One Brain Cell Rules and the F&IW, AAR and rules

 a quiet morning in western Pennsylvania,

 horses frolic in the meadow, birds sing in the trees, troops sleep in their tents

then word arrives, the Indians are closing fast!

     Some years ago Trunkmonkey and I tried to develop a series of rules that would fit on one side of a standard letter-format sheet of paper (using no smaller than size 12 font). This effort created some truly "interesting" rules-sets but we had some minor successes as well; the best of which was our French and Indian Wars rules. I came across the rules sheet the other day while searching for something else and was overcome with a wave of nostalgia and determined to run a game using the rules. 

      Last weekend Trunkmonkey, The Housemartin and I sat down to play a game using the rules. I had conceived a clever scenario wherein a British force was tasked with escorting a supply train to a beleaguered fort in the depths of the frontier wilderness. The British General was informed that he had been followed by an ever-growing force of Indians over the past few days. The game opened with his rearguard troops rushing into camp to breathlessly report that the Indians were on the move. His mission was to fight a rearguard action and get the wagons off the table by either of the westerly roads.

     The French commander was informed that the situation was really quite different; by dint of hard-matching and an intelligent use of waterways (and native canoes) he had managed to get his force well ahead of the British troops and now was in a position to bar their progress toward the besieged fort. The Indian allies behind the British had been given word to make a noisy show of force against the rearguard at dawn to drive the British to break camp in a hurry and move toward the French blocking force.

     In the following photos West is to the left, and North is to the top.

 

upon hearing such news Brigadier Lord Trunkmonkey

springs into action the British mobilizing his troops troops and hitching the wagons

 

 the cunning French have gotten in front of him as well, this will be no rearguard!

Comte de la Housemartin has infested the path forward with skirmishers

 to slow the Brits as he brings his line regiments in from the west

 

Indians, Courier de bois and troops de la Marine emerge from the wooded countryside

 along the north side of the valley

 

a protracted firefight breaks out between the skirmishers as the British pivot to face the new foe

 

line regiments of the King of France move confidently eastward

 along the road to confront the English

 

clearly Comte de la Housemartin intends to deliver the hammer blow with his southern flank

in the distance to the north the British are slowly winning the skirmish battle, 

unfortunately they had to commit a couple of line battalions to gain the advantage

 

to match the French concentration to the south Brigadier Trunkmonkey 

sends his reserves to his left to protect the wagons and drive off the French

 

these reserves consist of a battalion each of line troops and grenadiers

 

the French throw themselves at the grenadiers defending a hedge line,

the grenadiers are victorious and send the French packing with substantial casualties

in the middle distance the troops de la Marine bravely (foolishly?) advanced into the open to cover the flank of the advancing regulars

 

hard on the heels of the first unit a second battalion of French charge the very next turn,

 they have slightly better success

 

marching hard from the right flank another British line battalion arrives to add weight to the fray,

in the upper left you can see that the troops de la Marine have reconsidered their decision to fight in the open and have retired westward to the comforting cover of the woods

in the far distance the British are rapidly gaining the advantage in the battle over the northern road, the firepower of the line troops have crushed the valiant Indians and battered the Courier du Bois forcing a unit of la Marine to advance into the woods, only to be assailed in turn by the rallied British rearguard troops

  

the second unit of French managed to exterminate the grenadiers (absolutely fabulous dice-rolling by Comte de la Housemartin) but they will be forced to recoil from the fire of the British line battalion

     At this point I was having so much fun running the game that I forgot to take any further pictures (complaints can be sent to the Blog Editor but, as he is myself, there probably won't be much corrective action!). The remainder of the game was a follows; the British won the fight on their right flank finally driving off the last of the French troops and clearing the roadway. On the French right the extra weight of the in-depth attack allowed the French to stop the British reserves and still send a battalion to destroy the wagons. Thus, having lost the tactical fight, the French had won the strategic situation as the fort was now going to remain badly short of supplies.

       I greatly enjoyed digging out these old minis (some of them were painted over thirty years ago!) and I have always had a soft-spot for the old RAFM French and Indian Wars figures. They are very much in the spirit of the old 25mm Minifigs style; solid and simple to paint but looking great when on the table. To my surprise and delight they are still in production! I may be purchasing some more to add to my ranks as their prices are quite reasonable for metal figures.

 

the one surviving copy of the rules, typed on my old Packard-Bell model 406CD

     One of the hardest part of writing rules is trying to reduce to writing the unwritten conventions of play that our group has established over the past decades. The mechanics of rules are simple enough to develop, but remembering that someone outside our group does not know what we have established as "enfilade" or "bad going" takes an act of will that I am sometimes not up to. What follows is a re-typing of the rules with a few additional explanatory texts added to make them more like rules and less like a QRS playsheet.

One Brain Cell Rules and the French and Indian Wars

     Organization: All troops are to be organized into bodies numbering six or twelve models; representing battalions of Foot, squadrons or Horse or Native American warbands. Foot battalions will number twelve figures, as will Native American warbands, while skirmishers and Horse are to be grouped into units of six. 

     Formations: Regulars and Militia may move in Line, Column, or Unformed Order. Native Americans, and some specially trained Militia and Light Battalions may move in Skirmish Order. Additionally Native Americans may only move in Skirmish or Massed Order. Changing formation deducts the high movement die from Native Americans and Militia while Regulars lose their low die. Rallying from Unformed counts as a formation change, as does any other formation change.

     Examples of formations, each X represents a miniature.

         Line                                    Column                           Unformed

 XXXXXXXXXXXX                                 XXX                        XXX        XXX

                                                       XXX                                XXX         XXX

                                                       XXX

                                                       XXX

      Skirmish                                                      Massed

X    X     X  X   X                                                  XXXX

   X      X      X        X                                           XXXXX

        X     X        X                                               XXX

       Limbered                                       Unlimbered/Manhandled

    GXXXXX                                                               XGX

                                                                              XXX 

      Movement: To simulate the difficulties of controlling movement as troops cross the terrain all units move at random rates subject to certain limitations. Generally Native Americans, skirmishers and trained Light Battalions ignore terrain except linear obstacles. Formed troops become Unformed after entering bad going.

      Roll                                             Modifiers (apply to all troop types)

      Regulars    roll 2xDav                 Regulars move 1/2 speed in bad going and become unformed

      Militia roll 1Dav+1D6                Regulars, Militia or limbered guns moving by road add 1D6

      Native Americans roll 2xD6       add 1D6 if charging (does not combine with road bonus)

      Manhandled light guns  1Dav     crossing a linear obstacle deducts 2" of movement

      Horse    roll 3Dav                        Formation changes deduct low die from Regulars and high die
                                                           from others

      Troops may wheel by pivoting on their inside corner, this is considered movement. Charging troops may not wheel more than one half of their movement and only then during the first half of the charge.

      Troops may change facing by keeping the center point of the front edge of the unit in place while the rest of the unit is rearranged to face in a new direction. This is all of their movement for the turn and they are considered as having moved for shooting purposes.

      Evading troops (Militia, trained Light Battalions and Native Americans only) move 3d6 and end Unformed requiring a turn to rally, if caught by charging troops they receive casualties and do none in return.

     Shooting: All troops may fire every turn, they will pay penalties for moving and shooting.

     To shoot roll 1D6 per every three figures (rounding up), 3D6 per Light Gun or 5D6 per heavy gun

     Cannon shoot double dice at short range.  

     Skirmishers shoot all around measuring from the center of the unit.

     Units in lines or Unformed have a thirty degree arc of fire from their center front.

     Guns have a forty-five degree arc from the line of the muzzle. 

     All distances are measured from the center of the shooting unit to the nearest part of the target

     A six hits at long range, a five or six at medium range and a four, five or six at short range.

                                           Weapons have different ranges as follows;

                                                                Short                         Medium                   Long

              Bow.............................................6"..............................................................12"

              Musket........................................4"..............................10"...........................16"

              Rifle............................................6"..............................14"...........................20"

              Light Gun....................................8"..............................14"..........................24"

              Heavy Gun..................................8"..............................20"..........................30"

              Shooting Modifiers

               If firing at skirmishers or unformed at Medium or Long range deduct 1 from the die roll

               Skirmishers and Unformed Units fire at half effect, rounded up

               Moving Units (except skirmishers) fire at half effect, rounded down

               Deployed gunners count as a skirmish target, limbered count as an unformed target

               Shooting at an enfiladed target add 2D6

               Shooting at units in cover takes an additional minus one to the die roll.

               Formed units conducting their first volley of the game add one to the die roll

        Melee:    Roll 1D6 per figure needing a six or higher to score a hit. 

                     Modify the die roll as follows, modifiers are cumulative:

                      Formed European Foot.................................................+1

                      Grenadiers.....................................................................+1

                      Charging.......................................................................+1

                      Defending a linear obstacle..........................................+1

                      Cavalry vs Foot............................................................+2

                      Native Americans or Trained Lights in bad going.......+1

                      Any vs Unformed or Skirmish in the open..................+1

                      Striking flank or rear...................................................add 2D6

     Winner is the side that inflicts the most casualties, if tied the attacker retires 1D6 unless he has wiped out the opposing unit. All forces involved test morale if they suffered any casualties. All units involved in a Melee are Unformed afterwards, except Skirmishers. A charging unit that wins the melee may choose to occupy the space the defender was holding.

     Morale:    Morale is tested after Shooting and Melee steps if the unit has suffered any casualties during that step. To conduct a Morale test Regulars or Militia roll 2D6 (or 2D3 for small units) Militia add one while Grenadiers deduct two from the result. Native Americans roll a D12 (or a D6 for small units) deducting two if they are currently in cover or hidden from enemy fire. A unit must score less than the remaining number of figures to pass. If the score is equal to or higher than the remaining number of miniatures consult the following chart:

                       Equal........................no advance next turn

                       One higher...............fall back 1/2 D6 facing foe

                       Two higher...............fall back 1D6 facing foe, or stand and become Unformed

                       Three higher.............fall back 2D6 facing away and Unformed

                       Four higher...............routed, run away 4D6, facing away unformed

     Units that have fallen back Unformed or have Routed must test again the next turn to Rally. If they Rally that is their action for the turn.

NOTES:

       The Gamemaster may freely decide to deviate from any and all the rules by altering the effects terrain has upon troops movement. Adjusting the Morale, Melee or Shooting of troops to suit the scenario. Surprise weather effects may be freely inflicted (a sudden rain squall in Turn Three reduces all shooting by half). Basically you are in charge, feel free to amend anything at you whim.

    The Order of Play is as follows:

            Charge Declarations followed by Evasions, movement is then diced for

            Normal Movement is diced for and then moved

            Rally Tests

            Shooting with any attendant Morale Checks, the results of which are imposed immediately

            Melee with any attendant Morale Checks, the results of which are imposed immediately

     During movement if less than three figures pass through bad going no penalty is imposed.

     Enfilades are understood to be in effect if a line projected along the front of the target unit passes through any part of the front of the shooting unit the target is subject to enfilade effects. See below

Shooting Unit                                                  Target
    X
    X
    X
    X
    X
    X __________________________ XXXXXXXXXXXX
    X
    X
    X
    X
    X
    X

     Half Effect means that the final outcome is halved, not the opportunity for that outcome. Half Effect shooting does not change the number of dice thrown, nor the required score to hit, it only impacts the final number of hits achieved.

     Shooting may not be conducted through gaps less than the shooting unit's frontage

     Cannon may conduct overhead fire from an elevated position if the distance to the troops being fired over is less than the distance between the enemy and the friendly unit. Muskets cannot fire overhead except from fortifications. 

     Charging is the only way to initiate hand to hand combat. 

 

     Moving units must stop two inches away from formed enemy units in their path. formed troops may "push" enemy skirmishers aside by advancing toward them. The Skirmish unit must retire to a distance of five inches from the enemy, this does not count as movement on their part. The Skirmish unit may choose to move to the side up to five inches to avoid the unfriendly contact but is only allowed to do so if this would end with all of their figures two inches or more from the enemy.

     Skirmish units holding a linear obstacle cannot be "pushed"

      Native American units in Massed formation are not subject to being "pushed" by formed troops but they also may not shoot in that formation.

     Bad Going is any terrain that impedes or disrupts the free movement of formed troops such as; woods, scrub, marsh, a freshly plowed field. Some of these terrain types will provide cover to troops inside them. 

     To claim cover from a linear obstacle or Bad Going the unit must be in contact with the edge of that cover.

     You cannot shoot through two edges of an area of woodland or buildings.

     Buildings count as Bad Going for movement but do not cause stationary troops inside them to become unformed.

     Buildings count as linear obstacles and cover for troops defending them.

     Formed troops become Unformed AFTER entering Bad Going, if a unit is at the edge Bad Going and subject to a Charge the charging unit fights at full effect during that turn before becoming Unformed at the end of the turn. Movement penalties accrue as soon as they enter the bad going. They become Unformed even if they choose not to enter the terrain after winning the melee.

    Skirmish units cannot be enfiladed.

     Unformed units can be enfiladed.