Lights Out in the Valley - a modest TSATF AAR

[Mad Guru]

You go too far, Harry, and are far too hard on yourself!!!

All Marine0846 suggested and I concurred with was the idea of you buying another copy of The Sword And The Flame... but I very much appreciate the iconic imagery invoked in your post, and having met him myself, I'm certain the esteemed author of TSATF, the late great Larry Brom, would have loved it!

[Harry Faversham]

In mitigation... I did sell my copy to somebody from the LAF!

 

[Plynkes]

As that's the case, in the words of Daniel Dravot, "everything'sh all right then."


Guru, I'm not kidding, mate. You blog has been a source of inspiration and ideas for a long time.

I think one of the reasons I have never come to grips with TSATF is that for some reason I had got it into my head that it was a rule set for big battles, and since making the switch from 15mm many years ago I have been more of a skirmish gamer. Your report would appear to show that smaller encounters are perfectly possible, and may even be its forte. Not sure where I got the idea from. I think maybe many of the battle reports I've seen down the years have involved masses and masses of figures.

[Marine0846]

Plynkes,

If I may add my two cents.
I started playing the rules when they first came out in 1979.
Loved them after I played my first game.
In the last 30 plus years I have played a few hundred games.
The best games are one v one or two v two.
Two or three units for the Europeans and five to seven units of natives,
make for some excellent games.
Where the game fails is having too many units or players.
The card system slows the game a lot, when you have too many units or players.
Another of Larry's rule sets to play is The Sword in Africa.
Think TSATF lite.
Smaller units, ez morale rules, event cards, lots of fun.

[WillieB]

Mad, once again, a great game and an excellent terrain. I would also like the Gurkhas in my army, only I do not like miniatures from Faundy. Very much I wait when brothers Perry decide to make them.

Iron Duke will also produce a line of Gurkhas for the Indian Mutiny, all sculpted by Paul Hicks. Might be well worth waiting for.

[Mad Guru]

Oh, man, lots more for me to say!

Plynkes, oddly enough I may be the one -- or at least one of them -- responsible for you getting the impression that TSATF was meant for much largers games, thanks to my own rather large Maiwand Day games, and then even larger -- but also much more fairly balanced -- Charasiab games.  But for those scenarios I used a different version of the rules called "800 Fighting Englishmen (the Colonel and the Band), often abbreviated in TSATF circles to "800FE" -- which is the official "Big Battle" variant.  Over time I actually created my own custom hybrid of the classic and big battle versions, tailored specifically to my own gaming preferences and scenario needs.

Marine's point about the rules sometimes grinding down to a slow pace when too many units are engaged is a very legitimate one, but that dynamic can be solved by various adjustments included in the "Big Battle" approach to the game, where single movement or fire cards are applied to larger "Maneuver Elements".  Another key element is for the Game Master, or players themselves, to keep flipping cards at a good pace rather than allowing play to slow down while single move or fire decisions are drawn out for long stretches of time.

It's true, in its original and "natural" state, TSATF may best be described as a stylized large scale skirmish game, but its creator, Larry Brom, had nothing against "super sizing" scenarios, to the point where the growing popularity of doing so led him to design the dedicated "Big Battle" variant.  I think there is a lot to be said in favor of both approaches, but I honestly believe that with the right GM, or players on both sides with a shared approach (by which I mean either both sides make their decisions quickly or neither minds when the other side doesn't do so!) the rules can work well for larger games.

One last note: I've used my "Hybrid" version of the rules to run pretty big convention games with 3-6 Afghan players vs. 2-4 British players -- with pretty good success.

[Belgian]

Thanks for showing the excellent AAR and great miniatures! The rules sound interesting, any idea where I can buy them in paper or PDF, might be me my ticket for some colonial action.

[Mad Guru]

Belgian,

Thanks for your kind words re: my AAR and miniatures.

Here's a LINK to the page at the Sergeants 3 website, where all the many variants of THE SWORD AND THE FLAME are available for sale:

http://www.sergeants3.com/18.html#

They are also selling a PDF version just recently made available for purchase, at the bottom of the last page in the catalogue section at the above LINK, which you can reach by clicking "next" at the bottom of the page 6 times -- or at least that's the only way I can find to reach it.  Worth it if you'd prefer a PDF!

[Belgian]

Belgian,

Thanks for your kind words re: my AAR and miniatures.

Here's a LINK to the page at the Sergeants 3 website, where all the many variants of THE SWORD AND THE FLAME are available for sale:

http://www.sergeants3.com/18.html#

They are also selling a PDF version just recently made available for purchase, at the bottom of the last page in the catalogue section at the above LINK, which you can reach by clicking "next" at the bottom of the page 6 times -- or at least that's the only way I can find to reach it.  Worth it if you'd prefer a PDF!

Grabbed the rules, interesting game mechanics. Hopefully trying a game soon!

[italwars]

Grabbed the rules, interesting game mechanics. Hopefully trying a game soon!

hello i suppose, from your nickname, that you're from Belgium...we are very few, including me, that play with TSATF on our side of the pond..even less in continental Europe..so it's a pleasure to read about potentail new European TSTAF players....maybe you would have a very enjoyable colonial game also with the Belgian Force Publique...among my favourite Colonial theaters amd army..and also my recent game with TSATF.
Mad Guru , while also being a brilliant writer and researcher on NWF topics, is also very helpful and friendly...that's the very essence of TSATF

[OSHIROmodels]

Jolly good spread 

cheers

James

[JBaumal]

Ethan my friend,

Another excellent report and simply beautiful table! Your games are always so inspiring that they keep pulling me back to one of my favorite periods and campaigns. I love the new tower, simply amazing. I know how much work went into building it and I think it was well worth it.

I'm so glad you were able to have such a fun game with Izzy. Well done Victory Izzy! Maybe she does have some Army in her after all..... LOL

I'm looking forward to your AAR with the battle vs Skyler next.

PS - though I have several copies of every edition and variant of our beloved TSATF, I've just purchased the 20th anniversary edition via PDF so as to always have it handy in case the hard copy gets misplaced prior to a con game or such. This is also a great way for the folks across the pond to try the rules without the high shipping costs. The only draw back is that the official rules changes haven't been integrated into the main body of the rules, yet. Though the "Official Rules Changes" are at the back of the book just as the hard copy. The PDF is literally an exact Copy of the rules as is.

Cheers,
JB
https://sgtguinness.blogs

[Traveler Man]

I never cease to be impressed by your terrain, sir! Well done to Izzy for her tactical prowess.

(I wonder what happened to the heliograph crew? Will there be a sequel to this game, perhaps?)