Piquet Barrage vs Field of Battle WW1

[Sheerluck Holmes]

What is the difference between the Piquet Barrage rules and Field of Battle WW1, apart from needing the main Piquet rules for Barrage and FoB WW1 being self contained?

[johnl5555]

Hi, I just stumbled across this post. Barrage follows the Piquet rules format. Most players who are familiar with Piquet and Field of Battle have a clear preference. I am a dyed in the wool fan of Field of Battle. My own opinion is that Brent Oman took the Piquet rules and drastically improved them with FOB. No more card runs of 19 in a row. i also believe that veteran players of Piquet hold an advantage over newer players since turning cards can be something of an art in PK. That is eliminated in FOB. Just as dynamic but no sitting around and waiting for a chance to do something. My choice is clearly Field of Battle. You only need the pdf to start playing. Pat the author has answered a few questions we had on the Yahoo group and is a nice gent.

Barrage has a very nice section covering the armies and organizations of the War. It's not a complete reference section. But it does tell you about how the armies were organized. FOB WWI also covers it just not as in depth.
Coincidentally, my buddy Ed and I have been gaming 1914 on the Eastern front  recently. We ran a smaller scale scenario setup like Guimbinnen. My Germans were stopped cold. We just ran a second scenario from that battlefield Saturday where my Germans had advanced but stopped to consolidate. The Russians attacked in mass (a Brigade missing from  Corps) vs my German Division. The Germans were able to repulse the Russian right flank forcing the Russian attack to halt. I was thankful since I had about 6 defending German Battalions vs 14 Russian ones on the left flank. I had shot up about 3 or 4 of them but they still would have likely taken my position. They ran out of Army Morale points and were forced to retire.

Ed is working on Turks so we can do battles with them and the Russians. I'll start knocking out more Russians and then my Austrians. We are fans of the Eastern front! 

Thanks,

John

[Sheerluck Holmes]

Thanks John - one more questions if it is ok - what do bases represent in FoB WW1? are they platoon, company etc.?

[johnl5555]

Each unit represents a Battalion. Usually that is represented by 4 stands. So, a stand would be about a Company. Cavalry is a Regiment.

[vcina]

I am currently painting up Russian, Austrians and Turks to use with both Barrage and Field of Battle: WWI.  Field of Battle is a much more streamlined version of Barrage and in general the Piquet rule system.  I think you will like them.