I've just completed a fascinating encounter battle between a French Army of the
Sun King and an Allied Army composed of Dutch and British units.
Both commanders were ranged out against each other in standard battle formation. The battlefield itself was very cluttered with terrain - lots of rough ground, woods, hills and fields / walls / hedges. It actually took me a couple of days to start this game as it was quite a pleasant experience to have this setup. Both armies looked good with a mix of pike and musket stands.
There were subtle differences between the two armies which became evident during the course of the game. This is where the envelope of the P&S classification is pushed to the margin. The use of integrated pikes still felt a P&S treatment was appropriate. I did bring in more musket features to promote the increasing doctrinal dependency on firepower.
Both armies moved rather cautiously towards each other. There was quite a bit of marching and counter-marching by a few Horse units to get these deployed in superior numbers on the flanks. The game started to become polarised between the two flanks with a lesser engagement unfolding on the French left while the main conflict played out in the centre and right. The French tried to move aggressively on the Allied left and once engaged with more pike and a first round impetuous charge rule, did inflict a great deal of damage. The Allied firepower was also effective where they deployed a steady firing line as they had more musket stands in their units and the adoption of Dutch drill / platoon fire by all units on the Allied side allowed re-rolls for misses.
The French gradually waxed on their stronger flank and with superior cavalry, in
greater numbers, forced the Allied general to submit and retire his forces.
A good game with lots of period flavour, dash and colour. I liked the specific period rules and how subtle changes can result in tangible outcomes. I'm going to make some updates to my lists in the P&S rules in the Files Section to reflect my playtest findings.
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