The (incredibly difficult if you're the Prussians...) Battle of Lobositz.
Lots of d6, lots of (mis)activations; but hey, it's Christmas.
'Where's this Slack Chowder he's talking about? I'm hungry.'
Saturday, 14 December 2019
Lobositz Christmas Game
This year's game, with all six players participating (well Steve as Ref) - Lobositz with Slack Chowder - The Rules that let you Roll Dice and Move Miniatures...
The (incredibly difficult if you're the Prussians...) Battle of Lobositz.
Lots of d6, lots of (mis)activations; but hey, it's Christmas.
Table set up.
The Austrian centre.
The Prussian centre-left; facing Lobositz from the vantage of the Humulkaberg.
Austrian units would hold Lobositz all day.
The sunken road running to the bridge across the Morellan-Bach.
Prussian cavalry, surging around all day looking for breakthroughs, or sitting on the left doing very little, but preventing free reign movement of Austrian units.
The Prussian left, where there would be fighting all day on Lobosch Hill.
Buckets 'o' d6.
Good view of the centre and right of the Prussian line, where infantry assaults would be deflected, while cavalry would seek a breakthrough on the well defended flank at Sullowitz..
More action from the left flank.
...where Prussian cavalry sat all day, east of the hill, in order to prevent free movement on the Austrian right. Ultimately wasted...
Just look at those lovely limbers!!! ;0
We tried pressing down real hard on the table in order to try and make it flip, but to no avail...
Action in the centre, but it's a tough nut to crack.
The Prussian right was quiet most of the day, and proved to be well defended. By the end of the day, Austrians were counterattacking through the marsh, to the north of the biscuit wrappers.
Prussian elite forced back in the centre.
Action on the right, near cookie vale.
By game end, Austrian units are counterattacking in the centre, as the Prussian left collapses on Lobosch Hill, and Prussian cavalry is hamstrung on the far right.
The (incredibly difficult if you're the Prussians...) Battle of Lobositz.
Lots of d6, lots of (mis)activations; but hey, it's Christmas.
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Excellent game photos, Darren. Beautiful armies. They look to be predominately Old Glory. I recognize many of them. Lobositz is not one of Frederick's battles I have gamed but it is on my list.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to prepare for the holidays!
Yes thanks Jonathan.
DeleteNot my figures but the guys have a fantastic 7YW collection. Great to see them out if force.
Cheers Darren! Lobositz is my absolute favorite battle of the SYW. Definitely not Frederick's! This looks smashing. Ive never heard of slack chowder...we gamed Lobositz using a similarly "pronounced" set of horse and musket rules published by warlord games which shall remain nameless on your blog...
ReplyDeleteIm hosting our Christmas game next week ! Cant tell you much about it, im afraid. It's a surprise!
Looks like you guys had a blast. Love the OG figures, too.
Thanks Steve. I'm still going to buy the 2nd edition and keep trying them...but it's a tough nut for me to crack...like Lobositz itself LOL
DeleteHave you tried it with V&B by the way? I've been looking at V&B again recently with a view to American Revolution battles.
Aha...is your Christmas game Saratoga perhaps???
DeleteAll in good time, Darren! ;) ive played Saratoga with Volley and Bayonet "wing scale" and also with BP.
DeleteWe tried playing Lobositz with VB also but had too many questions. It actually played faster with BP.
DeleteNO! NOOOOOO! Say it isn't so!
DeleteYeah, I can see that V&B generates questions due to scale and gameplay with Lobositz - though more suited to AWI wing I would guess.
To be fair, we were playing with one of the guys in our group who asks all the hard questions during gameplay. Im usually content to just play the rules incorrectly lol!
DeleteTwas a most excellent game overall (and your retention of place names far exceeds mine ! or dd you take home the scenario sheet ?).
ReplyDeleteDespite discussions you know I prefer FOB too , but tweaked BP is a decent alternative once you accept its inherent arbitrary nature and as you point out buckets of dice system.
I have certainly played worse sets and I fear one must accept a certain level of abstraction etc with any set that you wish to use for battles as big as these with multiple players if you want to actually complete a game in reasonable time. The turns certainly rattle along at a good rate.
We must get a game in with THE horse and musket set as its been awhile.
Place names - aha - I checked the scenario in the V&B rulebook ;)
Delete...Gritting my teeth - buying it at Christmas - have you seen the typos/rules errors noted here however:
https://independentwargamesgroup.blogspot.com/2018/10/black-powder-two-first-review.html
I think you have already picked one of the errors up.
Yes - I have many 9YW/Marlburian battles to set up with FoB, and AWI period also, now that the MG42/Rifle sharpshooters are fixed.
Yes couple of minor typos and one faux pas with a duplicated table (thankfully not replicated in QRS). BP not my fav set but have enough to generate a reasonable (if lesser) game and that others in group prefer them to FOB just means we have a viable alternative set that we can all enjoy. A certain element of fun tweaking to fit your own view of a period as well just like FOB. Rolling 65 dice in total to resolve 2 Cav combats is certainly a different model to FOB with a mere 4 albeit of maybe varied types !! A different form of extreme results/outcomes to be sure but fun in its own way :-)
DeleteAn eloquent and cogent examination of the rules and the principles and, might I say, dynamism in terms of their somewhat stylised representation of the era, whilst retaining the tweakability of said contemporary appreciations of what we have come to regard as standardised wargames concepts.
Delete...I still hate 'em...
One must learn to tolerate not hate...............
DeleteThey are a simplistic model at heart but a few bells and whistles makes them playable for what they aim for.
I'm all about toleration. I've learnt to love all creeds and races, governments and ideologies, different viewpoints and politics; I've even bought paint and varnish from Games Workshop while the fat kidz shout and scream in the shop...
Delete...just ...can't ...like ..Slack Chowder ....
I've just been reading Germantown from the AWI scenario book.
DeleteI've played it with FoB - I'll set it up and try it with SC...I mean BP...in the near future as a group game.
Interesting to compare although fairly sure it will pale in comparison at least for us :-)
DeleteGreat looking game as usual Duc - Slack Chowder? Something fishy about that..
ReplyDeleteNormally I'm all over fishy smells
Delete...granted, this one stinks...
I love refighting this battle. The Prussians are up against it, which makes a nice change. Lovely set up and well done.
ReplyDeleteThank you sir. The guys have excellent collections of figures and terrain.
DeleteActually I have referred to one of your posts with regard to Black Powder review, so thanks for posting.
It's a very tough battle for the Prussians, yes.
A wonderfully epic battle there sir as befits the subject. Hope no-one is suffering from the dreaded 'dice rollers wrist' after a brush with those rules!.
ReplyDeleteToo many dice...
DeleteWas almost as bad as Warhamster in that regard.
I'm sure wrist injuries can be gained through more positive pursuits...
Wait...what?
LOL!
DeleteIt is a fine looking game, and it seems like the company was excellent as well.
Just shouldda used Field of Battle! :-)
Shoulda...coulda...woulda...
DeleteYou see guys! It takes the Great Gonsalvo to re-inject a modicum of common sense into the proceedings !