Friday, August 5, 2022

French in Egypt - Rebels and Patriots Game

Hello all! I've been off the blogosphere for a while, but actually hosted a Rebels and Patriots - French in Egypt game today. The game played out well enough and I learned a lot from several of the experienced players. I used the "Long Way From Home" scenario, which had the French needing to move off the table diagonally from one corner to the other.

Gratuitous group shot before the game - along with a bunch of Egyptian aquarium pieces.
Here's the view of the French units prior to the start of the game.
One thing I modified before starting the game was shortening the distance for the French. Having only played Rebels and Patriots a couple of times in the distant past, I had set up the table thinking of the longer shooting ranges of Bolt Action and the sweeping movements of Black Powder. The table size was 7.5' X 6'. I could've used just a 6' X 5' area more effectively. Anyway, we moved up the starting point for the French and also shortened their ending point. We also grouped the figures into 12-man units (except for one French Grenadier unit) from the 6-man units here. We played 12 turns and the French were victorious by destroying most of the Ottoman army - although they were still a little short of reaching their end point. Here are some images below from the game.
The one small French unit of Grenadiers taking cover behind an obelisk. Dismounted French Dromedary and infantry behind them. All of the Egyptian terrain are aquarium ornaments.
Mameluke cavalry moving into position to stop the French advance.
French pouring devastating musket fire into the Ottomans. The Ottomans had bad die rolls, including a few activation failures. One rolling snake eyes followed by a one. This had one of their units firing into a friendly unit and causing casualties and disorder. 
A unit of Janissaries moving through cover. Tufekci troops in the background.
Tufekci and Janissaries maneuvering around pyramids.
French in Close Order for more effective firing.
A long-forgotten pharaoh sits in silence while French invaders wreak havoc in his lands.

It's been a while since I've posted, but summer had me doing things away from the gaming and painting table - one was a visit to my youngest son currently stationed at Fort Hood. I had to take a picture next to the post's mascot - the "Phantom Warrior". It's really strange that a major US Army base chose this, but here it stands in front of the III Corps headquarters.
Well, so much for now, and until next time, wishing you all a great summer.

22 comments:

  1. Great looking game Dean! Rebels and Patriots is a lot of fun, looking forward to Lion Rampart 2nd Edition which has just been released.

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    1. Thanks alot, Mike. Appreciate the visit and kind words. I may have to pick up the new LR rules. Warmest regards, Dean

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  2. Great looking game Dean and I LOVE the terrain pieces added on from the aquarium - what sort of price do you pay for those in the US? I had a look at a similar source here in NZ but to be honest, they seemed about on a par with genuine wargaming terrain, ie not particularly a bargain....

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    1. Thanks for the kind words and interest, Keith. I got all of the aquarium terrain from Amazon. Around $12-$15 USD each. Free shipping as I git suckered into being a Prime member. Yes, terrain costs always is a stumbling block for me too. Warmest regards, Dean

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    1. Thank you very much, Michal! Kindest regards, Dean

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  4. Rebels & Patriots makes for a fast and entertaining game. Remotely, we tend to play on a 4’ x 4’ table. That seems plenty big to get stuck in quickly and resolved in a couple of hours. Great to see your troops back out on maneuver.

    Aquarium ornaments? Never thought to look in that department for Ancient Egyptian artifacts. Good find.

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    1. Thanks, Jonathan. Yes, the table size I initially used was too big for the scenario. Namely, the French victory conditions (Honor Points) was based on movement off the opposite table end of their starting position. The next time I'll scale the table down to 5 x 6'. I'm also thinking of using the Egyptian terrain for Hail Caesar games - Successor or Roman games too. Kindest regards, Dean

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  5. Great to see your fabulous troops in battle Dean. Wonderful looking game.

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    1. Thank you very much, Michael! Warmest regards, Dean

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    1. Thanks a lot, Richard! Appreciate the visit and kind words. Warm regards, Dean

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  7. Lovely game Dean. Like most ppl above, love the aquarium ornaments idea!

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    1. Thank you very much, Mike. I was too lazy to build terrain (though I suppose a pyramid really isn't that hard), and since I have Amazon Prime, I was able to get the pieces in a day or so before the game. Warmest regards, Dean

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  8. Good game, Dean. I liked the table and figures.

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    1. Thank you very much for the kind words, Alexey. Warmest regards, Dean

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  9. Great looking game Dean.
    I wonder why they didn't just call him "Death Dealer" instead of "Phantom Warrior" since the original name is better imho? I suppose copyright may be an issue.

    Christopher

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  10. Very nice looking game, Dean! Terrain just a nice addition to the game...I really love this Pharaon statue!

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  11. Splendid looking game and the aquarium terrain additions are excellent !
    Best Iain

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  12. As someone not familiar to tabletop gaming, the "Long Way From Home" seems like a fun scenario to me. So many possibilities. Nice terrain pieces too which adds to the overall gaming atmosphere.

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  13. Great stuff Dean nice to see low level gaming in the desert, gives me the nudge to get my own on the table.
    Cheers
    Stu

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  14. Stumbled on this post, missed it before. Great looking units and lovely terrain. Certainly more fun to come?

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