Continuing to beta-test Round of Fire. The author claims it is "good for all time periods", so I decided to test that. I quick-statted up some troops and weapons from the American War of Independence. (Note, this is a first play-test only. These specs will need some tweaking. I changed the rifle specs halfway through the game.)
Just an example of how easy it is to make units. Normal units in RoF are usually 4 figures, but I like the larger groups for the feel of this older, block-style combat.
As compared to most RoF battlefields, this one was quite open. With a 3x3 playing surface, the "Distance Unit" for 28mm was 3"
The scenario is a quick one: At the end of the fourth round, whichever side has more troops on the opposite half of the board wins. It's supposed to be a fast and bloody push for both sides.
After random initial deployments, the British have chosen to push heavily on their right flank. The Officer, 1 group of Regulars, and the Skirmishers are all pushing right. The other group of Regulars takes the left.
The Americans placed their big block of militia dead center, behind a nice, safe stone wall. One group of skirmishing Riflemen guarded each flank. The American commander apparently forgot to read the mission briefing, as he chose to sit here for the first half of the game.
British Regulars soon outpaced their Skirmishers. Slow down, boys!
The skirmishing Riflemen used slow, deliberate fire to whittle down the advancing troops. Two would fire while 2 reloaded. But thanks to the dice gods, their initial fire was ineffective.
The return fire from the Regulars, being musketry and into cover, did no better.
The Militia got into the act, firing early at long range.
Skirmishers rushed to catch up. The combined rifle and musket fire was finally causing casualties. The shock was slowing their advance also.
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| (Ignore the Sergeant. He was a test figure and not really there) |
Over on the other flank, the team of skirmishing riflemen had advanced quickly, scored a hit or two, then rapidly moved out of range before firing again.
The above two scenes show the beauty of this activation system, and the best point of these rules. A commander has to pay attention to where everybody is in the activation sequence, and how it can change. The riflemen benefited from the nearby Officer presence, allowing them to easily outmaneuver the slower British unit.
The right flank? Not so lucky. The riflemen skirmishers didn't have the Officer benefit, and were not paying attention to the activation wheel. They let the Regulars charge into bayonet range!
Bayonets versus Tomahawks. Not going to end well for the riflemen.
That was the end of round 2. The British currently control the board, but are being whittled down. They may try to hold what they have for 2 rounds, while the Americans had better get that large chunk of Militia up and moving.
