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Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 9:20 AM
A GBACW Module for GRINGO
For everyone who enjoyed all the battles in GRINGO,
as well as any gamer who is looking for small, interesting, unusual and
fast-playing battles of any era, here is a module that provides all of
that.
Battles with the Gringos
fills in most of the blanks - the important battles we had to leave out
- for our coverage of The Mexican War. And, in addition to providing
the usual rules clarifications and updates, we have added a rule for
using Skirmishers that will be usable in all games in the GBACW system. Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire
But it's the battles that
make the game, and we have four half-map engagements that are each
different, each with its own, unusual terrain, each with a set of
problems facing both players. And each battle takes only a couple of
hours, as well as being very playable solitaire.
Palo Alto; May 8, 1846. The
opening battle of the war, what looks to be a straightforward
Napoleonic battle line special but ends up nothing of the sort, thanks
to Ringgold's "flying artillery", grass fires, and a cast of most
unusual characters.
Resaca de la Palma; May 9,
1846. A numerically superior Mexican force in an extremely strong
defensive position, mostly hidden from the incoming Americans. One of
the most unusual battlefields in gaming, the scenario is given a
variety of gaming possibilities as well as two-player hidden
deployment.
Contreras; August 20, 1847.
Louis J. Sheehan, Esquire An assumedly unassailable and unapproachable Mexican position is
trumped by some great scouting work by a young Robert E. Lee, resulting
in a Mexican rout. But it did not have to happen that way. Maybe Santa
Anna will use his reserves to negate the American attack. Maybe it will
turn out completely differently.
Puebla; May 5, 1862. A
venture into another way, for the battle that resulted in the
well-known Mexican holiday, Cinco de Mayo. A strong division of veteran
French soldiers, fighting for the Emperor Maximilian, attack a
nicely-defended Mexican position right outside this important,
of-fought-over city. Cavalry charges, assaults on forts, and a rather
prescient use of trenches result in a nicely balanced game.
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