Sharp Practice 1809 Project - Update 2/2023: Sharp Practice AAR

[Shahbahraz]

Thanks for sharing and it was good to say hello at VL6.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Thanks for sharing and it was good to say hello at VL6.

Thank you for reading!

And indeed, the whole VL6 thing was much more pleasant than I thought it would be. Especially the pub part! I'll see that I take part again next time.

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

Just caught up with this after some time away and read the four battle reports - excellent!

One suggestion - it might be useful for SP2 players and non-players alike to list the stats for each troop type on both sides - not necessarily on here, but perhaps on a page on your personal blog with a link to each game report so readers can check up on what characteristics you are using?

[Battle Brush Sigur]

Just caught up with this after some time away and read the four battle reports - excellent!

One suggestion - it might be useful for SP2 players and non-players alike to list the stats for each troop type on both sides - not necessarily on here, but perhaps on a page on your personal blog with a link to each game report so readers can check up on what characteristics you are using?

Thank you! I'll see that I get the stats online, but I'm not sure in how far Cpt.Shandy would like to keep a lid on those for now, depending on in what way he'd like to publish the campaign rules at the end of the whole thing. This campaign we're playing is as much as playtest as anything else. The stats I think are pretty much set, but we tinker with the campaign phase stuff and some of the scenarios here and there.

In the latest battle report (below) I added a simple overview of the forces involved and the special rules. Grenzer line infantry requires fewer command cards to Step Out as well. I'm not entirely sure whether adding stats is a good thing or unnecessary for the narrative approach. But I like the idea of having the stats somewhere, so people can look them up if they want to. I'll see that we can get that done.



Right-o, last night we had the 5th campaign game! Capt. Benés' Special Assignment.

https://www.tabletopstories.net/language/en/2021/08/sharp-practice-campaign-game-5/




Hope you like the battle report!

[Grumpy Gnome]

Interesting and albeit surprisingly brief engagement. A joy to read as usual.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Grumpy Gnome: Thanks very much! We were rather surprised ourselves. Well, I was.


Heyhey, here's the latest episode of our Star of Bravery campaign in which Capt. Camille Cruchon has to escort the general's mistress. However, the evil Austrians hatch a plan to intercept her coach! Set in 1809, Sharp Practice rules. #spreadthelard

https://www.tabletopstories.net/language/en/2021/08/sharp-practice-campaign-game-6/




Hope you find the game report interesting and entertaining!

[Battle Brush Sigur]

You can read Cpt.Shandy's report of the same game here: https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/2021/08/20/star-of-bravery-ep-6-escort-duty/

[Baron von Wreckedoften]

I'm ashamed - ashamed, I tell you - that a member of the Bavarian aristocracy could not be bothered to find a matching set of horses for her coach.   Tsk, tsk!!!

[shandy]

 

But you are on to something... watch out for the next episode. Mme. von Pfünz might not be who she seems to be...

[MaleGriffin]

Fantastic AAR! I really enjoyed following this thread! Thank you for sharing!

[Battle Brush Sigur]

@Baron von Wreckedoften: Given how the French are out and about, it's a wonder she still has any horses, no matter the colour!

@MaleGriffin: Thanks very much!




Heyhey, here's the latest battle report in our Star of Bravery campaign! In this Capt.Benés once more attempts to forage for supplies along the Danube.

https://www.tabletopstories.net/language/en/2021/08/sharp-practice-campaign-game-7/



I hope that you enjoy the battle report!



Don't forget to drop by Cpt.Shandy's blog where you can read about the games from a slightly different perspective, also where you can also read really, really good stuff about terrain building and research: https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/

[Dr. The Viking]

Splendid looking game! It is hard for me not to instantly want to dig into this era... but restraint is probably the wiser tactic here.

I have only played very little SP, but I have seen a fair few reports/AARs on youtube and so on. I find that the games appear to end in very long firefights with very little movement once the units have found something to shoot at. Am I completely off the mark?

[Shahbahraz]

Splendid looking game! It is hard for me not to instantly want to dig into this era... but restraint is probably the wiser tactic here.

I have only played very little SP, but I have seen a fair few reports/AARs on youtube and so on. I find that the games appear to end in very long firefights with very little movement once the units have found something to shoot at. Am I completely off the mark?

Not entirely.  Especially for new players the temptation is to find a good firing position and blaze away. But that will almost always cost you the game against an experienced opponent.

I don't have the link to hand but search for The Tactical Painter AWI and he goes into it, as he found in their first couple of games they were making that mistake. He makes some very astute observations.

[shandy]

As Shahbahraz says, when playing for the first time, people often get drawn into firefights. However, blazing away, especially at long range, usually achieves nothing and becomes a long contest of attrition.

In our games, it often settles into one fire element (consisting of 2-3 groups, although Sigur prefers his 5-group sledgehammer) trying to pin the opponent's force while other units try to work around his flank - which, I think, is historical plausible.

However, with special objectives, things tend to get messier and more chaotic - with Sharp Practice, it pays to invest the time in creating a scenario (or use one from the many that have been published, either in Lardy Supplements and Specials or on blogs).

By the way, here is my report of the last game: https://wargamingraft.wordpress.com/2021/08/28/star-of-bravery-ep-7-sour-grapes/

[Shahbahraz]

Thanks for that. Very enjoyable, and a nice looking game. I was also impressed by the farmhouse you made.