Through the Square Window second test game.

Onwards to battle with a new understanding of the melee combat rules under my belt.  The scenario remains the same as the first test game although I have now added some small woods for the Scottish Dragoons to lurk in and both sides have a base of light artillery.

As last time the Scottish infantry is better than the English but their horse is less effective in melee being Harquebusiers v charging cavalry.  Thinking about how the rules work both sides decided to start the game with a slower advance than last game.  This is to keep back an action for emergency use if charged.  To offset the impact of IGO-UGO mechanisms units may keep back an action for use in evading, counter charging or forming a pike square if the other player declares a charge in their turn.  This is of real value as cavalry counter charging are not subject to a disadvantage in melee and evading makes sense for lightly armed types.  It creates a dilemma for players though as by hold back an action they must either not move (to be able to shoot) or not shoot to be able to move!  Units which have not advanced at least 5cm can suffer badly on poor morale rolls. 

Other than some ineffective artillery fire both sides restricted themselves to moving forwards in the first turn.  I have learned the value of keeping moving forwards if morale tests are required.  Remember if a unit hasn't advanced at least 5cm and they are required to take a morale test it is much easier to rout them!  

Move two was where both sides got down to business.  The Scots having won the initiative dice roll open fire with their harquebusiers and one infantry battalia targeting the English horse to try to whittle down their advantage in strength points as this has a direct impact on melee performance as well as triggering morale tests if hits are scored.  The result is some minor casualties and two units are stopped in their tracks.  In reply the English continue their steady advance and then their entire infantry frontage erupts in musket fire, while their horse declare charges against their opposite numbers.  In response the Harquebusiers elect to counter charge, hoping that the previous round of shooting will weaken the incoming English.  This is going to be interesting.

The end of the second turn.  The English are advancing.

Charging cavalry have more combat dice than harquebusiers (3 per base versus two per base) plus they gain an additional dice per base for charging or counter charging and a further additional dice for their first charge of the game).  Hmm I need a 'not yet charged' marker for their unit bases to keep track of that.

Surprisingly the lighter Scottish horse weather the storm and none of them rout!  While the English don't loose any combats ,their are a couple of drawn fights and a couple where the Scots morale test requires them to retire.  Still the Scottish horse live to fight for another turn, which is a result for them!

Turn three sees the Scots win the initiative roll (again) and they elect to stand so that they can both shoot and keep an action back to handle any English charges to contact.  This is not at all what the English wanted!  If they had won initiative they could have charged home before the Scots had chance to do anything.  This is due to the way the turn sequence works.  Player one moves and shoots then player two moves and shoots and then melee occurs.  The key is that units which charge or are contacted by a charge cannot shoot.  So the player with initiative has the chance to contact their enemy before they have chance to shoot.  BUT that only allows a counter charge or an evade not a round of shooting.  Clever mechanism really.  

Both sides have gotten down to it at the end of turn three

Anyway back to the game where all of the above is of no consequence as the Scots have the initiative. As in the previous turn the Scots stand their ground relying on firepower to weaken the English as they attempt to close to to contact.  Lets just say that their shooting was a little lack lustre some hits are inflicted but no halts or retirements.  The Dragoons in the woods are advancing and I'm beginning to see the value of difficult terrain.  Difficult terrain gives a small cover bonus for shooting and limits the troop types which can enter the knock on effect being that it limits the enemy ability to close to melee.

On the English turn they continue to close in and where ever possible they declare charges.  The poor quality English Foot are at a lesser disadvantage once they close to contact than they are when shooting so really want to move through the beaten zone as fast as they can.  That of course assumes that they will be able to weather the musketry and pass the charge test.  The charge tests didn't go exactly to plan with multiple units refusing to charge.  However some units do charge home and one Sottish foot unit panics and routs at the sight of the incoming cavalry unit rather than wait to slug it out!.

The Scots are starting to look a little ragged as those  English cavalry squadrons which manage to charge home inflict casualties and break one arquebusier squadron on the Scot's right wing.  It could have been a lot worse if all the English horse and foot had charged home.  As it is two Scottish Infantry battalia are retiring along with two cavalry units, but overall they are hanging on in there looking for their chance to dish it out.

Turn four has now come around and for the first time the Army Morale test could be failed by both sides.  This test takes the army strength point value (slightly confusingly this is not the total of all the units individual strengths, but a separate and lower value based on the number and types of units in the army)   This number is divided by six (rounding down) to decide the number of D6 rolled to check each army's willingness to continue in combat.  If the total score on the dice is equal to or lower that army strength points lost. routing or retiring from morale tests the army withdraws.  In this game both armies are rolling three dice so the lowest score they can roll is, of course, three. Both armies have units valued more than this routing, retiring or lost (just).  However both sides roll good and high and the fight goes on.  The Scots manage to rally a couple of routing units which avoids having gaping holes in their line but those units cannot do anything else for the rest of turn while they reorganise.

This time the English win the initiative roll and elect to move first in an attempt to get to grips before the Scots can shoot.  Remember chargers and chargees (is that a word) cannot shoot and this includes troops who declared a charge and failed to move!  Again the tests for charging don't go as well as the English had hoped and several units stall.  Most of their cavalry had elected to close up and shoot which with hindsight might not have been the best idea.  Still they manage to pursue the broken Scot's cavalry staying hard on their heels.  Elsewhere one English infantry unit panics and routs rather than charge home and two others simply stand where they are rather than close upon the Scottish foot.   This is not a good place to be as they are under the Scot's muskets at close range!  One unit does close to melee though. 

It was all looking so good for the English at the start of turn four

At the end of the English turn they have seen one Scottish infantry unit routing and have destroyed two cavalry squadrons.  

The Scots now ramp up the pressure.  Two Infantry units are eligible to fire salvoes and do so, into the ranks of the already wavering English foot.  Both target units break and flee (remember all the English foot are rated as poor and so cannot rally from rout so that is the end of their battle).  A third battalia is then broken in the melee combat phase.

Now we do the checks at the start of turn five and the English fail their army morale test ending the game.  They needed to score better than eight and only managed to roll five.  The Scottish dice were kinder rolling twelve which is more than enough to pass their army morale.

The end game. 

The red line shows the extent of the English advance and how their cavalry were starting to work around the flanks of the Scottish centre.  With hindsight it would have been better to refuse the centre for a couple of extra turns to allow the English cavalry to exploit their advance.

Further thoughts on these rules

I still really like these rules, although the way they are laid out creates some slight confusion.  Some examples of play would have helped make things clearer.  In the end I created a quick reference sheet and expanded on the sequence of play to remind myself about exactly what happens at each stage of the turn.  The main area of confusion was (and remains) pursuit as it is possible to read the references (which are in a couple of separate places in the rules) in two ways.  

There are a couple of things I would change (come on you knew I was always going to fiddle with things).  Firstly I'd switch Army Morale testing and Army Command phases around so that Morale comes first.  After all if the army has broken it doesn't matter if units are out of command range.  Secondly the morale test rules are a bit harsh for my taste.  Units have a basic one in six chance of routing on any morale test other than one taken to commence a charge, followed by a fairly hefty 50% base chance to dissipate (be removed from play) on attempting to rally from rout.  I like the morale mechanism but I'm less keen on the outcome tables.  Still I will play a few more games before meddling with those.  Lastly, and this is a really minor thing.  Poor units can't rally from rout.  I'd be tempted to give them a very slim chance of doing so perhaps by giving them a 2D6 rally test and only rallying on a double 6 result with a hefty chance of dissipating and an auto dissipation after the second rout move.

For me the key is that the rules are easy to learn, reasonably easy to remember and give a good game once the details of the turn sequence are nailed down.