With Red and Blue teams all painted up, the terrain boards ready; it was time to give these rules a spin. A nice thing about Travel Battle is that they are only a few pages long.
Reddington's government had deployed him to the edge of the conflict. Incensed by their intervention, Bluenapart had deployed a counter force led by Marshal Bluey to try and push Reddington back into the Sea. After maneuvering for a few weeks, the two forces met at a mutually agreeable location and deployed for a pitched battle.
Forces
The first thing to do was to divide the two armies into their 3 brigades.
Lord-General Reddington
Right - 2 Heavy Cavalry, 2 Light Cavalry
Center - 2 Cannons, 2 Guards, 2 Infantry
Left - 4 Infantry
Marshal Bluey
Right - 1 Heavy Cavalry, 1 Light Cavalry,1 Cannon and 2 Infantry
Center - 2 Guards and 2 Infantry
Left - 1 Heavy Cavalry, 1 Light Cavalry, 1 Cannon and 2 Infantry
Neither of us have played the game before, so we have no idea how to properly do this. I think we are both going to find out! Reddington took a page out of old Boney's playbook and amassed cannons in the center for a centralized battery. Bluey was going with reinforced flanks with a weak center. It will be interesting to see how it all plays out.
The Lay-out
We pulled out the terrain boards and laid them down next to each other. We counted off the sides and rolled the dice. In the end, it looked like this......
We jokingly referred to the bigger farm like built-up area as El Azul Plantation, and the name stuck for the rest of the battle.
Reddington (My wife) deployed first. We took turns and deployed by Brigade per the rules. When it was all set-up the board looked like this.
As usual for a Battle Report, I won't cover it roll-by-roll. Too challenging for me to keep track of it all while trying to play. Instead, I will just try to capture some of the highlights and the results as the game unfolds.
Opening Moves
General Bluey won the initiative roll to go first!
The opening rounds do not go General Bluey’s way as General Reddington’s artilllery battery in the center completely collapses the front of the attacking column and then forces a Guards unit back in the center. This forces Bluey to take a static position there.
Meanwhile Reddington’s cavalry brigade races down on Bluey’s left. The infantry form square, protected by a hill and manage to fend off initial attacks from Heavy Cavalry.
Main Action
Reddington’s aggressive cavalry attack soon stalls and slowly falls apart to Marshal Bluey’s command of infantry squares and cavalry counter-attacks.
On Reddington’s left, Marshal Bluey’s troops assault the Plantation and manage to push the infantry defending it out. However, it is a short-lived victory as they fell back in good order, soon regroup and counter-attack!
In the center, perhaps too late; Reddington’s begins to move to support his flanks.
Final Gambits
Reddington’s infantry try to re-take El Azul but Marshal Bluey’s forces stubbornly beat them back inflicting heavy losses!
General Reddington’s cavalry brigade is also stalled near the woods. However, as night very literally falls on the battlefield the action proves indecisive. My wife and I could barely see the board in the fading light in our bus.
Conclusion
I think we both learned a lot about how this game is played. We had to go back into the rulebook a few times, but thankfully it is only 4 pages so we had no issue finding what we needed. In addition, my wife has no knowledge of Horse-and-Musket games and I am not super familiar with the tactics of the period either. Therefore, it was two novices to the system and period trying to figure it out as we went.
Maneuver is surprisingly complex! It is very easy to overextend and leave a unit temporarily stranded, block your own line of attack, or even mismanage where your brigade commander is!
My wife’s (General Reddington) initial artillery success lulled her into a sense of security. However, my artillery did nothing! Artillery is the only ranged unit, but the closer you are the more effective it can be. It is also easy to overestimate the effectiveness of Re-rolling units like Heavy Cavalry and Guards units.
There was some questions about what “pushed back meant”. Ie which direction? We generally decide the opposite of any attack. Therefore a diagonal attack led to a diagonal pushback. It was also unclear how multiple bonuses may stack. Finally, there was some quibbling over how to move units back into the fight that were sent back to the baseline. However, we made calls and played on.
Bluey lost 3 infantry stands while Reddington lost a Heavy Cavalry, Light Cavalry, and two infantry stands.
The battle for El Azul plantation ended indecisively. Both sides took casualties and fell back at nightfall to lick their wounds. However, Marshal Bluey’s forces had managed to secure the plantation, but Reddington still had a strong force-n-being on the peninsula. The battle was a draw but the campaign was far from over.
Until next time!
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The cavalry lesson is worth noting too: heavy cavalry and guards look intimidating on paper with their re-rolls, but infantry squares and counter-charges can blunt them fast. That's the kind of lesson you only really learn by playing. The El Azul Plantation becoming the accidental name for the farm area is peak wargaming — random details stick and become lore. Ending in a draw at nightfall with both sides falling back is actually a great narrative outcome. It's the same joy of discovery and clear rules making an experience work, like at tony spins Great report — hope the rematch happens somewhere with better lighting!
ReplyDeleteA tabletop battle can become especially memorable when players are learning a new ruleset at the same time. In Battle Report: Travel Battle - The Battle for El Azul Plantation, the forces of General Reddington and Marshal Bluey meet for a pitched engagement using Perry Miniatures' Travel Battle. The game was played with painted armies and prepared terrain boards, creating a compact battlefield for the encounter.
ReplyDeleteThe armies were divided into three brigades on each side. Reddington concentrated two artillery units in the center alongside Guards and infantry, while cavalry formed the right wing. Bluey's force used reinforced flanks, with cavalry and artillery supporting infantry formations on both sides of a comparatively weaker center. The players were new to the rules, so the battle also became an opportunity to discover how the different formations worked in practice.
The battlefield itself gained its memorable name from a large farm-like terrain feature that the players jokingly called El Azul Plantation. Early in the battle, Reddington's central artillery proved effective against Bluey's advancing troops, while cavalry moved aggressively along the flank. Bluey's infantry responded by forming squares and resisting the initial cavalry attacks.
As the battle developed, the momentum shifted. Reddington's cavalry attack gradually lost strength as Bluey's infantry squares and cavalry counter-attacks slowed the advance. On the opposite side, Bluey's troops managed to seize the plantation, although Reddington's infantry later regrouped and attempted to retake it. The fighting around the terrain feature became one of the defining elements of the game.
The battle eventually ended without a decisive result as darkness fell. Bluey's forces retained control of El Azul Plantation, while Reddington still had a substantial force on the peninsula. The reported casualties included three infantry stands for Bluey and a heavy cavalry unit, light cavalry unit and two infantry stands for Reddington.
Beyond the result, the game provided useful lessons about Travel Battle. Maneuver proved more complicated than expected, with players having to consider overextension, blocked attacks and the position of brigade commanders. The players also encountered questions about pushbacks and other rules, but were able to make practical decisions and continue the game. For tabletop enthusiasts, battle reports like this show how terrain, unfamiliar rules and tactical experimentation can combine to create an engaging gaming session. Readers interested in games, hobbies and other tabletop adventures can also explore https://chickenpirates.net/fr for more inspiration.
Getting miniatures painted up and terrain boards ready for a streamlined wargame like Travel Battle—especially when the rules take up just a few pages—is the ultimate way to dive straight into a tactical session.
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Skipping heavy rulebooks to focus purely on fast-paced tactical maneuvering makes for an exceptionally fun game night. Do you usually prefer quick, rules-light tactical board games or deep, complex wargames?