Well, maybe not that interesting at first, but later the situation became too interesting for the Marines.

The Boxers failed the morale check needed to charge the Marines occupying the west ridge line;  ran off the ridge and went prone/pinned.  Elsewhere the firefight continued, with both sides sustaining casualties.  Surprisingly, the retreating Boxer unit rallied on a die roll of “1”.

Here’s photo of the situation.

The riflemen of the rallied Boxers turned to engage the Marines moving through the saddle, while the remainder charged and closed with the Marines to their front.  The Marines moving through the saddle, in turn, charged the detached riflemen.

Both Marine units were pushed back!  In TSATF, hand-to-hand combat is simply a comparison of die rolls, and the Boxers were rolling well.  Despite losses, the Boxers  held the west hill.

However, the Boxers unit losses were now greater than fifty percent.  The detachment on the hill failed the required morale check and fled (final turn phase after shooting). The riflemen, however,  passed their check and remained in place.

In the following turn, the two Marine squads rallied and moved back towards the west ridge, staying in defilade. The Boxer riflemen focused on the remaining Marine unit, but their fire was ineffective.  Here’s a photo of the situation at the end of this turn.

Quick Note:  I’m keeping the casualty cubes in-place for an end-of-game count.  Red indicates a serious wound, pink a light wound, and black for death

The Marines regained the crest of the west ridge and engaged the Boxers to their front.  The Boxers literally fought to the last man.  The Boxers holding the east ridge drew an event card reducing their effective firing range to only 12 inches, or not far enough to engage the Marines to their front.  They wisely withdrew to the reverse slope.

The Marines advanced through the open ground to take the east ridge.  Here, the  Boxers emerged from defilade, but retreated after taking casualties and failing  their morale check.

While this action was taking place, Marines occupied the west ridge.  Here’s a photo of the current situation.

Lots of wristage before next turn’s action.  Have to determine who and what will be on the final two ridges.  I will also inventory all losses, clean up the casualty cubes, and maybe die to see which of the lightly wounded Marines can no longer continue.

Rhonda’s enjoying Palm Springs weather, so I’ve set up The Sword And The Flame (TSATF) on the dining room table.

The scenario calls for the Marines to clear a series of ridges.

I’m considering all ground to be rough ground for shooting, so there is a -1 DRM for all firing.  However, the ground will be considered clear for movement, so without penalty.

Visibility is twelve (12) inches from ground to crest, unlimited from crest to crest, and crest to base of next hill.

The challenge is coming up with some solo-friendly randomness.  Here’s a quick and sketchy overview.

My initial stab at this problem is to use the Action, Event and Terrain cards published by The Virtual Armchair General.

An Event will be triggered by a die roll of six (6), and confirmed by a Yes/Maybe die roll.

Whether or not a terrain feature is occupied will be determined by a 10 sided  die.  A roll of four (4) or less means the feature is unoccupied.  A roll of five (5) to eight (8) means a Boxer force is occupying the crest.  A roll higher means the Boxers are on the reverse slope.

Another percentage die roll determines force composition.  A roll of four (4) or less means Regulars.  Another outcome results in a Boxer force.  For the Boxers, another roll gives the number of figures with firearms.  All Regulars carry rifles.

Terrain cards will be drawn when Marines enter a “new” terrain feature – either a slope or the “new” ground beyond a ridge line.  These cards will indicate if movement is slowed.

Any casualties are considered to be out of this game.  Wounded figures will be diced for at the end of the game, anticipating a follow up contest.