Stones River 1862, with Volley & Bayonet

Having some time over Easter to set up a large game, one of the ACW battles from the old V&B '90s scenario book seemed appropriate.

Stones River is of an appropriate size for the table and troop numbers, but even at that, is definitely designed for 4-5 players rather than two - mainly for the management of simple paperwork on the rosters - which can be time consuming with less players. The added advantage of many players also is that some may consider 'orders' as mere 'suggestions' bearing in mind that their division is about to collapse, which seems very in period. 

 

First army to lose 3/4 (ish) of its divisions to exhaustion would lose here.

Confederate positions with the river to their back...not healthy at all!

 To review turn sequence: 

Command Determination (check which stands are in command)

Movement (generous, but a turn is 1 hour)

Rally (routed units in contact with corps/army commander - these are essential)

Morale Checks (both sides in contact, or in 'close' range - artillery is the only element that enforces that here)

Combat (firing/melee resolved together; attacker chooses order – KEY, if shot at, the defender shoots back – choose carefully).

Exhaustion & Collapse (division checks if over casualty threshold - these become very important and affect ability to charge and move) 

A successful union defence (albeit a very close run thing) in the centre

 To zone in on one of these this episode: 

The rules state: 'combats take place sequentially' - granted defenders can fire back, but not if they do not survive the volleys against them; also - 'defending stands which were not attacked may fire defensively at any enemy stands...at close range'. 

The beauty of this is that artillery ha a close range, though infantry rifle muskets and carbines do not - which makes choice of who to fire at, and which units to do it with, all the more interesting. This matters if your division needs to focus on a particular unit, or escape vector, and avoid being clobbered by stronger units before their half of the turn...gamey?, but it works well - especially so when divisions are on the verge of collapse, since your opponent will be playing exactly the same game.

the confederate right, where divisions would simply stare at each other for hours, waiting for a flank action to their right...which never really happened

The Reb attack on their left flank

Union stationary units give dense fire

The centre, where each side tries to goad the other into attacking first...the Rebs buckle and attack, because they are forced to due to action on their left

View from the Reb right - everything is happening on the left initially, though note the movement of Union reinforcements in the rear

Union brigades defend well...at first, and yet do take a heavy toll on some of the Reb brigades

It looks like somehow, the centre will be key

Union assault on the centre - unsuccessful as Palmer's division is simply blown away!

...but they keep coming...

The left becomes a trap for the Rebs, losing division after division, being forced to move troops from the precious centre...as well as corps commanders and Bragg himself

Union troops move to reinforce the centre now

...as their right holds fast...just

The Union have enough troops to plug the gaps - the Confederates...not so much.

Another Union push in the centre - which will be pivotal this time, breaking the Reb centre

'Hang on boys!'

View across the battlefield, from the Rebel right

The Rebel left is cooked...and the Union are in little better shape

All that is left of the Reb centre

Rebs hold on the Union left, but crossing the river, with three divisions already exhausted elsewhere is too dangerous

'Watch the flank boys!' Too many gaps to cover now in the centre

...and now with pressure on the Rebel right

In the end, 5 Reb divisions were exhausted - too much to come back from, as the Union troops could plug all the gaps, but a great game!

 

Punic Wars Battle - with 'Battle Command: Ancients & Medieval'

Last post, I talked about ‘Midgard Heroic Battles’, with the promise that we would do the same battle with the Piquet/FoB3 based: ‘Battle Command: Ancients and Medieval’ (BCAM) by Brent Oman/Piquet Wargames.

Again, I offer the compare-and-contrast style previously completed for ‘Field of Battle vs  Volley and Bayonet’ Both sets target similar periods (or at least play-styles as Midgard has more fantasy elements and sorcery etc.) but deliver very different experiences.

Midgard explicitly embraces a “heroic deeds” ethos, with systems for battle, heroes and reputation at work - inspired by sagas and legends. BCAM spans Biblical-era wars through the Wars of the Roses and stays firmly historical with a strong emphasis on command friction and fog of war, evolving from DNA and mechanics of the Field of Battle/Piquet family.

I just played the Punic Wars scenario again  – much more tense, more drama, more to and fro of initiative. Excellent game, right to the wire…

Core Philosophy and Feel

• Midgard is narrative-driven and cinematic. Heroes are game-changers who lead from the front, perform Mighty Deeds, and can duel enemy champions. Battles are designed to feel epic and heroic — charging your warlord into the fray is  encouraged and decisive. Reputation (victory points) is tied directly to preserving the army’s prestige and the heroes’ glory.
• BCAM is a command simulation. Leadership quality, card decks, and the Action Matrix create constant friction and tough choices. It’s less about individual heroics and more about managing an army under imperfect information and limited control. The feel is closer to a gritty, decision-heavy historical recreation — broad-brush but tactically rich.  

The feel is very different – but the tense play definitely came from BCAM today. Midgard does give Hollywood/Iliad heroism; but BCAM offers command chaos and actual drama.

 

Activation and Turn Sequence

• Midgard: Semi-alternating IGOUGO with an Attacker/Defender role
1. Mighty Deeds phase (heroes refresh points).
2. Attacker moves
3. Melee (including hero single combats).
4. Defender repeats movement + melee.
5. Alternating missile fire. Units can become fatigued (fewer moves) as stamina drops.
• BCAM: Card-driven, non-linear sequence (core Piquet/Field of Battle DNA). Each side has a small deck (8–9 cards). Initiative, leadership quality (CiC rating), and the new Action Matrix determine what you can do (less randomness – more choice).
• Cards offer primary actions (Move, Melee, Infantry Fire, etc.) plus secondary options via the Matrix.
• You constantly choose where to focus limited command pips — whole army, a command group, or a single unit. Multiple decisions and built-in friction.

Critical take: Midgard is smoother and more predictable, though has many systems operating on different ‘wavelengths’. BCAM is more tense and re-playable for players who love  “what do I do – what can I do -  with this card?” moments.

BCAM’s system reduces downtime compared to older FoB systems. There is some administrative overhead, but it's quite unique.

Combat and Morale

• Midgard: Units roll Combat Dice (based on type/quality). Hits must equal or exceed the target’s Armour value to cause Stamina loss (basically HP). Fresh vs. depleted units matter. Support saves, secondary/supporting units in melee, and hero interventions add depth. Morale is baked into reputation and stamina.
• BCAM: Opposed dice with modifiers, armour classes, and UI attrition (like Field of Battle). Skirmishers and evasion are more nuanced for ancients. Pursuit rules and morale checks feel grittier…and battle is bloody, gaps open up, and you have to command the army, not hero systems.

BCAM gives more granular period flavour (especially light troops and missile fire).

 

Victory Conditions

• Midgard: Reputation-based. Start with 8–10+ tokens. Lose them when units rout or heroes die. First to zero reputation (or most at scenario end) loses. It elegantly rewards heroic preservation and punishes reckless hero deaths, but the system needs to managed in game.
• BCAM: Classic Piquet-style army morale/break point via cumulative UI losses and morale checks triggered by cards.

Midgard’s system feels more “heroic”; BCAM’s is more attritional and realistic.

 Midgard captures the “heroic age” element. Lots of systems/traits/dice/hero elemnts, but tactically deep once mastered.. Encourages aggressive, characterful play. There are some gamey systems – many traits and d6 systems (re-roll 1s, 5 and 6s hit etc. etc.) – systems not always intuitive. Needs multiple plays to manage systems. There are more modern systems akin to Warhammer Ancient Battles, Hail Caesar, or Dragon Rampant.

Battle Command: Ancients and Medieval: Outstanding command-and-control simulation. Always intuitive. The Action Matrix creates constant meaningful decisions. Excellent fog-of-war feel (always a bonus). Solo-friendly. Scales well across the entire ancient/medieval spectrum with period-specific tweaks (evasion, skirmish). Demands more plays - realistic command friction, tough tactical choices every turn, and a system that rewards clever use of limited resources.

Both are strong modern rulesets that avoid (most of the) bloat of older systems. BCAM is superb if you already love the engine.

Early cavalry action on the Roman left

Some of the Roman units are unstoppable - the Carthaginians avoid them where possible

Gauls pushed back on the left, despite their willingness to press the attack

'ELE-CAM'

Carthaginian pressure...as Romans fare poorly on their right

Gauls suffer on the Carthaginian left, and their commander goes down

The Gauls on the Carthaginian left have been all but stopped - with a dead commander. Greek mercs hold the centre against a strong Roman counter-attack.

 

'Diskoball the Mighty!'

'Havnoball' the squeaky

'Bothballs' goes down

Elephants still very active despite losses - they have only broken once...causing minor devastation

Greek Mercs on the Roman right

Severe pressure on the Roman left and in the centre, as Greek mercs move and stop the Roman juggernaut - critical times, as Army Morale runs out for the Romans

By game end, a close run thing, the Carthaginians force the Roman centre to break, and a withdrawl of the remaining force. Another excellent game.