Thursday, December 30, 2010

Franco-Prussian War Practice Game






Hi Kids, A couple weeks ago I ran a practice game of Larry Brom's "Chassepot & Needlegun" rules for the 1870 Franco-Prussian War in the Basement of Heaped Miniatures. I had signed up to run the game for the Catawba Gamers at their December meeting, and figured I better have at least a loose grasp of the rules before letting those hardcore gamers run wild. The situation was the mythical French breakout from the fortress city of Metz, the Frogs trying to escape off the board to the north, pushing through the blocking Prussian units. The game seemed to run pretty smoothly, and the overwhelming weight of the more numerous French units slowly crushing the Prussian defense. The Prussian highlight of the game (at least in my humble opinion): Scott Johnson charging the French artillery early in the game, getting blasted on the way in and still managing to wipe out the French battery! Blue Max'es for everybody! I learned a few things, too: I need a bigger table.

6 comments:

Shaun Watson said...

Awesome! These are 25mm?

Oh - I picked up a copy of Black Powder and a big hunk of 28mm Napoleonics if you or anyone wants to get into some games this year.

ColKillgore said...

I had a great time playing and the grand Prussian charge into the French guns was pure cinema. Charging the guns might not have been the best plan but it worked and that is what counts.

sonsoftaurus said...

I had a lot of fun with that back in the day. Larry made some fun systems.

I think those are the actual figs we used back in the day at J&S - did Chuck get them off of Larry?

ColKillgore said...

Those are Brom's figures. Chuckaroo, being a man of mystery, will not divulge how he acquired them. He only hints that there was a minimun of blood shed and they were only wogs in any case.

ColKG

Chuckaroobob said...

Hi Kids, I cannot confirm or deny the source of the alleged 25mm armies. The similarity is, however, striking.

sonsoftaurus said...

I think that the Turcos' goat had something to do with it.