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Post by bandit on Dec 5, 2015 16:50:31 GMT
Since Richard is running the latest painting contest with a prize copy of Et sans résultat! going to the victor, I thought I best poke my head in and tell people a little about it! ESR is both ground scale and figure scale agnostic, this allows you to play on a variety of table sizes with the 6mm figures you love. The charts are available for free download from thewargamingcompany.com/etsansresultat/downloads.htmlCLEAR SCOPE • Focus: Players are focused on the concerns of senior commanders. • Grand tactical not micro tactical: Tactical decisions are abstracted out but tactical units aren't. • Truth in scope: Player decisions are limited to the decisions a senior commander would commonly be making, not every corner case of what they could do. FLEXIBLE SCALE • Flexible ground scale: Ground scales from 1" = 75 yards up to 1" = 200 yards are natively supported. • Figure scale agnostic: Use figures from 2mm to 25mm. • Game time averages real time: A mix of experienced players and novice players can run full scale battles at 3 turns per hour. SUBTLE MECHANICS • Consistent flow: Phases occur in a complimentary order so there’s no sequential nuance, no “Wait, when was I supposed to ______?” • Scalable: Mechanics can scale from playing Elchingen to Wagram, Borodino or Leipzig. • No special cases: Problems are solved on the macro avoiding special case rules and exceptions. • Play-it-as-it-lies: No remembering conditions from phase to phase, mechanics call for the current conditions not past ones. • Liberal measurements: No arguing over eighth inches. EASE OF LEARNING • Well illustrated: Clear diagrams exemplify the game mechanics. • Low barriers to entrance: Playable from the charts after a brief introduction. Best played with miniatures but possible can be played with unit cards. • The next one comes next: Charts are in the order used, top to bottom, left to right. • Unified charts: All charts use the same format: procedures, modifiers, results. • Easy directions: Charts are color coded for easy reference: blue for command, green for movement, etc... • Concise: The rules are less than 40 pages. The charts are a single double-sided page. Turns are six phases. HISTORICALLY DRIVEN • History is possible: History can happen on the tabletop: how long troops hold, how fast they break and how quickly they get from place to place. • Historical motivations: Do things that made sense to the commanders who really did them, for the reasons they did them. • No 'your history vs my history' debates: Players focus on fundamentals of Napoleonic period warfare, without guessing about whose interpretation of history to use. And here are some photos of what games look like:
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Post by Richard on Dec 5, 2015 17:48:09 GMT
Thank you David , I have read through the rules and they seem very very good ,
R
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Post by tim on Dec 5, 2015 22:35:14 GMT
Interesting!
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Post by moosedontbounce on Dec 6, 2015 17:31:14 GMT
I've had ESR for a few months now and plan on doing a write up soon. I do like the rules. Has a Legacy of Glory feel to them but much more playable. Sorry LOG! Dale
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Post by bruce on Dec 7, 2015 0:37:32 GMT
Being a rules nut, I was immediately interested, especially in the ease of learning claim and the sensible sounding write-up from the author. As I am unlikely to win any figure painting contests with the pros we have in the forum, I would be very interested in your review before investing at the current cost for these. Thanks, Dale. Bruce
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Post by Richard on Dec 7, 2015 20:06:04 GMT
Bruce you should enter the comp , you never no
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Post by bruce on Dec 7, 2015 21:45:08 GMT
Its my H & R figures that give me a complex Richard, they can be tough for detail. Someday maybe. I just painted up some of your farmers and they were fun to do - first time I have done faces! Bruce
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Post by moosedontbounce on Dec 8, 2015 23:47:06 GMT
Its my H & R figures that give me a complex Richard, they can be tough for detail. Someday maybe. I just painted up some of your farmers and they were fun to do - first time I have done faces! Bruce I've entered my H&R's in the last contest. It's just for fun, I know I'd like to see them. Dale
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Post by bruce on Dec 9, 2015 19:45:53 GMT
I was glad to see them Dale - well done! You are right, I will think about it, still plenty of time. Bruce
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Post by bandit on Dec 10, 2015 17:43:18 GMT
Thanks for the kind words guys. If you're interested in what's happening next at TWC, Cigarbox Battle just posted an interview with me that gives some hints about what's coming next from TWC: www.cigarboxbattle.com/esr-follow-interview-david-twc/And please ask questions if you've got em, I lurk around here from time to time and am happy to answer things.
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Post by bandit on Dec 10, 2015 17:44:12 GMT
Being a rules nut, I was immediately interested, especially in the ease of learning claim and the sensible sounding write-up from the author. As I am unlikely to win any figure painting contests with the pros we have in the forum, I would be very interested in your review before investing at the current cost for these. Thanks, Dale. Bruce Oh and Bruce, not sure if you're in the US or the UK but in the US ESR is on sale presently: www.thewargamingcompany.com
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Post by bruce on Dec 11, 2015 0:13:25 GMT
Bandit, I am in the US, have a question. I am a solo player, some games with simultaneous movement may not adapt as well for solo play. Any solo feedback from anyone? Dale, what do you think? Bruce
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Post by bandit on Dec 11, 2015 17:43:42 GMT
Bandit, I am in the US, have a question. I am a solo player, some games with simultaneous movement may not adapt as well for solo play. Any solo feedback from anyone? Dale, what do you think? Bruce Bruce, I will my perspective with you about solo play. The first is my own as while a lot of the play testing for ESR was done with me observing other people play, before you go and bother others to sample your project, you also run the mechanics yourself on the tabletop to see if you'll be wasting people's time with something that is obviously broken. Thus, I have some solo play experience. In short, I'd summarize that if you think chess if fun to play solo, you will likely find ESR practical and enjoyable to play solo. As both games are very dependent on thinking several turns ahead and the "doing" of each move is really just execution, carrying out a plan you developed earlier. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– The focus of the game is on command decision points which are handled in two specific steps of the Command Phase: • Activating / Issuing Orders • Leader Actions To illustrate this I'm going to walk through the Command Phase a bit and reference the general turn sequence. There is an innate one turn delay (typically) for activating orders from the time the order is issued. The first step of the Command Phase is to activate any pending orders, i.e. orders that had been issued in a previous turn. Following that, you can issue new orders, which would in turn be available for order activation on a subsequent turn. This is where players focus all their planning and decision making. Look over the tabletop and say, "I need the 1st Division, IV Corps to assault that village on the left allowing me to outflank the ridge, the 2nd Division will support so that when the 1st Division runs out of steam there is someone ready to carry the fight forward. I'll put the 3rd Division on reserve, I'll put the corps artillery reserve on maneuver to setup along the road running to the village so it can provide fire support for the 1st Division's assault." And you'll be doing the same for the other army, looking over the table from the other side, "I'll have the jäger detachment in the village go on defend to garrison it, the 1st Infantry Division is already on the ridge line flowing right from the village, I'll put it on defend as well. The 2nd Infantry Division I'll order to maneuver to the ridge so it is ultimately positioned at the base of the rear side of the ridge where the ridge meets the village. That will allow it to be positioned to act against a forward or flanking threat. I'll order my attached cavalry brigade to support the jäger detachment in the village and it will setup behind the village on the right flank to prevent the village from being surrounded." So there is Turn #1's issuing of orders for both sides. You could also decide to commit some artillery, specifically the defender on the ridge may want to commit his divisional guns so they are in place for any forward movement against his position. There will be little of any movement since no divisions have active orders other than defend, therefore movement is limited to essentially jockeying around, not displacing. Turn #2 will feature rolling for both sides to activate their orders, the defender will have this pretty easy as defend orders are automatic. Orders generally activate pretty easily if you're outside proximity of the enemy so it is fair to assume for our example that everything "goes off" on Turn #2. Therefore, on Turn #2 the Movement Phase features some stuff happening. The attacker rolls his divisions forward, the defender moves his 2nd Infantry Division to its stipulated position. This is pretty straight forward because the orders (issued with cards, though I suppose you could write them if you preferred), stipulate where everything is going to go, now when you are executing that movement, you're locked into following those orders. There are no real tactical advantages to be gained by touching the enemy battalion "just so", therefore divisions are literally just tossed forward toward contact. The attacker's 1st Division would hit the jäger detachment at the village, potentially the cavalry supporting the jägers could opportunity charge to interrupt the assault and slow it, that combat resolving would buy the defender a turn where he could issue a new order to his infantry divisions so that on the following turn he could attempt to react in some useful way. I'm hoping this kinda illustrates how order issuing, rather than movement, is the pivot point in ESR. In the above narrative, the defender would be best served by placing his 2nd Infantry Division on reserve once it gets in position, the reserve order allows it to convert immediately to another order, thereby "stealing a cycle" if you will on the act of reacting to the attacker. Because players are required to follow the orders previously issued, you become "locked" into your plan very quickly. Redirecting divisions that already have active orders can be done, but due to fast movement rates, the lag time of the issue, activate, move cycle is typically too slow to use "order changes" as a solution to the enemy actions. Instead, reserves become your useful and available resource – as they should be. ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Hope that example was useful and if there are specifics I can speak to, please let me know. Cheers, The Bandit
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Post by bruce on Dec 11, 2015 21:32:22 GMT
Okay - you definitely got me interested and I just ordered. Ha, now I could enter the painting contest with no pressure! Looking forward to playing, Bruce
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Post by captainchook on Oct 25, 2016 18:14:25 GMT
I have finally capitulated and bought these rules. They must be coming from Australia via snail mail - 2 weeks and waiting.
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Post by bandit on Oct 26, 2016 17:47:44 GMT
I have finally capitulated and bought these rules. They must be coming from Australia via snail mail - 2 weeks and waiting. Hi captainchook – glad to hear you purchased a copy but concerned about the wait time. Did you order them directly from us ( The Wargaming Company)? We're located in the US. Otherwise Magister Militum sells them for us out of the UK as well. Lastly, Olympian Games in Australia sells ESR publications for us to Australia and New Zealand. Where are you located? And who did you order from? International shipment times vary substantially, typically shipments from the US to Australia or Europe take nominally 10-14 days but have sometimes taken longer if customs decided to hold something up – which unfortunately we can't intervene in. Shipments within the US are of course faster simply because it is all domestic. Please don't hesitate to drop us a line and if we can do something to check up on your order we'll happily do so. Cheers, The Bandit
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Post by captainchook on Oct 28, 2016 6:54:12 GMT
Thanks, David. I was about to contact Olympian Games today but my book arrived this afternoon. So far I have only skimmed through it. It at first looks daunting but the rules section is relatively short. The rest is the excellent "Raising an Army" guide. Your unit and commander ratings seem well thought out. I particularly like how a particular commander at different stages or performing different roles has different ratings. I will study this eagerly over the weekend.
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Post by bandit on Oct 28, 2016 13:21:42 GMT
Glad you received your copy captainchook. As you observe, the rules themselves are only about half of the book, and a large portion of that is the introduction and the examples for each section. If you haven't joined the Yahoo Discussion Group or the Announcements Mailing list, do please consider doing so. Very much hope you enjoy ESR and don't think twice about sending any questions our way! Cheers, The Bandit
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Post by captainchook on Oct 28, 2016 17:42:41 GMT
Already joined and made a couple of posts on the Yahoo forum.
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Post by bandit on Oct 30, 2016 1:42:12 GMT
Already joined and made a couple of posts on the Yahoo forum. Ah good! Sorry, often do not know who someone is from one forum to another due to screen names, real names, e-mails, etc… Cheers, The Bandit
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sixbras
New member
Posts: 15
Favorite army: French - what else ?
Favorite battle: Essling
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Post by sixbras on Apr 19, 2017 14:07:38 GMT
Hi Richard, I'm a long time playing wargamers from France, but new to 6mm scale , and i looking for a strategic-focus ruleset. I on the way to order my bundle on your website but something stop me, i had to choose now for the scale of my reference Card. 1" to 50 yards, 100 or 200, it's very difficult for me to make a choice. May be you can provide a page to help to choose scale-cards, exemple : " With 1" to 50 yards , 1809 scenarios need table from 60"x 120" to 140"x250" and is best played in 2mm and 6mm"By the way, One of the best thing that French Revolution bring to the world is metric system, card in Meter could be an option
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Post by bruce on Apr 19, 2017 18:00:06 GMT
We are still avoiding the metric system here in the USA. Just never really caught on for everyday use even though it is quite logical. But thanks anyway, France!
So.....my experience with ESR is that it works very well with the 1 to 150 scale for 6mm. You might get away with 1 to 200 but things may get tight. I only use 6mm.
It's an interesting game with some unique concepts. It took me a little time to get the hang of it, but it was worth it. You really do feel like a commander and need to think ahead and plan your orders or you will be in trouble. As a solo gamer I generally mismanage both sides at some point with some unexpected consequences, which makes for an interesting game.
Lots of good support from the designer and the Yahoo group. Bruce
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sixbras
New member
Posts: 15
Favorite army: French - what else ?
Favorite battle: Essling
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Post by sixbras on Apr 20, 2017 9:45:12 GMT
Thanks Bruce for your answer. I will order 150 scale card , and give a try to this rules, and start to read about in the yahoo group.
Edit : Wow ! Finally i try to order the complete bundle and on the final checkout i discover that shipping is $85.00 for France. I hope there is other option to find this book in Europe.
Edit 2 : And finally order is done using "fulfillment by Magister Militum" option , a company based in OK, shipping cost is only 20$ to France.
And the wargaming company support was so fast to answer me, and offer me a good option. Thanks !
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Post by bandit on Apr 23, 2017 13:35:06 GMT
Hi Sixbras,
While we don't offer the Quick Reference Guides (charts) in scale meters, we do offer them with the game measurements in metric as a free download. You can find them on our downloads page: thewargamingcompany.com/downloads
Cheers,
The Bandit
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