I have had a few minutes away from the coal face today and have used that time, wisely I hope, to have another go at the QB map. Here is v2:
The real changes here are to the top right hand quadrant which I think now better represents the landscape. The Thyle sector is now more dense and offers less scope for flanking. The QB to Thyle road now much straighter. I have used some tree images adopted from one of the electronic versions of Bob Cordery's Portable Wargame (see the site here and have a play on your browser, these are really good little programmes!) to show the sunken road area. I'm not sure I like the way I have represented this feature on the map, the hex alignment felt better on the earlier version, but in game terms it should work out fine. Still on the subject of QB, I am following the development of a new game by Dave Kershaw. A while ago (2012) he published a little game called Napoleonics: Quatre Bras as an Android App. I leave it up to you to try this one, the demo is free, and here is a nice screenshot. Unfortunately my phone is a little on the small side and I have not found it easy to get to grips with.
Dave is now building a paper version of the game (Battlelines Quatre Bras) and you can follow his development blog on BGG here. It will be interesting to see how this turns out as it looks very promising.
We will be working pretty much up to midnight on 31 March to get the ball over the line for this year. That sounds quite exciting but is actually also very tense. Very little time for any game related activities and I'm almost permanently asleep on the train these days. However, a little light in the darkness........
Yes, a draft map for Quatre Bras a la Carte! QB is one of my favourite battles because of the potential for volatility in reinforcements. It is also one of the few battles in which a British regiment lost its colours. Plenty of colourful characters and troops from across Europe. Go Brunswickers! The map is not yet right but it is getting very close. I can simply cannibalise the counters from Waterloo a la Carte. The rules are also pretty much there. I notice on re-reading Waterloo a la Carte that there are some areas of uncertainty that can be cleared up easily. If I'm not working this weekend I reckon I can probably get a quick play test in. Roll on Easter!
Sadly not at WMMS today, busy with chores and recovering after a nasty fall off a ladder (entirely my own fault). Never mind, I'm making some progress with my Baccus 6mm troops for my Cocked Hex rules. As usual, units consist of three bases, each 40mm across and 20mm deep. First up, four units of Bavarians, pretending to be the bad guys:
