Battle of Adwalton Moor - AAR 2 - For King and Parliament

Finally back to the original plan for Roundway Down and Adwalton Moor which was to test out For King and Parliament - the ECW version of To The Strongest. I switched to 6mm for this (but kept the terrain identical, so a far less crowded battlefield). So first a quick AAR and then some comments on the rules.

Starting positions

Battle Report

Royalist Horse surged forward to the enclosures where they were well received and beaten off by the commanded musketry and dragoons. The Royalist Foot then went in, and it wasn't until the 2nd line went in that the enclosures were cleared - on particular commanded musket regiment was still going at the end, reluctantly pulling back to conform with the remaining troops. A late left-flank charge by Royalist cavalry was met the sole Parliamentarian cavalry unit who won, but then got taken out themselves by the Royalist 2nd line. On the right flank two regiments of horse were eaten up in trying to fall on the Parliament Pike & Shot who didn't even bother to go to hedgehog.

Royalist foot advancing whilst the cavalry goes in against the enclosures

I called time about turn 15, by when the Royalists were in control of the enclosures, and Parliament only had two fresh P&S units to defend the ditch, against 6+ Royalist units and a cavalry unit about to wreak havoc in their rear. And Gog an Magog never fired at all.

Interestingly whilst tactically it looked like a clear Royalist win the FKaP victory coins gave a 14:13 victory to Parliament - but the coin numbers may have been skewed by too many colonels! 

The battle at its height from behind Royalist lines

The Rules

I must admit I do quite like the basic TTS mechanism. Drawing cards is actually way faster than rolling dice, and of course I'm always up for anything played on a grid. But something didn't seem quite right with FKaP. In the end the attacks became a real slog (realistic?), with time after time units either not activating, or missing, or having hits saved. Getting on a flank improved things (double opportunities), but in the end it really did just feel like which side could turn over the 8+'s (and then the 9+'s) fastest. An odd thing about cards is that you don't feel the same agency as you do with dice, especially when you opponent has just had a run of 8s and 9s and so you know there won't be many left for you! The slagging match, and the fact that units typically fought to elimination also meant it was a very static game, lines advanced to contact, 10 rounds of push-of-pike, and then it was all over. The previous run of Adwalton Moor had felt far more fluid. I did like the morale test for units adjoining a rout though - just as in SLS!

The Royalists surge forward!

I seem to remember having enjoyed the original TTS more. Checking back missile fire is 8+ (as FKaP), but doesnt reduce to 9+. Melee hits start at 6+, not 8+ - so far more bloody. If I play FKaP again I might well be tempted to revert to TTS values. I also though that there was minimal difference between the different Pike&Shot units, just ammo counters, and dragoons seemed very resilient (they save on 6+ not 7+). The ammo chit system worked well though and wasn't too onerous (Note: I tracked it by adding a chit to a unit when it fired, not giving each unit 3 chits to start and taking away, reduced the clutter on the board).

So, not as good as I'd hoped. The TTS/FKaP system still has a lot going for it,  far more my cup of tea than Pike & Shotte, and the FKaP rule book is a joy to behold. If I was to play it regularly I think I might make a few house rules/TTS throwbacks to make it better suit my gaming style.

ENDEX positions

What is interesting though is that the two games of Adwalton Moor bracketed the real result, one giving a good Parliamentarian victory, one giving a good Royalist victory, whereas the real battle more of less split the field.