15 July 2018

Last Game I Played - Black Powder

I played my first game of Black Powder, a hypothetical scenario of the Saxons fighting the French around 1806 using Mark's lovely collection of 15/18mm miniatures.

Having played Pike & Shotte and Hail Caesar before, I was able to muddle my way through the game. Things weren't slow, even though there was plenty of lead on the table and above all the game was a lot of fun.

Below is my Saxon army arrayed at the beginning of the battle. On the left flank my cavalry division of heavy (garde du corps, leib cuirassiers and cuirassiers) and light (hussars, Chevau-légers and uhlans) cavalry units supported by artillery:


My central division with infantry and artillery:


And finally my right flank with grenadiers, light infantry and artillery:


Mark fielded a similar composed army of French.

I decided to be aggressive with my grenadiers and charge forward (without softening up the opposition). Unsurprisingly they got surrounded and blown to bits (I hopefully won't be doing that again).


This was followed by my light cavalry being out fought by their counterparts (uhlans charging uhlans):


I put up a stiff fight, but with both flanks collapsing, and having failed to succeed in taking the town it was a clear victory to Mark.


Along with the 15mm Field of Glory Napoleonic games that were being played, this game inspired me to pull out my collection of unpainted AB Figures French and start getting them prepped for painting. Let's see if I can get at least a unit or two painted by the end of the year. And my thoughts on Black Powder with 15mm miniatures? Loved it - quick and easy. And with any game able to cope with this much on the table gets a big thumbs up from me.