Last Saturday the Wargaming Association of Metropolitan Philadelphia ran the final play test of Trylisy 1651 for Fall In! The By Fire and Sword rules are reasonably new to us. We felt that we needed this additional game to practice and to get the balance right.
Changes.
The Trylisy 1651 game differed from the last time we play tested in a few ways:
- I added a number of new buildings that I have recently painted to make the village more substantial. I really liked the new blacksmiths shed and the well.
- I increased the table size from 5′ x 7′ to 5′ x 14′ to give more room for maneuver. This created more space, especially on the flanks
- I reduced the number of walls, tree lines and field defenses to give the cossacks less of an advantage.
- I added two units of Polish Noble Levy, one on each flank, to boost the Polish forces. These units are both insubordinate, which puts a drain on the Polish command points if not carefully managed. Because of this limitation, even though they look like a lot of figures, they don’t make the Polish too strong.
- I slightly increased the size of the cossack infantry units as I had some more bases arrive from Litko.
How the Trylisy 1651 game played.
The Polish Pancerni and Winged Hussars, supported by a unit of Polish style cossacks attacked one side of the village. This attack overpowered the defenders. These cossack used pikes to defend themselves as there was no wall on that side of the village.
On each flank the units of Noble Levy attacked opposing mounted cossacks, which were small units. After some initial success, the Nobel Levy found themselves struggling to get new orders. The commanders were in the center controlling the attack on the village. The combination of distance and the insubordinate rule meant that they would need three command points to receive new orders. There just weren’t enough command points available at the time. It is the first time that I have seen the command point issue take prominent place in a game. I liked the way it worked.
As a result of the massed Polish cavalry and the lack of walls, the cossack center gradually crumbled. The only unit that really managed to hold was a unit of Register cossacks behind a wall. The lack of impetus modifier for the cavalry, and cavalry attacking infantry in defendable terrain, gave the infantry an advantage. Eventually the cavalry managed to break into the village in other areas and even the Register cossack’s position became untenable.
Changes in Trylisy 1651 for Fall In!
In the last play test of Trylisy 1651 the cossacks completely destroyed the Poles. The changes that I made for this game gave an advantage to the Poles which I now need to address. With a new set of rules it is sometime difficult to understand how to get the balance right. The combination of adding two units of Noble Levy and removing the walls around the village was just too much. I need to make a few modifications to get the balance right. However, I need to be careful not to go too much the other way.
I plan to make the following changes for Fall In! to even the balance:
- The heavy cavalry consisting of the Pancerni and Winged Hussars will not appear on the table until Turn 3. The initial assault of the Poles will therefore need to be done with the lighter cavalry. This change should prevent the cossacks being completely overwhelmed by cavalry early in the game.
- I will give the village a few more walls to make it more defendable.
- With the initial absence of Polish heavy cavalry in the centre, I will move the Noble Levy in a bit.
- I will have a couple of defendable positions on the flanks. The will allow the mounted cossacks to advance into and dismount. This change will make the mounted cossacks a bit more effective and interesting. It will also give the Poles something to be concerned about on the flank.
Summary
With these small changes I think that the Trylisy 1651 scenario will be balanced. These games showed the importance of play testing before a convention, particularly with a new set of rules. Being a new set of rules to us, and probably most convention goers, I will limit the players to four. This limit will allow me to teach the rules effectively.