Friday 4 September 2020

Coming to grips with Sharp Practice

While I've been busy painting up miniatures for playing Sharp Practice during the American War of Independence I haven't actually played that many games using the rules. I still consider myself something of a newbie.

Our initial games had been a little lacklustre. They had devolved quickly into static affairs as we concentrated more on fire than on movement. It's easy to be seduced into firing controlled volleys from a formation and forget that historically there was just as much, if not more movement as fire.


In recent weeks I played two games in quick succession. Not only were they enjoyable, but I also had the sense that my regular opponent Dave and I have begun to get a good feel for how to make the most of what the rules offer.

Two things in particular have been an important part of this process. The first was gaining a much better understanding of the characteristics of different unit types and the second was how to make best use of the command cards.

The first of our recent games was set during the early part of the war. A force of sundry rebels holding an inn by a ford were trying to fend off a force of regulars sent to evict them. The scenario was inspired by one in the Swamp Fox campaign.

The British were first to deploy. Their Status III leader commanding three groups of line infantry took advantage of the lack of an enemy in sight to deploy across the ford and in closed column on the road. Rebel skirmishers appeared out of the inn but before they could inflict any casualties the British formed up into line. The ability to form up was one of the rule concepts that we had under valued. In earlier games our use of formations lacked flexibility. I recall being particularly concerned with any movement that broke up a formation, like moving over a tall farm fence, when in fact it is a relatively simple matter for the commander to have the groups form up again if they are only 1-4" apart.


The rebels deployed a column of state line from the deployment point in the inn but this was to prove a costly error.  While it was clear Dave intended the column to move out and form line to face the British the fall of the command cards meant that the British would have an opportunity to act before the Americans could change formation. Despite firing at long range the British line was able to let loose a powerful controlled volley enjoying the benefits of first fire and a target in column.



In an instant the state line lost men and accumulated shock.


Advancing quickly behind the British line a second column of two groups crossed the ford and moved toward the right flank ready to drive off the skirmishers.



We have a tendency that I suspect is common to new players and that is to allow your units to engage in prolonged but often indecisive firefights. I fell into this trap once again. There’s a terrible fear that if you’re not shooting then you’re at a disadvantage. Having opened fire on the state line it was too tempting to keep on firing instead of closing on them with cold steel. The problem is, if you're not moving into Fisticuffs then you are also a target for enemy fire. As a result the British line began to suffer casualties and shock inflicted by return fire from the state line and the skirmishers. There was no doubt the state line were getting the worst of the exchange, but nonetheless shock was accumulating on the British and that would make any decisive move to contact more difficult later.

However I could not consider moving the British line forward with skirmishers on my flank. The risk of enfilade fire and double shock meant the skirmishers needed to be chased off before a forward move could be contemplated.

The second British formation advanced aggressively to the fence and the rebel skirmishers, who were unloaded at the time, were wise to take the opportunity to Evade and move back behind the inn. There would have been no advantage in having my line infantry engage them in a firefight where the skirmishers have the luxury of firing at me from good cover. The threat of British bayonets was enough to see them fall back. A case of playing to the regulars’ advantages and not allowing the skirmishers to do the same with their's.


But while that was happening a group of Militia were able to come to the support of the state line.


At the same time, in the woods on the other flank, more rebel skirmishers began firing at the British line. I moved a group of light infantry quickly through the woods and that was enough to see these skirmishers also evade. In the end the Americans had to send a group of Militia into the woods to guard the flank.


By the time I finally decided to send the regulars into attack they had accumulated enough shock to make this slower than I had hoped. Eventually I was able to play two command cards for Thin Red Line and in the end this proved enough to send the rebels reeling back in disorder. I suspect my hesitancy had cost me more casualties and shock than were necessary.



As Dave and I discussed the game afterwards it was clear we were both unhappy with our tactics. Neither side had taken full advantage of the characteristics of their various units and so we failed to have them operate as effectively as possible. Despite that we agreed it had been another good learning experience, if only to learn from our mistakes.

A week later we played a second game. This was a simple Encounter (scenario 1 in the rulebook). A force of Continental Army would face a force of mixed British regulars. The focal point of the table was a road junction and a small church. We rolled high for support and the British were able to call on a group of light infantry skirmishers while the Americans brought in an additional leader for the Continental line infantry and a group of Frontiersmen skirmishers.


In this game we both made an effort to focus on making the most of command cards, unit characteristics and formations. The result was our most enjoyable and satisfying game to date.

The command cards came quickly for the British who were able to deploy most of their force ahead of the Americans. Despite that we were quick to exploit the mobility and fire benefits of our skirmishers and light infantry.




I think the game benefited from a good density of terrain but not so much as to hinder movement or firing to any great degree. Playing along the longer table edge also allowed us to try to manoeovre around our opponent's flank and that made for a more fluid game.


The British line infantry took full advantage of a screen of loyalist skirmishers to approach the American centre.


The opening rounds of combat saw forward screens of skirmishers and light infantry probe for weakness while the line infantry sought out the most advantageous positions.





I neglected to take photos of some of the most intense action but we had an interesting encounter between two groups of British line infantry and two groups of state line. Despite taking a volley of British fire the state line held their fire until they were in close range and using two cards for a Crashing Volley made the most of first fire and their one chance at a controlled volley to inflict considerable shock on the British. However we soon learned that the state line have one chance at this and once their fire became uncontrolled and lacked the same effectiveness things looked a lot less favourable.

The British were able to rally off shock and holding their nerve they resisted the urge to fire immediately, opting instead to Present and wait until the next turn. The decision was rewarded with an early card draw for their commander and before long the state line were falling back in some disorder and breaking their formation. At this point I forgot that shock does not effect movement away from the enemy and rather than trying to rally shock the state line’s leader I would have been much better off pulling them back out of range. Another lesson learned.

On the other flank British light infantry engaged the Continental line in a firefight, where once again we fell into the trap of several indecisive turns of fire. As the Americans I was reluctant to leave the safety of the fence line, knowing that the speed and aggression of the British light infantry would put me at a disadvantage.



The scenario probably lacked an incentive for either side to attack the other and this provided some insight into the sort of considerations we should work in to future scenarios. We are still playing fairly vanilla games while we come to grips with the rules, but I can see how introducing leader characteristics and sub plots help to drive the narrative and incentivise players into action.


Despite the static nature of this firefight between the British light infantry and the Continentals, the American Frontiersmen showed their aggression by charging the remnants of the loyalist skirmishers and hurling tomahawks at them before seeing them off.

Overall we played a much better game where we focussed on making the most of what each unit was capable of doing. In terms of learning the Sharp Practice rules I feel it represented some sort of watershed and I fully expect to see our style of play really improve from here on.

20 comments:

  1. A nice account of your journey. I think you've hit the nail on the head, narrative and sub-plots are what drive Sharp Practice and really any skirmish or encounter on a tabletop. The idea that two forces just turn up to annihilate each other is rather lacking I may say, there is usually some higher purpose or goal which affects how they carry out their actions and with how much fervour. Looking forward to seeing more of your forays into SP2. Love the pictures and your work on the figures and terrain as always is of a very high quality.

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    1. Thanks. You're absolutely right and now that I feel we've got a much better handle on the rules we are ready to introduce more of those elements and create a clear 'mission' for each side. It's why we've found the campaigns for Chain of Command so satisfying, each side has clear objective for the campaign as well as each scenario and that really helps to drive play. I was getting a bit concerned that there was something amiss with Sharp Practice, but now I realise there was just something amiss about the way I was approaching it LOL.

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  2. Great stuff, I am also doing SP2 in the AWI, so it's great to read someone else's experiences. Like yourself I have only played a few games, so I need to get the hang of it all yet. Scenario and narrative look like the key drivers. So I think I am on the same learning journey.

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    1. Thanks Doug. I don't think there's a quick entry point for Sharp Practice and it definitely takes a few games to get to grips with how to make it all work for you. That said, CoC is the same and I suspect it won't be long before we are finding SP gives us as much gaming enjoyment.

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  3. As another SP AWI newbie I think you are right regarding the scenarios and we've recently been using the ones in Osprey's Rebels & Patriots which have proven very enjoyable. http://bleaseworld.blogspot.com/2020/09/sharp-practice-bridge-over-troubled.html

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    1. Thanks Steve. I have Lion Rampant and a few other of Dan Mersey's rules (and I enjoy LR) but given I'm trying to master Sharp Practice I haven't bothered to look at R&P yet, but that's a very good suggestion. I've been meaning to get the rules to see how they compare and this will be a good reason to do so.

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  4. Lovely looking games and interesting insights into the rule system.
    Best Iain

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    1. I thought the same following my reading of the battle report. The tactical approaches to the situations and insight gained are fascinating.

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    2. Thanks Iain, it's been an interesting journey coming to grips with the rules. As I said to someone earlier, I was beginning to think SP had something missing but now know that was saying more about me and how I was approaching play than it was about the rules.

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    3. Thanks Jonathan. I think it always helps to read about how others are learning rules and what they can share in terms of tips. Hopefully others can take advantage of that and pick the rules up quicker than I have.

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  5. I’ve always found that TFL games have something of a learning curve. It’s not that the games are super complicated; but there is a certain way that mechanics support tactics that is not readily apparent.
    I’ve watched several SP2 gameplays on YouTube during hobby sessions and the games often involve a prolonged fire fight. 😀

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    1. If I cast my mind back to learning Chain of Command I can recall it was a similar learning curve. We picked the rules up pretty quickly but using them well was a longer process. It's not that the rules are complicated, as you say, it's more about making the most of what they allow. The prolonged firefight is an easy trap with two relative novice players. I suspect an experienced player who will take full advantage of fire AND movement will make short work of a less experienced player.

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  6. To your point on prolonged fire fights & suffering shock. The Russian General Suvarov's maxim ‘the bayonet is a wise man, the bullet a fool’ is one you possibly should keep in mind. Nice right up.

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    1. Thanks Gozza, those are wise words and I suspect the key to unlocking Sharp Practice.

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  7. Marck,
    I have just discovered your blog,
    I´m reading your posts, and I think is the most clear and pedagogical I have ever seen. And your quality as modeler and terrain builder is incredible.
    Please more tutorial about painting
    I think I share many wargaming concerns with you, but you have solved them yet¡¡
    I have a blog about AWI, but my main interest is in 2ww and I hope to and this theme soon.
    Thank you very much for sharing all your experiences.
    Antonio.

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    1. Thanks Antonio, that's very generous, I'm glad you have enjoyed exploring the blog. I'll try to do more tutorials on painting - the problem is that I forget to stop and take pictures of some of the stages, particularly if I'm happy with progress, I just want to keep on painting. I visited your AWI blog and was interested to see you collect 1/72, as you know this is a scale I like for WWII.

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  8. 2 great looking games. I'm reading through the rules trying to get my head around them. Think I just need to play them and learn the rules that way.

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    1. Thanks Ray. Yes I think it's the usual case of just getting some figures on the table and start pushing them around. I suspect playing with someone who's more familiar with them would really help. In our case Dave and I have just floundered along learning from our mistakes, but I think after 4-5 games it's a lot clearer in our minds how to make the most of them. Onwards!

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  9. Very interesting read! After the few games I've played I'm still stuck with that feeling of 'something's missing'. Maybe I should give the game another go.

    A few thoughts and questions:
    - As you describe making the most of different unit characteristics, do you think the game suffers when the forces are more alike, for example British vs. French Napoleonic line?
    - Do you think the scenario's in the book offer enough incentive to maneuver and go on the offensive (thereby avoiding the boring exchange of fire)?

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  10. I found we had a tendency to think the answer to every tactical problem was to form into line and start firing. I think the key is to think that the solution is more likely to be found in movement and that firing is one way to make that movement easier or reduce the effectiveness of the enemy response. I think the scenarios offer enough of an outline for a game but players need to create clearly defined objectives that encourage both sides to act with determination. We have found with Chain of Command that a campaign or linked scenarios can really help as layers have to think about the future implications of their actions in each scenario.

    As for characteristics I don’t think having them alike for either side really matters, it’s more about you as a player maximising what each unit can do, playing to their strengths and then outfoxing your opponent. Speed is something under utilised. A Light Infantry unit that uses Step Out can move with four dice during their activation, that potentially can have a huge impact if that puts them around a flank or at the rear of an enemy unit.

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