Line, column, square … the tactical formations available to infantry of the Napoleonic Wars, South American Wars of Liberation, and Carlist Wars. Line is pretty straight forward but I thought I’d describe the others, in particular column. People think of columns as long and thin, and some were, but most columns of the Napoleonic Wars were usually stubby. I use the post 1808 French as the main example because the Spanish followed their lead, but the other nations were similar.
Tilly’s Very Bad Day
Fast play rules for the 30 Years War. Can also be used for 80 Years War and English Civil War.
Musing on unit types in Bolivar’s Very Bad Day
Bolivar’s Very Bad Day sees a few changes to the unit types compared to Tilly’s Very Bad Day. This is to reflect the scale of the game, the period, and nature of warfare in the South American Wars of Liberation.
Alternative Chacabuco – A Bolivar’s Very Bad Day Battle Report 2
Chris and Adam played my variant of John Fletcher’s Alternative Chacabuco scenario, my go to for testing out rules. We were play testing incredible rough draft of Bolivar’s Very Bad Day, a Liberators variant of Tilly’s Very Bad Day.
Summary: Really good fun game. Adam’s Patriots took the game but it was down to the wire. Adam lost Bernardo O’Higgins and his command stalled. Chris lost Field Marshal Del Pont and his command evaporated.
Bolivar’s Very Bad Day – Is that the right name?
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?
Musing on resolve – recent tweaks rejected
Well, that has been a miserable failure. I’ve been musing on the resolve rules in Tilly’s Very Bad Day. Thinking up possible tweaks and extensions. Taking a good rule and making it better – or so I thought. This got an interesting conversation going, but I did not get universal endorsement for my suggestions. Quite the reverse. People like the resolve rules as they are. It is time to put that thread to rest and I thought I’d summarise where I’ve got to and why.
Musing on resolve – commander rally at a distance
Commander rally is a key element of the morale rules in Tilly’s Very Bad Day. To rally a unit the commander has to attach to the unit. Should I soften this and allow rallying at a distance?
Musing on resolve – unit rally
Continuing my musing on the resolve mechanism in Tilly’s Very Bad Day, I’m wondering if there is one thing missing … the ability for a unit to self rally.
This is one of a series of posts musing on resolve in Tilly’s Very Bad Day.
Musing on resolve – strengthen before weaken during the morale phase
We really like the morale rules in Tilly’s Very Bad Day, with both positive and negative events affecting a unit’s resolve. But I’ve been wondering whether I should shuffle the steps around in the sequence of play for the morale phase. This would mean we strengthen resolve before we weaken resolve, making units slightly more resilient. I explore three options: (1) current rules; (2) heal before harm; (3) unit morale.
This is one of a series of posts musing on resolve in Tilly’s Very Bad Day.
Musing on resolve – horse and pike+shot in difficult terrain
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.
Musing on distance distortion in Tilly’s Very Bad Day
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.
Musing on Tilly Units of Measure (TUM) in Tilly’s Very Bad Day
As I think about possible changes for a Tilly’s Very Bad Day 2.1, and continue my design of Deep Battle, I’m revisiting my decision to use Tilly Units of Measure (TUM). Should I have gone with Base Widths instead?
1643 Game 8 – Lower Thames Valley – English Civil War Campaign
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.
Musing on Units and their attributes in Tillys Very Bad Day
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.
1643 Game 7 – Lower Thames Valley – English Civil War Campaign
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.
1643 Game 6 – Wales – English Civil War Campaign
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.