Introduction
Muskets & Springfields is designed for games
representing big battles in the American Civil War. The rules are designed to
use current basing and are not miniature scale dependant. The game is set at
the operational level. Players will adopt the role of the army commander with
sub command groups below to represent corps or divisions. In the rules a corps/division
will be made up of several infantry brigades, mounted cavalry, and your
artillery batteries. If you wish you can include Native American Indian warbands
as part of your games, although during the American Civil War these where very
few and far between.
Game space
Game system uses grids as the unit of measurement. The game
space is broken into square grids which representative of 300 yards. The rules are
focused on the operational level and so the specific tactical positioning of the
unit, N yards from another unit, is a low level interaction that is not part of
Muskets and Springfields. There are many commercial rulesets already available
which provide this tactical level play. Taking a balance of the various drill
guides of the period, a grid side is approximately equal to 800 men, deployed
two ranks, regiments in line a breast. The average space needed of 24 inches
per man has been used for this calculation. For a typical 6ft x4ft playing
space, a ratio width x depth of 1.5 x 1 is recommended, which provides a table
divided by 12 by 8 grids. This equals 3600yds x 2400yds in real ground scale.
All units of measure for movement and ranges are presented as several grids.
All measurements are taken relative to the grid side and orientation, not the
unit base.
Game flow
Muskets & Springfields uses a “bag pull” system using a deck of playing cards. The suite and colour of the card has a relevance in the game. The joker cards have an interaction. Confederates use the red suites and Union the black suites. The suite pulled determines the active player. The value of the card the amount of the players army that can be activated. Activation is by corps. Muskets & Springfields allows a level of interruption for the non-active player. Also, each player has the option once a game, to steal the draw. These two approaches ensures if one player has a run of card, the opponent still can respond. Also, aspects of the game such as shooting and melee are simultaneous. The Joker card provides random narrative events to the experience. Weather effects are also part of Muskets & Springfields. Along with game mechanics and how morale is simulated, which is detailed below, provide a nice fog of war layer and controlled uncertainty.
Force structure
The basic unit represented in the rules is the infantry
brigade which are grouped up into corps/divisions. Attached are cavalry and
artillery. These units are represented in the game space, as a single base. The
rules are designed to keep the movement, shooting and unit interactions as
clean as possible. This allows the players to focus on the command decisions
need to manage multiple corps.
Morale
Morale loss is handled at the individual corps; A morale
state and damage attrition is held at the individual unit base. In Muskets
& Springfields, units have three levels of morale. This is not the
usual average, veteran, elite often used. But instead, format that is designed
to reflect the actual state of mind of a unit on the day of battle. The unit
morale levels are descriptive as Unknown, Nervous and Steady. In a game, unless
representing specific historical units all bases start as Unknown. The actual
morale state is not known till the unit takes damage. The player then rolls
against a chart, relative to the year of the war. The chart provides a threshold
to be rolled to see if the unit is Nervous or Steady. This threshold is also
divided by Confederate or Union. This is all encompassed under the rule “fight
or flight”.
When a unit fails a morale check this recorded against the
parent corps. Once a corps reaches its break point it, the whole formation is
lost from the battlefield, for the remainder of the game. Depending on the number
units in the corps will dictate the break point for that corps.
Muskets & Springfields includes the traditional
morale tests wargamers are familiar with. The subtle difference is that a unit
does not take a morale test till it has acquired 3 attrition hits. These are
explained below. If a unit fails a morale test, then it is classed as broken
and is removed from play. This keeps the game efficient and free flowing.
Attrition
Attrition is held at the unit level. This represents a loss
of cohesion, battlefield casualties, volley rhythms breakdown and supplies
running low. An individual unit can absorb 5 hits, then on the 6th,
it is automatically destroyed. A unit needs to receive atleast 2 hits in a turn
to be able to resolve the “fight or flight” rule or take a morale test.
Attrition can be recorded with the unit using modelled tokens or a small D6.
Once a unit starts to receive hits it can never recover below two hits in the
in the game. With this limit we now have the concept of fresh troops. Two hits is
important because that is the first level of which the number hits starts to
affect the factors.
Small arms and artillery representation
To facilitate a clean flow of play and because Muskets
& Springfields sits at the operational level, there is no separation between
smooth bore and rifled small arms. Given the ground scale of 1 grid equals
300yds, often because on intervening terrain, potential targets at the longer
ranges that rifles can achieve will be obscured. However, this distinction is
included for artillery. Two of the distinctions are smooth bore artillery is
more effective at close range and rifled artillery is not disadvantaged when
conducting counter battery fire and targeting at longer ranges.
Generals
We have two levels of command in the game. The army
commander which will be you the player and then the next level down corps or
division commanders, which will be as explained above, groups of units for how
you designed your army or for playing a historical engagement.
Generals are preferably modelled on a small disk. Generals have
a command distance and the unit will need to be in command distance to be able
to carry out any prompted action. Units do not have to finish in command
distance. For example, a unit could advance as long as it is currently in
command distance and the player can accept, it will be out of command distance
at the end of the move. The Army Commander has no limit on command distance and
is assumed to be all seeing, all reaching on the game board.
Generals are by default, termed as a competent level for the
period. Generals can also have at the upper end, what the rules label as exceptional
generals. These can be army or corps commanders. An example is Hancock.
Exceptional generals add an extra command token into the pool. At the lower end
of the scale, we have questionable generals. These are generals which have no
experience and will be more than likely be a political appointment. Sickles for
example. They cause a command token to be removed from the pool.
Command tokens
At the start of the game each army gets a limited number of command tokens. These can be individually expended to be able influence the game. Players can force a pass on a D10, add 1D10 to a roll, remove morale hits. Once expended command tokens cannot be replaced. Again, this is controlled way players can interdict the flow of the game. Instead of a token, players could model ADC, to provide a more pleasing cosmetic feel to the game.
Orders
In Muskets & Springfields, we also have the
concept of orders. These are an optional aspect of the rules. There are three
types of orders they are defend, probe and attack. Orders
are applied at corps level. Orders need to be changed by Army Commander and by expending
a command token. The corps needs to be activated to have its orders changed.
The defend order, this means you're only allowed to move up
to a third of your deployed bases out of your deployment zone and sector.
However, with defend orders, you can trade several infantry brigades for several
fortifications. When you trade out the infantry brigades this will bring down
your corps break pointer. If you are playing a historical scenario and then you
set up accordingly.
The second type of order is probe. This means you must move
at least a quarter up to a third of the units, must advance to within two of
the enemy and start to engage. These units may move between sectors whereas in
defend you must remain in your sector.
the third type is attack this is where you must move at
least three quarters of that corp to within two bases two grids of the enemy
and start to engage and a third of these units must use their maximum movement
rate to try and get within two. So for example, this is specifically designed
to stop players from giving attack orders and dithering and effectively they're
doing somewhere between probe and defend.
Orders are kept hidden from your opponent. You can write
them on a bit of paper and keep them back, make little tokens and put them face
down behind the general.
Muskets & Springfields, will be available in the Spring through Helion & Company.
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