Sharp Practice at Winter Wonder Lard

My afternoon game at Winter Wonder Lard  earlier this month was a spectacular Indian Mutiny encounter entitled 'The Dojjibotti Run' using Sharp Practice. 

The forces consisted of a large Sepoy rabble tasked with storming the the British garrsupported by lots of cavalry which I was responsible for, verses a force of British regulars and a Native Princesses' with supporting Gurkhas and Loyal Sepoys. 

What is really interesting about this game is the range of different troop types available from cavalry, militia to regulars & conscripts all played a part, and were full of characterisation. This resulted in an action pack battle. 

I timed the arrival of my scouting cavalry, charging on from a moveable Jump-off Point on the flank of the British advance as they moved up to engage the massed ranks of the Sepoys who were attempting to besiege the British garrison.

I had to be patient waiting for the cavalry cards to come out, but when they did, I provided the opportunity for the cavalry to charge  the  British Light Horse in the rear, resulting from them scattering. Following what felt like a bit of a hiatus wait for the light cavalry to come out again, they charged again  this time  riding down Unloaded skirmishers in the rear. 

Being British light infantry they took a bit of dealing with, and despite this series of engagements my depleted numbers only held one point of shock. 

At the other end of the table the massed ranks of sepoys deployed in a perimeter   to  resist the advancing Native Princes(ses) Loyal Sepoys and supporting Gurkhas. 

The line held as they skirmished forward hold the Loyal Sepoy attack supported by a cavalry charge which came to nought. In the last turn my light changed one final time into the British Line, while out numbered this last heroic attack destroyed them but it successfully pushed an element of the line back. The game ended in stalemate, with force moral teetering on 2 for the British and 3 for the Rebels bringing the game right down to the wire.

Huge thanks to Steve for putting on what was a magnificent game and my fellow players, Ben , Tom and Colin all of whom made it an throughly enjoyable afternoon. 

Flashing Blades at Winter Wonder Lard

Earlier this month I had the pleasure of attending Winter Wonder Lard. This was my third visit to the popular Bristol Lardy day held at Britistol Independent Gaming, a games venue in South Bristol. 

The  established structure of the day is participants select a morning and afternoon game. In the morning game I had the opportunity to play Flashing Blades for the first time. Which I was excited about having never played it before. 

The scenario was a diplomatic escort mission, where my  gang of English swashbucklers were attempting to escort a Milanese diplomat to the safety of a the tavern in the centre of the table. 

With a dashing start the English rushed forward trying to get the diplomat safe by hiding in the shadows. The Spanish party appeared to intercept the diplomat, quickly the game descends into a series of duels where characters battled back and forth. 

Things reached a crescendo as a nar-do-well slips out of the shadows  as the battles in the continue around  he pounced and pushed the diplomat to the ground allowing another of his companions the lunge forward, battling through the escort  and unceremoniously run the prostrate diplomat through. At this point we decided the logical thing would be to be the was to withdraw. 

 

Despite the ‘loosing’ the scenario because of the way the leader conducted himself in the duels the was able to accrue honour which in long term will benefit him in a campaign setting. 

This is really a splendid game and well worth trying out if the opportunity arises. 

'Take What is Theirs' a Carnevale Scenerio

The Strigoi and the Guild met in a “Take What is Theirs “ encounter. The Guild made a very strong start with their Capodecina bounding across the canals and rooftops to capture his objective while his gang held back defending the Strigoi objective which were a barrel of fish and a barrel of bodies respectively.  From the outset the Strigoi managed to tie themselves in knots with some poor roles early on allowing the Guild Capodecina to swoop in and grab the objective and then race off. 

Just has he was about to achieve the objective the Noble Strigoi activated and leaped over a citizen on guard with a desperate attack, finishing the poor Capodecina off only moments before he achieved his objective. The noble vampire raced back with the recaptured objective with his Strigoi moving to guard his escape. Shortly after in the that the penultimate round, a Common Strigoi audaciously slipped through the screen of Guild enforcers to snatch their objective marker. She raced back in an attempt to get the prize back only to be pursued by a knife welding citizen doing all in her power to stop the vampire. 

These are some shots of the action.

Scenario 19 from the Winter Storm Campaign: Chain of Command

A “one off” go at scenario 19 of the Winter Storm Chain of Command campaign.  The objective is for the German Panzer Grenadiers  to race and capture the bridge over Mushkova River before the Soviets can blowit up. The only amendment we made was to give the German a ‘Red Dice’ rather than the extra  Command dice, suggested by the scenario. After a successful patrol phase they deployed flanking the bridge. 

Despite the a sense of urgency and a rush for the bridge the Soviets put up a stiff defence, driving two Zugs off the bridge and destroying a tank whic got itself isolated without infantry support as the Germans tried and tried again to force their way over and create a bridgehead.

With growing desperation the Germans attempted a final push, but a lack of coordination between units bought enough time for the Soviets to spend a Chain of Command dice to blow the bridge. What a fun afternoon of toy soldiers where the result went down to the wire. 

 

Sharp Practice : The Bridge at Dorflingen, 1809

This week it was great to get a game of Sharp Practice, it’s a game I really enjoy. To date most of my experience of is in the French & Indian conflict in North America as part the Seven Years War.

Geoff, the game’s host used Chat GPT to suggest a scenario for three players. After a bit of tweaking of the terrain and the force rosters we ended up in 1809 at the Bridge at Dorfingen. This was an engagement between the Austrians and French during the Napoleonic Wars. This was my first experience of fighting a Napoleonic game of Sharp Practice. I was allocated the French. In my extremely limited knowledge of the Napoleonic period, I understand the French were famed for attacking in columns. So in my haste I thought well let’s give that a go then. Because I was playing against two opponents Geoff and Dave, I was very aware I had to mitigate against an early flank march so while my Voltigeurs covered the right from the wood I simply charged down the road in column hoping to crash into the Austrian line before they could unleash their opening volleys.

It didn’t end well for my column. The Austrian commander card came out first the next round, followed by some flags for a bout of Sharp Practice, visiting more than pIan on the French column. The withering volleys brought them to a standstill, and they were obliged to withdraw.

Following the game I asked the wargaming futurity on Bluesky their experience of commanding French Columns in the Lardy tradition of “playing the period and not the rules”. Fellow wargamers sharing their thoughts, experiences and suggestions on using the Napoleonic French Attack column. Getting all these responses was great, and hearing all the different perspectives on commanding a French attack column. It was an inspiring and invigorating to get so many thoughtful responses. What a great community we have.

Nevertheless, despite the catastrophic attack column pushing forward while its artillery support got mired in the mud. The picture on the right flank was a bit brighter. I had successes as my Voltigeurs skirmished back and forth with Jägers until I could bring my Chasseurs à Cheval to bear and drive the Austrians off before my Force Morale collapsed.

I will claim some consolation points for elan and sending the Jägers and the Austrian Grenadiers packing on the right flank.

Good old Sharp Practice always supplies an entertaining game. Next time I will try to be a bit more measured and methodical in my approach rather than changing in like a lunatic.

 

Carnevale: Guild Civil War

The set up for the latest game of Carnevale: The game was a Guild civil war. The King Thieves has charged 'King for the Day' and his Pulcinella to pay the House of Virtue a visit and collect the outstanding taxes. He didn't want to go himself, so to distance himself from the events and not to slurry relations with the Madame.

The House of Virtue fought hard to defend their hard earned monies from "King or the Day" & his Pulcininellas tax collectors. Racing over roof tops to cut them off before they located the treasure. The King for the Day did a fantastic job smash and grab raid to secure the prize.

It was followed by a frantic battle to get the "King of Thieves" taxes back to him which ultimately cost him his life when the Madame caught up with him. Nevertheless, the ostrich rider was standing by to ride off with their prize. A great game with loads of laughs an a brilliant result for the Pulcininellas.