Author: Mikko @ Flintlock

[This is a long post with all the math broken down in detail]

As always, nothing is final and “may change without notice”. This tutorial may look a bit heavy, but it’s like a full scenario in Bloody Mohawk or the whole Vae Victis game Batailles pour le Canada. I also realized, it’s not really that far away from the “July 8th” scenario I have in my to do list. The idea for this is obviously to demonstrate how to perform a major assault against an entrenched enemy.

Assaults: Quick summary

Normally, an attack is a single hex action against another hex. There are limited number of assaults available that allow two adjacent stacks to attack. A combat is quite typical for a hex and counter game: Add up the strength points on both sides, throw in some modifiers when needed, and calculate the odds. Then you’ll have die roll modifiers (DRMs) that will adjust the roll. Look up a table and see what happens!

In the assault, a few more things come into play: you must have a stack of regulars with a regular infantry leader who must pass the leader roll (to see if he was able to coordinate the assault). With the same odds, both attacking stacks roll their own die thus there is a bit more random in play.

Assaults: The details

In this tutorial, the British army makes two head-on assaults against a well-fortified French line – just like on July 8th, 1758! The British had committed to two assaults at the start of the day. They have a powerful composite grenadier battalion (supported by the 46th Regiment), the famous 42nd Highlander Regiment – the single most powerful unit in the game – and many other troops. Provincials, light infantry and rangers are thrown in to add more complexity and demonstrate more game features in the tutorial. On the Heights of Carillon, we have three regular French regiments and one small group of Canadian militia, lead by the military leader of New France, Marquis de Montcalm. I actually placed him behind the lines and soon realized it wasn’t a good idea!

As mentioned above, an assault is something one has to commit to already at the start of the day during the maintenance segment. How many times a side can assault depends on a few of factors: morale and the army leader’s ability. In the tutorial, there are two assaults, and only for the British (ignore the French below).

I have set up skirmishers between both armies to protect the main forces. There are two maxed out British assault forces (each assault will have two stacks of 10 strength points) with some regiments set as “2nd wave” to make an additional effort, if needed. And even if they are not needed, they will come in anyway!

Game board gets a little cluttered as more and more special movement modes are used. My protos don’t even have a marker for the assault mode. This is the cost of trying to replicate 18th century tactics, but also forces the player to plan ahead and set up the troops for the main effort.

(There is one “error” in my setup that I only noticed later – one of the units is too far away)

There are multiple types of troops going forward. Light infantry provides cover by skirmishing with the enemy. Regular infantry with the required regular infantry leader will lead both assaults. As each hex can hold max. 10 strength points (SPs), I have added smaller units to top up each assault.

The first move is made by Bradstreet’s Battoemen to push away the Canadians lurking inside the abatis, who, in the tutorial, are not in the mood to engage the whole approaching British army. Instead, they choose to make a “skirmish retreat” and pull back to the main line. This is a reaction a unit in skirmish mode can perform and basically refers to light infantry patrolling the woods and … delaying and skirmishing with the enemy.

Without the skirmishers leading the way, Canadians could ambush the forward elements. Also, the Battoemen will stay a few hexes away from the French as they do not want to engage the main line.

Through the thick forests more and more green, brown and red coats appear as the last Canadians climb over the log wall.

Having the troops in position, we have to perform leader rolls for both British assault leaders – if the roll fails, there is no cohesive assault but each of the two stacks has to attack individually. Howe’s rating is 8 so the player has to get an eight or less to pass (90% chance of success!). Normally you want to roll high, but in this case, rolling low is just simple and straightforward.

No issues here, both rolls were very low and thus each leader passed the check easily.

Assault #1 (Grenadiers, 42nd and 46th Regiments)

We’ll play through one engagement at a time. The right-wing assault with two stacks comprises of (1 SP is ~100 men):

• Colonel Frederick Haldimand, the right assault leader with a rating of 6 and a +1 leader bonus DRM.
• Stack 1
  • Composite grenadier battalion with 6 SP. They also provide +2 unit bonus DRM.
  • 46th Regiment with 4 SP. No unit bonus.
• Stack 2
  • 42nd Regiment (Highlanders) with 9 SP and +1 DRM unit bonus.
  • Putnam’s Connecticut Ranger company with 1 SP (and +1 DRM, which plays no role here*). It is an irregular infantry unit (green bar) thus its SPs are halved in assaults, but as 1 / 2 = 0,5 and rounded up comes back to 1, it’s worth 1 SP here.

* If a unit with +1 DRM bonus is less than half of the stack’s total SP, it won’t contribute the DRM. A unit with +2 will always provide at least +1 DRM, and if its size is half or more of the attacking stack’s size, it will contribute +2 DRM to combat.

Terrain is against the British army. Attacking uphill is -1 DRM and a two-level fortification (redoubt) is two columns shifts left. Attacking out of abatis is another -2 DRM against the attacker.

In defense, we have the 4 SP Languedoc Regiment backed by Montcalm (+1 DRM).

In total, there are 20 SP attacking against 4 SP – that is 5:1 odds. The redoubt shifts the odds two columns left to a final 3:1. In assault, each stack is resolved individually using the same adjusted odds (3:1) and their own attacking stack vs. defending stack DRM modifiers. The stack with the assault leader decides the overall outcome and the second attacking stack just rolls for the effect on the attacker (defender is ignored in the 2nd die roll). It’s really quite simple.

The British stack #1 DRMs are as follows:
+2 DRM from the grenadiers
+1 DRM from Haldimand
-2 DRM attacking out of abatis
-1 DRM attacking uphill
-1 DRM from Montcalm
= total of -1 DRM

I am not fully happy with my current infantry combat table and offline I am working on an improved one with some adjustments to the whole process. For now, I will just use the current table.

The attacker rolls one 10-sided die: it’s a solid “6”. With one DRM against reduces it to “5”, the British manage to breach the French line and push Languedoc back three hexes. Each side suffers one step loss and for the British, it has to be allocated to the grenadiers as it contributed the highest DRM for the attack. A step loss in this case is 1 SP (it depends on the unit size whether the step loss 1 or 2 Strength Points).

The second attacking stack must also roll a die, but the impact on the defender is ignored. Now it was such a low roll that they suffer one step loss with disruption forcing a retreat (no effect on the first stack). The large 42nd has to take the step loss losing 2 SP (one step loss for a large unit is 2 SP). Fortunately, the 42nd can never disrupt – as the only unit in the game – and only the ranger company is disrupted, although both have to retreat three hexes.

Overall, it was still a British victory and the first stack advances in to the French entrenchments. As the assault was a success, the British side gains 2 mitale points. The second attacking stack failed and had to retreat.

This isn’t over yet, but we’ll come back to it shortly.

Assault #2 (44th Regiment, Picquets, and Provincials)

• Brigadier General Lord Howe, “the best soldier in the British Army”, +2 DRM
• Stack 1
  • 44th Regiment, 8 SP
  • a 2 SP picquet i.e. detachment, from 1st Battalion 60th Regiment (Royal Americans)
• Stack 2
  • 3rd Connecticut Regiment, 5 SP
  • 4th Connecticut Regiment, 5 SP

After resolving the immediate effect of the first assault, let’s deal with the second one. The skirmishing Canadians beefed up the defense significantly and it’ll be a rough ride for Howe’s group.

The first stack has 10 SP of British regulars with Howe (+2) leading them. The French have 4 + 2 SP on the hex with the adjacent La Sarre regiment. As it is not under attack, it provides the defenders an additional 2 SP (50% of 4 SP). The second British stack contains two Provincial regiments of 5 SP each, but they (irregulars) are halved in assaults or when going against fortifications. Raw odds will be 10 + 5 against 4 + 2 + 2 for a total of only 3:2! Add two column shifts left from the level 2 redoubt and the final odds are on the 2:3 column!! Irregular infantry really weren’t the Stormtroopers of the British army…

Howe provides the only positive DRM and -1 comes from attacking uphill, -2 from abatis and -1 from Montcalm. That’s a net -2 DRM. Let’s see how it goes!

Well, they got bloodied all right: a semi-low roll with DRMs against inflicts two step losses with disruption and a leader hit roll. Each unit takes a step loss on the first stack for a total cost of 3 SP. The leader hit roll was a hit and the British lost Howe in the bloodshed. I am not even keeping track of the Morale hits, but it’s starting to look like General Abercromby will lose his heart very soon.

The second stack performs its own part of the assault using the 3:2 odds but with a lot of DRMs against them: Each provincial brings -1 (-2 together), uphill -1, abatis -2, and finally Montcalm -1. That’s a brutal -6 DRM! The best possible roll would give just a single step loss, but that’s not what happened here… It actually was a “0” thus I am looking at the bottom of the table… Two step losses (so, one each), disruption and a morale loss.

There are no radios or pidgeons here thus I have decided that reserves can’t just pick a perfect moment to rush in, but all combat resulting from the movement segment must be fully resolved before the 2nd wave can move.

We still have those ~900 British regulars in the French fieldworks making trouble. Well, they are forced to continue attacking as long as they are adjacent to the enemy.

(Some prototype counters are misaligned as seen below)

Now it is starting to get interesting. The remaining 9 British SPs are up against 4 + 2 + 2 French SP and thus we are looking at 1:1 odds. There are no column shifts as the redoubt was breached and it isn’t protecting the French anymore.

Checking the DRMs, the British have +3 for them and -1 against but it is still a tough fight because equal odds strongly favor the defender (this may change but it will need some adjustments in a few places first). Rolling low continued and the British were pushed back with a step loss. The void was filled in by our Canadians forming again an unbroken defensive line.

2nd wave

It’s not over yet as the British reserves were ordered forward (it’s a tutorial!). Climbing over their dead and wounded, the 2nd wave now tries to storm the line.

(The 2nd wave markers are moved out of the way to reveal the actual units underneath)

One of the 2nd wave attacking units is irregular infantry, and the other regular – although light infantry. When irregulars attack a fortified position, their SP is halved (it’s not their forte). The Massachusetts regiment is thus only 5 effective SP against 2 SP Canadians and with two column shifts (redoubt), it’s 1:1 odds. Now add -1 for uphill, another -1 from Montcalm, and -2 for abatis, for -4 total DRM. Roll was “4”, reduce by 4 and it becomes a “0” with the modifiers. The provincials obviously lose, take a step loss, retreat 3 hexes, become disrupted, take a morale hit, and finally we ignore the leader hit check because there was no leader unit present (a separate counter). “Partridge” printed on the counter is not a leader unit but exists just for historical purposes and has no effect in the game.

Checking the 60/4 Regiment’s attack on the British left, it looks miserable. Their 8 SP go against 4 + 2 (half of La Sarre provides defensive support, as it is not under attack). Starting with 8:6, i.e., 1:1 odds, they have little chance of success. Redoubt drops the odds to the lowest column and with the -4 DRM the outlook is rather bad.

Eeek! The roll was a “1” – a futile attempt with three step losses and everything else on top. The unit loses half of its strength (8 to 6 to 5 to 4 SP – these are the printed strength points) and is getting close to being destroyed.

The final result is something like the image below (it took several sessions to get all the pictures taken so a thing or two may be off) – the British assault was repulsed just like in the real battle.

Wait! What about that lonely Montcalm, you might ask? I misplaced him by leaving alone on a hex, but he was all along protected by friendly ZoC. The Brits could not have moved there, because they cannot attack just a leader unit and were forced to go against the “tip” of the defensive line where the French troops were.

Having shipped a number of physical play testing copies of the game, I am getting questions about how to best start learning the game. I had started working on a small tutorial a couple of months ago, but never really wrapped it up until now. The first in a series of tutorials covers a small British attack group making an amphibious landing and attack a French fortified position. I am using a small home-printed sheet for the map, thus the colors are a bit off.

Here we have a setup where 1600 British are approaching, supported by a “floating artillery castle” (gun raft) with four pieces of 6-pdr. cannons. I intentionally chose a variety of troops: the composite grenadier battalion with 600 men (6 Strength Points) are the “shock troops”. It is supported by 500 Rogers Rangers and 500 New York provincials. All counters are prototypes and the details are subject to change.

The French are defending a small field fortification (named “Fort St. Sacrament” by the troops). It is manned by 200 regulars supported by two 6-pdr. cannons led by Capt. Fiedmont. Behind them, covering the forest, are 200 Canadians in skirmish mode.

Movement & reaction

The British artillery platform makes the first move by going directly in front of the French defenders, who will use their artillery interdiction to try to drive it away. Although the French get a +1 “to hit” DRM from having an artillery leader, it’s a bad roll (“4”) and a miss. One better would have yielded an impact roll.

Next, the British infantry starts landing. Grenadiers drive straight into the beach in front of the fortication while the Rangers and provincials land further down the shore to avoid the French zone of control (the skirmish unit has an extended ZoC).

Once an enemy (not in skirmish mode) unit enters its ZoC, the Canadian skirmish unit has two options besides being idle: to retreat three hexes or to try an ambush (if both are in heavy forest). Of course, they go for an ambush attempt!

A good roll of “8” with one positive DRM (+2 for Canadians ambushing, -1 for Rangers being ambushed) surprises the irregular infantry and forces them to retreat with a step loss for the Rangers (as they provided a DRM in combat).

A single unit can be ambushed once per phase, and a unit in skirmish mode can attempt an ambush once per phase. Had the Rangers been in skirmish mode themselves, they would have prevented any ambushes. However, after water movement, units are always in normal movement mode.

Getting ambushed costs movement points, but in this case it was not meaningful. This is to slow down the active player as there are quite a few movement points available (I may need to fine-tune this part further, as testing has resulted in changes to some aspects of the movement model).

Apparently, the Rangers and provincials should have landed one hex farther so they could have retreated back to their boats! The retreat ends their movement and they are now “out of play” in the context of this tutorial.

Combat

The British combat starts with offensive artillery bombardment. The gun raft floating in front of the French opens fire with four six pounders. This force is commanded by Captain Joshua Loring, a Roxbury (Boston) native. And a brutal bombardment it is! A roll of “5” with a +1 DRM from Loring gives “a hit” (you can still fail at the impact roll).

The subsequent impact roll is a huge success resulting in a maximum roll of “9”. Add +1 DRM to the die roll (from Loring directing the fire) to make it a “10” and the French breastworks were blown to smithereens taking the artillery with it (the counter did not have a reduced side). A lower result could have just destroyed the fortification but left everything else intact.

Moving onto the infantry, the composite Grenadier Battalion led by Colonel Thomas Gage, the third in command of the British force at Ticonderoga (Carillon), starts their attack. Due to the very successful bombardment, the French defenders are deprived of their breastworks and the column shift it provides. Six against two, with +1 DRM from Gage and +2 DRM from the Grenadiers, yields 3:1 odds with +3 DRM. However, this is reduced to 2:1 as the Grenadiers landed on an enemy zone of control hex.

The fortunes of war did not favor the British army today. The worst possible roll of “0” is just enough to foil the attack even with the handsome die roll modifiers. Having suffered a step loss, they re-enter their boats demoralized and row back south on Lake George.

In this instance of the tutorial, the French were victorious and they can sleep another quiet night.

This is perhaps a bit more unusual topic, but as I am testing various color combinations for the counters, I wanted to also see how they appear to the color blinded. 1 in 12 men have this, so perhaps it is a big deal, perhaps not. Anyway, it’s not really that much effort to test it out.

User experience, or UX, has always been my passion at work. Why not carry the same passion over to my hobby?

If nothing else, I do hope the final colors appear legible to all, or at least most, players.

Today I continue my previous post testing a multipronged assault against the Fort Carillon perimeter. It was slow going as always, even before the first moves I was updating the rulebook. I also made significant updates to the test scenario by placing British light troops on the east bank of Lake Champlain to interrupt any French movements there. After adding the abatis I proceeded to a full British offensive setup which obviously differed from the historical one having detached a lot of the light troops to the flanking maneuver.

Starting with the French – they always go first. This is an old-fashioned IGOUGO game, so no cards and other more modern mechanics. The 300 Canadian reinforcements arrived at the north end of the map and had to get through the gauntlet to join the main army. I placed small British patrols around the lake for this exact purpose. The 400-man composite Grenadier battalion headed by the Swiss-born Colonel Frederick Haldimand was preparing for their strike into the Hornet’s Nest. Although the Canadians would be strong on water against the British Army, the Grenadiers are not alone. A thousand light infantry from the 55th and 80th Regiments were massing nearby and if they intervened, the Canadians would have little chance in the fight. Thus, they skimmed the opposite side of the lake to avoid the enemy’s main force.

Two companies of Stockbridge Mohicans, part of Rogers Rangers and totaling about 100 men, had been positioned to keep an eye on any French movements on the lake. They were headed by Captain Jacob Cheeksaunkin and his son, Lieutenant Jacob Naunauphtaunk. The Canadians paddled their whaleboats and canoes right under the noses of the Natives, but Jacob C. decided against an intervention even though the young Mohicans were anxious to strike the enemy three times their number. The odds were too great against them.

The Canadians joined their comrades guarding the right flank of the army – they also left a large group in reserve due to the threat of a flanking maneuver. Although there were many officers senior to him, the defending militia and French marines were in reality commanded by the famous ensign, Jean-Baptiste Levrault de Langis Montegron, also known as Langy. A man who ridiculed Robert Rogers and headed many patrols where even captains from regular regiments competed to join. Such is his weight in the game that he provides a +2 DRM along with the likes of Howe or Lévis – seconds in command of both armies.

As other French troops were already in place, we finally get to the main course – the British attack. To wreak havoc amongst the defenders, powerful light infantry strike groups were in place on both north and south side of the fort. Once they had successfully landed, they would be enforced by nearly 2000 troops carrying artillery in to the French rear.

Well, the plan sounded good when deliberated in the early morning council of war, where General Abercromby let his trustworthy #2, Brigadier General Lord Howe, reveal the ambitious plan to crush the French forces with one audacious strike from three directions. Although some officers were sceptical, they ultimately favored Howe’s approach. After all, you wouldn’t want to miss out of the moment of fame!

Fast forward a few moments and the first boats to enter Lake Champlain carried some of the famous Blue Jerseys from New Jersey. They were aiming at the area between the “Lower Town” and the newly constructed artillery redoubt anchoring the left end of the French main line.

Unfortunately, this was a true artillery killing zone. The fort had in two bastions 14 pieces of heavy naval cannons with a clear aim to this space, with additional pieces located at the battery Lotbinière overlooking the lake and the redoubt mentioned earlier. The first salvo killed about a hundred men and sent the remaining troops back to the foot of the Rattlesnake Mountain in chaos.

I have not yet defined the exact firing arcs for the bastions, but this will ultimately limit the direction the artillery in the bastion may fire at. It forces the French player to place them where the anticipated attacks come from. Moving guns between bastions takes time so unlike infantry, they cannot react quickly.

Next, the Rangers attempted their strike against the artillery redoubt close to river La Chute. They did nor fare much better as the artillery from the fort interdicted at medium range and aborted the move. However, they took no casualties in the engagement.

Finally, the Indians bravely lead by the famous Superintendent of Indian Affairs, William Johnson, followed. The natives were already nervous as they saw the massive French firepower and reluctantly obeyed his orders. Again, devastating salvos hit the boats killing not only a significant number of Iroquois but also hit Johnson who quickly bled to death.

The attack from the south thus collapsed and no results were gained for the loss of 200 men and a respected leader. The morale toll was quite notable.

But enough for today!

A huge milestone was reached recently when I received the prototypes of the game. I like to support local, which in this case means Poland!

Although there are tons of issues with especially the counters (being protos & my own data errors), it’s awesome to actually have “real” counters to play with. The quality is so good! No more messing with blank countersheets, printing to adhesive paper, cutting, peeling, etc. I can just pop more counters whenever I need some!

And this also means getting down to business 🙂 I get the feel of the components while I am trying out various scenarios. Colors, image quality, font sizes, readability, whatnot are important. Also the rulebook is getting some serious attention – moving from a Google Doc sheet to an Adobe document that is print ready. That is a lot of work!

So I decided it is the time for some alternate history:

July 9th, 1758.

George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe, did not bite the musket ball a few days earlier. The unfortunate Captain Alexander Monypenny of the 55th Regiment of Foot and Howe’s brigade major, being next to Lord Howe during the encounter with Captain Trepezec’s scouting party, was hit by the musket ball instead killing him instantly. Now he lies in an unmarked grave close to Trout Brook.

The British army, lead by Howe and his “young Turks”, was planning an audacious attack on Fort Carillon (the formal commander of the army, General Abercromby, stays mostly in the safety of the army camp). The French had retreated to the immediate surroundings of the fort and built a strong defensive perimeter around it. Against common sense, being young and impetuous, the British leadership decides against a prolonged siege and instead wants to strike the French from the rear – a quick victory here would open the road to Montreal before the bad weather arrives in the fall. The majority of the British army was ready around the perimeter for a major assault. Selected units were being readied to strike by boats against the French rear and perhaps even force their way into the fort.

It was an ambitious plan, but no risk, no reward!

As they were preparing the amphibious landing, carefully coordinated with a simultaneous all-out assault against the entrenchments, the French had not been resting on their laurels. They had spotted a hive of activity both north and south of the fort – the enemy was up to something!

The French army had to strip much needed troops away from the main defensive line to protect the rear of the army. However, the Admiral of Lake Champlain, Captain Joseph Payant dit St Onge, had managed to sail into the wharf by the fort on the preceding night. He was in command of the 10-gun schooner La Vigilante – and also the most experienced naval captain in the inner waters of America. That might be a nasty surprise to the British!

There are 300 Canadian reinforcements on their way to the fort (upper right-hand corner) – are the British going to interdict them?? They are preparing for the strike against the French rear, so probably no – it might disturb the coordination of the forces.

Captain Ord of the British Royal Artillery had been able to move some artillery pieces to the French left flank. They had evaded the enemy and built a strongpoint to soften up the French defensive line.

On the south side, William Johnson and his Indian contingency – ignored by Abercromby, but not by the young Howe – were part of the spearhead destined to hit the French. He was supported by Rogers Rangers and some of the best provincial troops, the Jersey Blues.

On the north side, Howe with the third in command, Colonel Thomas Gage, assembled their shock troops comprised of a composite grenadier battalion, Howe’s hard-trained 55th Regiment and Gage’s newly raised 80th Regiment of Light-Armed Foot. In the council of war early in the morning, they had coordinated the signals for each attack group. Once the two strike groups had landed, an all-out assault would commence against the strong French main line. This would place them between a rock and a hard place.

However, they were unaware of the French schooner in the wharf. With the 10 cannons it could devastate the invading light troops. Also, the French – understanding what was going on – had reorganized their artillery. The naval 18-pounders now covered all directions.

The few days of inactivity allowed the French to improve their positions and emplace many artillery pieces along the shoreline.

This is the setting for my first setup with the near-production quality protos. I shall test some of the long neglected features of the game – water movement and interdiction. Upcoming posts will explain how things work and also – hopefully – what will happen in the decisive battle!!

Making a map… and starting with literally zero knowledge even how to generate and print hexes on paper. It’s been a long journey and I will definitely be an easier client for the mapmaker in my next project!

I have omitted the very first draft map from this post and the below draft is something I had for at least for the first 9 months of the project. Maybe longer. The masking tape was used because I was too excited to get going and anxious to shop for transparent tape, and just used whatever I found at home!

A lot of the initial play testing and brainstorming was done on this map – sometimes I still miss The Big Map!

The second version is just the base terrain to which I started adding elevation. After that there were significant improvements! Once I had the base map outline, I started drafting the elevation.

Based on the feedback I received early on, the map was rotated to cut out areas that were less useful for the game. This was a big decision but actually, a good one. Ultimately, I also decided to crop it quite a bit! My initial vision of a super game has had a reality check (or three) so I am trying to abide with the rules of a good boardgame.

The Super Game will be produced, in much much more detail, if there is a reasonable market for it!!

Then we see the real map for the very first time!! This is quite a while ago, somewhere in 2022? This map was also used for the first “external” playtesting.

It looked a little strange, not very “nice” – strong colors – but had all the basic elements in place. Of course, there was a reason I contacted Ilya K. for the maps etc. – I simply knew he produces the style I want. Probably comparing to a client like the Hollandspiele, I am a strange one… more than a little weird 🙂

But then, ultimately, I got the real map! Not just “something” but more like “I spent a good amount hours on your project & I have a vision”.

After some more tweaks, below is the “first version” – not perfect, but has all major components. Being a perfectionist, its never ready (sigh). But this is the version that will be in the protos… you get what you get.

I do have a bunch of updates to implement, but that will be another post!