CanCon 2014 Demo Games - Muskets & Tomahawks

The French fort - armed with heavy cannon and manned by French Regular troops

On day 2 of CanCon, we played in the 'Tomahawks and Muskets along the Ohio' participation game.

I hadn't played the rules before and was really keen to give them (and the period - who doesn't love Last of the Mohicans, after all) The gents running the game had been playing a campaign over the weekend and we targeted this day, in which the British forces would be attacking a French Fort.  As you can see, the collection of great figures and fantastic terrain really made this a treat to play.

The Battlefield - the Fort is in the top left corner, the British entered on the right hand side and via sea

Setting up my force (pic courtesy of Chris from the Moruya Marauders)

Peter and I commanded the British Provincial and Irregular forces, which would be advancing up the road, while British Regular forces and militia would be landed by boat.  The French infantry were deployed in a screen and supported by the heavy guns in their fort.

Rule Brittannia: the Royal Navy Frigate and boats waiting to land

Foresters in a skirmish line lead my Provincials onto the table...

...and immediately come under fire from the French fort.

Meanwhile the British ships arrive...

...and start landing the Guards foot troops

Another perspective of the landing captured by TrailApe

My troops slowly made their way up the road and were lucky that the artillery fire was inaccurate, as the balls would have chopped a huge swath through them while in column.  Instead the French sifted their fire to the landing Guardsmen and they suffered badly but made steady progress onto the French line.

I really took a gamble advancing in column down the road into the teeth of the fort - the rules for cannon balls are that they bounce, if the casualties would have been horrendous had the French gunners been accurate.  Luck was with me though!

The Guardsmen land under heavy fire

My provincials move up to support the landings while the Foresters flank the position on the right

At this point the combat got heavy and the game very exciting...to the point where I completely forgot my camera!  The landings were completed and the French infantry neutralised, but at a heavy cost.  The British were down to Provincial troops and militia only.  The Fort could be flanked and set ablaze but their would be significant casualties in doing so.  In the end the game had to be called for time before we could play that out.

I found the T&H rules quite easy to use and after only a few turns we were working most rolls out for ourselves.  The game is card driven in the style of many Too Fat Lardies games, which is a mechanic I really enjoy.  The game felt right for a black powder period game and the advantages and disadvantages of the different troop types were evident.

Thanks to Doug and the other guys from the Canberra Gentlemen Gamers for sharing their most excellent toys and running a very enjoyable game.  Its a period I have always found interesting but never played.  I'm really glad we did.