Hi,
As we only play these rules at our local club we have made a few changes to the main rules. We have tried to minimise the effect on overall play because we still want to get a result in an evening.
I hope the BBCode works, or rather, I hope my use of it is suceesful!
These are the changes that we have decided to keep :-
1. Infantry Versus Cavalry in Rough Going
Amendment - Infantry do not halve their dice against cavalry in rough going.
Reason - Using cuirassiers to flush out infantry from e.g. woods just wasn't historical.
2. Assaulting Cavalry Disruption
Amendment - Assaulting cavalry units should receive two disruption markers when they decisively lose a combat against other cavalry.
Reason - This stops players just throwing inferior cavalry units into an assault knowing that, even if they lose the combat e.g. 8-0, both units only get 1 DISR marker. This was suggested by another member and we liked it so have used it.
3. Attacking Players' Reserves
Amendment - The attacking players' reserves should have their dice roll adjusted by -1.
Reason - We found that the defenders' reserves were arriving where the battle was raging and could be thrown in exactly where the gaps were. The attacker meanwhile had to trundle his reserves across the table too late to affect the outcome.
4. Units Falling Back
Amendment - A unit that chooses to Fall Back in the Reaction Phase cannot charge in the following Activity Phase. An artillery unit that chooses to Fall Back in the Reaction Phase cannot unlimber in the following Activity Phase.
Reason - We felt that this was open to too much abuse whereby a player fell units back to avoid the risk of losing it to an assault only to charge it home in his Ativity Phase.
5. Pursuing Off Table
Amendment - Units that follow up a successful combat result do not leave the table if the 2BW follow up would force it to. They stop at the table edge.
Reason - Just plain daft to penalise a player that wins a combat by removing his unit from play.
6. Interspersing Brigades on Deployment
Amendment - This is not allowed! When measuring command distance during the game friendly units from another brigade are treated as enemy units i.e. command range cannot be traced to within 1BW of them. The 'I'm with Stupid Rule' is also used.
Reason - Command & control generally suffered when brigades interspersed on the battlefield.
Amendments still being tested are :-
1. Combined Arms Attacks
Amendment - A player may not assault a defending unit with both infantry AND cavalry in the same Activity Phase.
Reason - This almost always dictated what happened in our games, so much so that we were deliberately NOT using it so as not to ruin our evenings play.
Feedback - The games have improved. As an example last night the French infantry attacked and opended a gap only to be forced into square by British cavalry reserves and targeted by Horse artillery. The French cavalry reserve then relieved the pressure and allowed the infantry attack to continue. It looked, and felt, right. The game also played to 19 turns in the evening with it ending in a draw because both sides rolled enough on their break test dice to keep going. Cavalry still halve infantry dice if they do not form squares and if they do use their artillery to blow holes in the square - it works.
2. Attack Columns Firing
Amendment - Infantry Attack Columns have a -1 when firing.
Reason - Attack columns were ganging up on infantry in line, which is fine, but were firing at the same factors. This meant that defending in line was at an overall disadvantage because the firefight was equal but the spread of DISR markers wasn't. This amendment means that attack columns do what they should do - attack - instead of getting involved in prolonged firefights and sharing out the disruption markers.
Feedback - Again very positive. One suggestion is that this -1 should only count if the unit is going to move in the Activity Phase but this is an added complication.
We are going to start playing games on 8' x 5' tables so as to allow more manoeuvre as we tend to use a core force with two added brigades and we are finding that a 6' x 4' just isn't big enough. We are also using a variant of the Peter Pig RFCM terrain set up to give a more varied terrain table and extra objectives.
We are having fun...........
Thanks, Kevin.