Thursday, February 21, 2013

WIP Rolica, 1808


Just finished setting the table if you will for the battle of Rolica which as many of you know took place in Portugal in 1808. 


This lay out will actually accommodate two different versions of the battle. The one pictured here is designed to allow me to test some rules I am working on for Two Hour Wargames. I will be taking on the role of General de Division Delaborde and the game system will be handling the decisions of Old Nosey.


This game will focus on the second part of the action and only the "main" part of that. The British are limited to the five battalions that took part in the assault as well as the two batteries that supported them.


The French force consists of four battalions of infantry and one under-strength battery of guns. 

The British flanking forces, reserve brigade, and French, British, and Portuguese cavalry have also been omitted.



Presumably General Delaborde would have been forced from his position by either the flanking forces or the commitment of the reserve brigade. As General Delaborde was also demonstrably skilled enough to keep his horse in hand to cover is planned retreat, it is felt that removing these forces will not unduly compromise the game's validity.


So the focus is on the initial assault on this the second French position of the day.

The same terrain set up, with somewhat altered forces will also serve as the basis for  a Slaughterloo scenario being put together for  Alternative Armies.

As those of you who regularly follow this blog will have noticed by now, this tabletop is quite a bit different from the field of Rolica mark 1 used in "BGORA, Rebellion it is!".

Ever since having seen them at the Historicon or Fall In in which they debuted, I've been meaning to purchase Old Glory's modular terrain boards. Well I just got tired of playing these sort of rocky hill games on a flat table with stepped hills so I up and ordered some.

Was hoping to spruce them up with some dry brushing and highlighting of the grass parts, and will eventually, but as it happens I am out of craft paint at the moment and didn't want to wait any longer to try out the scenario.

Will post an battle report here, and on the Two Hour Blog when the game is over.

Thanks for stopping by!


3 comments:

  1. Great looking game, the terrain does look nice, even before the planned spruce up.

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  2. Thank you.

    Yes, they are great right out of the box. The stone and water (which do not appear in this battle) are nicely highlighted too.

    The grass is monochrome and a bit lush as if you are fighting on a golf course or football pitch : ) Which of course is no bad thing.

    Just thought I could touch it up to integrate my other scenic pieces and bases a bit better.

    Looking forward to expanding on the tiles I have as among other things I decided against "flat" terrain in this first purchase.

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