Yesterday Roy S., Wade S and Dan K. met me at our local game store (Game Kastle in Fremont) to play a game of Muskets & Tomahawks. With all the family stuff going on we made these plans at the last minute having a window of opportunity open up for a game --- so off to play Muskets & Tomahawks we went.
We played a large game --- not worrying that much about points since we've played so much at this point we can get a fairly even game sorted in our heads. Orders of battle below.
British Order of Battle
42nd Regiment - The Royal Highlanders (The Black Watch)
1 x Officer
12 x Regulars
12 x Regulars
12 x Grenadiers
48th Regiment (Webb)
1 x Officer
12 x Regulars
12 x Regulars
12 x Grenadiers
8 x Rangers
8 x Rangers
12 x Light infantry
French Order of Battle
Royal-Roussillon
1 x Officer
12 x Regulars
12 x Regulars
La Reine
1 x Officer
12 x Regulars
12 x Regulars
12 x Compagnie Franches de la Marine
1 x Canadian Militia Officer
8 x Canadian Militia
8 x Canadian Militia
1 x Indian Chief
6 x Indians
6 x Indians
6 x Indians
6 x Indians
6 x Indians
The game was a total blood bath and very close ... anytime there was a swing in one sides favor, it would backfire and swing back. In the end we called it a draw ... it might have slightly ... and I mean slightly started to favor the British at the end (we called it at the beginning of turn 5).
The 42nd (Black Watch) was wiped out completed as was the Royal-Roussillon regiment ... the others took heavy casualties. The British light infantry survived well (one of the best units in the game IMO) and the Indians took heavy casualties as well. We had lots of close combat with tomahawks (thrown weapons) getting hurled before engaging.
Do to the size and the fact that two of the four players hadn't played M&T for some time we decided to not roll the sub plots and just play a straight up "kill the other guy" game. This was also partly due to the last minute lack of preparation on my part for the unexpected game day :-) Regardless, it was a nail bitter throughout the whole game and all enjoyed playing.
I forgot my camera at home so I only had my phone to take pictures ... but they came out ok ... pictures below of the action.
I was given the chance not too long ago to take a closer look at the Over Mountain Men range that is produced by King's Mountain Miniatures. This post ties into my older post about comparative miniature size for the various 28mm French & Indian War ranges available today. You can read that post here.
I think these are very nice miniatures and are worth a look for anyone considering building forces for wars between F&I and AWI.
The picture below shows how the King's Mountain Miniatures model stacks up against a Conquest Miniatures figure. The majority of my collection is from Conquest Miniatures, but I've also got several units from other manufacturers (Redoubt, Galloping Major, Perry Miniatures and Northstar). Based on my original "comparative miniatures size" post - I would classify King's Mountain Miniatures as being "large" - and mixing well with Galloping Major, Northstar, Blue Moon, and Redoubt Enterprises ranges.
Comparing Conquest Miniatures (left )to
King's Mountain Miniatures (right). Note that
Warlord Games currently distributes
Conquest Miniatures.
Here you can see again how the King's Mountain
Miniatures range stacks up with Conquest Miniatures.
The King's Mountain Miniatures figures are
thicker than the Conquest Miniatures figures.
My six figure unit of Over Mountain Men from King's
Mountain Miniatures. You can see the vast array
of head options available here. You can make
Canadian Militia, provincials/militia, French trappers
and more with all the head options.
I should also point out that King's Mountain Miniatures also does Highlanders for the American War of Independence (AWI). They would not be appropriate for French & Indian War but they are very nice miniatures! In fact, that is a pet peeve of mine in that I see many use the Perry Miniatures AWI Highlanders for French & Indian War ... and the uniform and look is very different between the two periods - even though they are not too far apart "date-wise" - the uniforms underwent some significant changes in that short time.
AWI Highlanders from King's Mountain Miniatures.
I don't really have anything negative to say. The range is currently limited to AWI Highlanders and the Over Mountain Men - so for the periods there are some units you'll have to look to other manufacturers to fill out (for example, regulars, cavalry, artillery, etc.). The many head options available allow the base models a lot of versatility/re-usability within each range.
So if you are looking to mix things up with your French & Indian War collection or expand your AWI collection I would certainly take a look at what King's Mountain Miniatures has available.
Updated: A note from Bill at King's Mountain Miniatures
"Thanks for the review. I'll be happy to answer any questions that collectors my have at kingsmtminis@aol.com. In regards to the available base poses, right now there are 16 different bodies that represent frontier type of militia. There are 31 different Highlander poses. That's 47 unique poses in less that 2 years.
Hopefully by May, there will be 32 new poses released, representing Continental soldiers in the AWI. The separate heads will allow almost any unit to be made. 8 of the poses will represent dismounted dragoons fighting on foot.
GameTime episode 3 is now available on YouTube at the links below (embedded as well). This episode is all about Muskets & Tomahawks. In part one I cover the game components, terrain, and miniatures I use in my French & Indian War collection when playing Muskets & Tomahawks. In part two we walk through the rules and learn how to play M&T, and in part three Roy and John play through a full 400 point game.
The next quicky is up for GameTime on YouTube. In this quicky I talk through a comparison between Muskets & Tomahawks and Brother Against Brother. You can watch it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTiIVepcjTk or embedded below.
I've also included a written comparison below the video as well.
A quick update on GameTime episode 3 - it will post this week, if not in the next couple of days. Parts one and two are all ready to upload, I'm just waiting to finish filming/editing part three.
A little more of a comparison of the two systems:
Dice System
M&T: D6 based. Each die roll yields a result of 1-6.
BAB: D10 based. A roll of "0" is actually "zero" and not 10 - so each die roll yields a result of 0-9.
Units & Formations
M&T: Units range from 6-12 figures as stipulated in the army lists. Army lists included are for British (F&I and AWI), French (F&I and AWI), German (AWI), American (AWI), Indian (F&I and AWI), and Civilian (F&I and AWI). Each unit, it's options, traits, talents, etc. are use a point based system to create equivalent army lists. Rules for a firing line provide benefits to regulars forming a single or double line with at least 6 figures. All units can skirmish, however only certain units (most notably Indians and most irregulars) have a scout trait (ignore difficult terrain and obstacle movement penalties). Officers are included by troop type and generally can only benefit troops of their own type (for example, a regular officer can provide benefits to any friendly regular unit).
BAB: All units are 10 figures strong. No army lists are included. No points based system. Officers are included based on the number of units in the army. Generally one officer commands 2-3 units.
Turn Sequence
M&T: Uses a deck of cards that provide actions for unit types (regulars, irregulars, Indians, artillery, etc.). Most units get 4 actions per turn, however the order in which those actions come up is randomized by the order of the cards. Actions include move, reload and shoot.
BAB: Uses a deck of standard playing cards where each card is assigned to a specific unit in the army. Two cards are resolved at a time (if conflicting in their actions, roll off to see who has initiative). Actions include move, fire, load and charge.
Movement
M&T: Each figure has a fixed movement characteristic. Each individual figure takes it's own movement and suffers terrain penalties/benefits individually. Each unit has a unit leader and models in the same unit must remain within a single move of the unit leader. Scouts ignore difficult terrain and obstacles (of man height or smaller), and treat very difficult terrain as difficult.
BAB: Each unit moves 2D10 per turn (with some potential modifiers). Only the unit leaders move and suffer terrain penalties. After moving the unit leader, all models of the same unit can be placed within 6" of the unit leader. Models that are placed within 6" of the unit leader, and within terrain, do not suffer movement penalties. Adopting a formation such as single line, column, or double line sees the unit leader unable to move, all other models form on the unit leader. Units moving into skirmish can move and adopt skirmish in the same action.
Shooting
M&T: Shooting muskets is 0-4" point blank, 4-12" effective, 12-24" long range. To-hit uses the units shooting characteristic, modified by shooting modifiers (terrain, range, etc.), and once hits are scored, the weapons firepower determines was is needed to "kill" the targets. Kills trigger a reaction test (morale test). Troops are marked with black powder markers and must spend an action to reload before being able to fire again. Models are fired individually, so it is possible to have part of a unit reload and part of it firing in the same activation.
BAB: Shooting muskets is 0-10" effective, 10-20" long range. To hit is based on a D10 system (remember, 0's are zero's and not 10's). To-hit is based on the terrain the target is in - open, soft, or hard cover - and modified by the usual circumstances. Each hit cannot be saved and results in a casualty and subsequent morale test.
Melee
M&T: Any unit can use a move action to engage one or more targets in melee. Units must take the most direct path, maximize both attackers and defenders, and may use thrown weapons prior to engaging the target (throwing "tomahawks" and charging can be done in a single action). Up to 4 models can engage a single model if there is room. All attackers in base contact and all defenders in base contact roll attacks (need to score >= aggressiveness to score a hit). Once hits are determined, the defence value for each unit is used to determine saves. Side suffering the most casualties must take a reaction test. So long as units remain engaged additional rounds of melee are fought until one side prevails. Additional rounds of melee allow for figures from the engaged units to move/maximize/consolidate models between rounds of melee.
BAB: A unit leader must be within 6" of an officer to declare a charge. Attacker must resolve a morale card before being allowed to charge. If passed and contact is made, defender must take an immediate morale test an apply the results. If passed, attacker moves models into contact normally. Up to two models can fight a single enemy. Each engaged model is resolve individually. 2-on-1 melee is fought with a "free hack" from the second attacker, who needs to beat the score rolled by the defender on the "first" melee roll (all D10 based). Higher score wins, lower is removed as a casualty. Melee continues on ties. Melee is fought on an "individual" model basis ... figures that become un-engaged can take other actions as normal, or re-engage other enemy models still in melee.
Morale
M&T: Morale is represented by a reaction test. The result needed to pass depends on the unit type (regular, irregular, indian, millitia, civilian, etc.). Potential results are ok (test pased), recoil (unit makes a full move away from the enemy, remains facing enemy, activates as normal), flight (unit makes a full move away from enemy, faces away from enemy, unable to take actions for the rest of the turn, automatically recovers at the end of the turn), rout (the unit is removed from play).
BAB: A generic morale deck is used to resolve morale tests. Units required to take a morale test pull a morale card at the beginning of their next activation. Potential effects are thwacks (unit leaders or officers are killed), or units test on a D10, subtracting either all or 1/2 of the remaining number of figures in the unit. A 0 or less is a pass, anything positive is a failure. If failed, the number failed by results in that many figures "skeedaddling" (essentially being removed from play). For example, I roll a 9 and subtract my 7 remaining figures, the result is 2. 2 figures are removed as they "skeedaddle" away (there are also rules for these models running away ... with the potential to rally them later). Random events are also resolved by the morale deck.
Extras
M&T: A great selection of scenarios is included, side plots add a lot of flavor to the game (side objectives for an officer on each side), talents for officers allow customizing your leaders, and the many traits of units (options) allow unit customization. Additional rules cover buildings, boats, weather, hidden movement, and more.
BAB: The primary rule set is written for ACW, but appendix rules cover AWI and F&I. Officers and leaders can be customized with special rules/attributes. Additional rules cover forts, boats, and ambush.
Overall Results
For me, M&T is both more accurate to the period of the 18th century, and far better written (I'll note that BAB is older, being released in 1997, whereas M&T was released in 2012). I do enjoy the games of BAB I play in, but given the choice I would always personally play M&T. The Studio Tomahawk forum provides excellent support for M&T - from rules clarifications, FAQ, additional scenarios, battle reports, alternate lists, and more. I have not found the same level of support in existence for BAB.
Winner = M&T.
100th Post - yes, this is my 100th post on my blog (and closing in on 100,000 page views, yay!) ... seems like I just started the blog last week but it has been 18 months since I started this blog. I have to really thank all of you who read my ramblings and follow my blog, and GameTime --- thank you all very much!!
I recently ran a demo day for Muskets & Tomahawks at the local game store by my place - Game Kastle (Fremont). Roy Scaife and I ran a couple of games in parallel with some new players who had never played the rules before. Good news, they bought miniatures and the rules right after the games wrapped up :-)
Setup and ready to start
(after a quick Subway sandwich!)
I did up two scenarios that ran 300 point lists on each side.
Muskets & Tomahawks
Scenario – The Meeting
Background
British – A French trading post has become
a common location for meetings between French officials and Indian tribal
leaders. Your orders are to destroy the
trading post and kill any French units in the area. If you come upon any Indian
or French leaders they should be captured and returned for questioning.
French – We are meeting with the council
of elders that represent the Indian tribes in this area. Make sure the
officials remain safe and if attacked your orders are to escort the Indian
elder council away from the battle area.
If the elder council is killed or captured that would negatively impact
our relationship with our Indian allies in the area.
Forces
British (300pts)
(1) British Regular Officer
(8) British Regulars
(8) British Grenadiers (Sharpshooters)
(6) Rangers
(6) Light Infantry
French (300pts)
(1) Canadian Militia Officer (Coureur des bois)
(8) Canadian Militia (Coureur des bois)
(8) Canadian Militia (Coureur des bois)
(1) Indian Chief
(6) Indians
(6) Indians
(6) Civilians (Indian tribal elders)
Objectives
British
Capture the
Indian elder council = 3 VPs
Kill the
Indian elder council = 1 VP
Each French
(non-officer) unit killed = 1 VP
Capture the
French officer = 2 VPs
French
officer killed = 1 VPs
French
Escort the
Indian elder council safely off the table = 4 VPs
Each
British (non-officer) unit killed = 1 VP
Capture the
British officer = 3 VPs
British
officer killed = 2 VPs
Muskets & Tomahawks
Scenario – Local Diplomat
Background
British – A local civilian leader has been highly effective in negotiations with local Indian tribes. We've learned that the French seek to eliminate this diplomat and my be on their way right now to do so. Your orders are to secure the local leader and escort him to Albany. If attacked, save as many of the local settlers as possible as if we leave them to the mercy of the French the local leader will be very upset and may not continue to aid our efforts.
French – A local civilian leader has been causing trouble with the areas Indian tribes. We must capture this leader so we can turn him to our cause, or if that isn't possible than we should kill him. It would also be helpful to capture as many of the local settlers as possible as we can use them to help persuade him. However, if the locals are not cooperative, kill as many as possible to send a message to those who would work against us.
Forces
British (300pts)
(1) British Regular Officer
(12) British Regulars
(8) British Grenadiers
(8) Rangers
(1) Local Leader
(6) Civilians
(6) Civilians
French (300pts)
(1) French Regular Officer
(8) French Regulars
(8) French Regulars
(8) Compagnie Franches de la Marine
(6) Indians
(6) Indians
Objectives
British
Evacuate the leader through the designated area = 3 VPs
Each civilian group evacuated through the designated area = 2 VPs
Each French (non-officer) unit killed = 1 VP
French Officer killed = 2 VPs
French
Capture the local leader = 3 VPs
Kill the local leader = 2 VPs
Each captured civilian group = 2 VPs
Each killed civilian group = 1 VP
Each British (non-officer) unit killed = 1 VP
British Officer killed = 2 VPs
Not your normal layout for M&T scenarios ... but we figured we've give it a try.
Hello all! Well, a spectacular weekend was had at CelestiCon. I have to say I definitely "got my game on" this weekend. Our merry crew of con gamers consisted of Roy Scaife, John Lantz, Dan Kerrick, Wade Shows, and a good friend of Wade's who flew in from Seattle - Les (and of course, myself). We played several board games, one of which that turned out to be a lot of fun (and new for me) was Eclipse - a space exploration and resource management game. I liked it far better than Twilight Imperium (for those familiar with that game).
But enough of that, let's get on with the miniatures games. There is a heck of a lot of pictures of the various games below which include my demo games of Dead Man's Hand (Old West), WW2 Bolt Action, Muskets and Tomahawks (French & Indian War), ACW, This Quar's War, and Rhodesian bush war!
First up, Friday afternoon and evening was time for me to play and demo Dead Man's Hand. We setup my little table in the miniatures room and started rolling through some games. It was a lot of fun and played quickly allowing several pairs to play through some games. The table generated lots of interest from arriving con goers. Since I only have two gangs painted we used only the Lawmen and Desperados for the scenes that we played - however, we did get to play through ever scene in the book, some of them twice! Some spectacular rolling and events unfolded with rousing shouts from those involved - including a wham bam 20 "your Sheriff is dead" moment (gunned down by an Indian). All who played through enjoyed the fast paced "old west movie" style of the rules.
Next up is the Muskets & Tomahawks game I ran - the Siege of Fort William Henry. I filled up the fort with several "out of play" miniatures to give the appearance of a busy section of ramparts with several models running about. The fort was armed with six guns - four that were dedicated to the artillery duel with the French siege batteries, and two in support of infantry actions.
The scenario was to have the British send messengers to Fort Edward to call for help and report on the numbers and disposition of the French forces (which would have been helpful since in the actual siege, general Webb was fooled into believing the French force was larger than it was, pushing him to delay moving to the rescue of the fort in favor of waiting for additional forces to arrive at fort Edward - and of course he didn't want to remove the last remaining British force between the French and Albany) while the French are attempting to win the siege before the messenger gets away.
The French and British both had four guns (artillery) facing off on one side of the fort. For the infantry action, the British had the following:
Rangers (8) - deployed outside the fort, screening the right of the fort.
Rangers (8) - deployed outside the fort, screening the left of the fort.
3 messengers - acting on the irregular card, moving as three separate units.
Messenger special rule: Messengers can only be shot if they are the closest target.
Highlander Grenadiers (12)
Highlander Infantry (12)
Regular Infantry (12)
Regular Infantry (12)
Regular Infantry (12)
Regular Officer (2)
All British regular infantry started deployed just outside the main entrance to the fort, or on the road coming out of the doors to the fort.
The French had:
Compagnie Franches de la Marine (12)
Canadian Militia (8)
Canadian Militia (8)
Canadian Militia Officer (1)
Indians (6)
Indians (6)
Indians (6)
Indian Leader (1)
French Regulars (12)
French Regulars (12)
French Regulars (12)
French Regulars (12)
The French forces are spread fairly evenly across the table edge opposite of the fort.
The British objective is to exit a least one messenger off the tables edge where the road leaves the table - somewhere between the zone that is 8" in from either side of the tables long edges (so with the center 32" of the table edge that road exits). The French, have to stop the British messengers (by killing them all) OR win the siege by destroying the four British fort guns opposite the French siege position (a built up position that contains four French siege guns). Both the French and British artillery involved in the "artillery duel" cannot be targeted or assaulted by any of the others forces (as they are considered to be well defended).
The idea is that there is a gap in the French lines, and for the British it is a bit of a race to get the messengers off before the French can move forces into the way to block the British from getting through their lines and out through the table edge with the road.
The French and British siege guns need to hit on a 6+, can fire once per turn (use a single artillery card in the deck, and automatically reload at the end of the turn), and knock out a gun on a roll of 4+ if a hit is scored. British guns that are knocked out remain out of action while French guns that are knocked out are only out of action for a single turn. This represents the growing fire superiority of the French artillery as the siege lingered on (as the British barrels started cracking and eventually was a significant factor in the British surrender as the fort's ability to slow the French engineers progress toward the fort was all but eliminated).
This was a close run game. The British got distracted in a volley duel with the French regulars which allowed the French to get units into position to block the British messengers (two of whom died before running back to the fort). A single British gun was knocked out (the game lasted four turns). Some bad rolling on both sides for the siege artillery duel.
Overall, some minor tweaks to be made, but a fun scenario that was played over the four turns that are about average for my larger M&T games.
The ramparts.
French siege position.
The fort fires and takes fire.
The side of the artillery duel.
French units move into position to
cut off the British messengers.
French artillery position.
The scene of the infantry action.
A tough day for regulars on both sides - man casualties.
The Indian unit in the foreground got hit by a enfilade
artillery shot from the fort and completely destroyed.
John Lantz from our group played in a Rhodesian bush war game put on by John Comiskey. The game used a modified version of Bolt Action to simulate the irregular warfare of the conflict. Excellently painted miniatures with some nice custom terrain items to set the theme. This was going on at the same time as my Fort William Henry game so I didn't get to play in it - but as explained by John it was several RLI (Rhodesian Light Infantry) sticks moving in to raid a ZIPRA training camp.
John Lantz has been working away on a custom Bolt Action table in the past few months that consists of two 2'x4' boards that can be combined to form a 4'x4' table. John is the first of our group to try the "Teddybear Fur" approach to table making. In my opinion his efforts paid off and the table looked spectacular! I look forward to future games on his table. He had several details laid down that just completely make the table - including telephone poles, train tracks (S-scale and weathered), different tree types, a road, rocks/boulders, small patches of flowers and bushes ... just a really nice job all around.
This game had a 500pt force of German army force (2.5 sections of infantry, MMG team, medium mortar team, medic, and officer) take on a 500pt force of Russians (don't recall the organization off the top of my head, mostly just infantry with an MMG team as I recall). The Germans had to advance up to the buildings and light the buildings on fire. The Germans never made it and got shot up fairly bad in the advance (mostly, IMO, because the Germans failed to use the mortar to lay down smoke to cover the advance).
A rare picture that I'm actually in - on the far right!
(from left to right - Wade Shows, Dan Kerrick, Jay White)
A large ACW game using home brew rules focused on the Union breakout at Petersburg. This was put on by the famous Rick Schuldt who is relentless in his efforts to run visually stunning and large wargames. My hat goes off to Rick because he runs these large games each day of the convention which takes an enormous amount of effort! This game was no exception, with stunning terrain and loads of models. I didn't get a chance to play in it but couldn't help but share some pictures of the action.
Another of Rick's games underway - North Africa WW2 which he ran on Friday night.
The fine folks at ZombieSmith had a booth in the dealer's room and I managed to get a game in with them testing out the This Quar's War v2.0 rules (or at least, and extremely early look at what a v2.0 could look like - using a new and unique activation system that I really like). Some of my group decided to join us for the play test and had a great time running through the system.
A busy but great weekend I must say. I've really come to love this convention as it is on the smaller side, but the people in attendance are all very nice and very easy to work with (for example, when getting tables for spontaneous miniature games). I very much look forward to next year and another weekend full of gaming. Next up for me is KublaCon in May and likely (and finally) a trip out to HistoriCon in 2014.
