Battle of The Little Big Horn - Battle Report

 Yesterday Will paid a visit during which we managed to play four games.  The first was a table top version of Waddington's board game, The Battle of the Little Big Horn. The game was played using the original figures (see my previous post), which I had painted with a representation of the board set up on the gaming table.  We used hexes, rather than squares.

The troops were set up as close to the original scenario, with Custer's men in the middle amongst some defensive positions, the Indian cavalry beyond the rocks to the right and the Indian foot amongst the trees near the river and their camp.  

Here are some views of the start of the game:

The US cavalry start positions

The last time I played this game was back in the 1960/70s when I received a set for Christmas.  It took Will and I a little while to grasp all of the rules, but soon things ran quite smoothly.  I took on the role of Custer, and Will the Indians.  My plan was to advance towards the top left of the board and retreat off that way, using my firepower to eliminate the Indians in the woods.  If I could get into the trees I would be safe from the mounted braves.

However, the Indians in the wood are counted as in cover and they put up quite a fight.  Although I managed to take down a few, my own men were falling just as fast:

Movement is agonisingly slow, with a steady rate of men falling from the fire out of the trees.  In the meantime the mounted braves are moving closer and forming up for a charge.  When it came it was quite brutal, those US troops not in cover were quickly cut down.  This had the effect of breaking up the US unit into isolated packets:

My efforts to reach the trees were failing as I was losing more men than Will. I decided to pull back and see if I could kill off some of the mounted figures.  I had some success, although casualties continued to mount:

Now rather like the original battle, I was surrounded with men falling fast and the enemy closing in. The remaining troopers closed in around Custer and the flag aa a group of mounted braves charged in to attack Custer himself.

The end came quickly, Custer is cut down and the flag captured:

We both enjoyed the game, which ran at a very fast pace. The rules are simple but effective and the result was an exciting encounter.

We played the game again, swapping sides.  Will decided to attempt to move his forces to the right with the aim of gaining the rocks.  Once again the braves in the trees did quite a bit of damage, and while Custer and his men did slightly better against the mounted men, the eventual result was very similar.  The pinned down troopers were picked off by the advancing Indians on foot.  It is a hard task for the US cavalry to win this game.

Great fun!