Habits Are Hard To Break

Once again I sat down, looked at the still unfinished 20 turn game on my table and thought: "I have not done what I thought I was doing. Instead, I've gone  even farther off course.".  Reset!

Simple scenario. Equal forces, 3 roads either side. Roll for entry point per division. Sieze an enemy road without losing any.

The original plan had been to write a ruleset with as little  regimental detail and as few artificial command mechanisms as I could but instead, with each tweak or rewrite I seemed to have slipped ever farther back down that well trodden road. So,  I opened up a blank document and began again.

I thought about what a revelation it had been 17 years ago when I first read Joe Morschauser and, after scoffing, tried playing his rules. Then I thought about how  much I had enjoyed, and been excited about, the games I had played using the very simple rules he inspired me to write. Rules which I had proceeded to regress until the rules were neither fast nor fun while convincing myself that I wasn't doing that at all. It comes I think from my early days, WRG and reading Charles Grant's books. The simpler Featherstone and Lawford and Young had been hastily put aside by the young man for more modern, detailed, scale conscious rules. Unlearning that approach has been a steep curve over the last years.

I reset the table, typed up a one page rules summary,  and started again.

Desperate Union counter attack repulsed with heavy losses.

This time I played 15 turns in about 3 hours and was able to declare a narrow Confederate minor victory. More than that, the advantage had swung back and forth but in the end it was player decisions not dice that decided the issue. (Mind you a last desperate Yankee charge might have come off against the odds if the dice had been kinder to them and turned the game to a draw.)

So here's the one page rules:

Ross Fast PLay ACW QRS

Determine initiative My usual card initiative deck

Sequence of Play

A moves or  shoots
Resolve charges (Oops missed this phase when I was typing)

B moves or shoots

Resolve charges

Moves 

Generals, Cav, Horse Arty 18” 

Inf, Arty 12”  

If with 6” of enemy no sideways move

1/2 speed  if maneuvering (fall back, sidestep, pass through,  etc) 

1/2 speed across delaying terrain, inf only in thick woods, swamp, steep rocky hills etc

Roads negate off road terrain for columns

Shooting: Shoot straight ahead. Units may change facing, unlimer etc and shoot. 

Inf: 2d6 per unit  6” @5,6 hits    

Cav: 2d6 per dismounted  unit. 6” @5,6 hits 

Arty 2d6 per gun  12” @4,5,6 hits, 36” @5,6 hits  

-1 vs cover

Support. A unit may pass up to 1/2 hits to an infantry unit within 1” to flank or up to 3” to rear. 

Rally Men! A Cdr may join one unit within 6” each turn and roll 1d6: 5,6=cancel 1  hit, 1=Cdr dead  

Charge Resolution: Both sides roll  2d6 per unit in contact, 4,5,6 hits     

-1 if attacking cover or an obstacle or if charged in flank.

Follow Me! A Cdr may join a unit in contact. Roll 1d6 5,6 = inflict 1 hit or cancel 1. 1=dead
Apply hits then if neither removed side that took most hits retreats. Charger may occupy ground. If tied charger falls back 1” (cav may dismount) or full move. (Player choice)

Unit Morale. 

Inf take 4 hits, Cav/Arty take 3 hits

+1 if Elite (crack/Veteran etc)

-1 if Green (demoralized etc).

One of the Union roads is blocked by Rebs. Not really controlled by either but adding in the shattered Union 2nd Division enough for a technical victory.