Peter Bogdasarian - Dec 26, 2004 8:18 pm (#2327 Total: 2338) Go Rams! Well, we gave Maiwand a shot today and consistent with the other experiences here, the British got absolutely slaughtered. (dead halfway through both times) The Afghans didn't seem to need much more than the infinite Ghazi cavalry and a little luck on the dice... (even at 1-2 they swap a 2-12 for 2 British units 50% of the time) Now, onto the rules questions. I understand if the answers are delayed due to the holidays - no problem. 1. According to the rulebook, fire combat hits on a "less than" roll. I don't then understand the point of many of the x1 and x1/2 entries on the fire charts since a fire strength of 2 doesn't hit anything and units cannot stack with artillery. Yes, there is the rare occasion where a British Snider is stacked with a Martini-Henry and firing at 5 hexes, but that's about it. Am I missing something or is the intent just to show that shots could travel this far? 2. May the initial British units set up *in* ravine hexes? 3. Are there supposed to be 3 units in the Sinde cavalry or just 2? (I have a 1/3 and a 2/3 but no 3/3) 4. How many attackers *must* advance after combat - 1 combat factor or 2? 5. If LOS runs down the hexspine of an occupied hex, is it blocked? This is very important and so I will give an illustration: British units are in 1321 and 1421. An Afghan unit is in 1521. May 1321 fire at 1521? (we went with no, which sure hurt the British) 6. Are the half hexes at the bottom of the map playable? (we went with yes since they are numbered) 7. On the fire charts, the Armstrong is x1 at 4 hexes and x2 at 1,2,3,5,6. We assumed it was meant to be x2 at 4 hexes? Thanks for your answers. I can't say I had fun, but I am interested in trying the game solitaire to see what I must be missing. I think the basic system works alright. Peter Bogdasarian - Dec 27, 2004 10:08 am (#2328 Total: 2338) BookmarkEmail to Friend Go Rams! After giving it some thought, Dennis, what appears to be blowing the British off the map is the Ghazi 2-12 cavalry. Since the Afghans only need to kill 2 units or so a turn to get the attrition they need, they basically just concentrate on entering and reentering these units - artillery, etc. only comes on later. Since even at 1-2 odds a 2-12 gets the needed attrition 50% of the time, this strategy has worked like a charm. The only thing I can think I'm missing is that in an EX where both sides have equal factors neither side takes any losses? Dennis L. Bishop - Dec 27, 2004 2:45 pm (#2329 Total: 2338) BookmarkEmail to Friend Peter, Thought provoking questions as I tried to play in my mind what you might be doing. 1. The "mixed" weaponry units hit on a two if two units fire together. This was left out of the rules. 2. "Within one hex of the ravine," implying not in the ravine. 3. There are only two Scinde cavalry units. 4. 11.3 "Surviving attacking units MUST advance into hexes vacated by defending units for any melee result." That means all of the attacking units that survive melee. 5. The LOS is not blocked. Rule 10.1 lists the only features that block LOS. 6. This is an age old problem, but I think that if it is on the map, any hex is playable regardless of size. 7. You are correct. It should be a "2." Thanks for the good questions. Dennis L. Bishop - Dec 27, 2004 2:57 pm (#2330 Total: 2338) I am trying to figure out how the Ghazi can be so lethal. Attacking a stack of two British companies, the Brits only miss on a "12," and attacking two Indian companies it is an "8." In all of the playtest games, we did not come up with enough ghazis to outnumber the British, but it sounds like all of your games have a high number of Afghan reinforcements. I have never seen the ghazis very successful. Are you stacking the 2-12s? If so, that might be part of the problem. The 2-12s cannot stack with any unit. If equal forces roll an exchange, then all of the units are removed for both sides. However, I kinda like the no casualty rule. Certainly use it if it helps the Brits stay on the map a little longer. Peter Bogdasarian - Dec 27, 2004 9:25 pm (#2331 Total: 2338) Go Rams! Dennis, I am not stacking the 2-12s. They simply concentrate on the Indian companiess (who hit only just above 50%) and ride them down. In fact, as a test tonight, I used nothing but the Ghazi counters - the Afghans won at 2:00. They simply recycle the 1-12s and 2-12s, enter from the south west edge of the map and strike in strength. The British have 32 counters - they need at least 5 on the final turn of the game to screen the baggage camp. The Afghans have 15 turns to kill 28 units - that is one EX or DE result per turn. (66% at 1-1 odds, 50% at 1-2) I don't know why the Ghazis were unsuccessful in your testing, but they have dominated both the ftf and solitaire games I have played. They can appear almost anywhere and just one British miss gives the Afghan player the odds he needs to get his 2 kills. Melee is worthless against them - at 2-1 odds, the British player will take a loss 50% of the time - and if the Afghans get 2 British units in a turn, they've achieved their goals. Peter Bogdasarian - Dec 27, 2004 9:30 pm (#2332 Total: 2338) Go Rams! Dennis, I would like a little clarification with regards to this sentence: "The "mixed" weaponry units hit on a two if two units fire together. This was left out of the rules" - does this rule apply to all ranged fire (a 2 is an automatic hit regardless of DRMs) or...? Dennis L. Bishop - Dec 27, 2004 10:34 pm (#2333 Total: 2338) Peter, This is interesting. I chose a "7" or less to hit for the Indians at close range because I was under the impression that there are 12 chances to hit compared to 6 chances to miss rolling two dice. That is well above your 50%. The Indians should be hitting on an average of 66%. In most of my games, the Indians shot much better on average. However, Andy will attest that when I am hot with the dice, I am hot. Melee is brutal; I admit this. However, that is why the British rely so heavily on their superior firepower. Try playing with the ghazi being eliminated permanently, like the other Afghan units. Let me know how this works. Also, how many Afghans are entering as reinforcements each turn? We had several turns where the Afghans came on the map in "penny packets" and were unable to mount attacks which gave the British free turns. It sounds like you are rolling very high reinforcement rolls. Again, statistically, it should take the Afghans at least three turns bringing the ghazi cavalry on to the map in parity, and, if the British player anticipates correctly where these units are entering, should have at least one to two free turns. That cuts the number of turns to 10 to eliminate 32 counters. So, that is more than three units needed to be eliminated each turn. Now, by your own statistical analysis, the chances of this occurring is between 50% and 66%, after having borne the firepower of 66% and 90% from the Indians and British That should amount to about 12 eliminated Afghan units per turn out of a possible 14. That leaves a possibility of two possible melees at 50% or 66%. This seems reasonable to me because it is well below the required 3+ needed to win the game. We have not even touched on the possible artillery fire results. This can alter the game one way or another. However, just based upon the ghazi cavalry vs British infantry, you are getting some pretty good results in the face of statistical odds. This was how most of our games turned out with the baggage train and one or two British units remaining or being wiped out in the fanatical last turn. Dennis L. Bishop - Dec 27, 2004 10:41 pm (#2334 Total: 2338) Peter, Honestly, it never occurred to me that an automatic hit rule would be necessary for any other units. Peter Bogdasarian - Dec 27, 2004 10:48 pm (#2335 Total: 2338) Go Rams! Dennis, a 7 or less on 2d6 is actually 58.3% not 66%. (21 chances out of 36) As for the Afghan reinforcements, the Afghans generally average 7 or so a turn. They don't really need to delay since they can reach British units on the first turn by entering from the extreme end of the west edge (as I understand it, they can get all the way to 0720/0817) (not to mention picking off at least 1 of the units exposed at the north end). Moreover, by careful positioning, they can generally leave only 4 stacks firing at them. (since units block LOS per 10.1) 1 Miss in there is enough - alternatively, they can send the doubled 1-12s at those positions. As for the British artillery - it's garbage. The Afghans welcome it being in the front line - it's easy to reach, hits only 27.7% of the time and dies 83.3% of the time when attacked. I rarely see it live through a turn Do me a favor, Dennis, if you don't mind. When you have some time, set up the British and then enter all your Ghazi cavalry from 0110 to 0122 and head straight for the baggage camp, taking care to minimize the # of British units firing at you where possible (using trenches, etc.). If you're feeling the need to get through the game quickly, bring in the Afghan field guns and leave them in the 01xx row to add to the pressure (though I don't think the Afghans need it). Peter Bogdasarian - Dec 27, 2004 10:49 pm (#2336 Total: 2338) Go Rams! Dennis, my question about the automatic hit rule goes to the Afghani Enfields (x1 at 3-4 hexes), etc. There are lots of places where a player can only muster a combat factor of 1-2. Dennis L. Bishop - Dec 27, 2004 11:17 pm (#2337 Total: 2338) Peter, You are describing Isandhlwana the year before. My stats appear to be off a bit; I was counting fingers and extrapolating results. I don't disagree with your position, but the game, like Isandhwana, is a game to beat the odds. I have won as the Brits at Maiwand, but I have never won as the Brits in any Isandhlwana game. You are correct about the vulnerability of the British right flank. It is where the game is decided. You might try playing with the British artillery a bit. They are not the garbage that you describe, but they are not front line troops either. Dennis L. Bishop - Dec 27, 2004 11:20 pm (#2338 Total: 2338) Peter, The Afghans have enough of an advantage. I think that the "mixed" result is enough. In future games, I am thinking of adding a "disrupted" result to the fire table. Often, "native" units used fire in this manner. Your discussion is quite helpful in providing me with ideas for future games. Thanks. Andrew Preziosi - Jan 24, 2005 10:06 am (#2379 Total: 2389) Colin, I'm glad it was not just me scratching my head. I'm never sure whether I fail to grasp half of what Andrew says because I'm a Limey or because he's Andrew -quoted from Andy Loakes. I feel like Al Pacino in the Godfather here... I read this in the Q&A posted at Grogard.com: 2Q. May the initial British units set up *in* ravine hexes? 2A. "Within one hex of the ravine," implying not in the ravine. I do not have the rules in front of me, but I know for a fact that Bruce, Randy and I playtested the game set-up using the exact wording of the rules...within two (2) [or however many noted] hexes of Muradabad (or whatever the name of the town is). YES, you can (and damn well better) try to set up as many British units in the ravine as you can....due to the rules, you can only fill so many ravine hexes. I will not tell you which units or even what combination of units to use...figure that one out on your own, but I know this is what we did and this is how the final version of the rules were written. Andrew