Friday 3 July 2020

Ramekin/C&C played freestyle!

I just had to try this out, I may be mad, but it's been on my mind a lot recently, could it/would it work as a fun solo game. So at the risk of attracting derision from 'serious' wargamers I present a short overview of how things went.

The first thing required was to adopt a standard 'Distant Unit' (DU) for moving,  firing ranges, combat, retreat moves etc so another trusty wooden knitting needle was procured from my wife and marked out in 2.5" sections, this would be my distant unit measure. By chance this converted to 5 sections on the stick, handy as 5 DU's s the maximum artillery range. The DU is also used to represent the area occupied by a unit as shown in photo below, whether deployed flank to flank or front to rear, although I'm not sure this is essential in an open game.

I kept things very simple, just a few units per side and 5 each of my shiny new Ramekin order chits per side (painted and varnished 15mm MDG circles). I rolled a red and blue dice to see who took the first bound and it came up British. using the chits to mark activated units is a revelation to me as they really help to keep track of things, when a unit moves and has no further actions the chit is removed  but is left in place for combats and then removed as resolved. The game developed quickly in true C&C style and units were soon in firing range (2 DU's). I used the revised Ramekin charts for standing ranged fire, generally it reduces the combat dice throws by 1 dice which makes a surprising difference to the casualty rate which feels much more realistic.

In no time at all I was getting used to the concept of a DU for movement and firing. Terrain features were all clearly defined, and unlike moving onto a single hex a unit counted as being in or on terrain when it physically moved into contact with it, thus a battery of guns moving onto a hill, an infantry unit moving into a village or into woods etc. Close combats were resolved when units moved into contact with each other, two units can attack a single unit in the usual C&C manner and artillery can still support a close combat in combined arms combat as per the rules.

Retreats seemed no problem to resolve, you just move away towards the table edge where possible and if rearward movement is blocked by friendly troops casualties are lost in the usual way. Bolster morale worked just fine using the DU to establish when supports can be claimed to prevent falling back, obviously this was only a short game and more play will be needed to work through all of the retreat/morale situations. Leaders act as usual, they can join and lead a unit, detach and move etc. Leader retreat is not something I have tried yet (with it's specific hex path in the rules), but I see no reason why a commander having to retreat 3DU's and avoiding units in his path should be a problem.

To be honest I had a lot of fun with this, the game flowed along in C&C style, casualties mounted up gradually, cavalry charged cavalry, made breakthrough moves, infantry formed square against attacking cavalry, units fell back when reduced to support fresher units and at the end of it all the French won a resounding victory. I know that it could only really be used in friendly games but I will definitely be keeping this as an option for my solo games.

Certainly for me the big thing was the aesthetics, I am less keen on grids these days than I was, preferring a clean open table, and after more than eight years playing C&C they remain the only Napoleonic rules I ever fully enjoyed.

The DU measuring stick in use.


Activation/order chits placed.



Two supporting units within 1DU ignore 1 flag roll.

General needs to move up within command radius.




Portuguese infantry were forced to retire by French infantry fire and were then charged by cavalry.

End game. French victory.


 


18 comments:

  1. Sounds like the best of both worlds Lee and a good use for excess knitting needles(!).

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    1. Yes Ian, the wooden knitting needle is an essential component of socially distanced C&C!

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  2. You are getting a lot of fun out of these armies, which has to be the prime point. I like the conversion and even though a small test game, you have probably already seen any permutations that could have caused a problem, so it all looks very stable. I am enjoying these posts.

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    1. Thanks Norm, and I am really enjoying being able to play around like this. I will try a bigger battle with full ramekin and see if it throws up any issues.

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  3. Great idea with the DU, I knew you could do it!.
    Regards,
    Paul.

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    1. Thanks Paul, once you get into the right place mentally, converting a hex based game to open play is a fun exercise.

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  4. Sounds like a short, sharp game Lee?
    It is always a joy to see your beautiful figures and terrain—hell, even your measuring stick is a work of art—a viewing pleasure!

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    1. Thank you James, yes even the measuring stick got a coat of satin varnish!

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  5. Looks good Lee - I've thought about this for years, but never tried it, so I'm especially interested. (There are a few topics I could describe in this way, in fact)

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    1. Thanks Tony. Ramekin has raised my level of enjoyment of C&C a lot, really opens the game up. It was quite a spur of the moment thing to get the table and troops out to try it, I'm glad I did.

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  6. Looks great and sounded like fun. For several years now I've been preferring a stick with coloured bans in preference to a tape. If nothing else, I can still count the bands at arms length!

    I enjoy both solo and friendly games but for years now have been avoiding competitions and argumentative, nitpicky or rules lawyer players)

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    1. Thank you Ross.There was of course a time when I had regular like minded opponents living locally and I do miss those days, I'm not really a 'clubby' sort of person. Solo is the the thing for me at the moment but that could change post lockdown. I like measuring sticks and gadgets!

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  7. Hello there ‘Lee,

    Looks fantastic old chap! I really like the DU idea and think you are certainly on to something. The good thing is that the size of the DU can easily be varied to allow for the space available or the figure sizes.

    Perhaps you might want to try it with the 40mms? That would certainly be something to see!

    All the best,

    DC

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    1. Thanks David. Funny enough the 40mm's have been on my mind a lot recently as they were all based on standard frontage bases with DBN in mind. I was looking through the boxes at them a few days ago, they can't sit there forever unused!

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  8. Hi Lee, great looking game, really pleased you are enjoying solo play, and yes think we all missing seeing other gaming pals, you tempting me to start using measuring sticks, keep having fun
    cheers Old John

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    1. Cheers John, I'm enjoying myself with this lot :)

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  9. Smart solution Lee! Best of both worlds, excellent result,surely friendly games are all your likely to play?
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. It was indeed fun and I'd say it worked well.

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