[Disclaimer: All rules and game play examples are from pre-production version and will likely change one way or the other!]
One of the major challenges I have had in the design of the Fort Carillon has been the time scale and overall dynamics of the troop movements. I can’t do one, two or even four hour phases (“turns”) as the game would bog down with the large number of counters. After all, this is more of a campaign than a one-day engagement. My first design was based on three day phases (AM, noon, and PM) with the night phase for mostly recovery. Over time, this came down to two day phases with a full night phase that also includes an imaginatively named maintenance phase for doing, well, maintenance. This covers topics such as “planning” for the upcoming assaults (instead of plain attacks), checking the supply or morale, and so forth. Nothing major really, but resetting a few counters and adjusting a couple of others.
Initially, I had rather abundant movement points available. It didn’t take too long to realize guys would be all over the place pretty quick. Not very historical, unless you have a handful of rangers scouting the fort or something. Movement point allowances gradually decreased in search of the balance between the reality of moving a great army in the middle of a primeval forest, and the capabilities of irregular troops such as light infantry and the natives.
All this included skirmishing – reconnoitering the enemy ahead of the main army, or on the opposite side, acting as the rearguard of retreating troops. How do you cautiously move and maybe even briefly clash with the enemy? This is where the skirmish mode steps in. Not all irregulars can use it, because I decided to exclude the “normal” British Provincials. Also, from the regulars, only those designated as light infantry or grenadiers can skirmish (Troupes de la Marine are designated as regulars, so they’re not eligible).
Skirmishing cuts the movement points to half but doubles the Zone of Control. Also, a couple of actions become available: retreat and ambush. Expanding the ZoC implies the unit is scattered and moves in smaller groups forcing the enemy to advance cautiously or face the consequences of being ambushed. Enemy units’ movement point cost is thus doubled in the ZoC but they can move through the ZoC-2 without being forced to stop (if you enter EZoC-1, you must stop and attack). After the enemy unit has completed its move, the defending skirmisher is able retreat up to four hexes as essentially they would be slowing down the advancing enemy. That may not always be enough to get away, so don’t stay too close the opponent. This will take place AFTER the enemy completed its own move.
The example below depicts where ZoCs extend to. They do not cross double-elevations, but a single elevation or a stream does not block ZoC. (Apparently, I used a La Marine unit below, but they cannot use the Skirmish mode. Let’s imagine it is a Canadian militia unit instead.)
Of course, the fun starts with the ambushes. For now, I have limited them to a total of four per side per day instead of allowing every skirmish unit to attempt one. This forces some planning ahead and I am also worried the game would be full of ambush die rolls. An ambush is not possible if the enemy is also in skirmish mode.
Below is a practical example. Let’s say, its the British who go next.
[OUCH, just noticed I have the British Indians versus the British provincials in the below example. I’ll have to fix it!]
The red-green Mohawks are in Skirmish mode, so the ZoC extends for two hexes and overlaps with Bagley’s 2nd Mass. Regiment which is disrupted and on the same side of the river. This means the provincials have to take a morale / panic roll as the Mohawks are smelling blood and creep ever closer for some scalps. If the Indians had moved next to Bagley’s regiment AND could not force the provincials to retreat via the morale check, the Indians would have to attack. Disrupted units fight with half strength, and the Indians get a significant bonus against disrupted infantry, so it could mean big trouble for the New Englanders!
On the bottom left, Preble’s 3rd Mass. Regiment is a little different story. Although disrupted, they are across the river (Bernetz Brook) and are thus immune to the Indian ZoC. Perhaps Superintendent of Indian Affairs and a former British Army general, William Johnson, would join the Mohawks with the other Indian groups to lead an attack across the ford?
A small excerpt from the current rulebook.
