Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 7: The Battle of Cross Keys

The battle continues.  12:00 p.m. turn.
Confederates have 16 morale chips.  Union have 3 morale chips.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 11 / Confederates 7; Union wins 4 IP.

• Flipped Maneuver card (3 IP).
• Flipped Maneuver card (2 IP).
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain card (1 IP).
• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (0 IP).  Hah!  That's the card they were looking for!

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 12 / Confederates 17; Confederates win 5 IP.

• Flipped Musket Reload card (4 IP).
• Reloaded 13 VA for free. (Previous Heroic Moment card)
• Recharged an Opportunity Chip (3 IP).
• Fired 15 AL at the Union artillery (2 IP).  d12 Fire die (Medium range DOWN1 / Unlimbered target DOWN1) = d8 vs. d6.  "3" vs. "6".
• Union West Virginia artillery opportunity fired at 15 AL (1 OIP).  They are found to be Ready (d8/d4/d6).  d8 Fire die (Target in Extended Line DOWN 1) =d6 vs. d6 defensive die.  "6" vs. "2".  1 stand lost and 1 morale chip lost.  Trimble is marked as at risk.  Union artillery is unloaded.
• 15 Alabama reloaded (1 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 7 / Confederates 20; Confederates win 3 IP (Phase limit).

• Flipped Artillery Move card (2 IP).
• Flipped Heroic Moment card (1 IP).
• Flipped Officer Check card (0 IP).  Checked risk for Confederate generals.  They all survived.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 5 / Confederates 13; Confederates win 8 IP.

• Trimble successfully asserts command over the 3 out of command regiments in his brigade (5 IP).    Starts as a d20 (UP2 Superior leader / Far from enemy UP1) = d20+3 vs. d8.  "20" vs. "8", "9" vs. "4", "17" vs. "7".
• Elzey rallies the 13 VA from disorder using the free Heroic rally from the prior Heroic Moment card.  Starts as a d20 (Poor leader DOWN1 / Disordered DOWN1 / Rallying DOWN1) = d8 vs. d8.  "5" vs "3".  Confederates pay a morale chip for the rally.
• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (4 IP).
• Trimble's brigade maneuver-moves forward (2 IP).
• Elzey's brigade moves (1 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 10 / Confederates 7; Union wins 3 IP.

• Stahel's brigade moved toward the creek in the center (2 IP).  Previously flipped Infantry Move in Open card.
• Bohlen's brigade maneuver-moved toward the Confederates (0 IP).

Bohlen's brigade advances against the rebels.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 17 / Confederates 14; Union wins 3 IP.

• Recharged opportunity impetus pip (2 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Reload card (1 IP).
• Reloaded West Virginia battery (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 17 / Confederates 1; Union wins 6 IP (Phase limit).

• Flipped Command Indecision card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 20 / Confederates 8; Union wins 12 IP.

• Flipped Musket Reload card (11 IP).
• Fired skirmishing Girabaldi Guard at 25 VA (10 IP).  d10 Fire die (Target with Skirmish Superiority DOWN1 / Firer skirmishing in Open DOWN2 / Point Blank range UP1) = d6 vs. d6.  "2" vs. "5".  No effect.
• Fired Bucktails at 13 VA (9 IP).  d12 Fire die (Point Blank range UP1) = d12+1 vs. d6.  "12" vs. "3".  1 stand lost because that's all the 13 VA has.  13 VA is destroyed.  Elzey marked for risk.  Confederates lose one morale chip.
• Reloaded Bucktails (8 IP).
• Fired 41 NY at 16 Mississippi (who had moved ahead of the 15th Alabama) (7 IP).  d10 Fire die (Uphill UP1 / Medium range DOWN1) = d10 vs. d6 defensive die.  "6" vs. "4".  2 hits, not enough to lose a stand.  Trimble is marked at risk.  41 NY is unloaded.
• Reloaded 41 NY (6 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Reload card (5 IP).
• Fired West Virginia artillery battery at 16 MS (4 IP).  d8 Fire die (Point Blank range UP1) = d10 vs. d6.  "5" vs. "5".  No effect.
• Reloaded artillery battery (3 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (2 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (1 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 17 / Confederates 13; Union wins 4 IP.

• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (3 IP).
• Stahel's brigade moved closer to the Confederates.  The Bucktails crossed the creek to fill the gap left by the destroyed 13 VA (2 IP).
• Bohlen's brigade passed through the skirmishing Garibaldi Guards and his attack columns moved into contact with the 25 VA (1 IP).

Bohlen's New Yorkers make contact!

• 25 VA opportunity fired at 54 NY (2 OIP). d8 Fire die (Attack Column target UP1 / 1 stand lost DOWN1) =  d10 vs. d6.  "4" vs. "5".  No effect.  The militia fired at Short range.  Since they are militia, militia fire at the furthest range when they see targets for Opportunity Fire.  
• Flipped Melee Resolution card (0 IP).  Interesting!

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 18 / Confederates 4; Union wins 4 IP (Phase limit).

• 54 NY fired at 25 VA (3 IP).  They are elite and found to be Battle Weary (d10/d6/d6).  d10 Fire die (First Fire UP1 / Firer in Attack Column DOWN1 / Point Blank UP1) = d12 vs. d6.  "6" vs. "5". 1 hit.
• 58 NY fired at 25 VA (2 IP).  They are found to be Ready (d10/d8/d6).  d10 Fire die (First Fire UP1 / Firer in Attack Column DOWN1 / Point Blank UP1 / Target has Skirmish Superiority DOWN1) = d10 vs. d6.  "10" vs. "4".  2 stands lost (6+1 hits, 3 hits per stand).  Confederates lose 2 morale chips.  Both NY regiments are marked as unloaded.
• Bohlen now has 2 regiments in contact with the battered 25 VA.  The Melee Resolution card is still face up from the previous Initiative.  I could initiate melee with both of them to get the Superior Numbers modifier, but that would leave both units unformed and out of command from the melee.  Instead I choose to fight with one of them to start with.

The melee.

• 58 NY initiated melee with 25 VA (1 IP).  58 NY has a melee die of d8 (Initiate Melee UP1 / Attack Column in melee UP1) = d12.  25 VA(Ugh, Battle Weary militia) has a d4 Melee die (3 stands lost DOWN3) = d4.  The lowest you can have is a d4.  d12 vs. d4.  "12" vs. "1".  25 VA is destroyed.  25 VA is routed (-1 morale chip), lost 3 stands (-3 morale chips), and lost a melee (-1 morale chip).  Union gains 2 bonus impetus (3 IP).  58 NY is marked out of command and unformed.  In Hallowed Ground, only cavalry pursue.
• Flipped Officer Check card (2 IP).  Checked officer risk for Bohlen and Stahel.  Both survived.
• Bohlen asserted command over the 58 NY(1 IP).  d20 Leadership die (Skilled UP1 / Enemy is Far UP1) = d20+2 vs. d8.  "8" vs. "6".  58 NY is back in command.
• Flipped Artillery Reload card (0 IP).

So, a major breakthrough for the Union after some big impetus runs.  Elzey's brigade is in trouble and attempting to move units to guard the left.  Trimble might have to lend a few regiments to stabilize the situation.  Current morale chip situation: Confederates have 6 morale chips, Union have 3 morale chips.

The situation on the Union right flank.

Bohlen urges his victorious infantry onwards.

Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 6: The Battle of Cross Keys

The battle continues.  11:00 a.m. turn. Start of the new turn.
Confederates have 22 morale chips. Union have 4 morale chips.

A new turn means the deck is re-shuffled, but before I re-shuffle, I add another Dress Lines card into the  Sequence Deck for each unit that the army currently has routing or destroyed.  "Rules as Written" say you remove a card and replace it with a Dress Lines card.  That's too much trouble, so I just add the Dress Lines cards.  The Union have 2 Dress Lines cards added to their deck.  Since the Union has units destroyed and routing, the Major Morale Check card is also shuffled into their deck.  The rules also suggest discarding two Sequence Deck cards because Fremont is Abysmal.  I ignore this also.  Fun.

1st Initiative of the 11:00 a.m. turn.
Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 17 / Confederates 15; Union wins 2 IP.

• Flipped Dress Lines card (1 IP).
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 16 / Confederates 4; Union wins 12 IP.

Bohlen's brigade arrives in march column.

Garibaldi Guard and Bucktails advance.

• Routers routed off the table (11 IP).
• Stahel's brigade made a reserve move (10 IP).  Since they are all in command the entire brigade moved for the cost of 1 unit.  Out of command units have to be paid for separately.
• Bohlen's brigade entered the table on a reserve move (9 IP). 
• Flipped Command Indecision card (0 IP). All current impetus is lost. 

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 12 / Confederates 13; Confederates win 1 IP.

• Flipped Melee Resolution card (0 IP).  No units in contact.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 7 / Confederates 7; Tied initiative!, turn ends.  Reshuffle Sequence decks, which sucks for the Union since they already endured one of their Command Indecision cards and now the frigging thing goes back into the deck.


1st Initiative of the 11:30 a.m. turn.
Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 2 / Confederates 5; Confederates wins 3 IP.

Elzey's brigade advances off of the dusty road into battle,
flags unfurled and flying.

• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (2 IP).
• Elzey's brigade moved onto the table as reinforcements. (1 IP). 
• 15th Alabama moved forward (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 19 / Confederates 9; Union wins 10 IP.

• Bought back Opportunity Impetus Chip (9 IP).
• Flipped Command Indecision card (0 IP).  Impetus is wiped out.

Initiative Roll (d20)

Elzey cheers on his Virginians!

Union 3 / Confederates 3; Tied initiative!, turn ends.  Reshuffle Sequence decks.

1st Initiative of the 12:00 p.m. turn.
Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 10 / Confederates 20; Confederates win 10 IP.

General situation at noon.

15th Alabama fires at the limbered Union battery.

• Flipped Artillery Reload card (9 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Move card (8 IP).
• Confederate Virginia battery moves onto the table as a reinforcement (7 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (6 IP).
• Flipped Maneuver card (5 IP).
• Infantry regiment changes facing to create a field of fire for the artillery battery (4 IP).
• Flipped Elite Reload card (3 IP).
• 15th AL fired at limbered Union artillery battery (2 IP).  d12 (Medium range DOWN1, Limbered target UP1) =  d12 vs. d6 defensive die.  "1" results vs. a "6".  No effect. 
• Reloaded 15th AL (1 IP).
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 10 / Confederates 16; Confederates win 6 IP.

• 3 of Trimble's regiments moved out of the woods on the Difficult Terrain Move card (3 IP).  They were out of command because they were in the woods, so they have to be paid for separately.
• Elzey's brigade made a reserve move on the Difficult Terrain Move card (2 IP). 
• Elzey's out of command regiment moves in the woods (1 IP).
• Flipped Melee Resolution card (0 IP).  No units in contact.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 1/ Confederates 9; Confederates win 4 IP (Phase limit).

• Flipped Deployment card (3 IP).
• Reformed 3 Skirmishing regiments from Trimble's brigade into line formation. (0 IP).  They were out of command.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 17 / Confederates 2; Union win 15 IP.

Firefight between the Virginians and Bucktails

• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (14 IP).
• Maneuver-moved Stahel's brigade closer to the creek (12 IP).  Maneuver-move with infantry allows you to combine a 45 degree facing change and a half move, but you have to pay an extra IP.
• Bohlen's brigade moved to the right flank (11 IP).
• Flipped Musket Reload card (10 IP).
• 27th PA Bucktails fired at 13th VA (9 IP).  27 PA is Ready (d12/d8/d8).
• 13th VA declares Opportunity Fire.  27 PA has a d12 Fire die (First Fire UP1/Firer in Attack Column DOWN1) = d12 vs. d6 defensive die.  "12" vs. "3".  3 stands lost from 13 VA.  General Elzey marked for risk.  3 morale chips lost (down to 19).  13 VA is trained militia with muskets.  They are found to be Battle Weary (d8/d4/d4).  They must not be used to the grueling pace of war campaigning!  13 VA has shorter range too because they are armed with muskets but facing minie rifles.  d8 Fire die (First Fire UP1/Attack Column Target UP1/Medium Range DOWN1) = d10 vs. d6 defensive die.  "3" vs. "3".  No effect.  Both regiments are unloaded.  
• Union challenged the morale of 13 VA.  d4 morale (Both flanks protected UP1/ 3 stands lost DOWN3/ Initial Strength was Full UP1/ Enemy is Near not Close UP1) = d4 vs. a d10 because 3 stands were lost on the fire.  "2" vs. a "3".  13 VA is disordered.  If they had been double or tripled, they would have routed.  Confederates lost 1 morale chip for the Disorder (down to 18 chips). 

  

  Here you can see the results of the firefight.
  Both Virginia regiments have been marked with
  stand loss markers.  13 VA is marked disordered and
  Elzey is marked for officer risk.
• Garibaldi Guard regiment fired at 25 VA (8 IP).  They are Ready (d10/d8/d6).  d10 Fire die (First Fire UP1 / Medium Range DOWN1 / Firer in Attack Column DOWN1 / Target has Skirmish Superiority DOWN 1) =  d6 vs. d6 defensive die.  "5" vs. "2".  3 hits = 1 stand loss (3 hits per stand).  Confederates lose 1 morale chip.  Union challenges the morale of 25 VA.  25 VA is found to be Battle Weary (d8/d4/d4).  d4 Morale die (-1 stand lost DOWN1 / Full Initial Strength UP1 / Enemy is Distant (because of the intervening creek) UP2)  = d8 vs. a d6 challenge die (1 stand lost).  "4" vs "4".  Failed, but Confederates burn a morale chip to re-roll their morale die.  The new result is a "7" and the 25 VA passed.  Union lost a morale chip for an unsuccessful challenge, but the Confederates also lost a morale chip for the re-roll.  Current morale chips are: Union 3, Confederates 16.
• Reloaded Bucktails and Garibaldi Guard (6 IP).
• Fired 41 NY at 15th AL (5 IP).  Back to the left flank, 41 NY is Ready (d10/d8/d6).  d10 Fire die (First Fire UP1 / Target Skirmish Superiority DOWN1 / Medium Range DOWN1 / Firer in Attack Column DOWN1 / Firer Uphill UP1 / Extended Line Target DOWN 1) = d6 vs d6 defensive die.  "1" vs. "5".  No effect.
• Reloaded 41 NY (4 IP).
• Bucktails fired again at 13 VA (3 IP).  No First Fire this time, so the fire is d10 vs. d6.  "2" vs. "3".  No effect.
• Flipped Melee Resolution card (2 IP).
• Flipped Elites Reload card (1 IP).
• Reloaded Bucktails regiment (0 IP).  They are elite.

On the western side of the battlefield, things were developing well for Fremont.  Ewell had sent Elzey's brigade of Virginians to that area to protect Trimble's left flank.  Unfortunately, Elzey's troops were apparently Battle Weary militia armed with smoothbore muskets and they were being battered by the more accurate minie rifle fire of the Union regiments opposing them.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 7 / Confederates 9; Confederates win 2 IP.

• Unlimbered the Virginia artillery battery on the Deployment card (1 IP).  This card was still face up from several Initiatives ago.
• Flipped Melee Resolution card (0 IP).  No units in contact.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 5 / Confederates 4; Union wins 1 IP.

• Flipped deployment card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 11 / Confederates 14; Confederates win 1 IP (Phase limit).

• Flipped Heroic Moment card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 19 / Confederates 11; Union wins 8 IP.

Union brigades deploy.

• Union unlimbered the West Virginia artillery battery on the previous Deployment card (7 IP).  Thank gawd!  That battery was very vulnerable .
• Deployed Stahel's brigade into Extended Line formation.  Garibaldi's Guard shook out into skirmish formation (6 IP).  
• Deployed Bohlen's brigade into Attack Columns (5 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Move card (4 IP).
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain card (3 IP).
• Bohlen's brigade made a reserve move toward the right flank (2 IP).
• Flipped Major Morale Check card (1 IP).  According to the optional Major Morale Check rules, this would be a Leadership test versus a challenge die based on the number of Union units currently routing or destroyed.  This makes the challenge die a d6 (2 units).  Fremont starts as a d20 but he is DOWN2 because he is Abysmal to a d12 (1) and then a d10 (2).  People often forget you start with a d20 for these tests.  So the Major Morale Check will be a Union d10 vs. a d6.  If the d6 is higher, the difference will be the number of free morale challenges the Confederates can attempt on the Union units of their choice.  The result is a "4" vs. "4", so there is no negative result.
• Flipped Dress Lines card (0 IP).

  

  Bohlen's brigade advances in attack column.  They mean
  business!

Final morale chip count is Confederates 16, Union 3.  The play time for the entire game was around an hour and a half.  Typing up the turns takes about four times as long.  I hope people are enjoying the reports.  The quick turn ends during this report just illustrate how unsure players are about how much time they have to accomplish their objectives.  Things are looking better for the Union, but the low morale chip total is a concern.

The battle continues here.

Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 5: The Battle of Cross Keys

The battle continues.  10:30 a.m. turn.  New Initiative.
Confederates 23 morale chips.  Union 8 morale chips.

Initiative Roll (d20)
Union 16 / Confederates 3; Union win 13 IP

At this point, Fremont needed to do a little soul-searching.  His morale chips were low to begin the battle and now the Union were down to only 8 morale chips.  I scrapped the initial idea of a quick rush across the creek because frankly, I didn't think the Union had the stomach to handle the losses.  Instead, I adjusted my strategy and planned to move the Union artillery battery to a position where it could pin and damage the defenders at range while the Union attack columns would head across the creek to the west in an effort to outflank the 15th Alabama.  Otherwise, the battle might be over before my reinforcements came on at 11:00.

• Flipped Artillery Move card (12 IP).
• Limbered up artillery battery (11 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (10 IP).  This a waste card.
• Flipped Command Indecision card (0 IP).  Dang it!  If you remember, this is one of two cards that were added to the Sequence deck because Fremont is Abysmal.  It wipes out the remaining impetus and really hurts since the Union had a good impetus run going.

Initiative Roll (d20)

Union 15 / Confederates 6;  Union win 1 IP because Phase pool is down to 1.

• Flipped Melee Resolution card (0 IP).  No units in contact to melee.

Initiative Roll (d20)

Union 9 / Confederates 16; Confederates win 7 IP

• Flipped Dress Lines card (6 IP).
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain card (5 IP).  Confederates are cycling through the deck looking for their other Musket Reload card.
• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (4 IP).
• Flipped Maneuver card (3 IP).
• Flipped Melee Resolution card (2 IP).
• Flipped Deployment card (1 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Reload card (0 IP).  Confederate artillery doesn't arrive until 11:00 a.m.

Initiative Roll (d20)

Union 19 / Confederates 11; Union win 8 IP

• Flipped Dress Lines card (7 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Move card (6 IP).

Limbered battery moves out in accordance with
Fremont's whims and dreams.

• Moved limbered artillery battery (5 IP).  I moved the limbered battery down the hill to the left and left them behind the 45th New York Regiment.  The 45th will stay there and screen the battery until I can get them safely unlimbered.  The Piquet gods only know when that might happen!
• Flipped Dress Lines card (4 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (3 IP).
• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (2 IP).
• Move routed unit (1 IP).  Routed units have to move on all Move cards at a cost of 1 IP each, so that stupid routing unit just burned an IP I really wanted to use to move my infantry.  I wanted to pay 2 IP and move the 3 regiments of the entire brigade's second line all together in a 45 degree maneuver/move to begin my flanking move.  When units are "in command" you get a discount and can move the units together for the same cost of moving one of them.  I have to burn this last IP, so my choices are to fire the 45th NY for 1 IP at the 15th AL or to just move one of the infantry regiments.  
• Move an infantry regiment obliquely ( 0 IP).  Oblique movement is a normal move and costs just 1 IP.  The Infantry Move card is still face up and in play, so I can use it to move other units when I get more impetus.
  

  

  Union movement.

Initiative Roll (d20)

Union 6 / Confederates 13; Confederates win 5 IP because Phase pool is down to 5.

• Flipped Maneuver card (4 IP).
• Flipped Deployment card (3 IP)
• Flipped Musket Reload card (2 IP).
• Fired 15th Alabama at 45th NY (1 IP).  I have to check for the quality of the 15th Alabama again because the last result I rolled for them was Vacillating.  I roll a d20 and get a "15" ("14" die roll +1 for Confederate infantry in 1862).  This makes them Ready and is their quality for the rest of the game.  Their dice will be Fire d12/ Melee d8/ Morale d8.
• 45th NY spends an opportunity impetus chip to opportunity fire at the 15th AL (1 OP).  After seeing what happened to the other NY regiment,  the Union isn't going to just stand by and get blasted.  Since they are opportunity firing against enemy fire, the effects will be simultaneous.  I rolled quality for the 45th NY ( a regular regiment) and rolled a "19"!  They are Determined!  Their dice will be Fire d12+1 / Melee d10 / Morale d10.  Okay, finally some luck for the boys in blue!
• Confederate fire is DOWN1 for shooting at a target in Extended Line.  No other modifiers.  d12 Fire die modified down to a d10 vs. a d6 defensive die.  "1" vs. a "6".  No effect.  Union fire is No Change with modifiers of UP1 for First Fire and DOWN1 for target in Extended Line.  d12+1 vs. a defensive d6.  "4" vs. "3".  1 hit but they need 3 hits to cause a stand loss.  Trimble is marked for Officer Risk since one of his units took a hit.  Both units are marked as unloaded, but....
• 15th Alabama reloads on the Musket Reload card (0 IP).

Initiative Roll (d20)

Union 16 / Confederates 20; Confederates win 4 IP.

15th Alabama in action.

• Flipped Melee Resolution card (3 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Move card (2 IP).
• Flipped Elite Reload card (1 IP).  This caused Fremont to groan since the 15th AL is an elite regiment and can reload on this card.
• 15th AL fired at 45th NY again! (0 IP).  Same modifier as the previous shot.  45th NY is unloaded so it can't opportunity fire even though the Union has 1 more opportunity impetus pip.  d10 vs. d6.  "9" vs. a "4".  Difference of 5 means the 45th NY loses 1 stand (for every 3 hits).  The Union army also loses another morale chip for the stand loss (down to 7).  
• Confederates challenge the morale of the 45th NY.  45th NY has a d10 Morale die.  Modifiers: Both flanks protected UP1 / 1 stand loss this turn DOWN1 / Initially full strength UP1 / Enemy is Near but not Close UP1.  Overall UP2 to a d12+1.  d12+1 vs. a d6 because the Union caused 1 stand loss (d4 for no stand loss, d6 for 1 stand, d8 for 2, d10 for 3).  "6" vs. a "5".  They actually tied the die roll but the 45th NY passed because of the d12+1.  Confederates pay a morale chip because they unsuccessfully challenged (down to 22).

Initiative Roll (d20)

Union 5 / Confederates 15; Confederates win 10 IP.  Brutal.

• 15th AL reloads on the Elite Reload card (9 IP).
• Flipped Heroic Moment card (8 IP).  This card allows to improve the quality of the next card in some way or it can be used as an UP1 to a fire action...
• 15th AL fired at 45th NY (7 IP).  This shot is now a d12 because of the bonus from the Heroic Moment card.  d12 vs. a d6.  "12" vs. "1".  Difference of 11, 3 stands lost.  45th NY is obliterated.  3 more Union morale chips are lost (down to 4).  And the limbered battery is now exposed, but 15th AL is marked as unloaded.  Finally.
• Flipped Officer Check card (6 IP).  No actions needed, but Trimble has to check for Officer Risk because 15th AL took a hit earlier.  He needs to beat a "1" on a d20 and rolled an "18".
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain card (5 IP).
• Flipped Heroic Moment card (4 IP).
• Flipped Dress Lines card (ignored because it followed the Heroic Moment card).
• Flipped Infantry Move in Open card (3 IP).
• Flipped Move in Difficult Terrain card (2 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Reload card (1 IP).
• Flipped Artillery Move card (0 IP).

Confederates are done with their Sequence deck.  The turn ends and it is now 11:00 a.m.  The Sequence decks will be re-shuffled and reinforcements for both sides will arrive.  Current morale chips are Confederates 22 to Union 4.

The turn was fun and actually played out in about 45 minutes of game time.  I was able to drift in and out of the game room over the course of two days, playing a few Initiatives in short spurts of free time without the wife even realizing I was playing a wargame!    There was a lot of cackling and laughing as various things went wrong just as I though they might be going right.  

The hard part about solo play is I naturally start to favor one side over another as the game progresses.  Piquet really, really controls this tendency.  When I pulled the Command Indecision card, I groaned so loudly that my wife actually came in and asked what the heck was going on.  Busted!

The next report is here.

The battlefield at the end of the 10:30 a.m. turn.

Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 4: The Battle of Cross Keys

We are finally ready to start fighting the battle.

In this scale of Piquet, Hallowed Ground battalion scale, the game is divided up into 30 minute turns.

You begin the turn by shuffling your Sequence Deck.  Each side then rolls a d20.  The higher die roll wins the Initiative and gets the difference in the die rolls in impetus pips (IP).  If the roll is tied or either deck runs out, the turn is over.

This difference in IP is called the Initiative.  The player can spend IP to flip a card (1 IP) or act on the currently flipped card.  Players continue to flip cards and spend IP until the IP run out.  The players then roll the d20's again and start a new Initiative.  Theoretically, the same player could win the Initiative over and over again.

The only restriction to the amount of IP you can win (from 1-19) is a Phase limit.  Each Phase has a pool of 20 IP in it.   For example, you and I each roll and you win by 16.  You get 16 IP which leaves 4 IP in the Phase limit.  On the next Initiative, we roll and you win by 1.  You get 1 IP which reduces the limit to 3 IP.  I win the next Initiative by 14, but I only get 3 IP because that's all that remains in the Phase.  But then the Phase limit is recharged and we can again draw from a full pool of 20 IP.

The non-Initiative player also has a small pool of IP that he can use when the other player is active called Opportunity Pips.  I'll address these later when they are used during the game.

Also, a unit can only act once on any given card, so the same regiment can't reload twice with 2 IP on the same Musket Reload card, but it could reload on a second flipped Musket Reload card.

So it's 10:30 a.m. (Turn 1)

Initiative roll (d20)
Union 11/ Confederates 17  Confederates win 6 IP

• Flipped Musket Reload card costs 1 IP (5 IP)
• Fired 15th Alabama costs 1 IP (4 IP) (Units can fire whenever you want when you have the Initiative as long as they are loaded.  It costs 1 IP to fire.)
• 15th Alabama fires at 8th NY across the creek
• I rolled for the 15AL's quality, but I get a vacillating result which means the result will not be permanent.  The re-roll for the temporary quality of the unit is Determined! This means the 15th Alabama will start with a d12 +2 for its fire die.
• Modifiers:  First Fire UP1/ Target in Extended Line DOWN1 (The 15th AL are armed with minie rifles so the shot is Short range (no modifier).  Both regiments have attached skirmish stands (no modifier).  The Fire Die is modified UP1 to a d12 +3 and DOWN1 back to a d12+2.
• 15th AL rolles an "11" modified to a "12" versus the defending d6 which rolls a "1".  (The highest result you can get is a modified "12".)  The defender always defends with a d6 unless it is counterbattery fire (d10))
• Difference between the fire result and the defender result is "11".  Defender takes 11 hits and loses a stand for every 3 hits.  8th NY is down to 1 stand.  Union loses 3 morale chips for the stand losses.  They are down to 9 morale chips.
• Confederates take advantage of this devastating volley and declare a tactical morale check on the 8th NY.  They are testing the morale of the damaged unit.  
• Now we have to roll the quality of the 8th NY.  They turn out to be Average with a Morale die of d6.  Modified as follows: Both flanks protected UP1/ 3 stands lost this turn DOWN3/ Initial Strength was Full Strength (before the fire) UP1/ Enemy is Near but not Close UP1.  That is a total of UP3 and DOWN3 so the die size remains the same.  
• The Confederates roll a d10 on the Tactical Morale Check because they caused 3 stands in casualties.  d10 versus d6.  The result is a "5" versus a "1".  Since the Union result was more than tripled by the Confederate result, the 8th NY routs and cannot be rallied.  The rout costs the Union another morale chip (down to 8 chips) and gives the Confederates 2 bonus IP.  The Union brigade commander is also marked for Officer Risk. 
• The bonus IP give the Confederates a total of 6 IP (4+2).  These bonus IP do not reduce the Phase limit.  
• The Confederates spend an IP to reload the 15th AL on the Musket Reload card (5 IP)
• Flipped Dress Lines card costs 1 IP (4 IP).  Waste card that allows no actions.
• Flipped Officer Check card costs 1 IP (3 IP) No need to rally anyone or move Trimble.
• Flipped Infantry Move in Open costs 1 IP (2 IP).  No desire to move the 15th Alabama and they are the only Confederate unit in the open.
• Flipped Officer Check card costs 1 IP (1 IP).
• Flipped Melee Resolution card costs 1 IP (0 IP).  No units are engaged in contact so no chance for Melee.
• The Initiative is over.

So the 15th Alabama fired a fierce volley that caught the 8th NY by surprise and tore through their ranks.  The 8th NY fled in panic and will probably not return.  The Union are down to 8 morale chips and Fremont is considering bringing his battery down from the hill to soften up the 15th Alabama before they attempt to force the creek.  They just have to get the cards to let them do that!

I showed the impetus pips and cards below.  I'm not going to do this for every Initiative.  The turn continues in Part 5.

8th NY routs from the firefight. 2 red arrows mark them
as unrallyable.

Brigade commander has been marked for Officer Risk.

15th Alabama has been reloaded on the Musket Reload card
with one of the bonus IP.
Phase pool of impetus is to the left (14 IP left).
I toss the IP markers in the plastic tower as I spend them.

Dress Lines (4 IP)
The 3 green stones are the Confederates' opportunity pips.

Officer Check (3 IP)

Infantry Move in Open (2 IP)

Officer Check (1 IP)

Melee Resolution (0 IP)

Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 3: The Battle of Cross Keys

This is obviously Part 3 of my Solo Piquet Tutorial.

SKIRMISH STANDS

In Hallowed Ground, we also have to roll to determine how many skirmish stands will be present on the battlefield.  I rolled high for both sides, so the Union will get 3 skirmish stands and the Confederates will get 2 skirmish stands.  At this game scale, skirmish stands are assigned to particular regiments and they give Skirmish Superiority (a bonus to shooting) if your opponent doesn't have a skirmish stand.

OPTIONAL RULES

Part of the fun in Piquet is all of the options that are available for your games.  I will be playing with the following rules that are optional for Hallowed Ground:

• Unformed - Units can become unformed due to general confusion or combat.  This can be fixed with an Officer Check card or during a Move card used to reorder the ranks.
• Reserve Move - The Difficult Terrain Move card can also be used as a Move card as long as the moving unit is never moves closer than 12" away from the enemy.
• Morale Challenge - Only the side that loses a Morale Challenge pays the morale chip.
• Risk to Officers - Based on the combat action of the subordinate units.  Checked on Officer Check card.
• Counterbattery fire - Makes it more difficult for artillery to fire on other artillery.
• New Out of Command rules - The most current rules for Out of Command.

THE BATTLE

The battle represents Fremont's half of a two-pronged attack on Jackson's army.  Poor Fremont ran into Trimble, an irascible, grizzled warrior who handed him his lunch.  Ewell's Division is assigned to hold off Fremont while Jackson destroys Shield's Union force.  The Union gets 5 VP for controlling each 1 foot wide length in the center of the south table edge.  Basically the road exit and the area around the creek.

The Confederates have to keep the Union from winning.  They also get 5 VP's for each section of the east side of the central hill they control.  This would mean they have to cross the eastern branch of the creek and climb the hill.

Stahel's Union brigade is leading the attack.  It has 4 Regular regiments and an Elite regiment.  It is supported by an artillery battery.  The front 2 regiments are in extended line and the skirmish stands are deployed.  The 2nd line consists of 3 regiments in attack column formation.   Its mission is to secure a bridgehead across the creek.

Trimble's brigade is defending.  It has 1 elite regiment (15AL) and 3 regular regiments.  The 15th Alabama is defending the creek in extended line with skirmishers attached.  The other 3 regiments are in skirmish formation defending the wood line.

15th Alabama grimly stares across the creek.

The woods are all Class III woods.  Units must stop when they contact woods and they become out of command.  They can only enter and move through woods on a Difficult Terrain Move card.  They move half speed.

The creek is Class II.  Units stop when they contact it.  Half move to cross it.

Hills are Class II.  Units stop when they contact the hill.  Normal movement thereafter.

NEXT, Part 4.  Let's start fighting!

Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 2: The Battle of Cross Keys

This is Part 2 of my Piquet Tutorial ACW Battle.

COMMANDER QUALITY

The next step in preparing for the battle is rolling for the quality of the commanders.  At Cross Keys, the Army Commanders were Ewell for the Confederates and Fremont for the Union.  The Hallowed Ground supplement has modifiers for this d20 roll: -2 for the Union and +2 for the Confederates.

I rolled a "4" for Fremont, modified to a "2".  This makes Fremont an Abysmal Army Commander.  He adds 2 Command Indecision cards to the Union Sequence Deck.  These cards will wipe out the Union's current impetus when they are flipped.  His command radius is only 8".  This seems pretty historical.

I rolled a "5" for Ewell, modified to a "7".  This makes Ewell an Average Army Commander.  He has no effect on the Sequence Deck and a 12" command radius.

If I had rolled a modified "19" or "20" for him, Ewell would have been Superior and he would have added two Brilliant Leader cards and had an 18" command radius.  Brilliant Leader cards are wild cards that can represent any card in the deck.  Awesome, but sadly not for this game.

There are 4 brigade commanders in the battle.  Their quality ratings establish their command range and how well they can rally units under their command.  The Union has 2 brigade commanders: Julius Stahel and Henry Bohlen.  There are no modifiers for Union command group commanders for this period in Hallowed Ground.  I rolled an "18" for each!  They are each Skilled with a 12" command radius!  Too bad they have to work for Fremont.

The Confederates have 2 brigade commanders: Isaac Trimble and Arnold Elzey.  Hallowed Ground modifies Confederate command group officers by +1 for this period.  Trimble is rated by the scenario as Superior, so he has a command radius of 18".  I rolled a "3" modified to a "4" for Elzey.  This makes Elzey a Poor brigade commander with a command radius of 12".

So that's it for the commanders.  I would normally go through the same process to roll up the quality of the units in the battle.  They are also modified by Hallowed Ground.  For example in this period, Union artillery are +1, cavalry are -2, and infantry are +0.

However, I like to wait until the unit actually does something in the game before I roll for its quality.  Using my method, you never know whether that unit of elite Texans is Tired or Determined until they actually get into the action.  So, we'll go over this when it occurs during gameplay.

ARMY CHARACTERIZATION

Now we determine the Army Character using the Army Characterization Deck.  This will establish whether the armies get any special cards, stratagems, additional sequence cards, combat bonuses, and how many morale chips they will have.  Morale chips allow you to rally units, pass army Major Morale checks, and challenge the enemy's morale.  You lose morale chips when you lose melees, your units rout or become disordered, or they suffer casualties, Once you run out them, you are in deep trouble.

I added up the number of units in each army.  Guard and Elite units count double.  The Confederates have 9 units and 1 of them is elite for a total of 10.  The Union has 11 units and 2 of them are elite for a total of 13.  You then divide this total number by the card divisor number in the Hallowed Ground army list for this period (3 for Confederates, 4 for Union).  Remainders are lost.  So both armies will flip 3 Army Characterization Deck cards.

The Confederates flipped a 9, a 4, and 10 for a total of 23 morale chips.  That's a lot!  They should defend the battlefield with grim resolve.

The Union flipped an Extra Infantry Move card, a Cavalry UP 1 Die in Melee card, and a 5 card.  You have to have at least as many morale chips as you have units if you want to keep the special effect cards.  Since the Union have no cavalry, I gladly discarded the Cavalry Melee card and drew a new ACD card: a "3" card.  Still not good enough, so I had to also discard my Extra Infantry Move card.  The replacement card was a "4" card.  Not great considering these cards range from 2-10 in my ACD deck.  So the Union has 12 morale chips.  More than the number of units in the Union army, but not good.

Army Characterization Deck cards from the deck I designed.
ACD cards come with the Piquet rules, but they don't look like these.
However since the basic Piquet rules are like $5, that's pretty good.

So to sum up so far, Fremont is terrible (literally "Abysmal"), but his brigade commanders are really good.  Ewell is average, Trimble is Superior and his partner brigade commander is Poor.  The Confederates are well-fed, rested, and motivated by lots of morale chips.  The Union army is high quality, but tired and brittle with low morale chips.  We can probably blame Fremont for that also.

Next, Part 3, a discussion of optional rules I'll be using and then we'll start fighting the battle!

Solo Piquet Tutorial Part 1 : The Battle of Cross Keys

While I've always felt that Piquet was a fun ruleset for wargaming, I think one of the best products of its card-driven action and unpredictable impetus is its usefulness as a solo wargame system.

I'm going to be posting the step-by-step progress of an example solo Piquet game.  I'm using the Battle of Cross Keys scenario from the Hallowed Grounds Scenario Book 1.  The Piquet rules supplement will be Hallowed Ground.  Cross Keys was fought on June 8, 1862 as part of Jackson's campaign around Port Republic.  It is limited to around 8-9 units per side and the size should be ideal for this tutorial.  I'm less concerned with the historical accuracy of this particular scenario than I am about showcasing the Piquet system.

Cross Keys battlefield.  The play area ends where the creek at the bottom cuts off.
The Union is attacking towards the camera and down the hill.
They must cross a creek to get to the Confederates.  Wooded hills
are on either side.  A road runs up the eastern (right) side of the table.

The first step in Piquet is to establish the sequence card decks for each side.  I opened up the Hallowed Ground rule supplement and I went to the section on ACW-Eastern Theater 1861-1862.  This gave me a breakdown on the cards that each side should have in their decks.  I have no cavalry in this battle, so the deck will have no Cavalry Move In Open cards.  Per the scenario, the Confederates get an extra Move in Difficult Terrain card in their deck.  In the end, I determined that each side will have 28 sequence cards in its deck.

The decks break down as follows (Union/Confederate):
Artillery Move   3/2 ; Moves and limbers/unlimbers artillery.
Artillery Reload 3/2 ; Reloads artillery so it can fire again.
Deployment 1/2 ; Allows units to change formations.
Dress Lines 6/3 ; Wasted card.  Produces command delay.
Elites Reload 1/1 ; Elite units can reload on this card.
Heroic Moment 1/2 ; Increases the effect of the next card or can be used for a shooting bonus.
Move in Difficult Terrain 2/3 ; Allows movement through difficult terrain (woods in this scenario).
Infantry Move in Open 3/3 ; Allows infantry to move and maneuver at a higher cost.
Maneuver 2/2 ; Units can change facing.
Melee 2/3 ; Units can initiate melee against a unit they are in contact with.
Musket Reload 2/2 ; Unloaded infantry can reload.
Officer Check 2/3 ; Commanders can move, rally, and re-establish command over their units.

Examples of my cards.  I designed these cards using a POD service, but basic cards do come with the Piquet standard rules.

So, looking at the cards in the two decks. the differences between them are pretty obvious.  The Union has an advantage in artillery cards, so the Union artillery will most likely move, deploy, and fire more often than the Confederate artillery.   The Confederates have an advantage in Deployment, Difficult Terrain, Heroic Moment, Melee, and Officer Check cards.  The Confederates will most likely have more opportunities to change formations, move through tough terrain, fight in melee, and their leaders will be more active in keeping the troops rallied.

In my next post, I'll discuss how these sequence cards work in the game, how you determine unit quality, and how you use the Army Characterization deck to figure out how strong your army's morale is.

And now here are some general fluff pictures.

Confederate reinforcements for the 2nd turn.
Elzey's Brigade and a smoothbore battery.

Union reinforcements for Turn 2
Bohlen's Brigade.

The starting forces face each other.
  These are their general locations.  I might adjust positions
and formations before the game start.

Starting Confederates.
Trimble's Brigade.

Stahel's brigade.

A few extra cards that might show up in this particular
game.  There are quite a few other optional cards that can
add flavor to different scenarios.

Gripping Beast plastic Saxons

Here are some pictures of some Gripping Beast plastic Saxons I painted up and double-based to form shieldwalls for Piquet: Archon.  The variety of poses you can get from the plastics almost makes the annoying assembly worth it.  Flag and shield decals by LBMS  :

Battle of Jakob's Ribs

Jed and I fought a Hostile Realms "friendly" match yesterday between his Undead and my Middle Kingdoms knights.  Jed wanted to try a new unit mix for his Undead army to see if they could cope better with the extra-heavy knights of the Middle Kingdoms.  1750 points each.

The Undead fielded 24 units and leaders. The Middle Kingdom fielded 19 units and leaders.

Left Middle Kingdon
Right Undead

The Undead army consisted of an undead dragon, wraiths, wights,  vampires, a bone giant, zombie units, ghoul units, skeleton archers, infantry and cavalry, a unit of ghosts, and human minion cavalry.  They were led by the Necromancer, a lich, and 2 wights.

The Middle Kingdom army consisted of extra-heavy household and feudal knights, 2 pike blocks of mountaineers and civic militia, an organ gun, a red dragon, archers from the royal guard, crossbowmen, handgunners, and sergeant cavalry.  They were led by the King of the Middle Kingdoms mounted on a pegasus, Jhone of Orc, and a priest.

The scenario was that the town of Jakob's Ribs was besieged by the undead army and the Middle Kingdoms army was marching to raise the seige.  In the pictures, you can see the brave defenders of the town in the top corner, barricaded in their burning city.

I had 24 morale chips and I think Jed had 28 morale chips.We both rolled excellent generals, so each of us added the Brilliant Leader card to our decks.  I added an extra Courage card to my deck because I was fighting the Undead and my final optional card was Look to the King.

The Undead added a brilliant Leader card, an Uncontrolled Charge card, and a Superstitions and Omens card to their deck.

So as the battle starts, each side rolls initiative dice.  The difference between the initiative dice is the number of cards that each player can play from their decks.  The types of cards pulled dictate what the army can do.  Initially, the Undead had their typical trouble drawing Move cards, but then Jed drew his Uncontrolled Charge card.  This sent the undead dragon and bone giant hurtling across the table and they crashed into the flower of Middle Kingdom chivalry before the poor knights could even get out of their deployment zone!

Undead dragon

Ghouls, zombies, and skeletons

The Middle Kingdom army is deployed

Defenders of Jakob's Ribs

Before the battle, the garrison looks out from their fortifications.
The lord looks out from the church steps while archers in the tower
 seek out new targets.

Unit of ghosts.  These were later breathed on by a red dragon
and crushed.

Jed drew the Uncontrolled Charge cards from his deck
and his bone giant began a charge toward the waiting knights.

The undead dragon joined the giant in the charge and killed
two units of knights before he was driven off.

After the knights drove off the undead dragon, my own red dragon flew across the table and breathed fire on the unit of ghosts.  The dragon then crushed the crispy ghosts and charged into a skeleton unit behind them.  Behind the dragon, the cavalry and pike blocks of the main infantry command advanced.

My red dragon flew across the table and launched itself at the
undead.  After initial success, he routed after being flanked
while disordered.  Too exposed.

The knights led by their Rex grind down the bone giant.

Cool shot from table level shows the chaotic fighting as the
pike blocks and sergeants launch into the battle.  In the background,
the organ gun blasted a unit of wights, killing 3 of the 4 stands.

While the pike blocks fought very well, they faced a real challenge against the skeletons.  Even though the skeletons lost wounds to the pikes, they wouldn't rout, and the human infantry gradually tired as they fought them.  This was the first battle we fought where it really felt like the skeletons were fighting the way we imagined they would.

Cavalry battle on the right flank swirls around the bone giant.
He did a good job of blocking the knights and absorbing damage.

The wraiths killed the organ gun, but the battle continues
to be very confused.  They are hesitant to attack the pikemen

Long shot of the table.  The undead lich has managed to
rally the undead dragon while my dragon is fleeing off the
table.  Bad news for me.

By the time we had to pick up the table, the Undead had run out of morale chips.  Middle Kingdom was leading 12 -0, but the Undead had rallied their undead dragon and their vampires had just landed and begun slaughtering the missile troops of the Middle Kingdom infantry command.  A unit of wraiths fought a knight unit, and because the knights didn't have magical weapons, they couldn't do any damage to the ghostly warriors.  Eventually, the human knights had enough and they fled in fear from these invincible wraiths.

The outcome was still in doubt, but most importantly, the undead showed they could hold their own against the knights of the Middle Kingdoms.  The skeletons were great at slowing down the attack.  The undead dragon and bone giant also used their "Might" special ability to great effect, smashing through the extra-heavy armor of the knights as if were tissue paper.