Waterloo at Joy of Six - the AAR

 Just over a week ago I headed south to Sheffield for our Joy of Six game - Waterloo!

The Day

Mike and I set up the terrain and deployed the troops ready for action.  We very quickly got some gamers interested in playing "for a turn or two".  Some of the players were completely new to gaming - others had bought a copy of the rules, had played solo but weren't really confident that they were playing right - what better way to test your understanding than playing one of the most interesting and famous battles in history!

Mike did an excellent job of umpiring whilst I was less involved in the battle, more talking to potential gamers, answering questions and getting involved where needed.

I had forgotten to charge my phone, so my wife did an excellent job of taking photos and ensuring that we were fed and watered throughout the day.  Last year - (click here) she had come to observe, was asked to play and lead the Austrians to a crushing victory! This year she was glad to just observe...

We were really pleased that Chris Pringle, rules author (see here for his blog) had come up North with Mark Smith, who wrote the scenario book we used.  They spent the day circulating between the BBB games on offer and chatting with the gamers.

After a hard fought battle lasting eight turns with continual action from about 10.15 to 16.00, with much rolling of dice and charging of troops, the Allies won.  

Photos:

Early on in the battle - the French (to the left) are advancing.

My one usable photo.  Mike, in his brand new "Ilkley Irregulars" t-shirt, umpires the three French on the right taking on the Anglo Dutch defenders on the left.

In the background, other games were available ....

About the same time, the other side of the table.

Thumbs up from Napoleon - our first gamer to join and last to leave the table!

From the French (south) side, later in the game.  Still plenty of action in the middle, Prussians arriving lower right.

Drone shot - East at the top, North to the left.  The Allies on the left defend the ridge as the French take La Haye Sainte and swarm Hougoumont.

Conclusions, thoughts but firstly - THANKS:

1. Venue - Thank you to Peter, Lindy and the Baccus team for an excellent venue, helpful stewards and a great show!  

2. Rules - Thanks to Chris for an excellent set of rules that deliver HQGE - fast moving, absorbing games with most players doing something most of the time.  Thanks to Mark for this, the last scenario in his latest book.  We had some spare copies of the book available on the day and were pleased that these were all successfully re-homed!  Thanks for your support on the day!

3. Umpire - many thanks to Mike for ensuring that players got to have a great time on the day!  A further big thanks for making the terrain (excellent!) which contributed considerably to the visual impact of the game.

4. Players - many thanks to those of you who turned up on the day.  It was great to see you getting stuck in to the battle - played with style, banter and good humour!

Conclusions

It was a really good day and a great opportunity to show how BBB can enable a few mates to play a significant battle in an accessible manner.  Most of the players had just started, but the joy of BBB is that you concentrate on decisions, with a lot of the "admin" being done simply, efficiently and reliably within the rules and dice results.

It's been a lot of fun putting on the game and I'm pleased with the interest that we generated.

Thoughts - resources

There are a number of BBB resources that gamers can access, as follows:

1. Chris's BBB blog gives regular updates on the latest goings on in BBB world. 

2. There's an io.group for BBB - gives free scenarios, AARs, advice, clarifications, etc.

3. For figures and conversions, look at this blog and others.  Personally I really like Baccus 6mm, other manufacturers and ranges are available. 

4. There's a Facebook page here that also has plenty of material to look at and read.

Finally - all in all it was a great day - well worth it.  I guess i need to start thinking about JoS 2026....

Waterloo at Joy of Six - the second practice game - 30 May, 13 & 20 June

 Having played Waterloo once, in preparation for Joy of Six, we then replayed the battle but swapped sides, with Mike as Napoleon and myself as Wellington and Blucher.  See the AAR for our first battle here

We now had Mike's terrain and some more troops created for the game so battle commenced!

Here's the map, orientated so that it matches the pictures:

As we had recently played Waterloo on the other side, we organised our opponent's troops for them to deploy - here is the French army ready to march North:

The "drone shot"

Guard to the left, D'Erlon's I Corps in the middle

Initial deployment - The thin red line

Here's how it looked from my side - these are my troops on table but not yet deployed.  The orange roads are the sunken roads - they give some cover from cannon fire and in the assault.

The Allied right 

The Allied left

Turn 2

At the start of turn 2 (our second day of play) I had brought my stock of hedges, so I had something substantial to defend (? hide behind!).  Mike sent forward his left hook to take Hougoumont.  I appreciated how skirmishers, devastating fire, being in a fortified manor in a wood improved my chances of survival considerably!  On the right of the picture Mike pushes down the ridge towards my Brunswick & Hanoverian Landwehr...

On the left, Mike headed for Papelotte.  The Guard waited....

Turn 4

By the end of turn 4 we had achieved stalemate on the Allied right.  Mike couldn't take Hougoumont and his left hand flanking manoeuvre had not broken through.  For most of the Allied line it was a case of "hurry up and wait".

In the middle my troops were mainly waiting patiently for the French to arrive, except at Papelotte, where multiple French piled in to take the fortified village.  To the left the first Prussians arrive, whilst the French Guard, static till turn three, fill the gap on Mike's right.  Mike had learned from my earlier slow response to the Prussian threat.  Tired from their yomp through the forest, the Prussians slowly advance...

Turn 6

At this point things were going OK.  Mike still hadn't taken Hougoumont and his left hook had been stopped by various raw units - they had gone spent, but then so had Mike's infantry, so he wasn't't able to break through on his assaults.  Mike had established a gun line just out of musket/canister range of La Haye Sainte and destroyed my unit defending it.  I begin feeding units to my right as I'm not sure if my spent units will hold. 

On my left Mike holds Papelotte, however his main concern is more and more Prussians emerging from the woods.  He builds a defence line consisting entirely of Guard.  His artillery amuses itself by long range counter battery fire, which is why there are two guns in the foreground of the picture.  They will recover and return to the firing line in due course.

Turn 8

On my right I now stretched my line thinly to hold Mike's spent units at bay, whilst the survivors of the two spent units went into the hedge lines to recover.  Mike's assault on Hougoumont had been unsuccessful, so he had pulled back his troops to recover.  He had, however, removed one of my better units from the field of battle.

On my left the Prussians put pressure on the Guard.  At the top of the picture A Prussian column heads down the road towards the French rear, it looks like Mike's flank has been turned.  In the middle Picton assaults Papelotte with everything he can, Mike scrambles to react to this threat... 

Turn 9

We played turn 9 through enough to decide the key combats and determine a winner.  

On the right I advanced my line to support the gallant defenders of Hougoumont.  Mike's final assaults here were not able to break through.

In the middle Mike occupied La Haye Sainte on his turn 9.  I assaulted and won using the whole of my middle troops.  Not even the Grand Battery could save the French defenders.

On the left you see the results of the Prussian massed assault.  The Guard started to take losses, but well placed artillery meant that the Prussian column on the road went spent and moved no further,  The defenders of Papelotte did hold out, but the Prussians had broken through and driven off the French relief force.

Conclusion

I am pleased to report that it was another Allied win.  Mike, as Napoleon, didn't repeat some of my mistakes, however he was not getting high enough die scores to breakthrough at Hougoumont.

It's hard for Napoleon - as Wellington all I had to do for half the game was wait for the French and keep my troops from being blown away.  Mike had to win big against me early on and then win big against the Prussians.

When I did go onto the offensive, at the end of the game, the fragile and raw nature of much of my force showed up in failures to charge home and units quickly going spent.

We both thoroughly enjoyed the game and it's been great to play on our bespoke terrain.

All that remains is to welcome you on the day at Joy of Six on 13th July in Sheffield - you are welcome to take a turn or two or stay longer.

Waterloo at Joy of Six - the terrain

 Mike has spent the last couple of weeks creating the terrain for Waterloo at Joy of Six, Sunday 13th July in Sheffield.

Here's a sneak preview of the terrain set up yesterday, as we prepared for our second refight of the battle.

It will be nice to have purpose built terrain to fight on!  😀

  We left the gaps to help us work out how the jigsaw goes together.  Looking forward to seeing some of you on the day!

Update - here's the terrain with more features added:

Looking South from Allied position - Hougoumont chateau in the middle, La Haye Sainte farm on the road in the left centre.

Centre of the battlefield - Papelotte village on the left - it counts as a town and is an objective.

The left side - forests and trees to be added

Valmy, 20th September 1792, refought Friday 9 May 2025

 Mike and I fought Valmy last year, as can be seen here.  This time we swapped sides and I was the Prussian army - driving deep into France and heading for Paris, to stamp out all this egalitarian nonsense!  Whatever next?!  Mike was the glorious French - "les blancs et les bleus"* - desperately hoping to stop the invaders with a mix of steady regulars and enthusiastic volunteers.  

The French were aided on the day by dysentry in the Prussian army, so the Prussians all get rated as passive.  At this point the Prussians are the best army in Europe...  so have a reputation for winning to uphold.

Here's the map - orientated the same way as the following photos.

The Prussians need to take the Valmy ridge, two villages and the big hill to the north, the French need to stop them.....

Set up photos:

The right side

The middle:

The left - with the Prussians lined up ready to storm the French

Move 2

By the end of move 2 the Prussians had moved forwards, but the passivity caused by illness meant the attack was unco-ordinated.  Mike took this opportunity to start his long range shooting...

Another view - Mike built a solid line across the ridge and into the village at the bottom of the photo.

There is a photo of the right hand side of the battlefield, but as there are no troops on it, I decided to save space and not include it.

Move 4

By the end of move 4 the Prussian middle had attempted to take the ridge and failed.  The Left hook (top of picture) had gained ground but not fast enough or causing enough French casualties to break through.

At the bottom of the photo you can see the Prussian right hook - moving slowly towards the defended village.

Move 5

Scattered Prussian units show how the left & middle fared.  The Prussians did storm the ridge but in a haphazard sort of way.

At the bottom of the photo you can see the lack of progress as the Prussians still haven't managed to charge the French defending the village.

Move 6

At the end of move 6 the Prussians were running out of options and troops.  The left hook (top of picture) had not worked.  The surge (middle of picture) had finally broken through, however the surviving infantry units were now sporting bright blue counters to show that they were spent.  The Prussians did get their cavalry to charge through the middle and take the village of Valmy.  At the bottom of the picture the right hook had, once again, failed to land.  

Move 7

At the end of the game it was a clear French victory.  The Prussians had not taken Valmy ridge or the hill to the north (top of picture).  The Prussian cavalry failed the French counterattack on Valmy village and were removed from the sole victory objective they had taken.

The whole battle had taken place in the left hand third of the table.  A decisive victory to Mike and the revolution.  

Conclusion

We have played this twice, with the French winning both times.  The passive Prussians and lack of Prussian command & control really plays a part.  

As Prussian I could not get a co-ordinated attack going, arriving at the French line in penny packets and without the odds to get a decisive combat victory.   

Mike used his artillery to good effect, driving my batteries off and causing casualties.  

When I was able to get stuck in to melee, I didn't win big enough to break the French, whose counter attacks caused sufficient casualties for my units to go spent.

Our conclusion was that it's a hard battle for the Prussians to win.  

Having said that, give it a go, see if you can do better with the Prussians than Mike or I.  It's a great game, at 7 turns not too long.  If our efforts are anything to go by, it could easily fit on a 2 x 4 foot table!  The middle and right thirds were hardly touched!

Figures Baccus 6mm, I used Mike's Prussians and Mike used my collection of French Revolutionary figures.....

*If you want to know more about French infantry stands for 1792, look here and also here

Waterloo, 18 June 1815, refought 25 April & 2 May

 The final battle in Mark Smith's Napoleon's Bloody Big Battles is, of course, Waterloo.  Mike and I will be presenting this game on 13th July at Joy of Six in Sheffield, find out more details here.  We hope to see you on the day.

This was the first practice game - we're confident that we know what we are doing, but we need to see how it plays, make sure we've got the kit we need and ensure that participants have a great time on the day.

So, the Map:

It's portrait in the book, but plays out in a landscape format on the table.  The objectives are physical locations and also whether the French Guard survives the battle....

Set-up

Here's how the table looked at the start - I've marked the well known objectives on the first photo - showing left to middle of the table.  I was French, so all photos are from my side of the table (the South).

Here's the right hand side

Move 2

By the end of move 2 the I had started my plan, a left hook through Hougoumont, followed by an assault up the middle.  I also decided to build a Grand Battery on the small rise to the left of the middle road.  The boggy ground meant that this was slow going.

On the right flank I probed towards the British Line and secured one objective village - Papelotte.  

Turn 4

By the end of turn 4 the French left wing had enveloped Hougoumont, however Mike had re-inforced his line and used the hedges and sunken roads to reduce my fire power effectiveness.  He also tried an extreme right hook with Hanoverian Landwehr, which proved to be a nuisance.  On turn 3 the Guard lumbered into action - well the Chasseurs & Young Guard did.  The Old Guard failed to move.  Perhaps they had not switched their hearing aids on?

In the middle the French move up to La Haye Sainte, whilst on the East side of the road I didn't have enough troops to assault, so I tried shooting up the Allied line instead.  

On the far right of the picture you can see the first Prussians emerging from the woods.....

Move 6 French / 5 Allies

By the end of French move 6 the Guard Chasseurs had proved their worth, breaking through the entrenched Allies and bringing pressure to bear on the Allied defenders at Hougoumont.  The Hanoverian Landwehr is at the top of the picture - having been reduced to "spent" status.

In the centre the French took La Haye Sainte and pushed the Allied centre out of the sunken lanes.  Mike started to shovel his reserves here.  Note the massed guns at the bottom of the picture.

Move 6 complete

By the end of turn 6, things on the left were looking good for the French - the defenders of Hougoumont were being reduced, the Tricolour flew over La Haye Sainte and I still held Papelotte.

However....  on the right I had pulled back to hold the Prussian onslaught with a force heavy in Cavalry and Artillery.  They stopped the Prussian Northern advance, but at the cost of letting the Prussian Southern  column have a clear road to the French rear!  Merde!

Move 8

At the end of move 8 the French left was struggling.  Hougoumont had not fallen, the troops in the centre were under pressure and I was scraping together anything spare to get the Prussians sitting in my rear...

On the right I had received 4 new stands of infantry, courtesy of one of the scenario rules, they were immediately engaged plugging the gaping hole in my right flank, where too little infantry was being crushed by the Prussian steamroller.

Here's the close-up of the middle - the French still hold La Haye Sainte, Mike is getting ready to change that....

Move 9

On the French left the fighting around Hougoumont continued, in the middle the Allies recaptured La Hay Sainte.

On the right the French failed to make contact with the Prussian southern column, so the Prussians held Plancenoit.  The Allies drove my troops from Papelotte as well.

Conclusion

This is a tough one for the French.  They need to get a move on and break the Allies before the Prussians arrive.  My left hook was a good idea, but it took too long to develop.  The Guard Chasseurs were outstanding, but I needed more good quality troops.  La Haye Sainte fell, but was recaptured by the Allies.  I had neglected my right wing, this cost me when the Prussians arrived.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable two days gaming, my thanks to Mike for being a worthy opponent, I enjoyed the banter and bacon sarnies!

If you haven't tried this battle yet, give it a go.  Better yet, come to Joy of Six (Sunday 13 July, Sheffield Hallam University) and play a turn or two, or stay all day.  We had two players, but the game could easily take a few more gamers.

Photo Gallery

A few photos from the day:

The Guard waits at La Belle Alliance for the order to move forward

Hussars - 7th & 9th - slightly disrupted, having just seen off the Hanoverian Landwehr.

Artillery on the move, with the Chasseurs of the Guard on the left and the Young Guard on the right.