Tricorne

I was invited to Kevin's this afternoon to play his latest boardgame, Tricorne which is a Command and Colours game covering the American War of Independence. Now I have read several books on this affair and it has never gripped me, much like Napoleonics, and I do wonder if I am missing something which is why I wander back now and again having forgot my disappointment the last time, only to be disappointed again.

Anyway I am assured by the blurb that it is a typical C&C game, a wargame with blocks instead of soldiers but it isn't, despite everything you will find in a wargame rule set i.e. morale, leaders, firing, movement, melee etc., but it is a fast, exciting game. The main reason it isn't a wargame, although there are games with soldiers quite like it, is that you can only do what your hand of cards allows you to do. You cannot look at the board and decide to attack with your left as that is your strongest force unless you get the cards which allow you to move/attack with your left flank, no matter how good you plan your troops will simply not move in the end unless you get those specific cards, sure you can shuffle forward but your attack will not be coordinated.  Much of what I have just said is also a result of my own prejudices against command card games, well almost all of them, there is one, I digress.

Right, how did the game go, well we fought the simplest scenario in the booklet, Bemis Heights, a small British force had been told to go and reconnoitre an American position, the Americans got wind of it and met the British with a regular force along with a large militia brigade. At first glance it looked like the British would be overwhelmed, despite this as usual I decided to attack and went forward with my left and some Grenadiers, big mistake, within a few moves I had lost the Grenadiers, I wanted to move my right flank but did not draw the right cards and anyway there was too much going on on my left so I had to use what orders I had there. Eventually the lines stabilised and I decided not to go forward and simply hold my ground.

Kevin had managed to get a victory chit by this time and it still looked like it was all over for me, but as the Yanks tried to advance I managed to shoot them up and cause them to retire time after time (good cards), pretty soon I had four chits to the enemy one. I got a good card and decided to throw an assault in and get one more, hoping this would eventually gain me the six to win. Another disaster and some good play and cards by Kevin stopped me dead, it was the Yanks who benefited and he gained another two chits.

We called a halt, neither of us had managed to get our victory conditions, I had a pretty thin line while the Continentals had lost most of their regular units and were now left with the bulk of their militia to force the day, a big ask. We started slow but by the end we were flying through the turns and another 45 minutes or so might have seen the end proper.

I have no doubt we missed some stuff, especially the value of leaders but apart from my doubts above on whether the C&C system is a real wargame, it is a good game and I look forward to another clash.