Wilderness War.

[Belisarius]

Thanks guys , appreciate the feedback. The French player has 4 x cards left ( having used ambush in a combat ) while the British player is holding 5.  In essence there are 18 cards to play between them , both start with 9 each , in the first half of the year 1757 before the seasons turn to the Autumn/Winter and they both get another full hand of 9.

[Belisarius]

5th card . The French play “ Campaign “  and activities Montcalm to travel by boat ( max 9 x spaces ) taking the Bearn and La Sarre regulars and the 3 x Indian War parties from Montreal to Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga.  The British player starts to hear “ There may be trouble ahead “ being played on a tin whistle below his window .  French 2nd move to follow .

[Belisarius]

French also activate Dumas to move to Augusta . British player deploys his Colonial Militia from the Southern Militia holding box into the stockade . French attack the stockade. Dumas gets +1 for tactics and -1 for attacking the stockade, cancels out .  Straight dice throw with no modifiers , Fr throw 2 and Brits 1 . Negligible casualties on both sides but the attacker retreats in the event of a draw . Dumas pulls back to Allegheny South .  The Southern Colonial Militia go back into their box ( simulates local defence force ).  Edit, Dumas may have done better to try to infiltrate past Augusta with a single Auxiliary unit ( Indians or CdeBois ) but that’s being wise after the event and may still happen another time.

[Belisarius]

British see the French build up at Ticonderoga and anticipate an imminent assault at Hudson Carry North ( Fort William Henry ) . Loudoun has 4 x Regular battalions and 2 x under strength Provincial units there . There are other commands close by at Albany , Hudson Carry South and Schenectady which can be called on in the event of a French assault  . He doesn’t want to get bottled up in the Fort with the bulk of his forces , leaving the French free to move . Consequently he plays “ Raise Provincial Regiments “ and brings the New Hampshire and N.Jersey outfits back up to full strength.

[Belisarius]

6th Card : French play “ Lake Schooner “ for 1pt and , leaving Bougainville with 1 x CdeBois in Ticonderoga , they move Montcalm with Riguad and 4 x battalions of Fr. Regulars along with 4 x Indian war partys south to lay siege to Fort William Henry.  Loudoun, British , pulls his 4 x Regular battalions inside the fort ( holds max of 4 units ) and orders his 2 x Provincial units to avoid battle and pull back to Hudson Carry South . Both units have to dice separately,  both needing a 4 or better to pass , a failure means they fight on their own outside the Fort . They both pass and succeed in slipping away to join Webb’s Command .  This “ Annus Mirabilis “ scenario is rapidly turning into an Annus Horribillis for the British.....

[Belisarius]

British play a 2 value card, and hoping to regain the initiative , they move Rodger’s Rangers 6x spaces from H.C.South into the White River valley stopping at Cowass.

[Belisarius]

7th Card:  French play a 2 value card and raise the siege level , at Fort Cumberland by 1 . They also activate a  CdeBois and move it from Niagara to Mohawks Branch , thereby threatening to raid into the square cultivated spaces .

[DintheDin]

You are doing a very comprehensive presentation! Watching with interest! Cheers!

[Belisarius]

Thanks , Dinos , always good to hear from you . Two chums joined me and together we finished the summer season and played through to into the winter of 1757. Notable events were Rodger’s Rangers raiding the St. John space , leaving a marker , and gaining a Victory Point for the British . The French took Fort William Henry  , after 2 x assaults , gaining 2 x VPs , but losing one when the British played the “ Massacre “ card.  This game exceeded my expectations and added to my knowledge and appreciation of the geography and problems faced by the participants, as all good games should. I can heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the period as a serious attempt to reflect the Military and Political events which shaped this conflict. It could , also , easily translate into tabletop battles using this as a campaign guide . Hope this thread goes some way towards answering questions which members may have about playing these board games .

[DintheDin]

Nice! I quote your last phrases:

This game exceeded my expectations and added to my knowledge and appreciation of the geography and problems faced by the participants, as all good games should. I can heartily recommend it to anyone interested in the period as a serious attempt to reflect the Military and Political events which shaped this conflict. It could , also , easily translate into tabletop battles using this as a campaign guide . Hope this thread goes some way into answering questions which members may have about playing these board games .

Great! This is the essence of good and enjoyable wargaming! Cheers!

[Hu Rhu]

Have just picked up on this thread and like the idea of the Game being used as campaign to allow the combats to be fought on the tabletop.  Keep up the good work.

[olicana]

I bought this game several years ago and absolutely love it.

I used a similar card driven game (Hannibal: Rome Vs Carthage) to play a 2nd Punic War miniatures campaign to good effect and think Wilderness War will work even better because the OOB is so well done in it. I just need the figures (on the to do list) and the tabletop rules.

The card driven GMT games are all excellent though some are more complex than others, Thirty Years War being a prime example. The cards certainly give period feel and a strong contextual narrative to the games.

Four or five years ago I bought GMT's Onward Christian Soldiers to do a 1st Crusade miniatures campaign (I actually have the figures for this) but haven't even managed a board game with it yet. Still, winter is coming, or so I'm told.

[Belisarius]

I too am a big fan of GMT games , the components are generally top notch. I,ve also played Hannibal and enjoyed it . My favourite games at the moment are Liberty or Death ( AWI ) and Fire in the Lake  ( Vietnam War ) both by gmt.   Sharp Practice 2 would be the rules I,d probably use in transferring the action from board to table with this game . SP2 has lists for the F&Ind wars which my group have played and enjoyed.  We,re playing the first game of Paths of Glory ( WW1 ) on our regular Tuesday night in the basement , this week btw.

[olicana]

I've played that game once. I got absolutely stuffed by making schoolboy errors, the first being not having read the rules and relying on my opponent to 'fill me in'. He sought to do this by digging a hole, telling me to get into it, then he filled that in. Good game though.

[Belisarius]

I,m afraid I only play once with guys like your friend , life’s too short for Rules Lawyers and Have to Win at all costs merchants. 😎 Theres a very good tutorial on the Boardgamesgeek site on this game btw.