Game Reports

Black Powder2 Zulus pregame warm up

Posted by PaulRPetri on 13 Mar 2021, 21:03

I just took a few set up shots showing the game the will happen tomorrow at my place. We have been running a few Black Powder2 games attempting to come to grips with the rules. It provides I fine day or evening of fun.

A view of the British looking forward. This is not the final deployment. Forgive the brown string deployment limit.
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Zulus massed to save the Kraal.
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Another view same as above.
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More zulus on the defensive.
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Imperial cavalry pickets.
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More cavalry pickets.
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The advancing British column.
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I hope to have more on Monday after the battle.
PaulRPetri  United States of America
 
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Posted by MABO on 14 Mar 2021, 08:32

The British troops seem to be falling into the trap.... ;-)
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MABO  Europe
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Posted by C M Dodson on 14 Mar 2021, 08:39

That is a very nice table you have there.

Lovely troops too.

Have fun.

Best wishes,

Chris
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Posted by Rich W on 14 Mar 2021, 11:09

This all looks like it will be good fun. Make sure you take plenty of photos to share!
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Posted by PaulRPetri on 15 Mar 2021, 15:14

I am back with a short gaming report. Seven of us were able to gather at me secret wargaming dungeon to play out the Zulu game I previewed above. In the immortal words of Admiral Ackbar "It's a Trap!". However I should have know that my crew of over aggrresive players would be to impatient to hold back for a turn or two. Someone famous said all plans in war do not survive the first contact.
The orange pipe cleaners represent the "Blood Thirsty" rule. Zulu's get to re-roll all missed hits in first round of melee. But it is a one time thing. So you have to turn your pipe cleaner in after one use.


Firts shot string is removed and a new British deployment can be observed.
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Zulu's massing in front of the Kraal.
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Another shot of Zulus On Guard!
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More Zulus on the hill.
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My fellow British players knowing my extreme skill at handling troops regulated me to command the ordinance and one troop of Buffalo Border horse. They wanted to have a chance to win the game. Sigh. Here we see my Brave Border Guards searching for hidden Zulus in the scrub on our right flank. And boy did I find some!
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Our column advances bravely into the unknown.
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The British right flank screened by the NNC. Sort of.
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Our objective deadhead!! If only we could get there.
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Still heading forward. Progress is slow.
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Lulled into a false sense of security I forgot to grab my phone and snap more action shots. The Zulu's as can be seen have surged down from the Kraal to confront us on the plains. In the background Left Horn Zulu's rise up from the Buffalo grass and attack.
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Having barely enough time to deploy my gun the Zulu's are on me! However my brave gunners blasted the Zulus with close in fire and the faile their morale check to close thank goodness!
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My son's mounted infantry are menaced by a host of Zulu's! Time to bug out sonny boy!
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After "Springing" the Zulu ambush on our right flank my brave Border Guards fellback to observe the proceedings. NNC and a company of British foot attempt to stem the flow.
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The Zulu Left Horn is measuring us up for a massive charge!! The Buggers!
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An out of sequence picture!! What the heck!! My rocket battery, right side of picture has fired and cause one hit on the distant Zulu unit. Which of course was saved...
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Over on the left flank my Son's NNC are finally hit by the Zulu Right Horn which had trouble deploying due to the over excited movements of the Zulu's Loins. Sorry Vic!
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Back to the right flank the Zulus are still attempting to come to grips. I only know this because they still have their orange pipe cleaners!
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Finally the terrific melee occurs on the right flank! Hang on boys!! My gatling gun and Naval fellows stare on in fascinated horror.
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Drawn melee's on the right flank cause the action to carry over to the following turns! NNC have fallen out of the fight and are Shaken. Poor devils.
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Back to the left flank my kids NNC have been driven from the field, but the thin red line has formes to repell the attack. You may notice in the top right corner of the picture that my artillery unit has some how works it's self as the lead unit of our attack. Nice work Paul!!
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Once again I was over excited and forgot to take pictures. This shot shows the aftermath of the British line holding firm and the brave Zulu's being forced back. If you look carefully at the top center of the shot you can see I was finally able to bring my gun back into line with the infantry!
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Top right of the image a British bayonet charge clears the front. This was brought on by a blunder roll!!
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Zulu left horn attempting to sort itself out.
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The last gasp of the Zulu's on the left flank.
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A rare shot of my youngest son playing a wargame. After action discussion.
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There you have it a very narrow British win. We never did get close to the Kraal to raid it but the Zulu army was forced from the field. Black Powder is not a complicated rule set however many of the rules are written so open ended it was hard to figure out at times was was intended. The Initiative/Proximity rule gave us no end of discussion.
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Posted by Peter on 17 Mar 2021, 13:26

A wonderfull battle report with lots of pictures and painted figures! Thanks for sharing! :thumbup:
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Posted by Rich W on 20 Mar 2021, 16:23

Thanks for sharing Paul, some great photos there.
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Posted by Ochoin on 21 Mar 2021, 08:32

Wow! The excitement is palpable. It sounds as if it could have gone either way, right up to the end.

How long was the game? I'm impressed that the rules seemed to effortlessly deal with the masses of figures.

The figures (HaT, most of them?) look great. This is the sort of game that makes wargaming such a great hobby.

donald
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Ochoin  Scotland
 
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Posted by PaulRPetri on 21 Mar 2021, 19:29

Donald one of the strong suits of Black Powder is it's ability to handle very large games in a short amount of time. We started to toss dice around 1:00PM and it was all over by 4:30PM. The same day just in case you were wondering.
The figures are a mix of ESCI. A Call to Arms, and Hat. I hope to finish off my Zulu project by another large game next month. Stay tuned.
PaulRPetri  United States of America
 
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Posted by Ochoin on 21 Mar 2021, 23:42

Gee, but you make a compelling case for BP. As you have done, elsewhere.

OK, I'll play "hard ball". I've read a criticism that the rules are bland....no 'period feel'.

I trust your judgement totally so I'm keen to hear your views.

donald
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Ochoin  Scotland
 
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Posted by C M Dodson on 22 Mar 2021, 12:11

Very nice indeed.

I quite like the ‘blunder’ rule in Black Powder, until it happens to you!

Best wishes,

Chris
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Posted by PaulRPetri on 22 Mar 2021, 15:03

Boy Donald you put me in a tough spot! I am not a true champion of the Black Powder system but it works for our group, and here is why. We play all kinds of periods, from historical to fantasy to sci fi. We bounce from one thing to the other almost never learning a ruleset in any meaningful manner. With Black Powder it is a fairly easy system that can be used in a variety of historical periods. The basic rules are the same but period rules and unit attributes, called useful rules, are added to reflect the period you are currently playing. So with my group we played 2 SYW games and 3 Zulu games and the rules have set in with us fairly well. The authors also encourage modifying the rules to suit your taste. The rules are best described as a tool box that you can take what you need and leave the rest behind.

I have Crimean War and Great Northern War projects close to hitting the table and these rules give me the motivation to finish those projects. Since the group is familiar with the rules we can just explain period rules and jump right in.

The one thing I will caution is that the rules are written in a very open ended style so if any rules lawyers enter into a game they can cause all kinds of havoc! Thankfully we have none in our mix.

I hope that helps.

Chris the Blunder rule is one of those rules that tip toes on a tightrope. Half the group hates it the other half loves it.

Paul
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Posted by Ochoin on 22 Mar 2021, 21:19

Paul, thank you for your frank response.

I certainly see the point about the problems with using a plethora of rules. That is a problem we experience!
Our saving grace is using 'Field of Glory' for 3 periods (Bronze, Punic & ECW)......even though I think there are better rules out there.

I think I'd like the open invitation to "fiddle" with the BP rules. I have to restrain myself from doing this incessantly, anyway.

I think I might well buy a set of the rules just to check them out.

regards, donald
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Ochoin  Scotland
 
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Posted by PaulRPetri on 23 Mar 2021, 00:51

After a 31 year career as a cop I ooze frankness Donald.

Like the Blunder rule half the people hate it the other half like it. Well thats what I tell myself anyway.

Paul
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