Some 6mm ACW action.

Having painted up a few units of infantry, cavalry and artillery, I decided to put them to use in a war game. I like to experiment and initially used the rules and dice from the board game 'Battle Cry' by Richard Borg. The rules are very simple and are really an entry level game for war gaming with miniatures on a game board.

I played one scenario on the game boards as a 60 x 30cm base just about fitted into a game board hex, it was fun to play but then I played 'The Battle of Gaines Mill' scenario on the battle mat, using base width as the measurement for play rather than the hexes of the board. I have included a few shots of the game, the full battle report is on my YT channel for those interested. It worked well too.

The Union hold the ridge and are rushing up reinforcements whilst the Confederates in three brigades advance on the left, centre and right.

The cards from 'Battle Cry' in use to move and fire with the forces on the table.

The Confederate left flank move forward.

The game was very enjoyable and I have enough units painted up to play any of the scenarios in the 'Battle Cry' scenario book. The small die are showing the unit strength as in the board game a figure is removed if lost, not something I could or wanted to do, with 36 figures glued onto their base.

For the next battle I was keen to try a new rule set written by a fellow You Tuber, 'The Table Top Gamer' his rules, now entitled 'Officer Commanding' are available for free in a link from his YT channel and he wants as many people as possible to play test them.
For the initial battle I set up a 2 x 2 foot area for the battle, his game is designed for 2mm and is actually played on a one foot square board! The units are eventually destroyed to win the game but it takes time, and the battles rolls to and fro as armies attack and counter-attack. It makes for a very pleasing game. Once again the full battle is recorded on my YT channel under its working name of Large Battles of the ACW for those interested and I have included a few photographs of the battle I progress to wet your appetite.

The white pieces of plastic and dowel rod mark out the 2 x 2 feet area of the battlefield.

That just about brings you up to date with what I have been doing. The baggage train I showed in the process of assembly and painting is now completed, based and flocked, I will take some photographs of that to upload. Currently working on tents and some civilians to create a camp and some camp followers, though some of the figures may be used to populate the gardens/yards of some of the buildings. Also on the work bench are more War of the Roses 28mm archers and bill men. I will probably use 'Lion Rampant' rules for these, but I am basing them in such a way as to allow me to use them with 'Hail Caesar', Impetus or L'Art de la Guerre rules.

Phew! That has been a hectic two or three days catching up with all that has happened, thank you for taking the time to read my blog and please feel free to make a comment. Also pop over to my YT channel to see more...Ian