This weekend I participated in a 15mm Johnny Reb II game. I usually don't show up for these games since they are usually very well attended but since I'm on a little ACW kick I went anyway. I had a good time and initially did very well, driving the confederates before me by breaking their left flank. The rebels then shifted many units to support this flank, and though, at games end, I still held my objectives, almost all my regiments were in rout. I'm not sure who the winner was officially, but it's strange how one bad deployment at set up (allowing a limbered btty of napoleons to be wiped out by enemy artillery fire) , probably put me in this position.
JRII is fun, and of the rules I've read or played thus far, it has the most "authentic" feel on a tactical level. But it is overly detailed (as befits a 1980s era rule-set) and not the fastest. I also feel that it's age really shows when it comes to Command and Control rules (and let's face it, in the Civil War poor generalship was probably the most important single factor in many battles) . I still would choose to play Guns at Gettysburg in 28mm if I was playing a regimental scale game. I feel that RFCM's Civil War Battles (which I have not actually played) probably sets the stage best and implements the various external factors that are critical in properly simulating any "political war". I know I am in the minority, but I think that players are best served by having to try and fulfill conditions imposed by some unseen "higher level commander". It often makes play more unpredictable and bloody.
I got some really beautiful GMB 28mm ACW flags from Jim this weekend, and found that the flagpoles I had already mounted my flag bearers with are too short. I used an existing set of Body's Banners to set the proportions, but these are noticably smaller than the GMB flags. Now I will have to dismount the flagpoles, from painted figures and start over, probably necessitating some touch=up paint work. Oh well. The ACW regiment is within a couple hours painting time of being completely painted. We'll see when I can squeeze that time in.
No comments:
Post a Comment