Good Rules/Scenarios for Small Fortifications?

[Cat]

I'm dusting off my French and Indian War collection.  This includes a couple of nice resin blockhouses that came as bonuses with the Sash & Saber Kickstarter.
 
While assault the fortification games always look pretty on the table, and blockhouses really help set the FIW flavour, I've never seen one that I found enjoyable as a player.  The very limited maneuver and tactics reduces it to a long dice game, albeit with a pretty backdrop.

Does anyone have preferred rules and/or scenarios with blockhouses and small palisades that they find bring more gameplay to the table?

[has.been]

Some years ago, In one of the Wargaming mags., someone had a set of rules
for attacking a Vietnam fire-base. I would go for something similar.
The defender does not know WHEN the attack will come.
he can-not have everyone on full alert 24 hours a day, but he
also can't have too few guards. It is doubtful that he will know when, or even IF,
help is coming.

In the Vietnam game:-
The first stage = the occasional bit of sniping, which might lead to some mortar firing. The
                         'attack' might not come for days, the fighting may escalate to the second stage,
                          or all Hell could break loose very quickly.
The second stage= Again unpredictable. Could quieten down or fully erupt.

The game becomes a war of nerves. In one of our games the US Officer player was so scared
of being Fragged by his own men, that he left the Fire-Base wide open to a VC attack.


                           

[frank xerox]

Scenario wise, theres luring out the defenders: have the indians really gone/Those cows’ll need milking soon/shit we forgot granny!
A straight assault could be pretty boring like you say. Rules like sharp practice that allow setting things on fire might liven it up, but I’d agree a mini campaign is the way to go

[Moriarty]

Christopher Duffy’s ‘Fire and Stone’ has a set of rules at the back?

[Aethelflaeda was framed]

Resource management and fog of war is a must. 

 siege assaults are really very boring affairs from a gaming standpoint with little or no maneuver. The Forlorn Hope gets in or it doesn’t.  It comes down to decisions about when or where and how much to commit for it to be interesting. Maybe turn it into a street fight rather than an assault.  Small forts are going to be much more cut and dried go straight at them affairs than the possibilities raised in larger forts with multiple sectors to defend.

Getting defenders out of forts voluntarily “because the attackers abandoned the siege”!?! it just isn’t going to happen on a wargaming table…we all know there has to be a fight coming or else we wouldn’t bother to set up  the game.

Donut fights with a relief trying to aid a breakout by the besieged with the besieger in between (Alesia anyone) are much more interesting.

[mikedemana]

I have run my "Hurry! To the Blockhouse" scenario with one or more family groups in a wagon and rushing along a road through the forest to the safety of a blockhouse. The blockhouse has defenders, and has the option of sending out people to help them. In between, Indian warbands are trying to prevent the families reaching there and kidnap the family members for adoption into the tribe.

Not exactly a siege, but gets the blockhouse onto the tabletop and in use.

Mike Demana

[Cat]

Hmm yes, blockhouse as goalpost with some reïnforcements to send out, or small palisaded fort as a spawning point for defensive troops gets the buildings on the table.
 
"Hey, they're burning the boats!" would draw out the troops too.  I have modelled a contingent of Cannoniers-bombardiers de la marine for offensive combat engineers — artillery crew sent on expeditions without cannons but with axes and lots of match cord.

[jon_1066]

I agree with the suggestions -
either have the blockhouse as but one of many possible objectives or
a relief force is battling to lift the siege or
a battle of the five armies scenario or
a breakout - turn the tables on the beseiger, they now have to try and cover all the possible routes out.