Category Archives: Pub Battles

Random Order of Battle

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Though not a full on Solitaire system, this is a fun way to play and gets pretty close.  Mike Strand came up with this idea.  It works on any Pub Battles game.

Basically, you don’t know if the Corps are actually there for the battle.  Set up the game normally, except you only place the HQs on the map.  You don’t know if that Command is actually there or not.  Move them around as if they were until they are spotted by the enemy. 

Then, simply roll a die to see if they are actually at the battle or not.  1-3, they are not present.  Remove the HQ and chit from play.  4-6, they are present for the battle.  Place their forces on the field at or behind the HQ. 

You can play one side, and then randomly roll as you sight the enemy side to see if they are really there.  It works for both offense or defense.  You can even roll for your forces too!  I would recommend rolling for each of your Corps first before the battle so that you actually know what you are working with.  I’d wait to roll for the enemy Corps until you can sight them. 

Won’t this radically throw the play balance out of whack?  No.  It still works fine.  That’s because victory isn’t tied to the map, it’s tied to your baggage trains!  End up badly outnumbered?  So what?  You can still easily win.  Make the best of what you have to work with.  Belt out significant losses on the enemy, then bug out.  It is still possible to leave with a substantial point victory. 

Test this out and let us know how it goes!

Reading Contour Lines

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There is some confusion out there on what the slope lines mean and how to read them.  Here are a few examples to clear things up. 

It may look a little messy at first but I actually like these old style slope lines much better than modern day contour lines.  It is easier for me to visualize up and down. 

In this example, Red is up on top the hill.  They can see down to Blue at the lowest elevation, sitting behind the stream.  Effect:  Red will have cover here if attacked by Blue.   

Red has dropped back here behind the ridge now.  They are on the Reverse Slope.  There is no line of sight between these units.  Effect:  Red will have cover if attacked by Blue.   

In this example, Blue is at the highest elevation.  They are up on top of the hill.  Red is still on the hill but further down the slope.  White is down at the base elevation at the lowest point.  Effect:  Blue will have cover here if attacked by Red.  Red will have cover if attacked by White.

Here, Red and Blue are both on the hill.  The issue is that they are both on the same slope.  There is no cover here for either side.  I would treat combat between these two units, the same as if they were on clear terrain. 

The Double Bluff

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Keeping the Allies in the dark at Austerlitz is critical for the French.  Here are some tips to help you maximize this powerful weapon!

-1  Don’t rush all your troops to the front and blaze away!  Be very mindful of which units you let the Allies see.  Remember, once they see one unit from I Corps, they will know the entire Corps is there somewhere!  If you’re going to commit one unit, blast them with the entire Corps at once.

-2  Delay!!  The longer the Allies aren’t sure what you have the better for the French.  The Allies start over a barrel.  Look at it from their side.  It is a terrible dilemma!  They have to probe in force to determine if you really have the goods.  If they haven’t been able to confirm that yet, they have to keep pushing their neck out further into your noose.  That is exactly what you want!  If you spring your trap too early, you will only catch their nose.  We want their whole head!  There are limits here.  Don’t wait too long.  You have to time to finish them off and win before nightfall. 

-3  Double Bluff:  Let’s look at this through the enemy’s eyes again.  (A great habit to get into)  Imagine we are pushing into the French line trying to ascertain their true strength.  There are a couple of HQs lurking in the French rear.  Who are they?  What do they have?  Do they actually have troops hidden in their reserve or are they just a bluff?

We get a breakthrough, we advance and are able to spot one of these HQs.  Who is it?!  Bernadotte.  What is in his Reserve?  Nothing!!  Ah ha!  The French are weak!  Full steam ahead now right?  WRONG!!!

Wait, what?  Why?  Because the other HQ we haven’t seen yet is Napoleon.  What is he hiding in his reserve?  Bernadotte’s I Corps!!  Along with the Guard and Murat!!  That’s right!  Remember you can hide other forces in your reserve.  Just because you’ve cleared 1 HQ, doesn’t necessarily mean that those troops aren’t at the battle.  This is a great and very powerful tactic to use as the French. 

Yeah, that’s a pretty nasty trick.  What can the Allies do in response?  Easy.  Stick their neck out further into the noose.  🙂   I know.  That’s not very comforting is it?  A lot of this comes down to ‘feel’.  You can’t go off of just one piece of intell.  You have to look at the sum of all the pieces and what kind of picture are they painting.

You’ve got to push the French and push them hard.  A couple of light attacks isn’t good enough.  That doesn’t reveal anything.  You have to press them hard enough to force them to use a reserve force if they’ve got one.  If they are at the breaking point and they still don’t do anything, then you go all in for the kill. 

Be careful as you get close to this point because this is when a good French player will drop the hammer on you.  Watch his moves carefully.  As you got close to this breaking point, did the French suddenly move a couple of reserve HQs that had been sitting idle?  That could be an indication that they are getting ready to strike. 

-On the other hand, this could also be another good French Double Bluff move.  =)

How Do You Win at Pub Battles?

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I remember when I first started playing Pub Battles.  I really liked the system.  Very immersive.  Amazing narrative generation!  I could just imagine myself on the field.  I could imagine the events unfolding and the history books writing about how this battle went down. 

I liked how the system was chaotic.  How it mirrored the random events that happen in war.  The types of things you read about in books.  I like how this game takes away the God like powers most game systems give you.  It limits you to the types of decisions that real army / corps commanders have to make.  Where should we form a line?  How hard should we try to hold it?  Should we risk more losses here?  Where do we fall back to?  Should we  commit reserves now?  How should we move to keep our forces hidden from the enemy?  How close is the enemy to the breaking point?  Should we rush up reserves to help support this defense or should we just fall back here and give up ground? 

These are real decisions, that real commanders faced in battles like these.  Fantastic but how do I play better?  What do I learn from all this?  How can I win?  It almost feels like I’m just a spectator watching the battle unfold.  Great story narrative but how can I control the events and get the outcome I want?  At first I worried that this system was too random.  Like the game is running me!

Guess what?  That is a lot like real command also!  Real life events are very powerful.  They can and will sweep you away.  Imagine being in the command tent.  Urgent reports arriving by dispatch couriers.  How fast can you read it, make a decision and write a new order to address the problem?  Should you?  Imagine another report arriving that contradicts that first report, right after you wrote and sent new orders to deal with it.  Now what? 

It is very easy to get distracted by putting out crisis fires of the moment.  Jumping from one knee jerk reaction to the next.  Frantically chasing your tail until, boom, the battle is over.  Many officers do exactly that.  It is very easy to do. 

In an ocean of chaos and random drama, what could anybody do to influence the outcome?  People like Patton, Rommel, Hannibal, Bonaparte and Alexander could.  Pub Battles rules are deceptively simple.   In many ways it is one of the most complex and realistic simulations of war.  Complex in:  how do you play the darned thing?!

Many things we can’t control, as it should be.  Many things are out of our hands but what CAN we do?  Here are some tips to help improve your performance in Pub Battles:

-1   Try to stay focused on the big picture.  Yes, there are 10 little emergencies every turn.  What else is new?  Set those aside for a moment.  What are your strategic goals for this battle?  Where do you want to be?  What is the enemy trying to do?  How can you best defeat the enemies plan?  Are you in a position to do that?  Where do your forces need to be to accomplish that?  How best to get them there?  Considering the chaotic and random nature of the movement, is that a realistic goal to accomplish?  What kind of timing sequence needs to happen in order for that to work?  Remember the KISS principle.  It is real easy in war for things to go wrong, therefore:  Keep It Simple Stupid.  Like Patton used to say:  “A good plan now is better than the best plan tomorrow.” 

-2  What is the overall state of the enemy’s army?  Mostly fresh or mostly spent?  How does that compare to your army?  How many casualties have you suffered compared to the enemy?

-3  What is the reserve capacity of the enemy compared to you?  By reserve capacity I mean how many of your forces are already committed?  How many are still fresh and ready to be committed to a fight?  This leads us to our final question:

-4  When and where is the right time to strike?  This is probably the biggest and most important thing you CAN control in Pub Battles.  Let the enemy attack.  Let the battle unfold.  Fight the little fights but stay focused on this big picture.  Wait until the enemy has already committed their reserves.  Wait until the enemy is already mostly spent.  Where are they weakest?  Where are they most vulnerable? 

As the battle starts and progresses, your mind should always be focused on these elements.  Get your fresh reserve in place, ready to strike at the weakest point in the enemy line.  Watch and wait for the right time to attack.  Can you get a double chit pull move in the sequence to accelerate the events?  -or at least the best chance at a double move? 

By a double move here I’m referring to when your Corps moves last this turn but moves first next turn.  With all the Corps running around doing different things at the same time, this can get confusing.  You have to be able to look at these locally, on an individual basis.  For example, let’s say we are at Gettysburg near the end of Day 1.  Ewell’s Rebel Corps is battling Howards Federal Corps for Culp’s Hill.  If Ewell can move after Howard on turn 6 but moves before Howard on turn 7, in effect he has gotten a ‘double move’ advantage over Howard.    

This is how Napoleon won at Austerlitz.  He concealed his true force.  He concealed his true intent.  He watched the enemy.  He was patient.  He looked for the right time and place.  THEN he struck.  That is exactly what you need to win in Pub Battles.   

Mike Strand said it best:  “It is easy to master the rules of Pub Battles.  Those are easy.  The secret is the mastery of command.  The right or wrong move is not obvious.  There are many distractions.  It requires a gut feeling.  A sense of timing;  and that only comes from experience.” 

THAT is how you win in Pub Battles.  It’s not about piling x number of combat factors into hex y by turn z.  It’s about timing and real world command skills.      

Solitaire Germantown

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All Pub Battles are naturally great for solitaire play.  Germantown works exceptionally well!  The British start off on the map.  They are on defense.  The Colonials enter anywhere along the north map edge.  What makes this interesting is that there are 6 different roads that span all across this edge.  There are also 5 different Colonial HQs with Reserve Cards. 

If you’re not familiar with Pub Battles, the HQs mark the command’s position on the map but the forces are actually held off map, hidden from view behind these little screens.  You place your hidden troops on the map as the enemy can spot your HQs but there is a dense fog at Germantown.  The very short visibility range means your troops remain hidden almost until they attack. 

The army sizes of the opposing forces are nearly identical.  The British have a few less blocks but they make up for this in better quality.  So how can the Colonials attack into 1:1 odds and still have a chance of winning this battle somehow?  The British are attacked from 5 different directions at once.  The large map spans a wide area.  They can’t be everywhere!

Seven of the Colonial infantry blocks are full strength, regulars (like 3 SPs).  Two are weak militia units (like 2 SPs).  Three are small (1 SP) detachments.  The problem for the British player is:  which Colonial HQs are the main threat?  The command could be 3 full regular infantry with artillery and baggage train logistical support for a sustained fight, OR it could just be 1 Militia.  –or maybe just 1 or 2 Detachments, or any combination of the above.  The British have no idea until they actually engage these forces and start fighting. 

You can probably see where this is going.  For an awesome solitaire game, all you have to do is setup and play as the British.  Spread the Colonial HQs out and enter normally.  Have them come in on different roads and march straight towards the British to attack.  What is on their Reserve Cards?  You have no idea! 

Upon contact with a Colonial HQ, randomly determine what blocks it has in Reserve.  There ya go.  Virtually any combination would have been a good viable strategy in this battle.  As the British player, you’ll have to intercept the Colonials to figure out what they have and where.  After that, you’ll have to scramble to adjust your forces to meet the primary threat before it is too late.

This is very challenging, realistic and great fun!! 

Give it a try and let us know how it goes in the comments below.         

Austerlitz is ready!!

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From the very beginning with Pub Battles, we set out to game the impossible.  If it’s gonna break, break it early.  We have specifically targeted ‘ungamable’ battles like:  Brandywine, Antietam and Little Bighorn.  These games just don’t work on the table.  No player would do what they did.  Most designers avoid these battles.  The ones that take them on simply handcuff the players to history.  “Make them do what they did!”  That works in a way but it’s not very satisfying. 

Austerlitz ranks pretty high on the ungamable list.  We’ve been working on it for a couple of years now.  This battle really pushes the envelope, even for Pub Battles.  It did reveal a few gaps in our system.  Much of what we learned from Austerlitz became the 3.0 rules. 

As I look now at the Austerlitz scenario rules, I’m shocked at how short they are.  Where are all the extra rules it takes to make Austerlitz work?  There aren’t any.  It mostly just works right out of the box, or tube if you will.  This is a great sign!

What’s next?  Chancellorsville and Leuthen.  With all the infrastructure now in place, these battles seem easy.  Onwards and upwards.

It’s time to saber the champagne!!

Pub Battles: Germantown

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Now available to ship! This makes a very nice expansion to Brandywine. A full on battle using the same blocks. The map is much bigger. The maneuver options are much more open. The British are on defense here. The possibilities are endless.

Attack Upon the Chew House

The game with an open setup here at Germantown is endlessly fascinating. We’ll be doing a Blog and new video on how to do this.

Do I need the Update Kit?

Here is an easy way to tell. Look at your Brandywine blocks. Do you have a ‘Smallwood Militia’ included? If you have that piece, you do NOT need the Update. You are good to go!

Pub Battles Dice -Big Print

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If you’re like me, your eyes aren’t getting any better. I know. I hate it too! :/

We are testing out a new style of dice stickers. It is a cleaner and sleeker design: more graphical, fewer numbers, bigger easier to read font.

Big Print Edition Dice

I’ve been testing them out. I like them better. I guess the downside is that they look a little modern. They don’t have that old world, period look to them.

Standard Dice Now

We’re not sure yet if we want to make them available. What do you guys think? Do you like them better? Would you rather have these?

They are easy to change. The trick is to soak the dice in hot water for awhile. Then you just peel off the old stickers and wipe clean with a towel.

Dying Ground

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In the Art of War, Sun Tzu talks about Dying Ground.  It is a fascinating factor, but one I’ve never seen accounted for in a wargame.

Most soldiers in war do not actually fight.  Accuracy on the firing range doesn’t translate into casualties on the battlefield.  Why not?  At first, you might think the adrenaline rush of battle might being throwing off the marksmanship.  Psychologist have determined that the real reason is, that most people don’t want to kill somebody.  Even the enemy, in a firefight.  -Fine, I’ll serve.  I’m not a coward.  I won’t desert.  I’ll stand with my unit, but you still can’t make me kill someone. 

Most soldiers from the Civil War would pull their shots:  intentionally fire high over the heads of the enemy.  Another trick was to not pull your trigger.  Load, level your musket but don’t actually pull the trigger.  Just keep reloading and act like you are fighting.  That’s why they would find many muskets after a battle that were reloaded 10 times but never fired. 

The number of men that actually do shoot to kill in war is very low.  Down around 10%, as I remember.  Imagine if you could get all the men in a unit to actually fight!  This brings us back to Sun Tzu.  This is what he called, Dying Ground:

When you cannot press forward or retreat; when you will survive if you fight quickly and will perish if you do not –It is said “Put them on dying ground, and then they will live.”

 What would that look like in a wargame?

Dying Ground –Optional Rule

Before resolving a Combat, check to see that your units have an open route to retreat.  If their route is blocked by impassible terrain and enemy units, they are on Dying Ground. 

Units fighting on Dying Ground get a +1 combat modifier.  

They will also ignore a second hit retreat result.  They will stay in place and keep fighting.  The third hit they take will destroy them as usual. 

I have no idea what this will do to the game.  It may result in all kinds of trouble.  It also adds complication and extra rules to remember.  With Pub Battles, we always try to keep that to a minimum.  So I don’t expect to see this as an official rule later.

Try this out and let us know what you see.  Is it good?  Does it work?

Detachments

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Question: When do the Detachments come in? When do they move?

The Scenario specifies how many Detachments for each side. It doesn’t say when or where they arrive. Why? Because you decide that! You assign them to specific Commands for the battle, before the game. They enter or setup with that Command. They move with that Command.

The point of the Detachments, is to create more uncertainty and fog-of-war. That’s why the OB doesn’t specify which one they start with. It would defeat the purpose. How many more blocks do you have to fight with? Is that a real division or baggage train sitting back there? Or just a Detachment? You can’t tell.

If you put them out front, Detachments can be good for screening and delaying the enemy sometimes but they will likely get killed quickly. I find them more valuable in a reserve position for deception. In fact, I often like to keep them on the Reserve Card. I can throw them out to back up a defense when things get desperate. Sometimes an attacker will call off a fight and fall back before he sees that the scary looking support I have is only a Detachment.

If he only knew!