It's too hot to really go outside, I've got two kids to take care of, and the CinC Lead Gardens is away until the end of the month....so being left in "independent command", I find I'm on my own for the next couple of weeks with two kids to entertain! So....I pulled out my copy of Richard Borg's "Battle Cry" boardgame and laid it on the dining table and decided to let "nature take it's course"....
Predictably, my 5 year old noticed the game box immediately after waking up and wanted to set it up... So we set up his first "real" wargame! We used an interesting Battle Cry variant that was designed for kids that worked great for his first rule driven game. Basically the variant dispensed with the command cards and instead used a roll of the attack dice to determine the units you could move (1 die per general).
We had a great time with the game and I'm now really excited about my new opponent. I gave him two generals and I had one, (so he had a good chance of winning his first game) --which he did in fine style by capturing the high ground with his cav who proceeded to shoot up my counterattack with effective and rapid carbine fire.... and then following up with an infantry unit to seal my fate.
Later in the day, on the Battle Cry note, I decided to haul out a large batch of old 25mm ACW figures I had acquired on ebay a long while ago. I never could quite get up the enthusiasm to paint them up...but after this morning's game I thought they might make a good miniature version of the Battle Cry system. I used some pre-cut bases I already had to make units that had 4 stands for the infantry to match the boardgame's system of 4 infantry, 3 cav, and 2 artillery organization. I had already based these guys according to Richard Borg's miniature version of the game so I painted up the first unit shown here in the pics. The unit is designed to fit well in a 4" hex on my table and still be designed to have 4 removable "steps" that correspond with the boardgame.
An infantry unit is mounted on 4 bases: one is a 60x40mm with 4 figures as the front rank, backed up by three 20x20mm bases with a single figure each, giving 4 total bases. This means that even with 3 casualties, the last base will always still look like a unit on the table even when it is nearly destroyed.
Here is a pic of the whole Confederate force: 10 units of infantry, 3 artillery, 2 cavalry plus a general. This is a bit shy of the original game (by one cav unit), but if this works I'll have to acquire the cavalry to fill things out.
And here is a painted up unit... 4 men up front with three individually based in the second rank.
Though I'm a died in the wool miniatures man, the boardgaming world (particularly the Command and Colors system) still offers some interesting gaming possibilities that are ripe for exploration.
6 comments:
And if it gets the kids playing who can argue with that?
Looks like the little general was having fun. :)
Great stuff! Have a look over at some of my older posts to see how much like a regular miniatures wargame the C&C boardgames can become!
(Oh, and by the way your old medievals finally got into action a few weekends ago!)
That's a neat looking game. Your son looks to be off to a great start. Appears he's using his cavalry with infantry and artillery support to attack the enemy right. He also has some troops in reserve to see where they are most needed. Dean
A good thing to start them young, I say. Well done.
The only game that my father taught me at that age was poker . . . a game that I still enjoy and thank him for.
-- Jeff
A great start for the lil general, well done...
Now that is quality parenting! Memories that will last a lifetime.
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