Game 1: In this game I was the Patriots and the British were on a hill, but would only reluctantly come off.
Here is a view of early in the game:
I had militia rifles in the woods on my left and cavalry covering both flanks. My opponent was new to DBx games and didn't take the suggestions to keep his troops together in order to reduce the number of pips, so he had little penny packets all over the table. Here is a little later in the game:
The Patriot right has now engaged the British and flanked them with their cavalry. It is the beginning of the end. The game ended up with the Patriots winning 5-1.
Summary: This game lasted a long time. I thought I had broken the system. Instead, it was really a function of the fact that we were both rolling very high for pips every turn, which allowed both of us to recover from the disorder AND still attack somewhere. Also, the hesitance of my opponent meant he did not take some calculated risks when the opportunity presented itself. Given that it was only his second DBx-type game, I don't blame him.
Game 2: Today I played a veteran DBA player and it turned out vastly different. I played the British on the same board, only they were approaching the ridge this time. (Sorry, no pictures due to camera problems.)
As it turned out, each of our left flanks were the strong side, so it became a race to see who could turn the others' flank. At a critical moment, the Patriots tossed for 1 pip, so he could not bring his Rifles to bear upon my flank. The ensuing firefight between the two lines left the British elites intact on the left facing a disordered American line. The British General (I also got only 1 pip) ordered the British and Hessian Grenadiers to fix bayonets and give the rebels some cold steel. That was the final straw (well, that and the rebels rolling a '1' while I rolled a '6'), as the Continentals fled. It was a British 4-1 win.
What went wrong? Mostly, it was the Rebel commander not realizing the high minus for
loose-order infantry attacking open-order infantry in bad going. This is a standard for DBN. My opponent's point was that the attacking loose-order infantry was light infantry, so should be like DBA auxilia (good in Bad Going). Good point. I need to think about it. I think he is right, but that means I need to start coming up with nominal army lists in order to limit the amount of light infantry that either side can purchase, as it would give light infantry an advantage, with no increase in point cost.
All in all it was a very enjoyable game, and not just because I won. :)
Summary: Game played much different than the first one. Two things were different, which made for a vastly different result:
1. In the first game my opponent and I kept rolling high for pips, allowing us to constantly remove the disorder. In the second game, my opponent and I kept rolling low for pips once the firefight started, so neither of us could easily recover the damage AND make aggressive moves. This not only makes the initial firefights more decisive, but for a much quicker game.
2. My opponent in the first game was less aggressive than my opponent in the second, and stayed on the hill, forcing me to attack uphill, which they are not wont to do. It essentially required I firepower my way through the first game and firepower is less decisive (less chance to destroy a unit) than close combat. In the second game my opponent came aggressively off the hill and met me on my side of the middle.
I am working diligently on the rules, using the WADBAG publication as an outline for what should be covered. Looking over those rules I noticed that the following are the most significant differences between DBA and DB-AWI:
1. Being in column has a penalty if you are caught in it when the firing starts.
2. Disorder. (Yes, I finally broke down and used markers.)
3. Units can shoot from woods and be shot at (I limit it to 100 paces through woods only, and you cannot shoot through woods [i.e. in and out]).
4. Being flanked in DB-AWI has additional penalties in firing and close combat as compared to DBA.
5. General are detached sub-units (per DBN).
There are a few minor things that I thought was a good idea when I started, but have decided isn't worth the bother to remember, so I'll be changing that. I am also going to start some nominal army lists, but will probably focus on the Southern Campaign first (and most) as that is my interests. I will also start experimenting with a sliding scale (i.e. each element can represent a different number of people, depending upon the size of the battle).
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