Black Powder: A very different game...

This time, Michael suggested a game using the Black Powder rules, and what followed surpassed our wildest expectations.

SCENARIO: Michael Schneider
UMPIRING: Michael Schneider

SCENERY: Michael Schneider, Bartek Żynda, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Michael Schneider

1. Forces.

UNITED KINGDOM

(Mike, Peter, Tim)

1st Brigade

CinC (8)

1 x Grendiers

1 x Line

1 x Gun (1 ammo)

2nd Brigade

Brigadier (8)

1 x Light

1 x Line

3rd Brigade

Brigadier (8)

2 x Line

1 x Skirmishers

COLONISTS

(Bartek, David, Michael)

1st Brigade

CinC (8)

2 x Continentals

1 x Gun (5 Ammo)

2nd Brigade

Brigadier (8)

2 x Continentals

1 x Skirmishers

3rd Brigade

Brigadier (8)

4 x Militia

2. The game.

The task seemed straightforward. Somewhere along the northern front, two groups of troops were moving in search of supplies—mainly gunpowder. Both sides were closing in on a village where we thought we might find some. A band of Hessian deserters was holed up there. They might cause some trouble while we searched, but I didn’t expect any serious problems from them. Our plan was simple: David would take two houses on one side of the street, and I would secure the remaining two on the other. The militia would cover us. Once we had the supplies, we were to withdraw. That was the plan... The British seemed to have a similar plan: Tim and Peter would explore the village, while Mike would move around it and attack David.

David was the first to enter the village, seizing the first two buildings, and that's when things started to get complicated. It turned out the Hessians were not only deserters but also zombies! Moments later, a Headless Horseman burst out of the forest at Peter! I was honestly stunned. I halted my units, ordered the Militia to stay clear of the village, and assumed a defensive position. Meanwhile, the zombies' main force turned on the British. After some brief skirmishes between Americans and British, we decided to disengage and focus on fighting the zombies and the Horseman instead.

A chaotic battle broke out, but the human forces soon gained the upper hand. David cleared two houses of zombies, and Tim cleared one. Then Tim headed for another special house, where, after wiping out the zombies inside, he discovered both gunpowder and a map marking the location of The Headless Horseman’s head.

In that moment, it was clear that victory was tipping in the British favour. Tim ordered Mike to find the head and take control of the Rider, which saved Peter from total destruction. Although they were unable to kill the Rider, his unit survived the entire battle against the monstrous creature.

I decided to at least seize the gunpowder, and maybe even the map. I led an assault on Tim’s building with my troops and even managed to get inside, but then a series of unexpected events unfolded. All the zombies turned on me, and the gunpowder somehow teleported to the British cannon. There was nothing I could do about it.

In the end, the Headless Horseman—now under British control—would attack me on the next turn, so I’d have to flee. I can’t help wondering what the American command would say if I actually managed to report back from a battle like that. They’d probably have me strapped into a straitjacket...

3. Links.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/631841809210352

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720334633505/

After a game, Mike created that song:

https://suno.com/s/xgPrD75iM4ERf4Xv

Cruel Seas: Take the convoy to the port. Take 2.

Today’s game report covers a scenario we’ve played before. It was the final game in a short campaign prepared by Tim. He made a few changes to the scenario and decided to run it again,  using the Cruel Seas rules.

SCENARIO: Tim Chant
UMPIRING: Tim Chant

SCENERY: Michael Schneider, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS: Tim Chant

1. Forces.

ROYAL NAVY

(Alasdair, Andy, Jimmy)

2 x Fairmile D (1 x Veteran, 1 x Regular)

3 x Vosper I  (1 x Veteran, 2 x Regular)

2 x Vosper II (1 x Veteran, 1 x Regular) 

KRIEGSMARINE

(Bartek, David, Michael)

Port Squadron:

2 x R-23 type (1 x Veteran, 1 x Regular)

Rescue Squadron:

3 x S-100 type (1 x Veteran, 2 x Regular)

Convoy:

1 x Vorposten Boot flakship (Regular)

1 x Tanker (Inexperienced)

1 x Freighter (Inexperienced)

2. The Game.

The scenario’s premise remained unchanged: if the Germans managed to get their entire convoy into port, they would win the game. If only one ship reached port, the result would be a draw. Losses among the warships would not count toward the overall score.

The main differences lay in the order in which each side’s ships entered play. On the first turn, only one British squadron could enter the table. On the second turn, both the German squadron and another British squadron would enter, followed by the final British squadron on the next turn. This gave the German side a seemingly favourable, though ultimately illusory, advantage.

In addition, German ships already in port could begin the game at slow speed. That was the extent of the changes.

The German convoy was moving at full speed — 15 knots — toward the harbour when the Fairmile-class gunboats under Alasdair’s command were the first to appear. They quickly engaged my Flakship, severely damaging it. My ship managed to fire a single salvo, but it missed, and a second salvo from both gunboats soon sent it to the bottom. With its escort gone, the convoy was left unprotected and exposed to Jimmy’s approaching Vospers, which launched all of their torpedoes.

Meanwhile, a squadron of German S-100 boats under Michael’s command raced into the battle at full speed and engaged Alasdair’s boats. However, the British possessed considerable firepower, and before long, the first of Michael’s vessels was sunk.

Meanwhile, my convoy pressed forward, but one of Jimmy’s torpedoes struck its target: my merchant ship. The torpedo exploded, sending the ship to the bottom. Andy, who had stayed somewhat behind and out of the action, then launched her own torpedoes.

Meanwhile, David and his minesweepers, left undisturbed, calmly cleared the mines from the harbour entrance, opening the way for me to enter. I also managed to dodge all the torpedoes Andi fired — although one of them actually struck my tanker. Fortunately, it failed to explode. At that point, my tanker could no longer manoeuvre properly because its rudder had already been damaged by gunfire from either Jimmy or Alasdair — I can’t remember which.

For a brief moment, the dud torpedo gave me the illusion that we might still force a draw. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Jimmy and Alasdair first concentrated their fire on Michael’s boats, which were trying to cover my tanker. Once the British had sunk the German boats, they turned their guns on the fleeing tanker. That was enough. The tanker was badly damaged and ultimately sunk.

The game ended in a Royal Navy victory. It was part of a campaign, so the outcome was shaped by the previous games' results. In those earlier games, the British had gained such a significant advantage that even changes to the final scenario did not alter the result. The convoy ships sank in exactly the same spot as in the previous game. I wonder whether switching sides — with the British trying to escort the convoy back to their own port — would have led to the same outcome. Tim?

3. Links.

PREVIOUS GAME:

https://asienieboje.blogspot.com/2026/04/cruel-seas-take-convoy-to-port.html

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/631841809210352

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720334527220

Polish-Lithuanian Guns 15mm.

Another addition to the new supplement for the second edition of By Fire and Sword: the Khmelnytsky Uprising and a few extras. They were supposed to be Czarniecki's Chosen Men, but I decided otherwise and painted the cannons this time. All the figures and models, except a few, are Wargamer-made.

Polish Mixed Small Guns.

First up are the small mixed Polish guns from the Rebellion: Polish Army set, shown here on a size S tray.

Mercenary Light Guns.

The next painted set is the Holy Roman Empire’s light cannons. I picked up this set years ago, back during the first edition, and it has been sitting on the shelf ever since. Now, I’ve finally painted it. These cannons will work well with both my Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Swedish forces, depending on what I need for a given game.

Polish cannon "Organki"

This is my own conversion. I used two extra miniatures. I had leftover barrels from a cannon set from the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. I decided to make an additional cannon. I found some wheels, made a trailer, and mounted everything on a Warbases base, creating an additional cannon.

Additional bases for artillery.

The second edition changed the base sizes slightly. In the first edition, all light cannons were 4cm x 4cm. Now, when two cannons were placed on the S-size tray, a gap appeared, which didn't look good. I decided to remedy this and created additional bases to place behind the cannons. I used bases from Warbases and figures from the second edition Kickstarter. This way, the cannons will look much better during games.

I’m taking a short break from By Fire and Sword and 15mm minis for now. Next up: painting a few ships for the Americans and the Spanish.