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.

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The rules – Bolivar’s Very Bad Day

We used the first published (Beta) version of the rules: Version 0.5 Beta (10 May 2025). The rules gave a good game but highlight the need for a couple of tweaks.

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Orders of Battle

For a small game with a player a side, we started with the small order of battle.

Kind of Vargas Swamp Orders of Battle

Royalist Order of Battle Infantry Brigade 1 x Commander-in-Chief 4 x Regular Battalions Cavalry Brigade 1 x Brigadier 3 x Regular Horse 13 stands; 52 coins; break point 5

Patriot Order of Battle Liberators Brigade 1 x Commander-in-Chief 2 x Regular Battalions Infantry Brigade 1 x Brigadier 2 x Regular Battalions Cavalry Brigade 1 x Brigadier 5 x Regular Horse 15 stands; 60 coins; break point 5

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Deployment

I deployed the Royalist infantry on Picacho Hill in column. My small cavalry force was on my left on the flat.

Jamie matched my dispositions with infantry facing my infantry on the hill and his horse facing mine.

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Turn 1

Jamie deployed his Patriot battalions in column which was a good thing as he had some distance to travel.

Jamie’s horse deployed on a steep wooded hill – a fact we forgot when they started to move. Never mind. They roared ahead at full speed despite the terrain.

I also deployed the Royalist infantry in column, figuring this would give me flexibility in the resulting battle. I was wrong. I’d forgotten how fast armies clash in Tilly’s Very Bad Day and I should have deployed to fight, i.e. in line.

My outnumbered cavalry were as far away from the Patriot horse as possible. But not far enough.

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Turn 2

With the Patriots rapidly advancing towards me, I deployed all four of my battalions from column into line. Only then did I realise that my battalions were miss placed. My left hand battalion was now partially behind the next battalion in the line. That gave support but blocked the field of fire of half the battalion.

My second mistake of the game was forgetting to hold my fire. As soon as the Patriots advanced into range, I opened up. Firing at long range meant I hit on a 6. If I had waited, like Jamie was doing, I would have hit on 4-6. Sigh. Writing rules doesn’t mean you remember them on the day.

Game turn 2 and the charges started. The horse on my left went into action. At least the narrow frontage meant Jamie couldn’t fully exploit his numbers.

So instead he just rolled better. Sigh. Both my front line squadrons rallied back with only one Resolve left.

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Turn 3

Having advanced to the hill, the Patriot infantry finally opened fire. They got the 4+ to hit for first shot at close range. And that hurt. As I mentioned above my left flank battalion was only shooting with one stand and I missed those extra dice. However, my right flank battalion moved up to lend support in the centre.

The cavalry went at it again. This wasn’t going to be pretty.

Both my front line squadrons routed. That meant the surviving squadron lost 2 Resolve for seeing friends rout. I now had one squadron with only one Resolve facing five Patriot squadrons. This was only going one way.

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Turn 4

Here we go. Into the Valley of Death and all that. The final cavalry charge. All or nothing. Go for broke.

I was hoping for a miracle and got brutal reality. My horse broke and routed.

And the general got swept along in the rout or got killed or something.

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Turn 5

Having swept aside my Royalist horse, the Patriot cavalry started to climb the hill into my exposed flank.

I tried, and failed, to get my left flank battalion into square. So the Patriots charged into a line from the flank.

The only thing that really saved the infantry was the fact the horse were fighting in difficult and that cut their to hit from 2+ to 6. Being hit in the flank meant my unit got zero dice. So it was all about the Patriots. And Jamie didn’t roll well. So they all got locked in melee.

In the centre one of my battalions was getting mauled by Patriot musketry. From their initial 4+4 Resolve (4 for each of the two stands) they were down to 0+1 Resolve (i.e. 0 Resolve on one stand and only 1 stand on the other). So one hit away from a rout.

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Turn 6

The firefight continued on the hill

When Jamie took the victory when he killed my C-in-C.

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Where to get Bolivar’s Very Bad Day

You can Download Bolivar’s Very Bad Day as a PDF along with the QRS.

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Observations and conclusions

We used the first published (Beta) version of the rules: Version 0.5 Beta (10 May 2025). Draft as they are, Bolivar’s Very Bad Day played well.

What we liked

Getting my painted 1819 Patriot Army on table. Yay. It was worth painting them.

More generally the game looked the part. Very Liberators. Lines, columns, squadrons. Steep hills and woods. And I got to use my two part model of Picacho Hill. You can literally fight on a battle on the slopes of this single feature.

We like the movement zone rules. Particularly for battalions that need to be in the right formation (line, column, square, march) to be effective. Movement in Bolivar’s Very Bad Day is quite different to the original rules (Tilly’s Very Bad Day). Movement depends on which Movement Zone the unit is in: Locked Zone (worst), Control Zone, Threat Zone or Manoeuvre Zone (easiest). Movement is easy in the Manoeuvre Zone when the armies are distant but increasingly difficult when they get close. We both had situations where battalions refused to change formation in the face of enemy. In Jamie’s case it was battalions preferring to say in column as they closed with my lines. In my case, my left flank battalion refused to form square as the Patriot cavalry rode up the hill towards them. I was worried these rules would be fiddly, and it turns out they play alright.

Having units of one and two stands also worked. Battalions are big and enduring. Squadrons and small and fragile.

The shooters keep shooting rule works as well. Although I had to look up how you stop shooters shooting (they rally in the shooting phase instead of shooting).

The rules ensure that infantry fights are long and painful. Cavalry fights are short and fierce. That seems to fit the period.

I liked the first shot at close range rule. Okay, I forgot about it and Jamie used it against me. But that felt right. If I’d remembered and used it against Jamie it would have changed the battle. But, you know, Spanish troops had notoriously poor fire discipline. So my defending Royalists shooting muskets at long range was very appropriate for the period.

Rules to tweak

The Movement Zone rules play well, but I do think I can write them better. Same rules but I’ll try to make the intent clearer. Something like …

Movement is influenced by the unit’s current Movement Zone: from the most restrictive Locked Zone to the most flexible Manoeuvre Zone. If a unit moves through multiple zones in a single game turn, apply the most restrictive (worst) zone to determine movement limitations and command check requirements.

Manoeuvre Zone: Units in this zone enjoy complete freedom of movement. They may change formation and then move in any direction, provided the front centre of the unit remains within its movement allowance from the original position. No command checks are required. This is often referred to as “Adam’s shenanigans move” or engaños in Spanish. Commanders are always considered to be in the Manoeuvre Zone.

Threat Zone: A unit is considered in the Threat Zone if it meets any of the following criteria: (1) it is actively shooting; (2) it is the priority target for enemy shooting; or (3) it is within 4 TUM of any enemy unit. Movement in this zone follows the standard sequence: optional change of formation, optional first change of direction, move straight ahead, and optional second change of direction. However, a command check is required in the following cases:

• If a shooting unit attempts a formation change
• Any time a unit attempts a change of direction (except a wheel as the first change of direction)

Control Zone: A unit is in the Control Zone when it is directly-to-front of an enemy unit and within 3 TUM. Movement rules are the same as in the Threat Zone, with the same command check requirements. Additionally, movement is heavily restricted: units may only (1) remain stationary, (2) move closer to the enemy, (3) move directly away (including an about-face or wheel), or (4) move directly to the rear.

Locked Zone: This zone applies when a unit is in base contact with an enemy unit that has either already fought in melee or is about to do so. Movement is almost entirely prohibited. The only exception is a voluntary rally back, which requires a successful command check.

The table below summarises which optional move elements within the Threat or Control Zones require a command check:

Optional Move Element	Command Check Requirement
	No Command Check Needed	Requires Successful Command Check
Change formation	If not shooting	If shooting
First change direction	If wheeling	If any other type of direction change
Straight ahead	Always allowed	Never requires check
Second change direction	Never allowed without check	Always requires check

“Voluntary rally back” is a new concept. Previously all rally backs were mandatory if the unit loses melee. In this case, rather than leaving the unit locked in melee the player can roll to extricate the unit using a rally back move.

I’m going to reintroduce the sideways shuffle of Tilly’s Very Bad Day. This is a 1 TUM move to the side that replaces other movement. I left this out of Bolivar’s Very Bad Day because theoretically a battalion can shuffle sideways by turning 90 degrees, march, and then turn 90 degree back. In practice the Movement Zone rules make this impossible. Jamie and I thought I should reintroduce the sideways shuffle as a distinct movement option.

I didn’t get the devastating cavalry flank attack I wanted. French cavalry at the Battle of Albuera devastated a British infantry brigade. The battalions of the brigade where deployed in line and the French cavalry hit them from the flank. Three of the four battalions were destroyed within 3 minutes of contact. Jamie and I had a big discussion about the cavalry charge on my battalion’s flank. We agreed cavalry should be much more effective when charging infantry line’s on the flank in the open. In this case they were charging up a steep hill in woods – which is not optimal for horse. But on balance, even in this situation, the cavalry should have been more effective. On balance we think cavalry charging the flank of infantry should get double dice in addition to the existing to hit benefits. So a squadron with 3 Resolve would get 6d6 hitting on 2+ against the flank of a line. That should, I hope, be devastating. In difficult they would get 6d6 hitting on 6. Painful but not devastating.

Expect to Beta Version 0.6 soon.