ALY MORRISON'S "BUTTERFLY" ADVENTURES IN THE WORLD OF WARGAMES AND TOY SOLDIERS

Thursday 16 July 2020

From my side of the table... Lockdown Franco-Prussian frolics.

Greetings...

Mharaid and I had another lockdown game using FaceTime...

This time we went for The Franco-Prussian War using Black Powder...

The objective was to take control of a crossroads... a result which I was surprisingly able to achieve and the quite predictably able to loose in the process of the game... sigh!


The peaceful crossroads...



Our troops entered the table in march column...






Through outrageous good fortune my men arrived on the battlefield first and moved rapidly forwards to consolidate my position...


While my daughter failed spectacularly to make any moves... for five... yes five turns...
All she had to do was roll below 8....
Even with added bonuses she consistently rolled high...
Five turns...
Have the dice gods abandoned her...
Do they now look kindly on me...

Don’t be ridiculous... they were just playing with me.... The  bast***s!


Seeing and opportunity I went all Glory of France and rushed forwards out off my very defendable position in an attempt to hem the Prussians in at their entry point...

Here you are, the only units that obeyed their orders... sigh!....
Yup!.... you can see where this is going... can’t you...


And on they come...


A firefight ensues...
Well to be honest... I rolled some dice and some of them hit...
Mharaid rolled some dice... and most of then hit...


My (Very pretty) Guard Lancers prepared to charge...



While the now luck heavy Prussians poured fire into my somewhat isolated troops...
A red button indicates a broken unit...
No surprises there then... sigh!


The only respite was when Mharaid’s broken cavalry got in the way...
Small victories... take them when you can... sigh!


In a desperate attempt to save the situation my cavalry managed to get around the flank of the enemy...


Where they were slaughtered... although they still look very pretty...
The laundry bill will be terrifying...



My infantry started to evaporate and even my artillery decided it was time to leave...

With over 50% of my force broken... I of course graciously conceded the game...

Sigh!

This was a lot of fun... and it did swing in the balance for a couple of moves (honestly it did... well it felt like it did)
The break point of our forces was 50% including artillery because we only fielding a few units each...
It worked well...
The numbers were there to make it easier for orders to be given in the virtual world...

I suppose I should have stayed still and let Mharaid try and force me out of my very defensible position...
But where would the fun be in that...


All the best.  Aly

38 comments:

  1. Good looking tabletop. You were able to get your recently completed walled field on to the tabletop.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Peter...
      I should probably stayed behind those walls 😂

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  2. I love the way in which you tell a story, Aly! One day, you may win a battle...

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jonathan...

      I tell it the way it is 😁
      Hmmm! I suspect I have a better chance at the lottery 😂

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  3. Wonderful looking troops and table with a fine witty narrative of a battle won and lost.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you very much Phil...

      And it was good fun 😁

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  4. Great little game Aly. Love the Spencer Smith FPW figures. Sometimes the dice just go against you. I just played a BP game where three break test in a row all rolled under 4. Cheers Greg

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Greg...
      The Spencer Smith Franco-Prussians are very stylish..
      If only the dice went against me ‘ just ‘ sometimes... 😂.

      All the best. Aly.

      Delete
  5. A marvelous narrative. Outstanding looking terrain and beautiful troops.

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  6. Looks like a great game Aly. And congratulations on the recent Blogiversary. All the best. Phil

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  7. Super game and report Aly. I am concerned about your luck with the dice. It reminds me of a story I read years ago, about a man who eventually found out that his early morning isometrics workout just happened to be an ancient Navajo rain dance.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Tony...
      It could be that I have been making sacrifices to the gods of misfortune all these years...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  8. Lovely looking game Aly........fortune favours the brave , most of the time 🙂

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Matt...
      I think reckless would be a better description...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  9. Great game Aly funny how things turn out against our siblings! Although I recorded my first win against my son yesterday - have the dice gods at last favoured me or is it just setting me up for the next one

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    1. Thank you Graham...
      A victory...😱.... their setting you up for a fall 😂...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  10. The dice gods demand sacrifice! You seem to have obliged and then some. Nice to see your FPW in action.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you David...
      Maybe I am building up credit for future battles...
      The butterfly is currently fluttering over a bag of Franco-Prussian War Bavarians 🦋

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  11. Great looking game. And yes the Guard cavalry are very pretty indeed.

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    1. Thank you Matt...
      The Guard Lancer uniform is one my favourites...

      All the best Aly

      Delete
  12. Lovely sized game, thanks.

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  13. Nice to see these great armies again. I am studying the lancer conversion, presumably you inserted a metal rod and built the plume around it plus the cords? I cannot see auguilettes but the photo is not that clear. I am green with envy anyway. Could you send one of your conversions to Peter J and force him to add it to his range, thereby saving me months of fumbling and inept efforts to complete a unit of 12?
    Seriously lovely to see, thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you John...

      Yes you are correct... the plume is putty built up on a ‘Very shaped piece of wire and the cap lines are a ‘C’ (ish) shaped piece of wire fixed to the back of the hat and neck...
      Everything else was done with paint...
      Peter is always open to suggestions... why not drop him a line and see what he thinks...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  14. Aly, Aly, Aly....this is what comes of exceeding orders. All you had to do was occupy all the buildings then hide behind brick walls whilst wiping out the Prussians with the superior range and rate of fire of the chasse pot.... And then you went all Napoleon the Third on us....and we all knew how that would end didn't we?! Lovely looking game and figures of course but you could actually have won that one you know.....

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    Replies
    1. Ah! Keith...
      You and your sound strategy and tactics... where is the glory in that...😂
      Maybe next time...🤣😂🤣

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  15. Great game Aly, good that you have a daughter to keep your gaming instinct up to scratch.

    Both my daughters failed to acquire the wargaming gene but the youngest has presented me with a grandson. Pity he's only 3 so I'll have to wait a bit.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Jim....
      Mharaid is a splendid opponent and we always have a lot of fun when we game...
      3 years old.... get a paintbrush in his hands...😁

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  16. Lovely looking game, my daughter inflicted a first defeat on me recently, it was kind of sweet! It does sound like you took the part of the French second empire seriously and as we all know the second empire was defeated by Prussian efficiency so we have a historical result, nothing wrong with that!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thank you Iain..
      Clearly I was trying to reflect the actual tactics of the period... I wouldn’t normally believe in such a rash way...🤣

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  17. Great looking game Aly. Lovely units.
    Regards, James

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  18. Unusual to BP on a 4x4 table, good to see the game scales down :-)

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    1. Thank you Shaun...
      We halved the moves and ranges and as you can see this collection uses mostly
      2 stands per unit which gives you a fair amount of room to run around...

      All the best. Aly

      Delete
  19. Great looking game, Attaque à outrance is a valid tactic for the French in the late 19th Century, so carrying on your advance - and the subsequent reverse - was just you being ahead of your time in playing the role of a French general ;)

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    1. Thank you Paul...
      Like the French... I am clearly a leader in style and tactics...🤣😂

      All the best. Aly

      Delete