The Men Who Would Be Kings: Indian Mutiny.

Gordon had previously prepared a game for a Scottish show and suggested we try it. The game is played with six players, three on each team. The rules are The Men Who Would Be Kings, and the timeline is the Indian Mutiny. I also helped Gordon umpire the game since I was the only one who actually read the rules.

SCENARIO: Gordon Smith
UMPIRING: Gordon Smith, Bartek Żynda

SCENERY: Gordon Smith

FIGURES & MODELS: Gordon Smith

1. Forces.

MUTINEERS

(Bartek, David, Tim)

1st SEPOY BRIGADE

5 x Irregular Infantry

1 x Field Gun

2nd SEPOY BRIGADE

5 x Irregular Infantry

1 x Irregular Cavalry

1 x field Gun

TRIBAL BRIGADE

5 x Tribal Infantry

1 x Tribal Infantry with Siege Gun

1 x Tribal Cavalry

1 x Field Gun

BRITISH EMPIRE & EAST INDIA COMPANY  

(Andy, Jamie, Michael)

FORT BRIGADE

5x Regular Infantry

1 x Field Gun

1st RELIEF COLUMN

5 x Regular Infantry

1 x Regular Cavalry

1 x Field Gun

2nd RELIEF COLUMN

5 x Regular Infantry

1 x Regular Cavalry

1 x Field Gun

2. The Game.

Jimie was responsible for defending the fort against the mutinous Sepoys, led by David and Tim, as well as the tribal warriors supporting them, whom I commanded. Jimie's objective was to hold out until two columns of British troops arrived to relieve the fort and drive out the mutineers. It appeared that neither side had a clear plan in place. 

I chose to support the sepoys, but my primary goal was to loot the fort. Gordon had stored an elephant, cattle, and a group of women inside it. I believed that the insubordinate tribal warriors would be far more motivated by the prospect of treasure than by fighting for freedom or similar ideals.

First, I had to send several units to protect myself from the attack by the British columns. I managed to position two units of tribal infantry in buildings, and with my cavalry, I launched an attack on one of the regular infantry units. To my surprise, I successfully destroyed that unit. Although my cavalry was subsequently targeted and eliminated by the remaining British forces, they managed to halt their advance for a while. Next, the two infantry units, along with one cannon no longer needed by the units assaulting the fort, engaged the approaching relief forces. The British focused on eliminating these units, which delayed their advancement. While this cost me the loss of another unit, I stopped Andy and his column.

On the other side, Tim was engaged in battle with Michael. Michael's cavalry nearly reached the fort gates, but his unit was annihilated beneath the fort's walls. After that, both sides occupied nearby buildings and continued to exchange fire, resulting in yet another column being halted.

Finally,  the fort. Each of us assigned our forces to attack it, but David was able to commit all his forces to the fight. We had a numerical advantage, and the unfavourable positioning of the defending units on the fort walls worked in our favour. For instance, I had a 4 to 1 advantage, while David and Tim had even more. To breach the walls, the attackers needed to pass the “At the Double” test. Three of my units moved in to attack, supported by both cannons. While my field gun inflicted some damage, the siege cannon proved to be ineffective. I needed to roll a 9 or higher to activate firing for that gun, and I only succeeded once throughout the entire game, missing utterly. As a result, the outcome depended entirely on the swords and spears of my warriors. They wreaked havoc on the units defending the fort.

It was the same situation on the other side. Tim, and especially David, climbed the walls and began eliminating the defending troops. While their main goal was to capture the fort, my aim was simply to rob it. Together, we ultimately managed to take over the fort and prepare for defence. Afterwards, I left the fort with all the valuable possessions. The game concluded with a complete victory for the Mutineers. After the game, Gordon admitted that the show game ended with a completely different result, where the British ultimately emerged as the winners. So, congratulations to us!

© Campbell Hardie

3. Links.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/Seswc.co.uk/posts/1072179341606063

MICHAEL:

To be updated soon...

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720324902501

Dinosaurs in the Sudan. Dinozaury w Sudanie.

My last game of 2023 was The Men Who Would be Kings during the Mahdists Uprising in Sudan but with a little twist. It was also the last game before Christmas, so it couldn't be very serious. Mike brought his 15mm Sudan collection together with his dinosaur collection and invited us for a game. This time the Mahdists had a special weapon against Martini–Henry Rifles and Gatling guns...

Moją ostatnią grą w 2023 była The Men Who Would be Kings podczas powstania Mahdystów w Sudanie, ale tym razem z dodatkowym elementem. Była to też ostatnia gra przed Bożym Narodzeniem, więc nie mogło to być coś za bardzo na serio. Mike przyniósł do klubu swoją kolekcję Sudanu w skali 15mm wraz ze swoją kolekcją dinozaurów i zaprosił nas do gry. Tym razem Mahdyści mieli specjalną broń przeciw strzelbą Martini-Henry i działkom Gatlinga...

SCENARIO / SCENARIUSZ: Mike Evans
UMPIRING / PROWADZENIE GRY: Mike Evans

SCENERY / SCENERIA: Mike Evans, SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS / FIGURKI I MODELE: Mike Evans

1. Forces. Siły.

BRITISH & EGYPTIANS / BRYTYJCZYCY i EGIPCJANIE

(Alasdair, Campbell, Michael, Tim)

2 x British Camel Cavalry

2 x British Regular Infantry

1 x Gatling Gun

4 x British Regular Infantry

1 x Egyptian Cavalry

2 x Egyptian Regular Infantry

1 x Egyptian Gun

1 x Egyptian Cavalry

3 x Egyptian Regular Infantry

1 x Gardner Gun

MAHDUSTS / MAHDYŚCI

(Bartek, Mike, Peter)

1 x Triceratops

1 x Mahdist Cavalry

1 x Mahdist Infantry with spears

1 x Gun

1 x Dimetrodon

3 x Mahdist Infantry with spears

1 x Mahdist Infantry with rifles

1 x T-rex

2 x Mahdist Infantry with spears

1 x Mahdist Infantry with rifles

1 x Ankylosaurus

1 x Mahdist Cavalry

1 x Mahdist Infantry with spears

1 x Mahdist Infantry with rifles

2. The game. Gra.

The game started with a furious charge of the Mahdists and their pets. Especially T-Rex was number one in killing. He quickly kills Michael's forces, only his cavalry escaped with one of the eggs. Sadly the mighty dinosaur was finally killed by the concentrated fire from the British infantry. Mike and Peter tried to attack the British but failed and all their warriors and animals got killed. Finally, only my troops were left against the whole British forces. Happily, I got unsuspected reinforcements with an Allosaurus. That aggressive pet destroyed the rest of Michael's forces, killed all Alasdair's, finally finished some red coats and was shot down by Tim's soldiers. The game was over. None of the dinosaurs were left alive...

Gra zaczęła się od szaleńczej szarży Mahdystów i ich zwierzątek. Szczególnie t-rex był tu numerem jeden w zabijaniu. Szybko wybił siły Michaela, oprócz jego kawalerii, która uciekła z jednym z jajek. Niestety, ten potężny dinozaur został w końcu zabity przez skoncentrowany ogień brytyjskiej piechoty. Mike i Peter próbowali zaatakować Brytyjczyków, ale im się to nie udało i wszystkie ich oddziały wraz ze zwierzętami zostały zabite. Ostatecznie tylko moje siły pozostały na placu boju przeciw całej brytyjskiej potędze. Na szczęście otrzymałem niespodziewane wsparcie w postaci Allozaura. To agresywne zwierzątko wybiło do końca oddziały Michaela, potem wszystkie Alasdaira na koniec ubiło kilka czerwonych kurtek, by ostatecznie zostać zabitym przez żołnierzy Tima. Gra była skończona. Żaden z dinozaurów nie przeżył... 

3.  Links. Linki.

SESWC:

to be updated soon...

FLICKR:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720313627206

Where is the chest? Gdzie jest skrzynia!

Another week and another game with some Covid restriction. Sadly we are still limited to small tables and 3 household mixing regulations. So what to do, if you have too many players for a game, simply split it on two! That's what I did. I allowed all players to play against me on two tables. We used The Men Would Be Kings rules, where all were British and played against me using Mr Babbage rules. Great fun!

Kolejny tydzień i kolejna gra z pewnymi kowidowymi restrykcjami. Niestety, wciąż jesteśmy ograniczeni do małych stołów i zasady by nie miksowały się nie więcej niż 3 domostwa. Co zrobić, gdy jest zbyt duża ilość graczy, po prostu rozdzielić ich na 2 stoły! Oto co zrobiłem! Pozwoliłem by gracze grali przeciw mnie na dwóch stołach. Użyliśmy do tego zasad The Men Would Be Kings, gdzie wszyscy gracze grali Brytyjczykami przeciw mnie używającego zasad Mr Babbage. Wspaniała zabawa!

SCENARIO / SCENARIUSZ: Bartek Żynda
UMPIRING / PROWADZENIE GRY: Bartek Żynda

SCENERY / SCENERIA: SESWC

FIGURES & MODELS / FIGURKI I MODELE: Bartek Żynda, Campbell Hardie

1. Forces. Siły.

BRITISH & EGYPTIANS / BRYTYJCZYCY i EGIPCJANIE

EAST TABLE

(Alisdair)

1 x Regular Cavalry

1 x Regular Infantry

1 x Irregular Infantry

1 x Machine Gun with Towing Unit

WEST TABLE

(Mike, Peter)

2 x Regular Cavalry

2 x Regular Infantry

2. The Game. Gra.

Both teams had the task, to reach the town and searching for the chest. Against them were hordes of Mahdists (for simplicity I used only Tribal Infantry), who tried to stop them, knowing what is in the town. From the beginning, it wasn't an easy task for the British. Anytime they moved new units of Mahdists appeared on the table. Soon they started to lose first units. First was Alisdair on the eastern table. His machine-gun team was attacked from their rear and their crew slaughtered. That gave him something to reconsider, his plan. He started using his rifles, which gave a much better result. Kept the enemy off his units. However, that prevents him from moving forward. That was doing his cavalry. They managed to move across the Wadi and moved towards the town. When he thought, that he is almost there, new units of Mahdists appeared just in front of him. That stopped him completely... British failed on this flank. All hopes were on the other side.

Oba zespoły miały za zadanie dotrzeć do miasta i odszukać skrzynię. Przeciw nim były hordy Mahdystów (dla ułatwienia, wszystkie pojawiąjące się oddziały były plemienną piechotą), które usiłowały ich powstrzymać, wiedząc co znajduje się w mieście. Od początku, nie było to łatwe zadanie dla Brytyjczyków. Kiedykolwiek tylko się poruszyli nowe oddziały Mahdystów pojawiały się wokół nich. Wkrótce zaczęli tracić swoje oddziały. Pierwszym był karabin maszynowy Alisdaira na wschodnim stole. Został on zaatakowany od tyłu i jego obsługa została całkowicie wyrżnięta. To dało mu powód, by przemyśleć swoją strategię. Zaczął używać swoich karabinów, co dało mu lepszy efekt. Trzymało przeciwnika na dystans. Jednak, to nie pozwalało na poruszanie się do przodu. To z kolei robiła jego kawaleria. Udało im się przedostać na drugą stronę uedy i ruszyć w kierunku miasta. Kiedy już wydawało się, że zaraz do niego wejdzie, nowe oddziały Mahdystów ukazały się dokładnie naprzeciw niego. To zatrzymało go całkowicie... Brytyjczycy zawiedli na tej flance. Wszystkie nadzieje były teraz po drugiej stronie.

On the western table, the situation was similar. An endless number of Mahdists successfully stopped the British from moving forward the town. However, with some troubles, they finally managed with both cavalries to cross the Wadi. When they were going to enter the town, they find themselves surrounded by Mahdists and then slaughtered to the last soldier. Finally, only one infantry unit with Colonel Burnaby left in the game. He has to reconsider his plan and will try to sneak to the town during the night, but so far his whole mission failed. Mahdists were victorious over here as well!

Na stole zachodnim, sytuacja była bardzo podobna. Nieskończona liczba Mahdystów z sukcesem zatrzymała Brytyjczyków by nie poruszali się w kierunku miasta. Jednak, nie bez trudności, w końcu udało im się oboma kawaleriami przekroczyć uedę. Kiedy mieli już wkroczyć do miasta, spostrzegli, że są okrążeni przez przeciwnika. Zostali wyrżnięci do ostatniego żołnierza. Ostatecznie pozostał przy życiu Pułkownik Burnaby ze swoim oddziałem. Musiał przemyśleć swój plan i spróbuje wślizgnąć się do miasta podczas nocy, ale dotychczas wszystkie jego plany zawiodły. Mahdyści byli tu również zwycięzcy!

That game was a part of my Sudan Campaign set around Colonel Burnaby, the magical medicine and alternative history of the Mahdist-British war. Strangely it is played so far in reverse order. Here are the games played so far and will be played in the future (in right order):

Ta gra jest częścią mojej sudańskiej kampanii opartą o losy pułkownika Burnaby, magicznego lekarstwa i alternatywnej historii wojny Mahdystów i Brytyjczyków. O dziwo, do tej pory gry są rozgrywane w odwrotnym porządku. Oto gry rozegrane dotychczas i te które będą rozegrane w przyszłości (w porządku chronologicznym):

1. Where is the chest? (the game you just read about)

2. Colonel Burnaby geting the chest (will be played in the future).

3. Colonel Burnaby escape from the town with a chest (link to the game)

4. Get My Chest Back!!! (link to the game)

5. Stop the Invasion! (will be played in the future).

4. Links. Linki.

SESWC:

https://www.facebook.com/Seswc.co.uk/posts/4749042325133703

Flickr:

https://www.flickr.com/photos/asienieboje/albums/72177720296115670