Category Archives: East African Renaissance Campaign

The CP Has Displaced

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance

Am TAD for the next few weeks, and daily focus not on wargaming.

I left my three projects in various stages of completion pending return. Sigh.

However, I did bring few modest pursuits/games.

Right now I’m messing around with the Galleys and Galleons rules. While out at author’s blog I came across an entry about using WizKids collectible card game pirate ships.

These are inexpensive plastic ships featuring galleys, junks and sailing vessels. The galleys and junks are perfect for my East Africa Campaign, while the sailing vessels tend to be more 18th century than the mid-16th centrury. The components are punched out from credit card looking templates. While simplistic, and adorned with logos, they pass muster as an inexpensive way to fight small fleet actions.

The naval aspects of the campaign will be secondary, so building fleets for the Chinese, Turks and Portuguese without a considerable investment  of money, time and effort is a most welcome development.

I am also working with an old set of WRG rules for galley warfare as a supplementary system.  I downloaded the Galleons and Galleys rules in PDF at the Wargame Vault.

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Irregular Wars Chance Cards

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures

Chance Cards were not used in my first play-thrus.  I was not familiar enough with the game to come to grips with how to use these cards playing solo.

I’m too artistically incompetent to put together a deck, and I missed out on the opportunity to request a custom made deck from the game’s designer.  So, I put together a numeric listing of each of the cards. The listing is divided into the 26 cards that are revealed right after being drawn, and the 26 cards that are held, and played when deemed appropriate.

For solo play, the cards  immediately revealed are not an issue. However, cards drawn and held for later play are problematic. How to incorporate some uncertainity/randomness?

My inital plan is to use a random number application (one that a range of numbers can be set) to “pick” the cards.

Step 1) Generate 3 numbers for 3 cards.

Step 2) If numbers are 26 or less, cross index from list to card description contained in the rules.

Step 3) If numbers are 27 or higher, that side has a random draw at the beginning of a turn whenever it chooses. This random draw will be from the cards to be played when appropriate list.  Again, use the app to make the draw.

While far from perfect, I’ll see if this solo fix “works”.

Irregular Wars Lessons Learned

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures

Following based on several play-throughs using Portuguese and Arab forces. No cavalry, just camelry. I set up each game to be a slugfest in order to maximize repetitions through the rules. I didn’t use concealment, and line-of-sight was not an issue. Here are a few observations…

1) Shot is ineffective: Best at short range, but can be charged after firing at short range, and have a low melee strength. Have to shoot and then fall back behind melee effective units in order to reload.

2) Crossbows are semi-effective: High to hit number, but at least do not have to spend an action to reload because they use archaic weapons. Again, a low melee number, so vulnerable if melee effective units can get in close.

3) Because of 1) and 2), when opposing Europeans, get into melee as soon as possible, hopefully with a +2 charge bonus.

4) Use your native auxiliaries in rough terrain: No negative effects for movement or combat. They are particularly effective at flank attacks on pursuing units.

5) The CRT (which I like) creates situations where units are “stuck” in melee: Disengaging risks pursuit,with pursuers able to use their charge bonus.

6) Camels are ineffective against anything but horse: They’re “exotic”, and have a significant DRM for that, which is added to a charge bonus. However, their melee against foot is a lowly “2”.

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Here’s what happens when you don’t aggressively charge crossbows, and allow them to skirmish, supported by native troops that can hover in rough terrain.  No Arab troops?  That’s right, they’ve been wiped out, and a camel unit has to now hold the left flank.

I’ll keep working with different combinations of unit types over the next few weeks.

Irregular Wars – Progress

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance

Back from three days cycling the OC&E trail.

Finished up another play-through of Irregular Wars. Finally consistently applying the rules. One of the toughest to remember (for me) is the charge bonus.

One result was the need to rebase my Portuguese foot.  I bought these Grumpy’s figures some time ago anticipating playing a DBA variant for my campaign. With the change in rule sets, the basing had to be revised. In order have enough elements for the two base depth I think is visually appealing, several elements were reduced from a DBA four to three per base. Looks better.

Here’s a photo of my setup for the next iteration. Note I’m using very small dice to keep track of resolve levels.  Also notice the (lack of) tactical imagination.  Want to get to it, and get comfortable with the system.

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I’ll flock the bases in the next couple of days. Likewise for the palm trees I just painted (They’re part of the pirate set discussed in a previous post).

I hope to resolve a couple of questions I have about rules design during this next game.  If not,  will post up to the designer.

Shipbuilding (New/Old Project)

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures

Nice song by Elvis Costello.  Wargaming theme…..Falklands.

Finished up my last complete ship and pinnace last night, as discussed earlier in my New/Old Project post.  Here’s a couple of photographs of the fleet.

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Indifferent photos, as usual.  I just can’t work up the enthusiasm for precise, dynamic pictures.  Working on it.

These should be a start for the East African project.   No fleet actions, but they might make for some tactical fun, or at least Pretty Up The Battlefield.  Not a bad thing at all.

Also finished up the two forts, and will finish the  the palm trees also included in the boxed sets.

 

Irregular Wars Review

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance, Review

Been playing “Irregular Wars – Confict at the World’s End”, off-and-on for the past couple of weeks. I bought the 2nd Edition rules last Winter for potential use as the ground combat system for my East African Renaissance Campaign. I was looking for something more streamlined than De Bellis Renationnis (DBR).

I’ve played DBR for a number of years using 25mm figures. Before that, it was George Gush’s rulesets. Gush was extremely detailed, DBR less so. I’ve enjoyed all of these rules. I’ve also played DBR’s cousin De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA) with 15mm ancient and medieval armies. It is also a good system, but its renaissance variants seemed to lack period chrome.

Irregular Wars is described as “A Wargaming System for Small Actions in the Age of Discovery”. The 90 page book contains both rules,army lists and campaign guidance. It is a system….one which allows a great deal of flexibility, emphasizes playability and not gamesmanship. This is a far cry from DBR/DBA’s emphasis on precise alignment of units for melee and distances for shot. Even distances (or units) are flexible in IW, as each unit of measure is derived from base width. Any type of basing can be used, which avoids the living hell that is  rebasing.

Many of my figures are based for DBR. The one “element” look just didn’t seem right for the larger table size allowed by IR. The solution was easy, just double up the bases. The result is a nice “block” unit providing a sense of density on the table.

While the lists aren’t as detailed as DBR’s, they are varied and provide for a random army composition. Outside of compulsory companies, the Lord (as IR puts it) must recruit an agreed upon number of troop types, then role a die to determine the number of companies available for each type. The number of figures per company is low, so an army can be built quickly and inexpensively.

IR uses several die types to randomize game situations. These range from d6 to d2. It also employs Chance Cards as well as a pre-game Disease and Mishaps table to inject uncertainity into a game. The ruleset includes five scenario types for those players looking for more than a straight-up fight. Easily reproducable game charts are contained at the end of the book.

Each unit is rated for resolve (more on that in a moment), movement, melee, short range fire and long range fire. Certain units have special capabilities. Here is a link to an  Army Rosters sheet I put together, as well as a link to a unit  Capabilities Chart.

The author states that resolve is the key element in the game system. Units lose resolve as the result of unfavorable combat outcomes, reaching a point where they waver (and retire) and, finally, when resolve reaches a zero level, eliminated as fighting units. Both wavering and scattering companies can effect the resolve of other companies. The Lord can rally a company, restoring one point of resolve. Resolve levels range from 5 to 3, with the former representing elite units.

The turn sequence is a basic roll for initiative, shoot, action, and melee. Gunpowder weapons may fire once before having to take an action to reload. Actions are not limited to movement or disengagement from melee. Specific units can hurl curses at the opposition reducing their resolve, or invoke blessings to restore resolve. Melee is straightforward and bloody. Melee strengths are added to a d6 roll. It doesn’t take long for those 3 resolve units to waver.

The result is something that I hoped to find, with well crafted random elements making it well adapted for solitaire play. Highly Recommended.

Irregular Wars/Galleys and Galleons

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures,

Quick post to mention that I’ve been playing Irregular Wars off and on over the past week.  Fun little game, and the anticipated “engine” for my East Africa project.  Less cumbersome and more applicable than DBR.

I’m also going to check out their Galleons and Galleys naval game, for use with the ships I’m working on.

Good stuff, designed with verve and imagination.

You can get to the Irregular Wars website here.

For Galleys and Galleons, check out the Ganesha Games website.

I’ll be posting a quick review of Irregular Wars sometime next week.

New-Old Project

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures, Renaissance

For reasons I still can’t fathom (no pun here), I decided to finish off my sailing ship project.  As with most everything else, its genesis occurred somewhere in the distant past, in this case as an adjunct to my East African Renaissance project.    After all, a coastal campaign should have ships.

I already had a couple of the old “Limeys and Slimeys” ships, but fabricating and fitting the various bits and sails needed to give the hulls some semblance of realism was just too difficult.

Some time ago, I found a Weapons and Warrior Pirate Battle Game that looked promising.  This Pressman kit boasts having “over 100 pieces.”  It came with plastic pirates (worthless), two ships, two pinnaces, a fort,  a small stockade (semi-worthless), along with cannons and mortars (all too large, and therefore worthless). Everything (except ships) was designed to explode if hit with cannon shot from the oversize guns.  While 17th century vessels, they are close enough to the period and had the advantage of fully rigged plastic sails.  The ships can be used with both 15mm and 25mm figures.

Not content with one box, I later bought another.  Both languished in The Shed for a few years.

I started painting one of the ships last Fall.   Things did not go smoothly.  I just couldn’t get the hull colors right, and must have primed and re-primed the damn thing four times.  Finally, things came together and, with the help of some photos of others’ work found on the net, I finished one.  The second followed shortly thereafter.

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Here’s the basic hull out of the box, along with a hull that I literally ripped the deck “prongs” from, and put down new decking.  While it looks bad, when painted and with a grate added, it works quite well.

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Speaking of painted, the next bad photo shows the rough first coats of my latest efforts.  This will be “Red Boat”.  The others are green and blue.  I just slop the paint on at this point, especially red.  For some reason, red has never covered well.  Not even when ingesting PBR.  I’ll use crimson for the second coat.

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Hopefully, this one will be finished off in a week or so – multiple projects going on.  The fourth boat will be a little problematic since it is missing some important bits.

It Figures

East African Renaissance Campaign, Miniatures

Back home in Central Oregon. Time to finish up the Ottomans. Started prepping the cavalry this afternoon. After extolling the virtures of the Tabletop Miniatures back in July, it figures there would be problems. Lots of flash on the cavalry figures.

Flash is inevitable, but flash should be like major league umpires….consistent. If you know where it’s going to be after doing one figure, then prepping can be a  pretty straightforward procedure. If not, then it’s a trial. I like to paint and play. Preparation is an necessary evil.  It takes me 3 days.  Day 1 for working on the figures and gluing them to tongue depressors.  On Day 2 the figures are primed, and on Day 3 they get a coating on flat black acrylic paint.

Plan to finish the cavalry next week. There are only 16 figures, so that should be reasonable. Then two artillery crews, a few miscellaneous sappers, and a handful of left-over Arab light cavalry. Finish these up, and on to the Abyssinians after a post-Labor Day hiking trip and, more importantly, a visit from my long-time friend and wargaming accomplice, Tim!