I’ve been in Leeds since February 2020 and despite this city having multiple wargames clubs, I’ve only just managed to get my ass to one. The Leeds Wargames Club (those guys who run Fiasco every year including when I demo’d Dragon’s Hoard back in the day) are based out of Hicks Hall in the Burley area (just around the corner from Cardigan Fields Leisure Park in Kirkstall), which rather uniquely is a property the club has exclusive use of – usually wargames clubs have to settle for pub backrooms or rented spaces which can limit their game time due to having to pack everything up at the end of the night.
However, as I turned up to the club and got given a quick tour around, it became pretty obvious the benefits of having their own space. Club members are able to leave their games in place, frozen in time for another day. There is also the storage benefit, with shelves of terrain, boxes of figures and libraries of books available for the member’s use. An upstairs area also includes a giant wargames table if you want to run a truly massive game. The club has a really relaxed and welcoming atmosphere as well, always a bonus, so I’m definitely looking forward to coming back
The only downside for me is that the club takes place on a Wednesday, a day when I’m busy every other week hosting my sister (which will soon also include some wargaming!) But when I’m free, I’ll definitely be making my way down there. To begin with, the aim will just be getting to know everyone but eventually, it will be time to break out the figure cases and turn up for a game or two. Additionally, seeing as the space can be rented out, it would be awesome to be able to run some kind of Ultramodern event there. But we’ll see for the future.
All that is fine, but if you’re at a wargames club, it’s usually a good time to sit down and play something. Strolling around the games (there seemed to be a focus on horse and musket this particular evening), I found myself introduced to a group playing Sharp Practise (a game I’ve featured before). With nothing else planned, I decided to jump in and take partial command of the Redcoats.
This scenario takes us back to the French Indian War, where the British are seeking to burn down a French sawmill somewhere in Canada, with additional bonuses for any boats or buildings also put to the torch. The defenders, a mix of local trappers and French Marines, would be up against two large groups of British Foot Infantry and a small group of Roger’s Rangers. I assumed command with the game already partially underway, with one British Foot group struggling with a lack of hydration (affecting their movement by a pip) while the other was formed into a gun line. The Rangers had just snuck into cover in front of the enemy Militia, popping off a few shots before being punished by the Canadian trappers amassing on the other side of the stream and injuring their Ranger leader.
Said Trappers soon became a target for the massed British musketry with a full line managing to present and fire for full effect. The French Marines eventually formed up and got into a little back-and-forth with ongoing musketry.
The real threat however was those skirmishing Trappers that had thrown the group of Roger’s Rangers out of the undergrowth and were now about to pull some real shenanigans. Swinging through the wooded patch, they lined up with the flank of the British line still in the process of reloading. And then proceeded to cause havoc.
Rushing in after unleashing a hail of devastating tomahawks and against a group currently unloaded, the Trappers tore a bloody hole through the Regulars on the flank, losing some of their own in exchange for a group of redcoats and hammering them with shock to force them to withdraw.
(Not pictured but we quickly adjusted the groups so that the rear group of the trappers actually collided with the Rangers. Collided hard enough to throw the Rangers off the rock formation with the hail of tomahawks due to overwhelming shock.)
Luckily, the tide of the British Regulars was able to fill the gap. The second formation (minus a group attempting the objective of starting some fires) charged in against the trappers and we had another aggressive fisticuffs, gutting both groups and slaying the officer. The trappers were basically broken, but not before also beating up the Rangers, knocking their new leader unconscious and forcing them almost off the table.
However, the game would end soon, with both forces taking an absolute beating in terms of morale, dropping to sub-5 on the scale. The French Marines were mostly undamaged and in a good position while on the red side of the table, there was a pile of shock to remove and multiple small groups to reorganise. That said, if this was a campaign, as the British player I would be falling back to preserve the remaining strength after an unsuccessful raid. We also got to have a little after-action chat before leaving (this scenario may be appearing at a Lardie Day soon), so I’m looking forward to seeing how the final version looks.
Although Horse and Musket will never become my primary gaming era (I don’t have the willpower for all that painting), I’m still happy to roll the dice and play to push a few. Sharp Practise is an especially fun system, with enough similarities to Chain of Command that it feels comfortable to play. Even when you need 20+ dice for a volley of musketry and only one of them hits.