CHOCOLATE BOX WARS INTRO GAME: DANES V PRUSSIANS

 

Danish Army Command Stand Ready to Be Deployed

Greetings, dear readers.  Recently, I ran a game to introduce Charlie, a member of our gaming club, to Chocolate Box Wars. This won't be much of a battle report, I'm afraid, but it will deliver a general flavor of the action (plus some nice pictures of toy soldiers) and the details of the introductory scenario that I've run with some success. It is designed to illustrate a basic army construct, familiarize players with a common range of unit types and special abilities, and to give experience with the common range of terrain types. I think it may be a useful resource for anyone out there who may be looking to get a first game together. You can download the scenario at the below link:

CBW INTRODUCTORY SCENARIO

Read on for a bit more on the scenario and the game. As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX in this report. 

It fits on a modest table (mine is 6 feet long by 5 feet wide).  The setup zones are 12" deep (0n a 4x6 table, the setup depths would be 8", as per the rules).  All of the terrain is "Cover" (the ponds are impassable).  The individual trees and fields are for effect and have no influence on play. The rough area does not block line of sight.  

The pre-deployment view from the Danish side. 

The pre-deployment view from the Prussian side.

For ease of setup, I put all the troops on the table in a "staging zone" in front of their deployment zones. This way, players can easily see their force and pull units into their deployment areas. Although there are unit labels on the stands and the players have OOB handouts, I also put a "table tent" behind each unit with identifying information (these get pulled after deployment).  I have found that this last bit really helps to move things along, not only for new players but also for practiced players, particularly if they are not familiar with the army in play. This particular game pitted my mid-century Prussians against my Danes in a Schleswig-Holstein war scrum (my preference is the 1st). But the nationalities are irrelevant (the units would be the same for any match). 

One reason I picked the Danes for this game was that I wanted to get my new Danish Hussars on the table (above left).  Given that the Danish Horse Guards don't get much play, I also decided to put them on the table, too (above right). 

The latter are also conversions: the figures are Northstar Austrian 1866 Dragoons with a green stuff roll added to their helmet crests and then painted to show their distinctive big boots and signature mustard yellow coats. I rated them as regular cavalry in this game

(Left) Veteran CBW player, AJ (of AJ's Wargaming Blog), took up the Danes and Charlie (Right) ran the Prussians. Although Charlie may have been new to CBW, he is very well versed in Iron Cross, from which CBW is derived (albeit several steps removed via its companion WWI version, 1914). Thus, he was familiar with the underlying structure--and played well beyond the "learner level" as a result. 

A closer shot of the Prussian deployment as seen from the left flank, with the two Jager Companies and Squadron of Madgeburg Hussars at the end of the line. The Jager Companies would move into the orchard and the small town to anchor the Prussian left, with the Hussar Squadron in support.  The initial deployment for both sides was fairly conventional, with the main (center) being the line infantry supported by guns with the cavalry and other troop types on the edges. 

Charlie deferred and so AJ and his Danes began the game (left). Charlie then countered, and both sides developed the situation, each conducting a balanced approach towards a meeting in the middle of the area. 

A close up of the Prussian center, with the small town being held by a Jager Company with the battalion of Volunteer rifles (brown jackets) to their left holding the gap between the town and the orchard. 

 

A memorable series of events unfolded when the Danish Horse Guards took advantage of an opportunity to make an audacious charge against a Prussian infantry unit. At this point, General Dice took over (for both sides!): the Prussians were able to react, but did so with minimal effect, leaving the next act up to the Horse Guards, who then balked (they needed a 3 or better on a 12 sided dice to complete the action...they rolled a 2!). It looked like a classic "Death Ride" so characteristic of the era might be in the offing. The even more remarkable thing that then happened was that the Prussians again whiffed in their ensuing reaction. Deciding that fate had spoken, the Danish Horse Guards then turned about and trotted (rather majestically) back to their own lines, making a subsequent rally roll to recover their (slight) losses. 

Another shot of the mid-game action from behind the Danish Center/Left: the Danish Guard (in bearskins) and Volunteer Rifles (Green Hats) come forward to shore up two battered Danish infantry battalions in the center (seen to the right: reduced to a single stand each). Black squares are hit markers. Each stand can take four hits (artillery and light cavalry stands take three).  You can see that the opposing Prussian battalions had taken a beating here as well. The engagement between the infantry lines in the center would be the main action, with the advantage going to the Danes. The coins behind the unit stands are my CBW activation markers. 

Over on the other side of the table, the Prussian right, the Prussian Dragoons would also take an opportunity to ride down a pesky Danish Jager Company, but General Dice would intervene on this side as well and keep them from following through. Unlike the Danish Horse Guards, the Prussian Dragoons would take substantial lumps for their audacity (although there was a window of opportunity, unlike the Danish Horse Guard ride, the outcome of events here turned out to be more consistent with such mounted actions in the post-Napoleonic age of the rifle--and characteristic of the turns of fortune that tipped against Charlie and his Prussians in this game).

The scene afterwards with the reduced Prussian Dragoons withdrawn and the Danish Jagers holding the town with a supporting Danish infantry battalion pressing forward. Eventually, the Danes would take the upper hand and the Prussians would reach exhaustion: win to AJ but very well played by Charlie, particularly for his first time out. 

Gracie, pup #2, ignored the fortunes of war and favored the Prussian side of the table for this game. 

A Few Observations:

Although this was another learning game using the playtest/intro scenario, it did produce a few more insights into the system that are worth sharing.  The outcome was not due to one player necessarily "outplaying" the other. AJ did have more experience in CBW, and that did come out, but it wasn't as if Charlie got run off the table. Neither side had some kind of high risk:reward overbalance in one part of the table. In short, it was an even affair, both in deployment and unit handling. The thing that, in the long run, tipped things in favor of the Prussians was sustainment: although both sides suffered losses, AJ was more successful in rallying off hits at key points to keep units from dropping stands. With the differential in Action Points accumulating with stand losses, the balance started tipping more and more against the Danes. It's not as if Charlie was not aware of the importance of rallying off hits, but he was sometimes wrong footed and unable to do so at the moment when needed, plus he had some odd die results that worked against him. Regarding the latter, having watched these events unfold, I have to say that I am still confident that CBW is not a volatile "dicey" system (where units can sit for half the game failing to activate).  In some of the key rally cases, Charlie really did have spectacularly unlikely rolls (the classic "anything but a 1" roll, but on a 12 sided dice!).  Continuing in the importance of unit sustainment thread, the "Retire and Reform" action came into its own in this game more so than in others. Both Charlie and AJ used it to good effect several times to get units out of bad spots to live to fight another day (well, another turn...).  So, in summary, both played a good game, but the difference was in the overall attrition, which built up against the Danes in the end. 

Excelsior!

A TIMELESS IMAGE: YOUTH AND COMRADESHIP

An Undated Group Photo of Young Men (Trainees? New Recruits?)

Inspired by the provocative period images that Tony often posts on his excellent blog, Tin Soldiering On, I thought that I would share an image that I found particularly arresting. I ran across the above while noodling around on ebay (where you can find many old military portraits and photos).  This one caught my eye so much so that I went ahead and bought the physical artifact.  It is undated, but depicts a group of German hussars, certainly in the era before the Great War.  And very young troopers they are. 

 

Then again, it may just be that they seem young to my eyes now--when I was in my early years of service, I (and my contemporaries) probably looked just as young to our seniors, even if we didn't think of ourselves as such. Above, portrait of the Meanderer shortly after arriving at his first posting as a 2nd Lt (also in the cavalry).

Speaking of which, perhaps it is just me, but unlike many of the rather formulaic soldier portraits of the time, this one jumps out as very contemporary and relatable: it could be any group of comrades at any time.  As a product,  it seems to be a photo not unlike the ones that they still take and provide today (the photo of the Meanderer, above, was such a one, taken by a contract photographer in 1982: yes, they had color photography then). Getting back to the old(er) photo, the writing on the picture says "Stube 74": which translates (literally) to "Room 74." So my surmise is that these are barracks-mates. Most likely, each group was photographed and the pictures reproduced and made available for purchase (I'm sure that they were bought and sent home to relatives, as were those in my day--in the pre-digital age). Perhaps other similar groups had more stiff and generic "stand to attention" looks, but this crew seems very lively--you can just imaging them getting ready for the shot, deciding on all having a smoke in their hands and then striking their poses for the photo.  Anyway, enough blather.  As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX. Below, I've divided the photo into 3 expanded studies for easier viewing.  

If every picture tells a story, there are many that can be told here. 

Excelsior!

CLUB OPEN GAME DAY

 

Gamers  gathering and perusing the tables at the start of the Open Game Day.

Last Saturday (Oct 19), our club (The Northern Conspiracy) held it's first open game day. Our club is located in Northern New England, with members from New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont, and it meets once per month for a game night gaming session at a venue in New Hampshire. Once or twice per year, we hold a "Game Day" on a Saturday. These are usually big games or linked table campaigns that are all day affairs.  However, we sometimes run multiple smaller games on our game days--an extended version of our game nights that allow people to get in a full day of gaming.  This year, we decided to do some outreach and held an Open Game Day. Although we certainly were interested the usual--introducing our club to new prospective members--a major aim was to showcase historical miniatures gaming to the larger community of gamers. Towards these ends, we hosted a range of participation games, five in the morning and three in the afternoon. The idea was to have games that weren't too challenging in terms of rules, that would be in known/popular periods (like WWII), or that would demonstrate the visual appeal of other, lesser known periods, showcasing the range of options available in historical gaming. Here is a run down of the games (I ran my joust, which is the last in this report). As usual, you may clix pix for BIG PIX. 

Battle of Rhode Island, 28mm American War of Independence 

AJ (standing at the end of the table) briefing the players.

AJ ran his Electronic Brigadier American War of Independence Game with a full compliment of players. AJ's eBrigadier games have quite a following and are always a draw. He is working on expanding it beyond AWI in the future. 

Rome Vs Carthage, 28mm Ancients

Bob O seated at the end of the table

Bob O has put together a faster playing multiplayer variant of Command And Colors Ancients, complete with superb custom made cards and wooden trays to organize and hold them. He has put together a similar C&C variant for the Russo Turkish War. This game pitted a Carthaginian force under Hannibal's brother (Magon) against an equal sized Roman force under Varo trying to block him from linking up with Hannibal. 

Operation Epsom, 15mm World War Two

John M (yellow hat) getting players ready for his game.

John M ran a game of Blitzkrieg Commander set during the Normandy Breakout. John's specialty is World War Two (gaming and history), and his games are always appealing and fun to play. This one was no different.

Invasion of Norway, 1:1800 World War Two Naval 

One of our naval experts, Ross, put something on for the naval gamers using the elegantly simple War at Sea rules pitting a German force transporting troops for an invasion of Oslo against an intercepting allied force. Unfortunately, I only managed to get a few shots of this game during setup. 

The Battle of Carchemish, 650 BCE, 28mm Ancients

Ralph (blue vest) setting up.

This was (unfortunately) one of two games that I only managed to capture set up pictures for. Ralph and Charlie used Ralph's fast play "Hannibal at the Gates" ancients rules for the "anchor" game of the afternoon session, featuring a striking table festooned with clashing chariots and all the other colorful trappings that Babylonians, Medes, Scythians, and Egyptians bring.  Ralph's terrain pieces always add much to his games, and the feature of this one was this stunning aqueduct. 

V2 Rocket Heist, 28mm World War Two

Rob, cap at the end of the table, setting up his Iron Cross World War Two game. Again, I didn't capture any images of the game in progress, but the premise of it was an inventive mix of "adventure" and history, with Polish partisans, Home Army, and British Paras trying to capture a crashed V2 rocket and smuggle components of it out for analysis. The V2 models on the table were quite arresting (Rob is among our club's 3D printers, and creates lots of interesting materials for his and other people's games, the V2 rockets on this table being among them). 

Jousting, 28mm Medieval

Your humble correspondent (standing in black and white club shirt) briefing players during the morning joust. 

My contribution was to ran my Joust for the Fun of It game.  I ran this twice, once in the morning session and once in the afternoon. I had four players in the morning and six in the afternoon, a mix of club members and guests in both. So in my game alone there were ten players for the day. One new thing I added was the "leader crown" (seen in the upper left picture). This is worn by the player who is in the lead after each match--a mixed honor since it also serves as a target, letting other players know who they need to take down a few pegs if the chance arises (great fun). 

Summary

Although I don't have the numbers, counting the two iterations of my game, attendance was such that it floated eight viable games, with something between 4 and 6 per table (I think AJ's E Brigadier game may have had 8). Attendance in the morning session was higher than the afternoon, but all games ran. Many among the guests were new to historical miniatures gaming, one who had been invited by a club member later told him, "I can't believe how much I liked that historical gaming!"  Of course, club members were in attendance as well and had a fine day out, too. It's always good to get together to game in the club, but it was also a great experience to meet others who came to play. We'll be reprising the open game day again next year. If you're in our neck of the woods, watch for it. 

Excelsior!