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.

Bolivar’s Very Bad Day – Is that the right name?

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I’ve been musing on a variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day for the South American Wars of Liberation for a while. Back in 2021 Jamie and I had a go at the then draft rules with Alternative Chacabuco. “Bolivar’s Very Bad Day” has always been the working name of the draft rules. This is partly to honour the Liberator Simón Bolívar and partly because I couldn’t think of anything else. With my War in the North Project rushing towards me, I thought I should get a bit more definitive about the name.

What do you think? Should I stick with “Bolivar’s Very Bad Day”? Make it official? Or go for something else?

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1815-1819 War in the North – Steven’s Wargaming Project

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Battle of Boyacá - Martin Tovar y Tovar - Banner

Once again I’ve been chatting to John Fletcher of Grenadier Productions about the South American Wars of Liberation. These chats are always informative, but often a risky experience. In this case, I’ve decided to stop procrastinating and do a “War in the North” Project. The independence of the Viceroyalty of New Granda started in Gran Colombia and Venezuela and then drifted through Ecuador to Peru. Like my previous 1817-18 Chilean Project for the South American Wars of Liberation (with the follow on the the 1815 campaign in Upper Peru), my War in the North Project will have several phases to spread the expense and painting efforts. Each phase will focus on one or two key battles. This is, of course, a ridiculously large and overly ambitious project. Some would say megalomaniac.

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Musing on resolve – horse and pike+shot in difficult terrain

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Musing on Pike+Shot and Horse in Difficult Terrain in Tillys Very Bad Day - Banner

We really like the resolve mechanism in Tilly’s Very Bad Day. Bundling all morale factors into one number and using that to simulate combat, reaction to the result of combat, and a commander’s ability to rally. We think it one of the things that makes Tilly’s Very Bad Day unique. So I wondered how to take it further. One possibility is to weaken resolve when moving in disrupting terrain.

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Musing on distance distortion in Tilly’s Very Bad Day

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30YW-871 - Swedish - Pike and Shot - Yellow Brigade - Banner

A couple of people have commented on the seemingly distorted distances in Tilly’s Very Bad Day with ranges being overly generous compared to unit frontages. I thought I’d respond. The truth is, I deliberately distorted the distances to enhance game play and they’re actually not as wrong as folk seem to think.

This post is part of my musing on Tilly’s Very Bad Day.

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1643 Game 8 – Lower Thames Valley – English Civil War Campaign

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ECW-843 Royalist horse eliminate Parliamentarian commander - Banner

We had a full house for the eighth 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 the “Battle of Romford”, the Royalists successfully defended London against a Parliamentary army approaching from the north-east.

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2024 Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian

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Confessions of a Megalomaniac Wargamer and Amateur Historian - Banner

2023 went pretty well although there were a few bumps and I still didn’t complete nearly enough of my plans. So what is on the megalomaniac agenda for 2024? Well, you’ll see below. 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 2024, unlikely, and background activity.

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Musing on Units and their attributes in Tillys Very Bad Day

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Musing on Units and their Attributes in Tillys Very Bad Day - Banner

Although Tilly’s Very Bad Day is for the Thirty Years War, I’m thinking of expanding the system into other periods. The Ancients, Medieval, and Gunpowder settings all look suitable. I’ve already experimented in the South American Wars of Independence with Bolivar’s Very Bad Day. I’m looking for inspiration so in this post I explore the attributes assigned to units in Tilly’s Very Bad Day.

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1643 Game 7 – Lower Thames Valley – English Civil War Campaign

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ECW-702 Late Round - Strategic Situation - Royallists Attack London - Banner

Adam and Chris played the seventh game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War.

Summary: Although caught by a larger Parliamentarian force, Adam had spectacular victory at the “Real Battle of Turnham Green”. London fell to the Royalists. The campaign cards were critical to the battle with the interventions of John Hurry and Sergeant-Major-General Boy, the ‘Dog-witch’, deciding the outcome.

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1643 Game 6 – Wales – English Civil War Campaign

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Jamie and I played the sixth game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War.

Summary: Although the Royalists invaded Wales, the Parliamentarians had a larger army on the day and attacked. The “Battle of Colby Moor” was a Royalist victory.

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1643 Game 5 – Upper Thames Valley – English Civil War Campaign

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ECW-508 Bombardment - Parliamentary General becomes casualty - Banner

Adam and Chris played the fifth game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our four player Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War.

Summary: After losing a general in the preliminary bombardment, Parliament fought well but could not break the Royalists within the game limit. Royalist victory at the “Battle of Chalgrove Field”.

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1642 Declaring for King or Parliament – English Civil War Campaign

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ECW-454 Consolidation Round - Final - Banner

In Populous, Rich and Rebellious, the first year of the Campaign ends with a “Consolidation Round”. This is the English Civil War and the idea is, after a few battles, every region declares for either King or Parliament. In our campaign the two sides started the consolidation round even, with 3 regions each, but finished with Parliament significantly ahead.

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1642 Game 4 – East Anglia – English Civil War Campaign

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ECW-449 That is a lot of routs - Banner

All four of us played the fourth game of Populous, Rich and Rebellious, our Campaign using Tilly’s Very Bad Day, and set in the English Civil War. I was commander-in-chief for the Royalists, with Adam as the dashing cavalry commander. Jamie commanded for Parliament with Chris leading the infantry.

Summary: At the “Battle of Colchester”, in East Anglia, the Royalists smashed Parliament in 3 game turns. For the first time we saw the use of campaign cards on table and they were pivotal, although in a subtle way.

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