Triconderoga & Ruritanian Landwehr

Map of the Battle of Ticonderoga 1758

I spend a very pleasent evening in the Mess (Cassidy's bar on Westmoreland St.) yesterday in the company of Messrs. Maher and Gorman. The food was good as always and though I was off the sauce for lent*, the staff were very pleasent and didn't look askance at three chaps playing boardgames two of whom were drinking coffee.

We played a variant of Battlecry put together by Mr. Maher. It had been a while since I'd played this on the regular sized board as opposed to the large games that we usually play. As usual I played the Union, while General Gorman took command of the Rebels at Chickamauga. Sadly, it was not a great day for the Federal army and we were driven from the field. Mr. Maher's alterations to the game were interesting, though they were so comprehensive that I'm hesitant give an opinion. The cavalry were too powerful, much though it pains me to say it, beyond that, I think, the only definate lesson that can be drawn is that more playtesting is necessary.

We then played a game called Clash for a Continent, which is a Battlecry style board game of the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War. It differs from Battlecry and the other Command & Colours game in using dice rather than cards to determine how troops may act. I played the Triconderoga scenario once against Mr. Gorman and succeeded in driving General Montcalm's men from the firestep albeit at the cost of a many brave grenadiers. An attempt by my light infantry to cross the lightly defended northern section of the wall ended in disaster when they were cut off and forced to surrender.

But in the end, victory was mine. The French were driven from the fire step and cut down before they could reach the bastion. General Montcalm offered me his sword, which naturally I returned to him and all was well with the world.

Messrs. Maher and Gorman played the Triconderoga scenario twice more, with one French victory and one British, though Mr. Gorman did as usual have the luck of the Devil himself, shattering two regiments of British troops and driving a third from the field with a single volley.

I suppose he was due some luck though, as last time we played the Battle of the Plains of Abraham he lost both Wolfe and Murray in the first French cannonade.

Beyond that, nothing much to report except that another regiment of twenty four Ruritanian Landwehr are nearing completion. I did the musket barrels, flasks and pack straps today, which leaves the cross belts, rossettes, hair, plumes and bases to be done.

But they are for another day.






*Easily the one of hardest things I've ever had to give up for Lent, barring swearing, which was actually impossible, eating pig products, which just made me miserable and shooting Germans, which meant that I just painted figures or umpired for a month and got very grumpy.