A Wee Russian Civil War Game

[Rogerc]

Hah I have been known to press the button but only if I think no one is about.

The trench system is resin from the old snap dragon studios and is really nice, I ahve a bit more of it so can get a few different shapes etc.

[Pan Marek]

Agreed.  Nice looking game.
I read through "Triumph of the Will", and can't make heads or tails of them.  I'm stumped on the concepts, particularly the size of units and what that represents.
Can anyone explain the basics of how the set works?

[Rogerc]

It does take some getting your head around.

The number of figures essentially is directly treated to how willing to get stuck in a unit is. so the larger the unit the more enthusiastic it is. As it figures are removed its willingness to keep going is eroded, so the figures are more representative of the morale status than the actual number of combat troops remaining. So most units are about 8 figures, very good units might be as high as 10 and unenthusiastic units as low as 7 or even 6.

Movement is the number of figures you have remaining up to a maximum of 8 inches. So the less figures you hsve the slower you move as enthusiasm is eroded. Fighting ability is eroded in a similar manner.

Once you have less than six you need to roll to get them under control needing to roll equal to or less than the figures you have, less figures the harder it is to get under control. a fail pushes the unit back by how much you miss by. So i you have 4 figures left and roll a 6 you are pushed back 2 inches.

Does that help.

[Pan Marek]

Rogerc-

It helps....alot.  I guess I read them correctly when I read through.  But my brain wouldn't "compute" the concepts. 
I can see how it works, and its kind of handy for keeping track of unit "health" and "strength".   But it turns the visuals (and lets face it, we do miniature wargaming at least partially for the "look" of things) upside down.  Particularly in how I see the RCW.
My reading tells me that good troops were rare, and in smallish units.  Bad troops in big numbers.  But Triumph switches that.
One would, for example, need huge "colored regiments" and tiny conscript units. Too odd for me.

[Rogerc]

I can see that, having said that you would represent it by having say 4 groups of 6 militia figures and only one or two of 10 officer units to offset each other in terms of playability so the end result is not disimilar. If you look at the game on my blog the reds had 5 units of 7 red cavalry and the whites 5 units of 8 to suggest the better rating of the whites, but they dont look disimilar on table.

[Rogerc]

So far its the only set I have enjoyed and can get the other guys to play. Always open to better ideas though.

[Mark Plant]

I think I would do it by having some figures as doubles. So it might take 14 conscripts to reach 7, and they would be removed two at a time.

Either than or just have figures in the units that simply do not count.

[Rogerc]

Its a simple fix Mark. You can always have casualty markers rather than figure removal and the weaker units start with casualties already marked?

[Mark Plant]

My understanding is that people don't like book-keeping, and so casualty removal is used to prevent the need.

But if you just agree that a conscript unit with 12 figures is strength 6, because six don't count, gives the right sizes and removes the book-keeping.

I also am not a fan of small units. Seeing four or five men wandering around the table just looks wrong to me.

[Rogerc]

I get that, by the end of our game the majority of units were down to 4 - 6 figues and lots of gaps where units had been so using some sort of markers instead would work.

[trev]

That’s a good idea Mark.  Obvious when you think about it.  That was the main thing that put me off the rules.  It seemed wrong that the Elite units were bigger than the mass levies.  Can’t believe I didn’t think of it.  We do similar with lots of other rules.  I like having unit cards so the stats are handy and you can put all the markers on it.  It keeps the table clear of junk for photos and nothing gets left behind.