First ACW Electronic Brigadier Game - Last game of 2024

We held our monthly game night this past Friday. It doesn't always work out that we can have December game night due to the holidays, but this year it did. The game I ran was a scenario converted from the "Caldwell Clears the Wheatfield" scenario from Volume 2 of the Fire and Fury Regimental Scenarios book. This scenario is quite well designed, and I look forward to using other scenarios from these excellent books in future games. 

For the Confederates, we had Rob and new-to-Electronic Brigadier player John. On the attacking Union side, Veteran players Phil, Kevin and Byron.

The obligation to attack is on Caldwell's 1st division shown here in the foreground. They must drive the surging Confederates from the Wheat field, oat field and back through the woods behind both. Although the Union have a significant advantage in numbers, there are some challenges bringing everything to bear in a coordinated attack. In our play test, Ed M did this marvelously, but also had the benefit of sole command of all of the Union forces.

Here about mid-game Byron's attack has carved a significant hole in the Confederate line, driving one of the Georgian regiments back. While Rob tries to rally them, John denies flank in the center preventing Byron from following up. John also brings in a large South Carolinian regiment from his reserve just in time.  As seen Phil's large green Pennsylvanian regiment charges through the Oat Field (left in the open) but was subsequently repulsed. John's follow-up counterattack driving the green regiment back over the artillery. At game conclusion John captured one section of guns on the road. 

Byron and Kevin conducted one final coordinated attack on the Confederate right flank. This attack included some fresh reinforcements from Kevin's command. Unfortunately for the Union, the defending Georgians had just enough punch left in their defensive fire to force a firefight from most of the smaller attacking units, breaking up the attack and allowing the larger Georgia regiment to turn the one regiment that made it into close combat away.

A well played affair by both sides with one charge in particular being a very fortunate roll of the virtual dice in the melee resolution. The plucky confederate defenders turning a larger Union unit away with a roll of 97 (out of 100) vs a roll of 12. Anything less than this and I'm sure the union would have broken a second hole in the Confederate line securing a much different outcome!  Next time I'll run this scenario will be Saturday Morning at the Mayhem convention during the Saturday morning session.

28mm Bavarian Napoleonic Artillery

These are five Bavarian artillery batteries based up for Napoleon's Rules of War or Electronic Brigadier. I purchased three of these guns and all of the gunners pre-painted from a seller on Ebay. Since there were many more crew than I needed for three batteries, I printed up two additional French 8lb Gribeuval cannons from my own STL files (available for free on Thingaverse).

These figures are the last of my current batch of Napoleonics re-basing. They include 14 purchased painted figures/guns and two 3-D printed and painted by me guns. Definitely a mixed bag!

This photo, a close up photo of the 3-D printed guns made from my own designed STL files. They're nothing super fancy, but serviceable on the tabletop and I've given the files away free for non-commercial use. I hope you get some use out of them!

Even MORE Napoleonic Re-Basing

Here's the other group of Napoleonics that I promised to post earlier this month. These are another two groups that I picked up on Ebay already painted. I just needed to re-base them to fit my favorite rule sets, Napoleon's Rules of War and Electronic Brigadier. 

These very nicely painted Bavarian jagers will represent a small two-battalion regiment of light infantry.

These Austrian line infantry are quite sharp with their purple facings. That's the primary reason I picked them up. I didn't really NEED another large three-battalion regiment, but the purple facings sold me on grabbing this unit. Also it was a good value for the quality of the paint job.

Further losing pace on my purchased vs. self-painted figures. These represent another 56 figures in the purchased column.

More Napoleonic Re-Basing

 This group of Prussian regular line infantry is the most recent addition to my Prussian Napoleonic army for Electronic Brigadier and Napoleon's Rules of War. I purchased them on Ebay along with some other figures that will be the subject of future figure re-basing posts. 

These are plastic figures, probably either Warlord or Perry. I can't figure out which as I'm not much of a plastic figure aficionado. They're painted to a good wargaming standard and based up into two medium-sized and one large battalion. I was excited with this group as it also included a mounted officer and a foot battery.

Not much else to say. This adds 77 figures to my 'purchased 28mm figures' totals for the year. It looks like I'll be upside down again this year on painted vs. purchased figures. Keep an eye out on this blog, as there will be a considerable bit of figures that I did paint myself posted soon.

28mm Bavarian Chevaulegeres Re-Based

I purchased these figures from Ebay. They were nicely painted, but well used, severely worn, and had received significant damage in shipping. Although I've labeled this as a re-basing project, I also spend upwards of of a dozen hours repairing and re-painting every figure and every horse. In the end, they came out looking quite serviceable. They were painted in a 'toy soldier' style and I tried to keep true to that in the restoration efforts. Six bases re-based in the annual painting totals.

 

 

Two Electronic Brigadier Games at Historicon 2022

I ran two sessions of my Battle of Monmouth scenario at Historicon 2022 last Saturday in Lancaster, PA. It was a marathon day but well worth it! The players seemed to have a great time and I got to show my rules to a bunch of new players. The experience has me re-energized to push forward with finishing up Napoleonics and to work more on getting the game master portion more public ready so I can start letting others use the rules.

More photographs can be seen in this gallery. 

This YouTube video shows the table between games. 

Also, if you're on Facebook, I've started up a group there for Electronic Brigadier. Announcements on when and how to become a play tester will likely be broadcast to that group first. It's an open public group. Feel free to join!

'Approach to Monmouth' Scenario with The Electronic Brigadier

Two weeks ago I hosted a my 'Approach to Monmouth' scenario at our club's June game night. This was a 'do over' for my game that didn't go off at the April game night. This is one of my favorite scenarios. It's a twist on the historical battle under the presumption that General Lee convinced Washington's council of war in conducting a full assault on the British column as it approached Monmouth rather than the 'only volunteers' debacle that actually happened. There is no Washing marching to Lee's rescue as Lee has the force he needs to do the job. If you want more insight on my justification for this scenario, I highly recommend you read The Making of a Scapegoat by Thayer. 

This is a scaled-down version of the game that I will be running at Historicon in July (sessions S16:115 & S16:133). I was one player short, so Rob and Ed (shown left) having experience play testing the rules, offered to play short handed. The British were two beginners, Warren and John anchored by Electronic Brigadier veteran play tester Byron. 

The British plan was simple - overwhelm the New Jersey brigade that included the local militias. The Americans, to delay with the New Jersey brigade and attack with their other two higher-quality brigades. This was a case of the unstoppable force vs. the moveable object.....

 

The British assault went in on the New Jersey brigades. Initially they sent the Hunterdon militia running but the New Jersey state troops and the Monmouth militia held the line. The Monmouth militia finally broke, but not before the Hunterdon militia recovered just in time to cover the American's left flank. 

Meanwhile on the American right flank the Americans were doing a good job of getting some advantageous two-on-one firefights running. Towards the end of the battle, both the British First Guards and First Grenadiers had shaken and fallen back from the withering American musketry. 

Overall this was a solid American victory. Casualties received by the British were approximately 8.7% of their total force while the American casualties were under 6.5%. Considering the disparity in quality of troops this was a very nice win for Lee.

Electronic Brigadier Napoleonic Playtesting Begins

With the American War of Independence working to my satisfaction in Electronic Brigadier, it's time to jump up to the 800 pound gorilla in the room - the Napoleonic period. I was strategic in picking the AWI for the first period for Electronic Brigadier as it's mostly an infantry on infantry affair with that infantry primarily fighting in lines. In terms of complexity, on a scale of 1-10 if AWI is a 2, Napoleonics is a 10. With Attack Columns, Battalion Mass, Lines, Squares, Heavy Cavalry, Light Cavalry, Irregular Cavalry and a much more diverse spread of unit types and nationalities, the Napoleonic period provides me with a lot of balance tuning to get things working.

I invited my friend Ed of Ed M's Wargame Meanderings Blog over for the first rough play test. I knew there would be some significant issues, so a one-on-one seemed best. I expected some of the testing would be intentionally doing things that might not be the best tactical decisions for the sake of testing.


Ed and I played a small skirmish with Elements of Davout's corps from Austerlitz matching up against a portion of an Austrian advanced corps from the same battle. The scenario was simple, secure the walled farmhouse to insure clear access to the road. The Austrians had larger battalions so more men in total. The Austrians had a section of two four pounder battalion guns with each infantry regiment, and six squadrons of Hussars. The French had better morale for their line infantry and four eight-pounder guns in two sections. The French also brought Dragoons which were sure to out match the Austrian Hussars.


Ed's French moved first and dashed towards the Farm while keeping their lines in good order to each side.  I charged Ed's Dragoons initially on my right flank with my Hussars, eager to see if I could get lucky.....I couldn't. Ed's Dragoons caused 97 casualties on my Hussars while suffering only 37 in return. Possibly there will be some adjustment in the calculations involving cavalry of different weights. The disparity was a bit high for my liking. Lucky that's why we're trying this to dial things in. My cavalry would recall, then retreat, then finally rout off the table over the subsequent turns.


Ed's right regiment deployed with an open-order skirmish line forward of two attack columns. The skirmish like pressured my battalion guns eventually driving the gunners from their pieces. Ed used his eight-pounder artillery well here softening up my middle regiment that was preparing to assault the town. Ed's right flank Dragoons flexed their weight and my other Hussars, knowing what was in store for them, gave ground while my Grenzers squared up hoping to secure the flank from the marauding dragoons. Ed's attack columns closed on my battered middle Grenzer unit, but one of his columns failed to close and I won the melee, then fell back shaken due to the cumulative damage on the unit. My left flank was in trouble, Dragoons in the rear, infantry to the front and my infantry squared up or in disorder. Combined arms used by Ed masterfully.


Later on my assaults on the town ended up in my troops pulling up into firefights. The same occurred when I charged Ed's attack columns. Possibly bad 'dice' rolls in the computer, possibly something to consider. Likewise Ed's charges on my infantry lines ended up with his cavalry refusing to close due to musket fire, which was fine, but my infantry's willingness to stand roll had numbers that were too confident for the tactical situation, so also needs some adjustment.

At this point time was running late and Ed granted me the favor of a last test of charging his dragoons into my grenzer square. This also ended up on the 'to adjust' list because Ed's cavalry was very willing to charge, and the 'to succeed' chance to close was off the charts. Once he did contact the square it was obliterated. It's ok for Cavalry to break squares, but in this case it wasn't ever in question, so that needs adjusting.

All in all this was a very productive evening of testing. Once I make the necessary corrections I think I'll need one more one-on-one test then I'll be ready to start doing real games with more people. Thanks to Ed for the help testing, constructive criticism, and excellent game play. Ed treated the test like a real game and gave me good 'data' in the computer to use for future self testing.

Also I got my work-in-progress windmill on the table for the first time. I still need to do a lot more painting on it, but this will motivate me to do so.

Electronic Brigadier Monouth Game in Albany, NY

Last weekend I made the four-hour trip from eastern New Hampshire to Albany, New York to run an Electronic Brigadier game at my friend Dave's house for him and some of our mutual friends and local New York Gamers. The group included several people with extensive experience playing computer-moderated wargames. I jumped at the chance to get more constructive feedback on my rules from people with such experience. Friday evening I arrived and Dave and I set up the table in his lovely gaming room.

Here is a video of the initial positions of the troops early in the battle.

With nine players scheduled to play, I decided to forgo the historical Monmouth battle proper, and create a hypothetical battle a few days earlier deeper in New Jersey. This gave me creative license to modify the scenario's order of battle to accommodate the nine players as well as to get my covered bridge onto the tabletop as a scenario focus piece. The scenario starts with an assault of the New Jersey state troops and militia on the end of the British baggage train, followed by a general attack on the column by the rest of the rebel (aka future 'American') forces. The goal for the British would be to secure the bridge and area between the bridge and the dense woods. The Americans would need to hold this area and cut off the British to win. Although the Americans are outnumbered in the scenario, their starting position gives them numerical superiority where it counts, at the bridge. The British would have to attack there and drive them out to win.

Early assaults by the New Jersey militias were wildly successful, driving multiple British line units back in retreat and rout. British commanders held the large and resilient 42nd Highlanders in reserve in the bridge area. This would prove critical later in the battle.

New Jersey militia also occupied the woods west of the bridge, further imperiling the British escape route. 

On the western end of the battle, a general engagement ensued with the large wooded area and hilly area being contested by both sides. While the New Jersey loyalists hesitated to engage, The Queens American rangers got stuck in early and to good effect.

In the center, the British pressed forward into the American advance attempting to stop the American shift towards the Bridge. This was hotly contested with both sides having units driven from the line with a lot of give-and-take across the line. Early the British suffered from their aggressive attacks receiving more casualties than they inflicted.

Here is a video taken about two-thirds of the way through the battle.

As the battle raged on, the American troops started to wear from the pressure, the British army's higher quality and numbers started to swing the tide of the battle. This photo shows the high water mark of the American effort with the Bridge route fully threatened, battle looking very much going the American's way....

Regretfully, as the day went on fatigue set in and I neglected to take good photos of the last hour of gaming. The British committed their reserves, the 42nd Highlanders holding firm at the bridge, with more British clearing the woods west of the bridge. In the center, the British established a good cohesive battle line where the Americans were much more in disarray. The woods on the far left of the battlefield were cleared by elements of the Guards brigade, the 4th New York finally being driven out by a charge in their rear by the 2nd guards.

I include photos here of most of the players. What a fun group to game with. Everyone had fun and I received some good constructive feedback about the rules and scenario. I look forward to gaming in Albany again in the future. Thanks again to Dave for being an awesome welcoming host.

Electronic Brigadier - Freeman's Farm Game at Huzzah! 2019

This past weekend I ran a Freeman's Farm game using my Electronic Brigadier computer-moderated rules. This scenario has been tweaked over the years and after tuning is now great as an attack and defend scenario.

The British in this game used their reserves well, punching a hole in the middle of the American lines driving Morgan's rifles and several other units off the table. On the flanks the British suffered due to allowing the American militia units too much respect which allowed the minute men the ability to pour volley after volley of fire into the British. Flank attacks in the dense woods on both flanks while successful, were too slow to impact the battle's outcome.

In the end the British won the battle decisively, but at a cost similar to the historic battle - opening the door for a later successful American attack from Bemis heights.

I had the luxury of having all great players, many with Electronic Brigadier experience from previous conventions. Game play was at a very high level for a convention game. Hats off to all who played!

End of game statistics (28 turns played):
 
British Forces

Army cohesion: 68.6%
Total Casualties: 479 / 4427 (10.8%)
4 units dispersed
2 shaken units

Honors to: 112 - 20th Foot

American Forces

Army cohesion: 68.3%
Total Casualties: 442 / 4205 (10.5%)
4 units dispersed
1 routed units
2 shaken units

Honors to: 211 - 1st New Hampshire

Videos of the Game

Electronic Brigadier - Freeman's Farm Play Test for Huzzah! Game

Friday I had some friends over to play test my game for the upcoming Huzzah! convention. This is a variant of my Freeman's Farm game. I've split the America command up into smaller brigades to make it more convention friendly and to speed play. I had an all veteran crew so we got right to playing. Ralph, Ed and Bob as the Americans, George, Rob and myself as the British. As I was running the game and playing, photos and this write up will be somewhat sparse. Please see Ed's amazing write up of the game over on his blog, Ed M's Wargame Meanderings.

I commanded the British center brigade - solid line troops. Opposite of me Ed sent out his militia hoping to get some volleys in. Beside them the American 3 lb. battery pulled up. I jumped out and sent the militia to the rear with the 9th Foot, who ultimately paid the price for that aggression, eventually failing to out-trade musket volleys with Ed's New York troops. My other unit likewise ended up not well deployed and on the poor side of some two-fer-one shooting.

On my left, George's German brigade did well, sending one New York unit back with a flank charge, then setting up a firing line with a good reserve. Eventually his first line began to falter, but he had a second line to follow up had we had enough time. Unfortunately my command would falter before his second line would see action.

On my Right, Rob and I coordinated attacks in the center well, but the Americans held there. On the right flank Dearborn's Lights danced around to the British rear before Rob deployed his end line brigade into skirmsh formation allowing him to match Dearborn's moves. From there a series of charges by each eventually saw Dearborn's lights withdrawing to the American woods, albeit in good order.


End result of the battle: Major American victory. The American players played well and in the end that bore fruit. Well done.