Neil Thomas Napoleonics with Hexes AAR

[Blackhat]

We played a test game of the Neil Thomas Napoleonic Rules last night using the adaptions from “Old Trousers”  for using hexes on his blog which can be found here:

http://flagsofvictory.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/napoleonic-hex-grid-game-part-2.html

This is the setup at the start of the game:

 

Using my Hexon terrain for the first time – I did find that Hexon hills don’t work that well with figures with mag basing as they slide down… I’ve ordered some single hexes to use instead.  The other slight problem is that my units are based on 30mm frontage bases which means they don’t quite fit into a hexon hex but we resolved that by placing the base with the colours behind the rest of the bases in line.

The rules worked really well, without us having to consult them only occasionally after the second turn.

 

Keith took a French Iberian Peninsular army and opted for  the maximum 2 artillery, while I took the British and took 2 cavalry units.

 

Each army was 8 units and we played the standard Neil Thomas game of continuing until one side is reduced to 2 units.

We played 8 turns in 1.5 hours and the British won leaving the french with only 1 unit remaining after the hussars broke through and rode down the french artillery and light infantry.

We did find a couple of things that I think we will change:
In the original Neil Thomas rules you can only attack a unit with one other unit for each facing – so only one unit can attack to the front.  With hexes you can get two units in against one so I wondered about a supporting unit adding an extra dice a base to the attackers rather than attacking on as well.  If the melee is lost then the support unit has to withdraw as well and take a morale test, so there is a risk by attacking with 2 units but you get an advantage in combat.

The same would apply to a unit attacking 2 units next to each other – the defenders would get an extra dice for having a supporting unit alongside them.
Any supporting unit would have to not have another enemy unit in their other frontal hex to be able to offer support.

I also felt that flank attacks were too easy, but we might have to play a few more times to see if that it true – or we could play with units facing the face of a hex (which has the disadvantage of staggered lines) but gives you 3 frontal hexes and 3 rear – the rules don’t differentiate between rear and flank attacks anyway.
All in all a very nice, simple set of rules that gave a game with sensible results and which we are both keen to try again – probably with a scenario next time and possibly slightly more units.

[Ian Marsh]

Heck, this is what I’ve let myself in for on Friday! 🙂

Ian
Fighting 15s
www.fighting15s.com

[Norm S]

Very nice. You can get a basing felt from Kallistra that adheres to the base of you figures and prevents the sliding on hills – don’t know what that will do to the magnetic capability of your bases though – it may well be worth asking on the Kallistra forum.

[Blackhat]

Thanks – seen it suggested, in the end I’ve bought some single hexes to use as hills which will be a flat surface.

I’m playing again next Monday to try out some amendments.

Mike

[Norm S]

I have just got my rules and will doing some Hexon stuff with them. Will post as that develops and will keenly watch your blog. Norm.

[Blackhat]

Norm – not actually my rules or my blog – I’ve just been trying them out.

I played a second set of games of the Hex rules with a new opponent on Monday at the Guildford Wargames Club.

The first game we tried out letting lines occupy 2 hexes(and managed to miss a couple of rules to do with command). The game was fairly close but in the end the British wore the french down and their advantage in cavalry told.

In the second game, my opponent played the French again and we restricted lines to one hex (and remembered the other rules). Russ’s cavalry charged my rifles in about the 3rd turn and the rifles blew most of them away (which surprised Russ as they had done virtually nothing in the first game!). After that, the cavalry were eliminated quickly and the British cavalry superiority told again in a close victory for the British side.

We played on a 12 x 12 hex layout and used the standard 8 unit army lists from Neil Thomas’s rules.

Russ enjoyed the games and thought they worked well for a quick and simple game with some interesting decisions.

Mike

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