In Deo Veritas test: Bolden Hill II

This is the tale of another solo game of In Deo Veritas using the training scenario posted online at Caliver Books. The first did not include the enclosures. This time the Royalist Foot had enclosures to deploy in. I tried the events rule. Both sides got an event. The Scots got an ability to force one enemy wing to move last in one turn. The Royalists got a cavalry raid beating up the enemy rear. Two enemy brigades of horse would be removed from the table to chase them. Since the Scots had only 3 brigades of horse to start, I decided to junk the events. In a game with more cavalry this might be an interesting event. I also rolled for officer characteristics. Most were normal. The Royalist infantry officer Eythin was deemed a politico (not good) and the Scot Horse officer Lucas was deemed experienced. As none of these were listed on the QRS it had no effect on my game. I was on a mission to have a fast game. I also found magnetic sabot bases from back when we played Armati. Each brigade had DBX bases on a single sabot base. I purchased and installed Photoshop Elements (was free on my last PC) so my photo mojo is back, mostly.

Unlike the last game, the dice gods deserted the Royalists. Their horse was getting beaten steadily.

Newcastle’s will broke on turn 8. The mounted wing was fatigued on turn 6, exhausted turn 7 and collapsed on turn 8. The Royalist foot wing was fatigued on turn 7. There was a limited pursuit that didn’t cause any further losses, a minor victory. I suspect in a campaign game routed units hit and dispersed on the table might be counted as hors de combat. The beating the Royalists took struck me as more than a minor defeat.

The toll for the Royalists at game end: of 4 horse brigades, 2 were dispersed, 2 were disrupted. Of 4 foot brigades, 1 was dispersed, 1 was routed, 1 was disordered and 1 was sound.

The Scots, of 3 horse brigades, 2 were disrupted in pursuit off the table, 1 was disordered and the dragoon company had rallied back to sound. Of 6 foot brigades, 1 was disrupted, 3 were disordered, 2 were sound. The artillery which never fired a shot was sound. This was better than last game when they fired one shot before Royalist horse rode them down.

It took 2 hours to play 8 turns, not bad at all. I thought the Scots would have a tough time since they were thumped last game and this time the Royalist foot were in defensive positions in the enclosures. But the Royalist foot had runs of failing to save hits from time to time. Each time that coincided with lots of Scottish hits being scored, away went a brigade, cover be damned. I note that trained cavalry almost always pursues routed enemy. Veterans have a slight chance of keeping their cool. The Scottish infantry should have kept their cool but the dice decided otherwise.

I hope in the coming week to play this battle one more time with Steve Thomas’ “Tilly’s Very Bad Day”, a work-in-progress set of rules for the 30 Years War. I suspect it will be faster and simpler. We’ll see how it compares.