini campaign (with comments from Stephen)

Stephen and I arranged to play the Barons War “A Most Ignoble Feud” mini campaign. This comprises of three linked battles of 500 points, 750 points and 1000 points.

The campaign gives army lists for both commanders in each battle, it was written for edition 1 of the rules and we have moved on to edition 2 so we decided to create our own lists, to the original points values. In the original campaign one side has a number of militant monks in their force, so we kept that requirement, together with the requirement to have 10% of a retinue made up of Green troops.

Stephen’s force was led by Baron Stephen le Tookere, ably assisted by one of his retainers Willard of Wickham. Andy’s force was led by Sir Andrew Fitzroi, supported by his Sergeant at Arms and half-brother Geoffrey Fitzroi, which had the contingent of monks.

The reason for the enmity between Baron Stephen and Sir Andrew was an incident during a hunting party where the Baron accused Sir Andrew of trespassing on his lands, an accusation Sir Andrew firmly rejected.

Battle 1 The Ambush.

Objectives and Victory Conditions

Sir Andrew must fight off the ambushers and escape the battlefield via the board edge opposite their deployment zone, and scores VP based on the points values of all his Warriors that escape the battlefield, doubling the amount of any commanders.

Baron Stephen must try and kill all the opposition, and scores points values of the enemy Warriors his Retinue slays during the battle, doubling the value of any Commanders.

The scenario specifies that the game lasts 5 turns, with a sixth turn available if any unit has a chance of exiting the table. We considered that somewhat challenging considering the distance the defenders would have to move, 7 turns of normal movement for the slowest foot assuming no combat, so we amended that to 9 to 10 turns.

(Stephen: seems strange this wasn’t picked up in play testing. With just 5 turns to get off table they would have to Run for every activation and couldn’t stop to fight or shoot arrows. That’s extremely unlikely and wouldn’t make for a fun game. Hence we increased turns, which would still make it difficult for that ne’er-do-well poacher, Sir Andrew).

Baron Stephen’s Retinue

- - Baron Stephen (R) & 4 knights (R)
  - Willard of Wickham (R)(C) & 7 spears (G)
  - 5 Archers (R)
  - 4 Archers (R)

Sir Andrew’s Retinue

- - Sir Andrew (V) & 2 Knights (R)(Mounted) (C)
  - Geoffry & 3 Spearmen (R)(C)
  - 3 Mounted Sergeants
  - 4 Marksmen Sergeants (R), Crossbows
  - 3 Archers (R)
  - 5 Militant Monks (G)

(V) Veteran, (R) Regular, (G) Green and (C) Commander.

This scenario uses Deployment map D, forces deployed along opposite short edges of the table.

While escorting a group of monks from Yorkshire to Derbyshire Sir Andrew found the road blocked near the hamlet of Brookhill by a couple of abandoned carts, above the carts he could see the tips of spears, to the left of the road were two groups of archers, while on a hill to the far right he could see a group of knights flying Sir Stephen’s pennant.

(Stephen: I still don’t know why I put them there. It was pretty much the only open bit of terrain where I could use the might of a knightly charge).

Sir Andrew sent his mounted sergeants through the village to find a route around the ambush. The spearmen and crossbows advanced either side of the road, coming under fire from both of Baron Stephen’s groups of archers. Sir Andrew following so he could issue orders as needed. Sir Andrew’s monks and archers were deployed to the right, the archers advancing to the crest of a hill and the monks running as if for their lives towards a patch of woodland.

The Marksmen loosed quarrels as fast as they could, to paltry effect, one knight fell from his horse and an archer was brought down.

As the spearmen under Geoffrey advanced past the village they came under relentless archery, Geoffrey and two of his men fell leaving a single man, however his nerve held and he charged into one of the enemy archer groups despatching two of them and forcing them back.

Seeing the monks heading into the woods, Baron Stephen ordered his spearmen to leave the barricade and try to head them off

(Stephen: like anyone, I was determined those damned monks were not going to get off the table, even though I knew they probably weren’t worth many points and there were bigger fish to catch).

Baron Stephen and his bodyguard eventually came down from the hill, advancing towards the barricade.

Sir Andrew’s Mounted Sergeants moved swiftly through the woods, but lost one of their number to archery before they left the battlefield.

The monks ran from the wood and headed up the next hill, with the enemy spearmen chasing them. They almost made it but were caught and lost a brother to the vicious spearmen, fortunately on their next turn they were able to escape the field of battle.

(Stephen: Sir Andrew won initiative meaning he got them within one move of being off table, otherwise I’d have caught up with them sooner)

In the centre Sir Andrew and his bodyguard advanced and charged a group of Baron Stephen’s archers, wiping them out for the loss of one of Sir Andrew’s knights.

Baron Stephen then committed himself and his three remaining knights, charging Sir Andrew and his pennant bearer. Sir Andrew won the first clash, but Baron Stephen charged again and, in the melee, both Baron Stephen and Sir Andrew fell.

As Sir Andrew had no commanders left to try to take over command the battle ended; the loyal retainers carrying their respective lords from the field of battle.

(Stephen: Willard of Wickham had loyally passed his Morale test and took control of the brave Baron’s forces, meaning they would fight on).

Determining the winner

Sir Andrew had managed to get two Mounted Sergeants (50 pts) and 4 Monks (44 pts) off the table for a total of 94 points.

Baron Stephen had injured Sir Andrew (116 pts) and killed Geoffrey (82 pts), a knight (34 pts), a mounted sergeant (25 pts), two spearmen (40 pts) and a Monk (11 pts) for a total of 308 points.

A major victory to Baron Stephen, but still only one campaign point!

The post-game injury rolls resulted in Baron Stephen suffering a Mangled Arm, meaning he can no longer carry a shield. Sir Andrew suffered a mangled leg, as written this would slow him down whether on foot or mounted, but we thought that as the horse would be doing all the hard work we changed that to slowing him down only if dismounted and reducing his points value by 1.

The astute among you will have noticed a distinct lack of photos from the first game. We were so engrossed in the game we forgot to take any!

Game 2 Burying the Hatchet. 750 points

Following the ambush on the remote Derbyshire road, the conflict between Sir Andrew and Baron Stephen escalated. Small clashes bled both sides, in a senseless waste of blood and treasure. Determined to settle things once and for all, the two lords agreed to meet on a stretch of open ground nestled in a meander of the river Don between Sheffield and Doncaster.

There would be no subtlety here, this was to be a straight up fight between the two aggrieved nobles’ retinues, with a duration of 8 turns.

(Stephen: Again, we extended game duration. Although on this occasion it was simply because we had the time and wanted to make full use of it).

Baron Stephen’s Retinue

- - Baron Stephen (R) & 5 knights (R)
  - Willard of Wickham (R)(C) & 6 spears (G)
  - Fulkes de Boutin (V)(C) & 3 Mounted sergeants
  - 4 Mounted sergeants
  - 5 Archers (R)
  - 5 Archers (R)

Sir Andrew’s Retinue

- - Sir Andrew (V) & 4 Knights (R)(Mounted) (C)
  - Geoffry & 4 Spearmen (R)(C)
  - 3 Mounted Sergeants
  - 6 Marksmen Sergeants (R), Crossbows
  - 8 Archers (R)

(V) Veteran, (R) Regular, (G) Green and (C) Commander.

This scenario uses Deployment map C, forces deployed along opposite long edges of the table.

Baron Stephen arrayed his retinue with a group of Archers in a cornfield on his right flank, with the Baron himself nearby in a field of cabbages. To the Baron’s left was Fulkes de Boutin and his mounted sergeants.

Baron Stephen’s Archers, The Baron and his escort and Fulkes de Boutin’s Sergeants trampling the cabbages

In a small hamlet Willard of Wickham deployed with his spearmen, the second group of mounted sergeants and second group of Archers, the latter taking cover behind a wall.

Sir Andrew’ Monks were on his left flank in another cornfield, opposite Baron Stephen’s archers, next to them were the mounted sergeants, and then the Marksmen Sergeants with crossbows.

Sir Andrew’s Marksmen, Mounted Sergeants and Militant Monks

Next came Sir Andrew and his bodyguard, and the archers, with Geoffrey and his 4 Spearmen on the right flank.

Sir Andrew’s loyal servant Geoffrey with Archers and Sir Andrew himself.

All were sheltered by a hedge lining the road that ran through the battlefield.

The battle started with a volley of quarrels from Sir Andrew’s crossbowmen aimed at Fulkes de Boutin’s mounted sergeants, the quarrels flew true and two sergeants were felled.

(Stephen: stern words were had with all the mounted sergeants once we got back to the castle. Suffice to say, they did not earn their keep that day).

This shattered Fulkes’ resolve and he and the remaining sergeant were broken, falling back towards the hamlet behind them.

Sir Andrew’s monks and mounted sergeants advanced towards the Baron’s archers in the cornfield, with one of the monks going to his heavenly reward courtesy of one of the Baron’s archers.

On the other flank the Baron’s second unit of archers loosed arrows at Sir Andrew’s knights, one falling to a lucky shaft.

Baron Stephen’s archers engage Sir Andrew’s spearmen

Andrew’s archers returned the compliment taking out one of the Baron’s Archers. The Baron’s mounted sergeants advanced to protect the archers.

Sir Andrew advanced his bodyguard to counter the Baron’s mounted sergeants.

In hindsight maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to advance

(Stephen: In fairness to these sergeants, I’m not entirely sure what made me advance them. I could see it was a dicey situation to put them in, but I think I just wanted to stir things up and see what Sir Andrew would do in response).

Fulkes de Boutin tried to rally his mounted sergeants, but failed miserably and they routed from the field of battle.

Sir Andrew and his knights charged the Baron’s other group of Mounted Sergeants.

In the ensuing melee Sir Andrew killed two of the Baron’s sergeants and breaking the remainder who fell back

Sergeants fall back after receiving a thrashing

Geoffrey and his spearmen crossed the road and entered the woods, coming under ineffectual fire from the Baron’s archers.

The Baron’s Knights advanced, only to be charged by Sir Andrew’s Mounted Sergeants, taking advantage of a split in the group due to the terrain.

Despite their numerical advantage Sir Andrew’s sergeants failed to cause any casualties.

(Stephen: my mind may be a bit fuzzy here, but I seem to recall killing off a couple of Sir Andrew’s sergeants and, what’s more, I have photographic evidence to prove it).

The monks advanced again, being shot at by the archers without loss.

Willard of Wickham’s spearmen advanced to counter Sir Andrew’s Knights

Willard of Wickham wonders whether he can do better than the Sergeants

My Marksmen shot at the Baron’s Knights, to no effect, who then charged my Mounted Sergeants, killing two and breaking the sole survivor.

(Stephen: Oh, maybe that was it then…).

Sir Andrew charged Willard of Wickham’s spearmen, killing two and forcing them back.

Geoffrey’s spearmen charged out of the woods, reaching the Baron’s archers hiding behind the wall, killing one and forcing them back.

The monks moved again towards the Baron’s other archers suffering one casualty.

The Baron charged his Knights at Sir Andrew’s crossbowmen, but just failed to make contact.

A nice juicy target for the crossbows, who failed to hit anyone!

The Baron issued a second order, and charged my crossbowmen, inflicting a casualty and forcing them back from the hedge.

(Stephen: I had to charge. My knights were in crossbow range and I knew that I could expect one or two flurries of bolts every turn unless I killed them. It wasn’t an enviable situation – the crossbows were behind a hedge and Sir Andrew and his knights were just a short way down the lane, but I had no choice).

Sir Andrew prepares to charge Baron Stephen as his Marksmen hold the hedgeline

Sir Andrew charged the Baron, with no effect. His archer’s shot at my Spearmen, to no avail.

The monks finally were close enough to charge the Baron’s other archers in the cornfield, killing one of them and forcing them back.

My crossbowmen returned to the wall and shot at the Baron’s group, but inflicted no casualties. The Baron then charged again killing a crossbowman and forcing them back only to receive another flank charge from Sir Andrew’s knights, with two of the Baron’s men falling this time with no losses to Sir Andrew.

On the right flank Sir Andrew’s archers shot at Willard of Wickham’s spearmen, who were then charged by Geoffrey’s Spearmen, but no casualties were inflicted.

(Stephen: Good ol’ Willard. He’ll be receiving a promotion and some land for his sterling service).

The Baron turned his attention from the crossbowmen and charged Sir Andrew, but came off worse, losing a Knight and falling back, only for my Crossbows to shoot at them as they passed, sadly with no effect.

Baron Stephen and his shrinking bodyguard face up to Sir Andrew

On the right the Baron’s archers shot at Geoffrey’s Spearmen, killing one, the spearmen failed their morale test and broke.

Sir Andrew’s archers shot at Willard of Wickham and his men, killing one but their morale held and they charged Geoffrey’s broken Spearmen, killing one and routing them from the field, Geoffrey running with them.

(Stephen: Again, good ol’ Willard).

We reached the last turn of the game.

The Monks charged the Baron’s archers again, killing another one and forcing them back. Sir Andrew’s archers shot at the Baron’s archers but missed.

Sir Andrew’s last Mounted Sergeant launched a last-minute charge at the Baron and his sole remaining companion, killing the latter and forcing the Baron back. The Baron then charged back in, but failed to cause a casualty, so fell back himself.

In a last desperate gamble, the remaining Marksmen Sergeants moved to their left, into a position where three of them could draw a line of sight to the Baron; Sir Andrew gave them a second order to shoot at the Baron; the shots fell true and the Baron fell from his horse clutching his eye.

(Stephen: you’ll notice how the cowardly Sir Andrew never had the courage to charge himself).

(Andy: I think Sir Andrew proved his mettle in several combats earlier in the game; and the Marksmen Sergeants needed to earn their pay!)

The victory conditions for this game were simple, based on the points value of the figures lost with commanders counted at double their cost.

Sir Andrew lost one Knight (34 pts) 2 Mounted Sergeants (50 pts), 4 Monks (48 pts), 2 Marksmen Sergeants (40 pts) and 4 Spearmen (80 pts), for a total of 252 points

Baron Stephen lost a total of 525 points.

(Stephen: I can’t remember exact loses. My mounted sergeants all fought poorly and I lost all of them – either killed or routed off table. In addition, the kind and friendly Baron le Tookere and his knights were also taken out. Plus dribs and drabs of archers and spearmen. What did for me was losing expensive troop types plus command groups, which is what made up the bulk of my loses).

This was a decisive win for Sir Andrew, gaining him one campaign point to bring the series to a tie at one point each. The campaign would be decided by the final battle “The Bad Neighbour” of 1000 points a side, to be fought another day.

Following the first two battles both nobles have been injured.

Sir Andrew

Mangled Leg: The noble isn’t as fast on their feet as they used to be. Reduce their Move stat on foot by 1, and their total points value by -1 (Modified from original).

Baron Stephen

Mangled Arm: The Baron has lost the use of his left arm until it properly heals. He can no longer equip shields

Missing Eye: Clipped by a crossbow bolt in the dying moments of the battle, bound up behind an eyepatch, the Baron takes on a distinctly piratical air. He will always act second if counterattacked.

Society Meeting 25th April 2026

Andy presents a taster of the games at the last meeting. Five, count them, five, games in progress!

Let’s have a look at them in historical order:

First up we have a mixed scale (6mm & 15mm) Field of Glory Game. Apologies to the players, I only took one photo of this.

Next up Stephen & Andy concluded their three game Barons War mini campaign. Totally unbiased reports of these games to follow.

Baron Stephen le Tookere’s troops prepare to defend the Trebuchet.

Sir Andrew’s troops close in on Baron Stephen le Tookere’s Trebuchet.

The Trebuchet burns! Sir Andrew’s mission accomplished.

Moving to more recent history, Chairman Mark ran a 28mm Chain of Command game, Operation Bluecoat, Normandy 1944.

The outskirts of a village in Normandy 1944.

The curse of a freshly painted model making its debut, KO’ed early in the game!

Next we had a game of AK47 Reloaded, more 15mm mayhem in 1970s San Guano. A rare outing for this ruleset at the Society.

And last, but by no means least, Tony & Jeremey tried out Grimdark Future Mass Battle rules with their collection of 15mm armies.

One of Jeremey’s tanks is about to get a surprise!

That’s all for this time, next meeting is on the 9th of May, you can see Society diary here.

Society Meeting 11/04/2026

With all of the Society’s blog editors at Salute, Stephen steps up to the plate with a short report on the games played at the Society meeting last weekend.

At the club today we had four games. Since it was also the day of Salute, club meetings tend to have fewer attending due to the fact that some members will be at Salute. (Ed: See a report on the Salute trip and the Award received here).

First up, we have a game of FoG. This is a stalwart game of the club and at most meetings there will be a game on the go. The FoGgers got in two games. In the first one it was the Romans having a bust up with the Carthaginians and in the second it was those same Romans (they’re a chippy bunch, eh?) taking a pop at some Seleucids.

Dave and Pete had a game of General d’Armee – a Napoleonic game. I’m sure I was told it was Prussians and Bavarians, but I might have got it wrong. Dave is a keen Napoleonicist (is that a word? It is now) and there were loads of figures on the table.

Prussians or Bavarians? (Ed: Prussians I think)

Or Is Bavarians or Prussians (Ed: Bavarians this time)

Next up we have two Saga games.

John and Bob had a couple of games with Norse Gaels and Anglo-Saxons. I believe this was Bob’s first go with Saga and from what I heard he experienced the Norse Gaels’ shocking ability to dish out some damage.

Anglo Saxons Dreading The Inevitable Charge

Tony G and myself also had a game of Saga. Having recently read a book on William II I thought the rebellion of Bishop Odo in 1088 would make a good one-day campaign. So we played three linked games. The winner of each would decide who would be attacker and defender in the next scenario. The campaign winner would be the one who scored the most total Victory Points.

(Ed: The picture at the top of the post “Burn Tonbridge, Burn” is from this series of games).

Modesty prevents me from saying who won…

(Ed: I think we can guess Stephen! We should be back to the WIP Wednesday posts from next week.)

The Labyrinths of Mars at Salute 53

Last Saturday a contingent from the Society attended Salute 53 to run Marcus’s The Labyrinths of Mars Game, a mash up of John Carter of Mars and the board game Labyrinth.

Above we see Marcus giving a last minute briefing to Chairman Mark and Alan.

Here are a couple of shots of the Labyrinth before the games started.