The third and final BBB rules Waterloo run by the Ilkley Irregulars was on Saturday 29th at the Battleground Show, Middlesborough, UK. The show is run by Leon from Pendraken Miniatures and had a range of games - different periods, scales & genres. We were pretty busy all day, so apart from trips to the loos, I didn't get a lot of time to look at the other games and gamers.
The Battleground show is held in the Middlesborough Sports Village, a large sports hall that featured heating and lots of lighting. It's easy to get to (Motorway or Dual Carriageway pretty much door to door for me) and Google Maps got me there in good time. It is also FREE
On the day the Irregulars (Mike and I) were joined by Charlie, who provided an excellent Wellington inpression.
I have described the games we put on at Joy of Six and Fiasco in previous posts, so check these out for more details of the scenario etc.
We found the organisers, traders, gamers and public to be really friendly and we had an early joiner in the form of Alan, who played till about 1pm as the British left flank. He enjoyed his game and has already asked to be part of our Joy of Six Game (we've filled in the forms for Borodino....).
We also discovered several gamers in and around Ilkley - we hope to welcome these gentlemen at a later date to join us in battle.
The battle of Waterloo - participation game 3
Charlie was keen to be British (with Alan for the morning), so Mike commanded the French left and I was the French right. As this was our fifth fight (you can see the practice games here - game 1 and here - game 2) we had finally mastered the scenario rules and the game went well. We were also joined by another couple of players in the afternoon, keen to roll dice and try BBB.
I was busy gaming and talking, so only took 4 photos, as follows:
Set up - troops deployed waiting orders....
Turn 4 - the Prussians arrive at the bottom of the photo - in the centre the Allied defenders of Papelotte hang on by the luckiest of die rolls and repel repeated French attacks.
The view from the French baseline. The French right has run out of steam, in the foreground the Guard heads right to repel the Prussians.
On the French left Mike's massive left hook has devbeloped and Charlie (thinking that this is different game) tries to phone a friend.
In the end, the Allies held three objectives, so the battle was classed as an Allied win.
All that remained was to pack up and head home....
Reflections:
It has been interesting to fight the same battle five times, we have certainly road tested the scenario. It is tough for the French - they need early wins against the Anglo-Dutch, followed by a slow Prussian advance. This did not happen at Middlesborough!
By the time of this game we had got setting up and packing down into quite a slick operation, so there was a small opportunity to look at the rest of the show.
We have enjoyed the games more with a greater number of participants, as one of us can Umpire and the other field questions.
Most of the participants had bought the rules and started to try them out - it is great to see how quickly gamers on the day become familiar with BBB - spending less time looking at the rules and more time planning ahead and interacting with other gamers.
BBB combines simplicity with a high level of nuance. It also makes both combat and movement variable - so you can never rely on your troops, or opponents, being always able to perform manoeuvres and assaults. The more complicated the assault or more units involved, the more likely it is to unravel somewhere along the line...
As mentioned above, we are planning Borodino in the Summer at Joy of Six. Book your seats early!
