I took the BattleGroup beta rules for a run-out at my local club the other week and actually remembered to take some photos every now and then.
Obviously, I've playtested the rules quite a lot but mostly in the privacy of my own home. This was, I think, the third or fourth public outing for the rules since they went public-ish in the closed beta (and, ergo, were more-or-less ready for public consumption) but a couple of rules that are in the current version of the rules were absent at this time.
Anyway, we played a bespoke scenario with an urban theme. There were four objective buildings on the table and we had to try to control more than our opponent. The secondary mission was to destroy enemy elements.
This was our starting point. I had a couple of hvy cav elements (tanks), a hvy arty element that I kept in reserve (intending to use my CHQ to direct fire from off the table - it turns out I do this very badly) and a hvy inf platoon of three elements, one of which was my CHQ.
My opponent had a force of hvy cavalry, mob inf and hvy inf.
For those without a copy of the rules (contact me!), armies in BattleGroup are assembled from elements that are basically individual units. Each element has a Presence (PR) that is also its cost in points. However, your choice of CHQ imposes modifiers on the cost of certain elements. So for a hvy inf CHQ (as both of us had), hvy cav is cheaper at 2 points each instead of 3 points each.
We rolled off for initiative, which I won. So I immediately leapt forward to seize my closest objective and made the mistake that would dog me for the rest of the game - I should have put my CHQ into that objective, giving it an elevated and reinforced position from which to call in artillery strikes. Instead, I kept it back, losing me the benefit of its ability to guide fire for most of the game.
My canny opponent, meanwhile, pushed his hvy inf elements into the taller buildings and dug in to gain maximum protection whilst also making them able to dominate the middle ground with enfilade fire.
To my credit, I realized my error quickly and saw that my best chance to snatch an eventual victory from early failure was to push my armoured elements up to harass his advance, allowing my remaining inf elements to seize the middle two objectives before he could reach them.
(Despite appearances, the blue vehicle peeking from behind the building on the right middle of the picture isn't artillery - it's acting as a tank in this game!)
Alas, it was not to be. Steve sent his mob inf into claim the building (the APC represents mobile infantry, so it can occupy buildings, even though it appears to be a vehicle - this is me being a cheapskate, as I also use the APC to represent light cavalry, too...) with close support from his tanks who dashed up out of my tank's line of sight and blue the hell out of it.
To be fair to myself, the dice were not in my favour, as I persistently failed to do anything worth mentioning to the mob inf in the building but still:
Yes, I managed to position my other tank on that flank so that it wasn't actually in support of its fellow going after the mob inf. Fail upon fail.
I don't like to think I was despondent at this stage - we were having a great time and I was really enjoying the game despite my errors in tactical deployment. However, I did stop taking pictures, so that might speak to my mental state.
Suffice to say that my left flank collapsed under the combined firepower of his full hvy cav squadron and the mob inf. My CHQ tried to move into position to bring down some artillery fire but left herself (I used a spare one of Angel Barracks's female commander minis as my CHQ in this game) dangerously exposed. I then brought my artillery on from reserve in the hope of using it to perform direct fire missions, but by that point it was far, far too late. Steve's forces had three of the objectives and I was only barely clinging onto the one I had occupied at the start of the game.
I conceded at the end of turn five.
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I have made a few changes to the BG rules since I wrote this. The offer of entry to the closed beta is still open to forum members for another couple of weeks, but the open beta will be starting soon. If anyone who already has a copy would like the updated version, do drop me a line and I'll get you a copy along.
R.
