So I set up a meeting engagement too see how these would work. The Americans have slightly more troops, but the British are better quality. The Forces involved were as follows:
British: Left Flank
7th Fusiliers 28 figures Elite(we ran theses as Grenadiers
71st Highland Regiment 26 figures
1unit of British Light Infantry Skirmishers 6 figures
British: Right Flank
33rd Line 24 figures
British Legion(Loyalist) 28 figures
Rebellious Colonists: Left Flank
Md Continentals 28 figures
Va State Line 24 figures
4pdr Artillery piece
North Carolina Skirmishers(Rifles) 6 figures
Rebellious Colonists: Right Flank
Delaware Continentals 24 figures
North Carolina Militia 32 figures (no bayonets)
South Carolina Milita24 figures (no bayonets)
South Carolina Skirmishers(Rifles) 6 figures
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| This shows positions at the end of the 1st turn. Objective for both sides is to capture the cross roads. |
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| This shows disposition at end of 1st turn on the American side. Each side had a Leader for each wing and one overal Commander. We allowed troops to start on table twelve inches from table edge, Skirmishers move really fast in theses rules, 16 inches. |
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| This shows to British first move. |
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| Anither view of the Colonist first move. I've got the right flank and elected to put my Militia troops up front with the De Continentals in reserve on the hill. Gary has the right flank and he has done the opposite, putting the Continentals up front and Va State Line in the rear. We both move our skirmishers up front to get some shots in with our longer ranged rifles. |
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| British left flank, skirmishers out front followed by the Fusiliers and then the Highlanders. |
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| The Colonist Militia move up to the rail fence hoping it will give them some benefit from the British advance. The South Carolina Militia were slowed by the woods and don't quite make it up to the fence yet. The SC Skirmishers have already traded shots with the British and have gotten the worst of it. Although they managed a few hits they themselves they have been reduced to half strength. They pass their morale check however so stick around a little while longer. Not shown on the other side, Gary's NC Skirmishers get a good volley in against the Loyalist Legion who subsequently fail their Morale Check and Rout back. |
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| Maryland Continentals move up to contest the rail fence with the British line. Loyalists are no where to be seen having routed back. |
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| They they go. Not a good day for the British Legion. Perhaps they will rally back. |
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| A view from the British side of the field. Highlanders are moving up although slowed a bit by a small copse of woods. |
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| South Carolina Militia versus Fusiliers on the Colonist right flank. Rebel Force Commander has moved up to give the Militia some moral support for the impending melee. |
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| View from position of the Delaware Continentals in Reserve on a hill. |
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| Rebels are getting the worst from the firefight. SC Skirmishers are reduced to one stand and are done as a fighting force. |
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| On the other side of the field, the Marylanders morale collapses as a result of the melee and they Route back. |
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| Next turn, the Md Continentals rally and are ready to get back into the fight. |
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| SC Militia cause some casualties on the Fusiliers but fail their Morale test with a Shaken result. They fall back and the Fusiliers take their position. |
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| Highlanders advance and the Virginia State Line takes on the British Regulars. The British Legion failed to rally and flee off the field. NC Militia starts taking casualties. |
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| An epic turn. Highlanders charge the NC Militia who fail their Morale and move back Shaken. On the other side however, the British Line take casualties from the skirmishers on their flank and are charged by the Virginians. It's too much for them and they Route back. British right flank is now completely gone. |
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| The Delaware move up to hold the Fusiliers. Militia units have a good chance of rallying. |
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| British Commander seeing his right flank gone decides to call it a day and orders a retreat. With three rebel units about to fall onto the flank of the Highlanders, it's probably a wise decision. Chalk up one Victory for the ungrateful rebellious colonists. |
So our first play-test of the rules went pretty good. I'm sure we did a few things wrong, but the rules aren't bad and they move quickly. The turn sequence is initiative, move, firing , melee and finally morale although it's a little more complicated than that. From the Tutorial on the rules it looks like you do firing then test morale for casualties before going to any melees. It's also not clear to me whether you can charge and then fire before closing into melee.
There is a Tutorial for the rules here:
http://altefritz.blogspot.com/2017/08/fife-drum-awi-rules-tutorial.html
You might also want to check out his Forum here: http://fifeanddrumminis.proboards.com/ and look at Der Alte Fritz Rules, AWI rules and also his 7 Years war rules as they are similar and I think he has made changes in one set and uses them in the other also.
I would recommend these rules, but you are going to have to come up with interpretations of your own to provide clarity. With a little tweaking, they can give an excellent game and certainly faster moving than Sharp Practice.
If you are interested in the miniatures used, they are mostly Old Glory figures purchased painted up from Gajo Minis. The South Carolina Militia are old Der Kriegspielers miniatures painted up by myself. The British Line are some figures I bought off of Ebay and repainted. Not sure what manufacturer they are. The Artillery figures are Hincliffe, also painted by me.
