AAR: Olustee Project Test Game: Surgically Removing the Federal Threat.

    This was another playtest of the up and coming Historicon Project. Kalissa and I decided to try to play it out on the full table. The beauty of having a wife that games with you is that we can rearrange the house to fit things. In this case, I had bought some more folding tables to test this game and use it for another future convention project idea. I should have never been left in a Home Depot by myself without a purpose.
   Anyway, it turns out we can fit larger games in our house to the point of up to 22 feet. I don't think I will ever have a game THAT large, but it is good to know our household wargaming capabilities. With this game that we played, it was just Kalissa and I playing. We had a lot of fun despite a crushing defeat to the Union that she was running. We both played out this scenario rather aggressively. The Battle of Olustee was a major victory in Florida for the Confederacy. We just did not think it would play out so dramatic. The Union losses compared to the Confederates losses was quite telling. The Union lost a total of 378  to the Confederates 174. Due to my aggressive assaults, I never lost a regiment in the game. The closest was the 28th Georgia Infantry, which passed morale by one number above needed at worn with no ammunition. To prevent a point by losing them, I withdrew them away from the fighting. Kalissa lost all of the starting units and all artillery on the field with the Union fresh reinforcements lining up in defensive positions in the woods. I was firing artillery blindly into the woods with great effect. Apparently, my Rebel artillerymen are great shooting down pine trees, since I can only assume that that explained the amazing hits I was having. Federals were just being decorated with Pine Sol!
   For a scenario test, this turned out pretty well. Adding the remaining board showed the field problems of the battle when troops can only move so fast. Plus, we did not have as much of the traffic jams of men. The big concern was the amount of units killed so early. Though, we have separated the units up to ensure all six players will have something on the field to play with. There is the chance that a player may temporarily be out of action if all of their stuff dies. However, with this playtest, we realize that Kalissa and I know these rules better than the people playing. Everyone is going to have their own play style. And if they are anything like our friend, William and myself, they might not read all of their troops capabilities. This game was played in a five hour timeframe. The listed time for my games of the Historicon PEL is six hours. We made it through eight full turns as the two of us. Movement, lunch, and some other minor interruptions delayed us. Plus, I had to leave for work. This means that there is a potential to get 12 turns in this game, if it is played hard and fast. This will be especially true if there are six players versus just two. This also means that it would end with the same number of turns as the original scenario that I took out of Fire and Fury. The difference will just be some unit names and turn one through five with have reserves arrive, instead of the more spaced out versions Fire and Fury has it. Either way, below are shots of this game! Enjoy!