French Indian Wars skirmish to "Blood & Plunder".

 

I guess I would class myself as more of a historical big-battle, large skirmish kind of wargamer when it comes to a preference about the games I would always jump at playing with a distinct leaning towards the simulation quality of a set of rules, which I gauge on my own assessment spectrum of simulation at one end of the extreme and game at the other, and then my other assessment profile, fun to play - not fun to play, preferring that sweet-spot of the fun, simulation game.

As far as the first parameter with regards to Blood & Plunder (B&P) rules from Firelock games, seemingly more aimed at the smaller skirmish game, they would not have appealed in terms of other rule sets I would naturally turn to, and as regards the simulation aspect, I see them very much in the realms of a game, aimed at lovers of the Hollywood pirate cliché, in the guise of Captain Jack Sparrow rather than claims to be recreating the career of Edward Teach.

As to whether B&P are or were fun to play, the initial hurdles to my decision to play them would have not permitted me to have offered an opinion until now.

In addition to having a clear set of parameters when assessing games and rules I prefer over others, I also believe in the maxim that minds are like parachutes, working at their best when open, and the Devon Wargames Group is the kind of club where you can get the opportunity to play most sets of rules out there at any given time, with all sorts of themes as well.

So it was the chance of playing something new to me that prompted me to take up Mike C's offer to host a game of B&P using his marvellous collection of French Indian War figures and terrain which I have enjoyed games with in previous club meetings.

The rules themselves have features common to several others I have played in my time with various unit and character statistics that feature in the combat and morale calculations that require testing during play, the normal movement, loading and firing actions and an interesting activation sequence using a playing card sequencing  based on the suit of the card, its value, with aces low, and the quality of the troops using the card.

The quality of the troop type is important, because although the suit and value determines who gets to activate first in a given round of play, the quality determines how many things you get to do in that action, and sometimes the two requirements don't always match, leading to an interesting decision point for players as to who to activate and when depending on a given situation, never knowing what options the enemy might have as their priorities.

Mike presented the table as seen above, for the four of us playing the game, with two players per side, and with myself and Nathan commanding the British garrison holding the fort, and with potential for some reinforcements turning up later in the game, whilst Alex and Steve M took the French command, tasked with taking the fort and fending off any relief attempts.

As part of the setup Nathan and I, as British defenders, had the opportunity to rearrange parts of the terrain to our liking and so prepared a clear field of fire around our stockade, as the most likely preparation made by any garrison. 

Each team of players was presented with a very nice set of 17th century replica playing cards from which we drew a hand of cards equal to the number of units we had in play and then once we could see the hand, the decision on who to activate and what to do with the unit in question.

At first, with the various units at long range and seeking to manoeuvre into position, the activation sequence was not particularly critical, albeit the occasional irritating hit on a unit that was hoping to get the first advantageous shot from cover, which, as figures became casualties pushed units ever closer to their break point as the game progressed.

I must say that the anticipation of reviewing the hand of cards drawn each turn of play and bathing in the comfort of several face cards in hand whilst trying to assess the priorates coming up in play as regards getting in an important shot or charging in on a unit that was ripe for being sorted out with the bayonet was a very fun aspect of play in B&P and made for a very interactive game as the drama unfolded before us.

The French made good headway around all sides of the fort and their combined firing soon forced the British back from the front palisades around the main gate, as Nathan and I decided to surrender the position, looking to form an inner defence of the compound based around the tower position at the back of the fort garrisoned by our best bayonet wielders and firers, the ever reliable British Grenadiers.

As Indians and French Marines scaled the front palisade and dropped into the interior, a close hand to hand struggle developed in the compound, with nowhere to hide, as the British defenders poured in musketry backed by bayonet attacks, as the defenders attempted to turn the compound into a kill zone for the first enemy units that entered; and this was where the card play really came to the fore, with the need to get the drop on the enemy and make it count before they could respond in kind made for a very fun entertaining period of play.

Meanwhile the first British relief units started to appear on the perimeter in the form of several units of British rangers who very quickly asserted themselves by shooting up and dispersing several follow up French units closing on different sides of the fort.

In the end the interior compound fell to the French, but not without a heavy toll on the attackers and although the British rangers were making progress on the perimeter and the fort tower held firm it seemed fair to award the game to the French, although I like to think they would have had to offer terms to our stalwart grenadiers to surrender the place with full military honours.

I can't say I will be a regular player of B&P, but I enjoyed our game and can readily see why the system attracts its fans, with its player decision points generated by the card play mechanism an attractive way to enjoy skirmish games.

In my assessment B&P leans more towards being a game rather than a simulation of skirmish black powder warfare, but is no less than a very fun game as well being a strong competitor in this genre to similar offerings such as Musket and Tomahawks.

Thank you to Mike C for putting the game together and to Steve M, Alex and Nathan for the fun of playing it.

JJ