Well, Black Powder was interesting but it is no Holy Grail.

The British get the opening moves and commence to advance up the center. They are looking to shake out into line just past the road. See that little fooded area where the four French cannons are facing? That was where a battalion of 95th Rifles had scurried to on the opening move.


The French have 6 battalions of infantry massed on their left to oppose five battalions of British. The French artillery, after snuffing out the rifles, would never become a factor.



A shot from behind the Frdnch left. The smoke markers are used to mark the disorder that the French attack columns have received from the British fire. The French columns are having a hard time getting rolling.


The charge falls short. time and again the French would find themselves unable to coordinate attacks.


But when we do get stuck in, things get very stuck in. The initiative system means that any units within 12" always get to move however they like. The French heavies, due to a blunder when last ordered to charge, had withdrawn off the table but they returned and one regiment got to hit the Highlanders in the flank. They failed to have any appreciable effect. The leftmost French infantry never moved as the Rifles had pinned it constantly.


The British lines break and the French pour through. Two battalions charged the supporting Highlanders and one was driven back by fire but the second managed to drive back the Scots.



On the Right flank, the Hussars first charged the British light dragoons and caused them to retire but then swept forward to hit them again and drove them back once more where they left the table edge and were removed permanently due to being shaken. Meanwhile the British square managed to shoot up the Hussars well enough to disorder them so that only one regiment could charge the horse artillery on the hilltop. The canister fire from the guns obliterated the charging Hussars.


With 4 players, none of whom had played before and 2 of which had never played any sort of historicals before, we finished this game in 2 and a half hours.