SOLO Wargaming the American Indian Wars of 1866-1876

(Dear Readers,

As I enjoy my winter break I am revisiting some of my gaming files and working on the blog.  I was reading the TMP site on solo gaming and have decided to share one of my most successful campaign games and show the mechanics of the same.  I paste below for your perusal a game mechanic for generating encounters for a US Cavalry Column as it travels west from Ft. Leavenworth to stations and forts in the American West.)  Maps will follow.

Expedition into the Western Plains and Indian Territory

1866-1876 Missouri Division Rules of Engagement

Troops mounted on 3x3" bases.

Turns will alternate Move and Fire.

Troop Description	Movement	Melee Power	Range	Hit number 1D6
United States Infantry	6”	4/2	24”	5 or 6
Artillery and Gattling gun	3”/9”	1/1	36”	4, 5 or 6 at 12” otherwise 5 or 6
Mounted Cavalry	12”	5/3	18”	6 on a 1D6
Dismounted Cavalry	6”	3/1	24”	5 or 6
Civilians	6”	1/1	12”	6
Wagons	9”	1/1	12”	6
Native American Infantry Warband	6”	3/2	6”	5* or 6
Mounted Warriors	15”	4/4	18”	5* or 6
Missile troops	6”	2/1	24”	5 or 6
Civilian	6”	1/1	-	-

Modify –1 for cover and –1 for target movement.

* Warrior counts Coup and does not do a damaging hit to target. Coup can be dismissed at the discretion of the Indian player.  Record for victory purposes.

Melee procedure roll 1D6 under the melee power number to score a hit on the enemy.  Both sides roll in melee versus each other.  The numbers are written front/sides and rear number.

Record hits on the unit roster.  When all hits are marked off that stand is removed as a battlefield casualty.

Tribe-o-matic random tribe generator:

2D6 roll	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Mounted	-	5	5	5	10	10	10	15	20	25	30
Bow armed	-	4	4	6	6	8	8	10	10	12	12
Infantry	-	6	6	7	7	8	8	9	9	10	10
Women and Children	-	4	4	4	6	6	6	6	8	8	8
Village or camp	1 per 6 stand	Present on a 1D6 roll of 5 0r 6.

  “Indian riders spotted on the horizon… Are they hostile?”

The determining formula for Indian warrior intent works as follows;  On a  1 D 6 roll based on US Army size will determine if the Indian force will attack.

Stands of US

30-35 No attack if pursued they will evade.

25-30No attaack if pursued they will evade.

20-25 No attack if pursued they will stand and fight.

15-20 Will attack on a die roll of 6

10-15 Will attack on a die roll of 5 +

5-10Will attack on a die roll of 4 +

0-5 Will attack on a die roll of 3 +

Great Plains Encounter chart of Indian Wars 1866-1876  This chart creates encounters for the US Cavalry Column.  Draw a card twice a month for possible encounters.

Hearts	Diamonds	Clubs	Spades
A Treaty Chief		US Deserters	Warlike Indian Tribe Chief
K Peaceful Indians			Warlike Indians
Q Peaceful Indians			Warlike Indians
J Peaceful Indians			Warlike Indians
10 wagon train	Weather encounter	Health encounter 50/50 lose 1 hit	Telegraph destroyed
9  wagon train	Weather encounter	of  troops on CO roster.	Wagon train burned
8  trail of Indian travel	Weather encounter	Health encounter 50/50 lose 1 hit	Ranch burned out
7  homestead	Weather encounter	of  troops on CO roster.	Cava;ry dispatch rider dead
6  homestead		Health encounter 50/50 lose 1 hit	Mountainmen trappers
5 Cava;ry dispatch rider		of  troops on CO roster.	Hearders and cows
4	Buffalo		Smoke on the horizon
3	Buffalo	Village   empty/full	Smoke 1D4 N S E W
2	Buffalo	Village empty/ full	Smoke

Campaign Calendar for Expedition into the Western Plains and Indian Territory

	1866	1867	1868	1869	1870	1871	1872	1873	1874	1875	1876
Jan.
Jan.
Feb
Feb
Mar
Mar
Apr
Apr
May
May
Jun
Jun
Jul
Jul
Aug
Aug
Sep
Sep
Oct
Oct
Nov
Nov
Dec
Dec

Ten Victory conditions for US Commanders

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8.

9.

10.

Washington, D.C. Commander in Chief

Department of the Army

Dated: __________________

You are hereby commanded to fulfill the following orders and tasks in service to your country.

Commands :

1. Seek Chief ____________ and secure a treaty with his people and establish relations with an Indian agent near where you find the Chief and his tribe.

2. Pursue and capture Chief _______ and any hostile Indian’s in his company.  Bring the Chief to the nearest army post for trial and incarceration.

3. Pursue and harass the _________ tribe of Indians.  Find their current camp and incarcerate the tribe into the nearest Indian agency.

4. Locate and destroy the _______tribe village.  Incarcerate any Indian survivors found in the vicinity.

5. Garrison and secure ______Fort in _______area.  Until relieved.

6. Protect Kansas Pacific Railroad crew located at ______.  Patrol area and keep the construction companies secure.

7. Protect telegraph wire crew and company located at __________. Patrol area and keep the construction companies secure.

8. Escort wagon train under captain __________. They are leaving ___________ and need escort to __________.

9. You will subordinate your command to Colonel _____________ and endeavor to assist him in fulfilling his mission.

10.   

(pasted below is the player control sheet for the US Cavalry)  Each section with hit pips after it is represented by a 3x3" stand.)

  Table of Organization and Equipment for the Expedition into the Western Plains and Indian Territory
1866-1876 Missouri Division
Department of the Platte
Colonel: ____________________
Lieutenant Col.: ______________

Major; _____________________
1st Battalion:
A: Captain: 00000
B: Captain: 00000
C: Captain: 00000

Major; _____________________
2nd Battalion:
D: Captain: 00000
E: Captain: 00000
F: Captain: 00000

Major; _____________________
3rd Battalion
G: Captain: 00000
H: Captain: 00000
I: Captain: 00000
HQ/ Scouts /K: Captain: 00000
Each Company TOE will include a Captain, 2 Lieutenants, 1 First Sergeant, 5 Sergeants, 4 Corporals, 2 Trumpeters, 2 Farriers, 1 Saddler / Wagoneer, 50-100 enlisted privates.
&
Infantry Regiment _________
CO: ___________________
A Company:
00000  00000  00000  00000
B Company:
00000 00000 00000 00000
C Company:
00000 00000 00000 00000
D Company:
00000 00000 00000 00000
E Company:
Gattling gun battery 00000
Rifled Artillery: 00000

Supply Wagons
Team 1

Team 2

Team 3

Team 4

Team 5

Team 6

Team 7

Team 8

Merry Christmas 2012

Merry Christmas Chums!

Thanks for Reading and Subscribing to my Blog

May it bring you the joy of the hobby as it does me to share.

 Images from the WWI soccer truce on Christmas 1914.

 

May the season find you friends in good company.

 

Best Wishes for a great wargaming new year.

Contraband

or

"Sum of these Beaches can get hot!"

In which we see the Perfidious Captain Rubidenus retreat.

 The lovely seaport of Southwest set for the evenings piece.  The Huntress is at anchor and the contraband and spoils of the pirates activities is landed on the beach.

Rubidenus is attempting to transfer the Contraband to the dealers in Southport.  And that is not in the plans of the Royal Marines. 

 Contraband,  That's a lot of wealth in captured goods.  And that is Captain Rubidenus in the longboat.

 The Raven makes port and is commanded by the famed pirate hunter, "Suleka".  This master of the seas is looking for the Huntress and Blue Billy.  She will take her prize!!

 How will this scenario play out?  Stay tuned as we just add Pirates.

 The game begins with the objective of reducing one side to powerless! In the words of Captain Suleka.

 The Huntress and the Raven begin a short range gun duel.

 The drum beat allows the marines to move and fire.  These were stated out with pretty tough GASLIGHT stats.  Shoot 12, scuffle 14, and base save of 8 for all with better saves for the officers and personalities.

 Lots of action as the kids developed wargame patience.

 

 One of the objectives was for a "red" captain to make contact with the longshoremen.  This would allow activation of reinforcements.  The player decided to swim for it instead of waiting for a ships launch.  The rules we used decided he could swim if he rolled a save each turn.  On the first turn he leapt overboard and failed his save - thus sinking to the bottom and drowning instantly....

Another scene was the away team scaling the aft section of the Huntress.  Eventually the game ended with these guys in tow as the Huntress cut anchor cables and got underway with a loss of 60% crew and all the contraband and treasure on the beach.

Key to The Kingdom Dice Tower

This is a dice tower I made for the group's Christmas party.  We all dropped a D10 into the top and whomever rolled the highest kept the dice tower.  The grand prize went to Nick W.

Merry Christmas

A Pirating We Will Go

or

A Proper Pirate Game between Two Ships on the High Seas

So dear reader, we peer in once again to find the Tuesday night Strategy Gaming club hard at work on managing the careers of our fantasy world pirates Blue Billy and Rubidenus Fuchia.  In this episode our hero Blue Billy rots in prison back in the port of Southwest.  Meanwhile, frolicking about in the surf is his Lieutenant Rubidenus Fuchia in possession of the "Huntress" and navigating the trade routes in search of prey.

Which of course he finds, in the shape of a defenseless little trade ship.

The "Captain's Daughter" is a smaller vessel with only two guns on her broadside.  Nonetheless the crew tries to defend themselves to the bitter end.  We diced for a set number of turns at long range, medium range, short range and then boarding action.  The 1D3 created 2 rounds of long range cannon fire that took immediate effect on the "Daughter".  

 Captain Desmond of the Captain's Daughter adjusts crew and returns the broadside into the huntress to marginal effect.  The battle was a one-sided affair that had the "Daughter" taking a lot of punishment from the "Huntress."

 Rubidenus will have his first prize vessel with little to no opposition.

 Captain Desmond had to be told repeatedly, "It's over, we have surrendered!"  Really, "the game is over we are done.  We don't have any sailors left to man the ship."

The wreckage of the "Daughter" with the slaughter thrown overboard.

 

AAR:  the wind kind of went out of our pirate crew with only 1 student reporting for duty.  Oh well time to mix it up and add some other 54mm figures into the mix.  We have diligently painted Saracens and Knights and a lot of Robinhood figures.