Thursday was Thanksgiving here in the US. And I was thankful I had a lot of opportunity to game, including a chance for a solo run of Fistful of Lead: Bigger Battles.
I'll let the pictures tell the story - you will no doubt recognize the scenario:
The Russians received a sound thrashing at the hands of the British
****** Thoughts on the Rules ****
I played the simplest version of the rules - no leaders, commanders, heroes, or attributes.
The yellow markers on the table (tiny dice) represent Shock. I really like this concept and the decision making involved in managing it. I don't particularly like the markers. I could have used the pips to indicate how many Shock markers. Next time.
I love card activation systems. Unlike GASLIGHT where the card drawn indicates which unit activates, you get to choose which unit you'll activate on the card. Not knowing when your opponent might get to act with one of their units adds tension to the decision making of the good kind.
I particularly like the special events built into the activation deck - +1 this, +1 that, get back eliminated members of a unit! That last one reminds me of the hospital in In Good Company, without the fiddly bit of rolling each turn to see if they make it back You just need the Queen of Hearts or an Ace you can use as the Queen of Hearts.
Like One Hour Skirmish Wargames, I can never remember the order of the suits!
Looking forward doing a few more games and adding in the more advanced bits.
Great looking game and super photos, especially of the soldier’s eye view. You have done this iconic scenario justice .
ReplyDeleteThank you so much!
DeleteGreat game John - definitely something to be thankful for
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Any day we get to play with our toys is a day to be thankful for.
DeleteVery nice set up table and 54mm - well done JOHN. Cheers. KEV.
ReplyDeleteThank you KEV.!
DeleteHappy Thanksgiving John! The game looks great, your AIP and Britains figures go together perfectly thanks to your excellent painting skills! Very well done!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Brad! And belatedly, Happy Thanksgiving to you!
DeleteAlways good to see the toys in use! I'm a fan of FFOL but haven't yet tried the big battles version.
ReplyDeleteThis was my first game with them - my collaborator on the Venus campaign suggested them and I was curious. Much time was spent scrolling through the rules during play but far less necessary by the end. I haven't played the regular game at all yet - but I do intend to give it a try as well.
DeleteLooks good, was fun, what more can you ask?
ReplyDeleteUse a deck of cards to activate units is a good system for small actions like this Tge Sword & the Flame was the first place I encountered it back in the early 80's.
TSATF has long been on my wish list - almost from the moment I got into wargaming. I always suspected I couldn't field enough miniatures for the game though, so never made the purchase.
DeleteJohn, some very nice paintwork, and the Russians make an interesting opposition to the British Empire troops. Thanks for the view!
ReplyDeleteMichael
Thank you, Michael! Although I had plans for them to be opponents long before I listened to it, "The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia" by Peter Hopkirk really solidified the idea.
DeleteDo you have Wiley Games’ solo expansion for the Fistful of Lead rules? It was offered as a free PDF for a while.
ReplyDeleteHi Reese! I literally learned about this expansion maybe an hour before your comment when I was shopping the Thanksgiving/Black Friday sales on Wiley Games' site. Haven't had a chance to look at it yet. I picked up Might & Melee to go with my rebasing of my Deetails collection to single-figure bases .
DeleteInteresting little scenario that is of particular interest to me because I have acquired a group of Crimean war figures I don't really know what to do with! Meanwhile, does the FFOL system extend to the American War of Independence? I have about 50 BMC figures itching for action...
ReplyDeleteI thought the Russians were doing so well to begin with...
Cheers,
Ion
Hi Ion,
DeleteFFOL Core and FFOL: Bigger Battles are era agnostic - they say Fantasy, Ancient to Modern, and SciFi can be played with the rules. Core Rules are man to man skirmish and owe much to their Old West rules with 5-6 figures per side. Bigger Battles is the same system with modifications to allow you to command several multi-figure units but what they represent is up to you, of course.
Through a combination of traits and weaponry , you can make the units fit periods/forces of choice. They give several example forces including Horse & Musket. In my mind they appear Napoleonic in theme, but that's because they don't have Colonial Militia as an example (I would probably make them Green (use d8), and Deadeye(+1 to shoot) to live up to Hollywood depictions if not history).
Fistful of Lead: Horse & Musket 2nd Edition is available - and helpfully, unlike the 1st ed. it's a complete standalone set of rules, it's set at the 5-6 figures per side and it's heavy on the Horse and Musket flavor.I don't have this one, but I suspect you could borrow any ideas from it and apply them to Bigger Battles with ease.
Tim Gow has a post on a game using the old Horse & Musket set (which were an expansion to the Core set) set in the AWI: https://megablitzandmore.blogspot.com/2019/02/a-stroll-in-forest.html.
As a note, the FFOL series of rules come with the disclaimer they are intended to have a cinematic flavor not historical simulation. They also use 10-sided dice primarily. Although better troops use 12-sided, and worse troops use 8-sided. I mention that in case you're dice supply is mostly 6-sided.
They are having a 10% off sale running through Monday, on both PDFs and print. They aren't free but they cost much less than many other sets that I've enjoyed a good deal less!
Cheers,
- John