I've planned to have a whole weekend next week with Kevin and James to give the Napoleonic version of Rank and File a really good test.
This is the next step from our small game in January with a view to finding a good set of rules to refight Quatre Bras at 1:20 scale in 2017. Kevin has organised a game with a small Allied force defending the line of a stream, with woods and village and hill to their backs. A stronger French force will attack and then during the course of the two days both sides will be reinforced.
I've been using Kevin's sketch as an exercise in teaching myself mapping techniques with Adobe Photoshop Elements. Very pleased with the result, but I'm sure I can improve on this for the future.
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| So this will be the fictional Battle of St Metard |
And here is the table I have prepared approximately to the map. The Watermill will stay but Kevin is bringing some better buildings for St Metard that will look the part and be less dominating, however I couldn't resist getting some of mine out meanwhile.
Apart from this I have to work on the rules a bit and try to ensure we have a credible set of status markers for the various aspects of the R and F rules. We are going to try the Wargamer ADC plastic trays again like we did for our 1:3 Waterloo games last year and hope they are not too overpowering with 30-figure battalions. Also we are hoping to standardise figure bases to approximate to one another through our separate collections. As part of that I had to rebase many of my 95th Rifles.
Here are some photos
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| You'll have seen these chaps before in my report on the La Haye Sainte refight |
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| We are using 6-figure bases for close order troops, and 2 x 2-figure bases to represent those 6 when they are in skirmish order. So these photos show the whole 30 figure battalion (approx 600 men) in both close and open order. |
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| Kevin's happy that skirmishers can fire in two ranks deep as we are assuming they are acting in a very fluid open mass. |
If anyone is interested in how I made the stream I have a lot of photos of it in progress and can give a "how-to" post, just ask.
