Bonnie Blue Flag Game

Artillery rakes the Union front line, this experienced unit weathered it but were finally worn down due to small arms fire.

22nd Alabama in glorious form, their skirmishers thrown out in front and their standards blazing.

A shot of the Union line later in the game, tattered and in shreds from prolonged artillery fire.

well, what a day I've had... I finally got all the bits to put on a game. It almost didn't happen as I couldn't find the rule book...even though I have three copies.

I enlisted the help of a veteran gamer on our games day to help iron things out. It was slow to start with obviously, but once we got into the swing of the rules, it started to fall into place.

  

I did get confused a little when working out the difficulty numbers but I think I have it now. High difficulty numbers are bad, low are good.

There was only one occasion where the 10% rule came into play, which saw the end of the Alabama regiment above. If 10% of a percentage score needed is rolled, that unit is immediately removed from play. A narrative is easy to put to such an event. The 22nd Alabama was destroyed by withering canon fire, the remnants scattered to the rear.

As it was a test game I was keen to try out everything. Above is a melee that put Billy Yank to flight. I also tried the marksman rule which saw the Union general shot and killed very early on. All the surrounding units instantly lost some resolve, not a great start for the blue team. I was playing the Federals of course.

Confederate artillery rush forward and set up on the crossroads. As the Union had lost their general to a marksmen, their iniative roll for who goes first was basically over. The Confederates gained the lead and didn't give it back all game.

Berdan's sharpshooters reach the crossroads and take cover. In this game, soft cover carries no bonuses. although they could now claim 'rested weapons' for a bonus in shooting. Being a sharpshooter unit, they ignore the minuses for long range in the shooting chart, they are also classed as veterans. They're only real weakness is they cannot close for melee and their small unit size.

 Finally after what must have been around four hours of play ( maybe more), the Federals had enough and fell back. The Rebs had some battered regiments but we're in a lot better shape than their blue bellied opponents.

At the end of the day I was exhausted, I felt like I had been in a battle myself. My brain was cooked with all the concentration from the day. However I had finally did it, I had got in a game after years of ranting and preparing. It was fun and great to see all the pieces fall into place after years of collecting for the game.

One thing that struck me was how realistic the battle seemed to play out. Regiments were halted, pushed back and returned into line after a regrouping. Skirmishers were a real pain in the arse, taking the incoming fire instead of the main battle line. This resulted in lots of small actions of skirmishers dueling it out along the front. I was delighted when Berdan's men destroyed the skirmishers of the 22nd, removing their ability to skirmish. Now I could finally target the parent unit behind.

Artillery was fun too and played a big part in the days fighting. A very fun day and a game I will definitely play again. A very realistic narrative and result seems to come out of the play

Great day! Very pleased even though I lost...