I am looking forward to yet another new set of Napoleonic rules.
Shocked? Don't be. I have a chronic case of "Squirrel!" when it comes to wargaming, especially Napoleonics.
One might ask, "What's wrong with Le Petite Empereur 2 or Valour & Fortitude?"
Well, nothing, really. But have I mentioned, "Squirrel!"?
I recently backed the Kickstarter for Blood & Bayonets, which is based upon the mechanics in Blood & Plunder. Both of these are published by Firelock Games.
Why B&B? I think there are two reasons B&B grabbed my attention long enough that I paid my money. For one thing I suspect B&B will have a slightly wider audience than my other Napoleonic rules. It might bring in gamers who playB&P and many of those players appear to have come from fantasy or science fiction gaming. So I might just be able to show up at my FLGS and be able to play a game.
But more importantly for me are the scenario possibilities. I have been a huge fan for decades of Age of Sail fiction such as the “Horatio Hornblower” series by C. S. Forester and the Aubrey/Maturin "Master & Commander" series by Patrick O'Brian. I own literally hundreds of novels on the subject.
One of the tried-and-true scenes from these books are variations on the theme of landing parties. Guess what B&B has? Boats, rules, and scenarios for landing parties!
Insert happy dance.
I have to admit I wasn't more than peripherally aware of Blood & Plunder until I heard about B&B. I've played in pirate-themed games but it has never been a topic that held my attention for long enough to buy toys. Once I backed the B&B Kickstarter and found out how long before the game is delivered, I bought a copy of B&P to learn the rules system.
Doing so led, of course, to plenty of time on the Internet. There is a small but devoted fan base for B&P. Some of the sites I found appear to have gone into neglect in 2022-2023. But Blood & Pigment is an amazing source for info about the game and the scene. Or, "meta", if you prefer. If you have any interest in B&P or its descendants (Blood & Crowns, Blood & Steel, Blood & Valor, or Oak & Iron) you should really visit Blood & Pigment.
Another excellent source of info and inspiration is the Plunder Den YouTube channel. In fact, the owner of Plunder Den has just published a video running for an hour and a half that shows a demonstration game of B&B.
So what do I have to bring to B&B? Quite a bit, actually.
When Ray and I first decided to ignore our 15mm Napoleonic armies and begin building 28mm ones, I was reading about the actions in Eastern Spain during the Peninsular War. These actions were not under the direct control of General Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington.
The biggest Anglo-Spanish success in Eastern Spain was the Battle of Castalla on 13 April 1813. A combined force of British troops including King's German Legion, a Swiss regiment, and Italian units along with two divisions of British-trained and -equipped Spanish defeated Marshal Suchet's corps of French. I based my miniature army on the Castalla orders of battle, and added Italian and Neapolitan units that were under Suchet's command but not present at the battle.
All I'm lacking is the Spanish contingent. And some boats. And a seaside scene...