Time for a game

Today I finally put the finished terrain boards to use, and had a solo game. I was keen to test out some rather drastic changes I'd made to my own homebrew rules, which overall I hope will make games run quickly and be more intuitive to new or casual players, also being better suited for solo play.

I also wanted to get some good photos from the game. I'd been waiting not just until the terrain boards were finished, but also until I'd painted a few more backdrops (and worked out a way to prop them up when playing solo, with no assistant to hold them up for the camera!), and upgraded my lighting a little bit.

I wanted this game to be a simple pitched battle, but when I set the armies up it already seemed to tell a story. Here's the fictional scenario - during the French invasion of the Franche-Comté (the County of Burgundy) in 1477, a small French force has intercepted an approaching host of Burgundians and Germans led by Guillaume de Vaudrey and are barring their way across a ford. The French are led by Philippe de Hochberg and Jean de Damas, two nobles who had until recently been in Burgundian service, but had quickly thrown in their lot with Louis XI after the death of Charles the Bold. They now are assisting the king in his occupation of the Burgundian territories - with their futures uncertain, they are keen to be on what they suspect will be the winning side!

Here's a photo of the setup. Most of the French infantry are positioned by the ford, with Philippe de Hochberg with his cavalry in reserve to the right. There are also some infantry and cavalry strung out along their left flank. The Burgundians and Germans have most of their strength focused in the centre, with some small forces of cavalry on each flank. Their goal is simple - push forward with their pikemen and break the French centre, but not until they have seen off the threats to their flanks!

I will summarise briefly how it played out.

1. The Burgundian light cavalry on the right flank advanced and made contact with the French mounted men-at-arms opposite, who soundly beat them and drove them from the field. The French infantry nearby advanced in support of the cavalry, threatening the Burgundian flank.
2. The French archers in the centre loosed their 'arrowstorm', but it didn't have much of an impact. The pikemen and halberdiers in the Burgundian centre advanced towards them.
3. Back on the Burgundian right flank a small unit of German infantry held the high ground, and they nervously awaited the French attack. The victorious French cavalry attempted to charge up the hill, but failed to break the Germans and retreated badly disordered.
4. On the Burgundian left their own heavy cavalry surged forward, so Philippe de Hochberg led his  cavalry reserve over the ford to meet them. The French won the melee again, and chased the Burgundians away.
5. With enemy cavalry now threatening both his flanks (though those on the right weren't in best shape), Guillaume de Vaudrey knew it now came down to one thing - could his mercenary infantry decisively break the French centre guarding the ford? He marched quickly across the field, hoping to push them aside in one swift manoeuvre before the cavalry encircled him... but it was not to be. The French managed to hold their ground, and the disordered attack broke apart. Seeing the attack fail, the few Burgundians and Germans still in reserve quickly routed.

So a French victory!

Here's some of the best pictures I was able to take. Overall I'm very pleased with the photography and lighting setup. The backdrops work just as I hoped they would.

The French guard the ford.

More French infantry under Jean de Damas.

Guillame de Vaudrey approaches.

The French centre - archers and heavy infantry.

Burgundian horsemen on the right flank.

A fierce cavalry melee sees the Burgundians chased off.

German mercenaries prepare to defend against the French men-at-arms.

The German pikemen prepare to attack.

As Burgundian cavalry approach the French lines, Philippe de Hocheberg counter-attacks.

So this has been a successful little test run. The rules worked well.

It's tricky to hit the 'sweet spot' in terms of the size of table, number of figures on it and the sort of game it gives. It seems cavalry can dominate the flow of the game quite a bit - some cavalry clashes on the flanks can be resolved very quickly and perhaps then entirely dictate the rest of the battle. This can be remedied by simply having more infantry units in play, enough to have a second line of reserves in places. I didn't use all the units I had available, and having a second line of heavy infantry would have kept the outcome uncertain for much longer. So going forward I need to produce more and more infantry - archers, pikemen, dismounted men-at-arms, everything. That's what I've got planned already, and this game has sort of confirmed I'm on the right track!