Altar of Freedom test

Always looking for innovative sets of rules, I bought Altar of Freedom (by Greg Wagman, published by Iron Ivan Games) and the scenario book All quiet on the Potomac, that contains all major battles of the Eastern front in the American Civil War. After trying the rules solo (which is not the best option considering the secret bidding procedure) last saturday I invited my friends Diego and Diego from Rome to give it a try.
I set up the Champion Hill scenario, explained the rules, and we finished it in 3 hours - just in time for lunch.

AoF is a game about commanding quite great bodies of troops (the basic unit is the brigade) that does not care about formations, and has very simple rules for movement and combat. As the author stresses in the designer notes, it is all about Command and the Generals' attributes (that DO change from battle to battle).
The heart of the system is the procedure for taking control of the clock (i.e. a sort of initiative that allows the player in control to set the pace of the battle) and I must say it works very well, as you have endless possibilities of trimming your bid for Priority points. The game has been designed for 6mm miniatures with the classic 6x3 cm. bases, but we played with my 15mm figures, based for Fire and Fury, on magnetic, 8x4 sabots. Above, you can see 2 US brigades "in column" and below the table after a couple of turns, with the Confederates defending the bridge on the Vicksburg road.

Knowing nothing about the rules, the US player was maybe too timid in his approach and surely I made a mistake adding Forney's brigade (an optional rule) to the rebel roster, because the Confederate won easily after the 8 turns of the scenario, avoiding the capture of the bridge by the US forces.
In AoF, small arms fire is quite ineffective if you want to break your enemies: close combat - and a wise use of supports - is what you need. You always (ALWAYS) need to have a reserve and this is something I like a lot, as players of my games know very well. Below, a Confederate Division deployed for an attack.

In all, a very good game in my opinion. NOT for those players who like the details of micromanagement, formations, wheels and "you can't do that", but great if you want to play all major battles of the ACW (the second scenario book will be available in 2014) in few hours, on a 120x180 table, and with a relatively small amount of figures.

DSLB for ACW (house rules)

Ronan, a French wargamer, has recently tried his version of DSLB for the Amercican Civil War.
Being an interesting experiment, I wanted to share his ideas with you...

The link:

http://smolensk.homelinux.org/?p=1342

enjoy! (thanks Ronan!)

61-65 sneak preview

Some pics from the "last" playtest before Origins. All Perry plastic 28mm miniatures.
These are 2 boxes (i.e. 36 vs. 36 men) which means about 2 Platoons one against the other. I'll bring these minis to Origins for a question of time and space. 61-65 can be played up to 100 (more reasonably 50-60) pieces per side.
Two squads facing each other at dawn.... with skirmishers in front.
And finally a pic just before the clash in the center... See you at Origins 2010!

ACW coy level at Origins

The "Premiere" of 61-65, my new company level ACW game will be saturday, june 26th in Hall D at Origins. I'll run 4 demo games at 9:00 AM, 11:00 AM, 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM.

All the other days (june 23 to 25) I'll run demos of SDS mostly from 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM and in the afternoon from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
For the complete program, see www.originsgamefair.com

Back after a long time

Hi everybody,

after another couple of weeks of silence, I'm back to announce that the Beta version of 61-65 (the company level ACW game I'm preparing for Origins 2010) is ready.
Painting, testing and writing rules has taken all my time (after real-life work) so I could not add new posts here. If at all possible, I'd like to take some pics (this evening? tomorrow?) and post them before leaving for the US (tuesday 22nd).
I'll be in the Miniature Hall for the whole show demoing SDS (and MDS) many times a day, and 61-65 in dedicated slots.
It would be a pleasure to see some of you at Origins, talk about the game(s) and ... play!

New combat system

I'm extensively playtesting my new combat system (distant shooting and close combat) and it seems to run very smoothly. It is better suited for *groups* of soldiers and it implies little or no math (Andrea loves it :). It keeps the Quality and Combat system of all Ganesha Games up to now, with most (if not all) of the Special Rules you already know. It seems fast, fun and decisive and I'm trying to keep modifiers as low as possible, while preserving those which give the flavour of the portrayed period .
Once you have worked out the modifiers (all dice +/-) players roll the dice ONCE, and get the whole "movie" of the combat: winner/loser, casualties, retreats and pursuits.
It allows winning with (heavy) losses - quite rare in other games I'd say - and swift counter-actions by determined troops.
Some more trimming and I'll be ready.....

What is this??? (2)

Other activities going on in the lab.....

An old ruined house in the foreground, a stone wall all around and a small wood just behind.

There's a bend in a muddy road in the lower right corner, and some bushes here and there.

Oh, and also a pit in front of the ruins.



The same scene from behind the wood.
Here the pit is more visibile, as a steep slope right to its side...








And finally, an aerial view of the area, showing the star-shaped stone wall....

But... wait!

What is that yellow square with a red question mark on it?

It seems out of place in this pics.


Did you notice anything else? :)