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STAND AND DELIVER -
PLAYTEST NOTES
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(Fought: 16 February 2008) |
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One thing we like to do as we put together a new product is
create teasers along the way. Some of you may recall when we put together
Stand Your Ground over the last few years, we regularly published battle
reports where we explained what we were hoping to test and then followed them
up with what changes were introduced to the rules once the game was over. In
this way, you could follow along with us as we strove to make our rules and
games as good as we could. This battle report is in the same vein. We selected one of the 12 games that will be part of the scenario booklet when it releases this April with the idea to play it and record the results. Now unlike some rules, magazines or companies, we do not play the game over and over again until we get the result we want. We want to know up front what the problems are, nor do we want to fool the public into thinking they are getting something better than reality. I can't fix it if I don't know what the problem is! I fully believe that credo. So our game testers and note takers begin every game trying to view the game experience by thinking the same as you might when you sit down to play it for the very first time. To us, this insight is invaluable because that is how we are as gamers. We like our toys and we like to be able to take our toys and use them as fast as possible with as little fuss as necessary. We also like the looks of our games. The more professional or interesting they look, the more likely they are to be played. And I have a ton of games and rules on my shelves collecting dust that show what a sucker I am to slick packaging. But we don't want that here. We believe in style AND quality. Will it catch on? Maybe, but this is just the way I was raised. So we randomly selected a battle from the booklet and it came out to be "Stand and Deliver!" This is an apocryphal scenario and a good one in its own right. There are just a few dozen troops on each side and the units are small but capable. It concerns itself with a British supply convoy looking to make its way into the frontier during the French and Indian War. The game isn't about one particular struggle, but looks at the hazardous process of keeping men in far flung places supplied with what they need to survive. Along the way, the French forces look to stop it so they can further isolate the fort or garrison the wagons are trying to reach. It becomes an even better coup for them if they can capture a wagon and lead it off the table for their own men. Thus armed, we pulled out the figures and sat down to play. |
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No Map Today
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What happened?! |
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Cooper chose to be the British forces. He had several wagons to protect and a small but capable force to do the job. He set up with his cavalry troop and rangers protecting the left and his regulars and militia on the right. He didn't know which sides of the table I would come from so he had to be ready for all emergencies. |
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So to make him work for it, I chose to come in on both sides of the table. This way, he would have to fight his way through one force or the other to win the game. I also took measures to deal with the rangers in the supply column as I know full well the best defense against a skirmish troop is another skirmish troop. Unfortunately, my martial prowess was nowhere as good as my propaganda and my initial shot into the rangers failed to hit any of them! |
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While the rangers screened the closest threat, the remainder of the column put it in gear and raced forward. Mike correctly refused to get carried away against my "panic attack" so close to his start line. |
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In the ensuing turn, Mike disordered the Delaware Indians and sent them packing with heavy stragglers. Not quite the way I expected that attack to work. I do believe however, I now had the full attention of the rangers just like I wished! |
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During the following turn, I withdrew the Delaware tribe behind some Canadian militia who had accompanied the expedition. The remainder of the tribes, no longer concerned about the rangers, fell on the head of the column from some nearby woods. |
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Once again though, my shots were largely ineffective I am going to have to demand better powder the next time I trade in my furs! Mike had to face this threat and the regulars shook out into line. |
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With the Delaware tribe out of the way, the rangers rushed up towards one of the Canadian militia companies. The shot into them knocked down one Canadian, but one musket ball sailed all the way through the formation to strike down the French army commander! Pure, unexpected luck! Mike then knew what a difference that makes in the game and asked if I wanted to start over. Now even though I'm not happy, I want to see how it goes, so I defer. We will fight on! |
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Meanwhile, the new French army commander was far less capable than the recently deceased one. So now I had to pick and choose my forces carefully. In this case, I had to pick the Marines as Mike had dispatched one company to chase off the Indians. As they were in the forest and isolated from the road, I struck back and heavily disordered them. |
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The Delaware tribe ran off after the death of the commander. This gave the rangers the time to concentrate on the flailing militia. More straggling occurred and the unit was in danger of falling apart and completely exposing my southern flank attack. I had to do something about them, but of course that would take away a command point I could spend on another more capable unit. |
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Sensing the end in sight and thinking one good push would do the job, Mike committed his cavalry to charge my Indians blocking the trail entrance into the woods. He passed his morale check and now I was in a quandary on what to do. My morale was so-so, but I did have my Indian leader with them! They passed back to back morale checks and stopped the charge with a volley that dropped one horsemen and caused the rest to rout! |
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More regulars filled the woods trying to keep the marines and Indians at bay. It was fast becoming a struggle right in the center of the table. Neither one of us could afford to lose this fight! If Mike won, I would have nothing left in the north to keep him from victory. If I won, then the wagons were mine! |
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Having bested the cavalry, I got brazen with my command. I needed to hold Mike up for enough turns to keep him from exiting the table. I rushed up my victorious tribe to close range to gun down his provincial leader. If I could do that, then Mike would be suffering from the same command and control issues I have. Of course I missed - twice! In retrospect, I should have charged with the second attempt. |
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Speaking of which, that was what Mike did with his next turn. The grenadiers chased off my victorious tribe and the cavalry rode down the last militia unit. The right flank was now wide open and the way to win was open again. |
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Thanks to the Indian leader, the tribe quickly rallied and raced south to deal with the rampaging horse. I had to knock a few of Mike's companies out of the war if I hoped to win! One good volley later cut down several troopers and put them into disorder! |
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The horse remnants quickly scampered off to rebuild and reform and Mike filled their spot with the rangers. I had destroyed a company of regulars in the previous turn so I could use this one to break contact and race to get in front of the wagons once more. I decided to stay in place and volley the rangers in the south. Once more luck stayed with the rangers and I missed completely! |
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It was now turn nine and all sides raced to the rapidly moving convoy. Mike committed the last of the horse and the rangers to keep my closest Indians at bay, but for once, his luck failed him and he didn't hit a single figure! |
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It was turn 11 and the game was almost over! I used the failure to hit to break contact and race up. I fired one volley into the wagons and one drover fell over dead. Here was my wagon! But no! They actually passed their morale check! The payroll officer quickly stepped up and grabbed the reigns of the fallen settler during Mike's turn and the wagons moved on! With his chance to put away the southern flank, Mike orders the rangers to charge! But no! The rangers fail to go! Mike then charged the Grenadiers into the woods and chased off my northern Indians, clearing the northern flank. We knew the game would go to whoever won initiative in the next turn. |
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It wasn't even close! Mike rolled so much higher than me that my brain is repressing the number. With a crack of the whip and a jangle of harnesses, the wagons race for the board edge and victory. Game over, British win! |
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The game wasn't even cold and we both began discussing things that we would do
differently the next time we play. That, to me, is a hallmark of good games.
You don't question the rules, the players or even the victory conditions, but
the focus on the game is how to improve your performance the next time you
play. This game had that feel to it.
As the French, I had my chances but didn't take advantage of my opportunities. Even after the army commander played catch the shiny musket ball, I did not feel out of the contest. Quite frankly, it caused me to focus more on my troops and positions. Mike, in turn, played a good game and never out of the bounds of his soldiers. He did have some incredible luck with the rangers, but as they failed to charge - twice - I think it balanced out in the end. Still, not all was sunshine and roses, so we did make some minor adjustments to the game where we spelt out the terrain a little better and gave the scenario more game turns as after be began talking about it, the current amount of turns were barely adequate for victory even if nobody was in the way! We also sharpened up the pay officer and made him slightly better as well to help. These small things will help turn this from a good scenario into a great one. So I hoped you enjoyed a glimpse into the upcoming booklet and a better idea of how serious we take our games and just how much we discuss them and fine tune them before we put them into a booklet. Now all I want is a rematch! |
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Content Owner: |
Larry Freeman |
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Technical Design: |
Larry Freeman |
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Never forget! |
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