Following my write up of the the historical Battle of Vargas Swamp (25 July 1819) and my Kind of Vargas Swamp – A Bolivar’s Very Bad Day Battle Report, I thought I’d write the actual scenario.
Gunpowder Warfare
Black powder guns from arquebus to flintlock musket. I have chosen to start this period with the discovery of the New World (1492) and end it with the Siege of Sevastopol (1854–1855).
Sub-categories: New World, Italian Wars, Eighty Years’ War, Thirty Wars’ War, War of Spanish Succession, Napoleonic Wars, Liberators, Liberal Wars, Carlist Wars, New Zealand Wars.
Kind of Vargas Swamp – A Bolivar’s Very Bad Day Battle Report
Jamie came over to play test Bolivar’s Very Bad Day, my Liberators variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day.
I made up the scenario on the spot but it was loosely based on Battle of Vargas Swamp (25 July 1819). We had small armies on a small table. But we did have the big hill (Cerro del Picacho i.e. Picacho Hill) that featured in the historical battle.
Summary: Really good fun game. The big infantry firefight on the hill was slow and grindy, so Jamie used his overwhelming Patriot horse to turn my flank. Despite the drama of of cavalry squadrons charging up a wooded hill into the exposed flank of a Royalist battalion, the battle was secured in the centre. Jamie’s infantry managed to rout a battalion in the centre and in the process killed my C-in-C who was valiantly trying to rally the unit. Clear Patriot victory.
Download Bolivar’s Very Bad Day
I’ve been working on Bolivar’s Very Bad Day, my variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day for the South American Wars of Liberation, for a while now. Years even. So I thought I’d make it available for download (thanks to Hugh for the nudge). It is only four pages long with another two for the Quick Reference Sheet (QRS). And there is a massive caveat: it is only Beta. I thought it better to get it out there and gather feedback. All feedback welcome.
1645 Game 12 – South-East – English Civil War Campaign
Chris and I played the 12th game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War. Actually there were four of us on the night. Adam joined me, of course, on the Royalist side. And in the absence of Jamie, Big Dave turned up from the USA to help Chris with the Parliamentarians.
Summary: Fantastic game. Parliament did some clever moves with well timed interpenetrations. Chris’s careful manoeuvring and Dave’s shear impetuousness was a winning combination. That and the fact Parliamentary shooting killed two Royalist Generals. Parliament victory.
Version 2 of Populous, Rich and Rebellious
I’ve updated Populous, Rich and Rebellious to version 2. Populous, Rich and Rebellious is a Campaign game system for the First English Civil War (1642-46) in England and Wales. The campaign assumes Tilly’s Very Bad Day as the tactical rules.
Steven’s 1819 Patriot Army on Big Bases
I’ve been quietly painting 1819 Patriots since I posted on my 1815-1819 War in the North – Steven’s Wargaming Project back in May 2024. Roughly a year later, it is time to unveil my 1815-19 Patriots (Phase 1 of the project). These are of course on Big Bases for South American Wars of Liberation using Bolivar’s Very Bad Day (a variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day). The men are either from New Granada or Venezuela and I chose the units because they fought at Battle of Vargas Swamp (25 July 1819).
Draft Campaign Cards for the Vulture’s Feast
So I’ve been Musing on the Vulture’s Feast, a Thirty Years War version of my Populous, Rich and Rebellious Campaign for Tilly’s Very Bad Day. Most of the flavour of the campaign comes from the Campaign Cards. I’m not sure which ones I’ll end up with but I thought I’d share the possibilities. Please comment if you have endorsements, tweaks and/or new suggestions.
Musing on the Vulture’s Feast – A 30YW version of Populous, Rich and Rebellious
We’re really joying Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War. But people keep asking me, what about the Thirty Years War? (Most recently Peter Godden.)
1645 Game 11 – Wales – English Civil War Campaign
Adam and Chris played the 11th game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War.
Summary: In probably the best game yet, Parliament thoroughly crushed the Royalist defenders in Wales.
1644 Game 10 – South-East – English Civil War Campaign
After a 10 month gap, Adam and Chris played the tenth game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War. Unfortunately we’d forgotten about Game 9 so it was a bit of a replay … with a different result.
Summary: A strong Royalist attack crushed the Parliamentary defence of the South-East.
1644 Game 9 – South-East – English Civil War Campaign
Adam and Chris played the ninth game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War. Actually, they played it on 9 Apr 2024 and I forgot to post it.
Summary: Parliament successfully defended the South-East from a large aggressive Royalist army.
2025 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian
I wasn’t a happy chappy when I wrote my reflections on 2024. I did lots of stuff, but only played six games, and didn’t achieve many of my annual goals. It was a wargaming disaster. So what is on the megalomaniac agenda for 2025? Do I tone back my ambitions or try to make up for lost ground? Megalomaniac, right, so it has to be “make up for lost ground”. Same goals as last year, plus a few. As usual I present this as a brain dump of my active projects, i.e. those all projects that are more or less “in progress”. The list is then split into three parts: likely in 2025, unlikely, and background activity.
2024 Reflections of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian
My goals for 2024 were typically overly ambitious – some would say megalomaniac. As usual I didn’t achieve them all, in fact hardly any. This year was a wargaming disaster.
Valour, Discipline and Training
I like the idea of using contemporary language within rules but I have two competing sets of terms: Napoleon’s “Valour and Discipline” and South American “Training and Discipline”. What to do? For Bolivar’s Very Bad Day should I replace the “Resolve” attribute of Tilly’s Very Bad Day with two attributes, one reflecting bravery and the other training? And what should I call them?
Tucuman – A Bolivar’s Very Bad Day Battle Report
Adam and I play tested Bolivar’s Very Bad Day using my Tucuman Scenario. We wanted a small game to test my variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day for the South American Wars of Liberation.
Summary: Good little game with the Patriots strong in cavalry and the Royalists strong in infantry. My Patriot cavalry stripped off the weak Royalist cavalry and encircled the Royalist infantry columns. Then we had a hard grind with repeated cavalry charges against the staunch Royalist infantry. Eventually Adam accepted he couldn’t win and conceded.