Saturday 22 April 2017

Review - Travel Battle from Perry Miniatures

Today I went to Salute (more of which in subsequent posts), and among the various faces I recognised were that of Mr. Neil Shuck of the excellent Meeples and Miniatures podcast and co-host Dave Luff. After I said hello and told them how much I enjoyed the podcast, they asked me about Travel Battle, which I was holding in my hand having just bought it from the Perry Miniatures stand. They were interested to know my thoughts once I'd had a chance to scrutinise the contents.

Gentlemen, your wish is my command!


Firstly, the game cost £50. I know wargamers who have balked slightly at that price-tag, and I know boardgamers who have been surprised it isn't higher. To be honest, the news of this release excited me greatly, as I've been very interested in grid-based wargames recently, and I was very happy to pay £50. In advance of the release, I would probably have said I was prepared to pay as much as £65 (grudgingly) but no higher. After purchase and play, I still feel £50 was a fair price.

The box art and graphic design is of excellent quality, and the box is sturdy. It has a plastic handle, and a lid that is hinged at one edge, with little flaps that fold away and keep the box reasonably securely shut. It's of the same type as some laptops ship in, and does indeed look like something that could stand up to the rigours of travel a little better than the average game box. I was a little surprised that it wasn't poly-wrapped. Perhaps there wasn't time to do so before the game's release today. or perhaps that plastic handle makes it problematic.


A pleasant surprise- the box is fitted with a good quality, firm foam insert to minimise stuff moving about inside and being damaged. Brilliant. They're certainly serious about this being a portable game.







The two halves of the plastic game board are 10 inches square, and between them are stowed the rules and the sprues of soldiers, buildings, trees and bases. All the plastic is made by Renedra, and the sculpting, tooling and casting are as good as you'd expect. This is where the pricetag of the game must justify itself, and the quality here is hard to deny.

The scale is described as 8mm, and this fact in particular has surprised many, and actively displeased a few, falling as it does between the industry standards of 6 and 10mm. For myself, this news didn't particularly trouble me. I do not have a collection of Napoleonics (of any scale) that I would want this box to compliment or integrate with, and having played it,  I think the game is so clearly designed to be self-contained that this shouldn't really be an issue for many. A few may wish to expand Travel Battle beyond the supplied armies, and there the scale could be an issue.





The rulebook (or rules pamphlet) doesn't quite scream 'quality' in the same way as the other components. It is A5 in size, and made from two sheets of folded A4, giving a total of 8 pages. One page is the cover, one and a half are given over to pictures identifying the models (and instructions on their assembly) and another page and a half to tips on painting the miniatures and the terrain. This leaves just four pages for the entire ruleset of a Napoleonic wargame. I admit to a little initial apprehension! The rules were the one thing that we had seen or heard nothing of before release.

I spent a happy 45 minutes snipping and glueing (which went as smoothly as one expects from a Perry/Renedra kit), and stopped to admire the result.






The game boards are fixed in terms of layout, clearly as a concession to portability, manufacture and ease of stowage, but they are cleverly designed so that any combination of orientations gives a continuous battlefields with roads that continue smoothly over the join. This means (if my arithmetic is correct) that the two boards offer 16 different possible configurations. Extra sets would happily compliment it for a larger game and would increase the possibilities exponentially.

The miniatures are cast in blue and red, and each army consists of 3 Brigadiers, 2 stands of Guard Infantry, 6 of Infantry, 2 of Heavy Cavalry, 2 of Light Cavalry and 2 cannon. Identifying each on the tabletop is a little tricky at this scale, especially unpainted. Most at fault is the Guard Infantry, which differs from other infantry only by the addition of a little furled standard which protudes from its front rank by perhaps two millimetres. I would recommend some sort of paintjob if only for the purposes of identification. It is also necessary to keep track of which Brigadier belongs to which units- again, a challenge without some sort of visual distinction.

So, the game...

My opponent was my wife- most emphatically NOT a wargamer (she still has stress memories of the time I made her play Kings of War, and will now reject any game outright if she thinks she may have to roll more than two dice). I managed to convince her that this was really a boardgame, not a wargame at all, and closer to chess than Warhammer, and happily she agreed to play with my new toy.

I skipped the layout and deployment phases, and instead set out board and armies exactly as in the rulebook example. This was mostly for reasons of speed, but also because I was unconfident about how to build my army. I have practically no knowledge of Napoleonic army composition, and the rulebook's invitation to each player to 'divide their troops into 3 Brigades how they like' was diconcertingly vague, so I simply followed their example rather than look up how such armies ought to be organised. This was the first of many occasions where I felt an additional sentence or two of direction or clarification would have been welcome, without compromising the spirit of brevity.

The rules for board orientation are cleverly randomised by dice roll, and deployment is alternate, one brigade at a time; a brigade being a collection of elements in a continuous string of contact (orthogonal or diagonal) with a lone mounted brigadier. Each player has three brigades to control with three brigadiers. These 'strings' of contact must be maintained throughout the game, and 'orphaned' units separated from their command can do nothing but fight if attacked (or shoot in the case of artillery). This concept turned out to be key to the concept and appeal of the game, but I had to read the sentences which explained it many times, because they were not very clearly phrased, at least for my poor Salute-jangled brain!

 the depleted Blue army is rounded on by the remaining Red battalions

In addition to problems of phrasing, there are a few common questions which the four pages of rules do not cover or adequately clarify.  Can friendly units interpenetrate when moving? (We decided they could.) Do the ploughed fields count as 'open ground'? (We decided they did.) Do squares with walls but no building count as 'built up area'? (We decided they did.) When a unit is 'pushed back' by an enemy in diagonal contact, which way should it go? (We let the defending player decide, but always favouring an unoccupied square over having to push back another friendly unit.) When 1 unit beats 2 in a fight by a margin sufficent to kill, which of the defeated 2 should be removed? (We allowed the attacker to decide).

As you can see, we had no problem house-ruling where needed, and some of these errors, I'm sure, are probably down to our first-time misreading of the rules, but I do feel that the rulebook would benefit from just a little more text to expand and clarify here and there. An extra A4 sheet in the rulebook would mean 4 more pages of space for this and some historical context, which is also lacking.

However, these criticisms are small and they are the only ones I have. because I have to say,  I LOVE this game! It's deceptively simple, and elegant in execution. It offers command decisions that reflect something of the period without any unnecessary complexity. You must preserve the cohesion of your battalions while keeping them mobile. Bunching them up keeps them easier to command, but less useful in battle. Massing two units into a single square will make them better in combat, but will also make them a juicier target for a well-placed cannon shot. Simple solutions are used to represent certain things efficiently. For instance, 'Forming square' is as simple as placing an element diagonally in its square- so doing, the unit foregoes movement and receives a bonus die to its defence against cavalry, but if attacked by infantry, it is they who will receive the bonus. A cannon can target any unit up to 6 squares away. To hit a unit at maximum distance it must roll a 6. At five squares, a 5+, at four squares distance, a 4+, etc. This is intuitive, efficient and easily memorised. Combat is resolved by simple opposed rolls with rerolls and bonus dice to reflect advantage to one side, and the margin of difference between the opposing rolls dictating severity of result.

I'll admit I'm no expert on Napoleonic warfare, but to me Travel Battle felt like a perfect compromise between a game and a simulation. The game was abstracted, but never in such a way that felt in direct contradiction to logic or expectation. The game was quick but not too quick, simple but not simplistic, fun but not lightweight. Even the non-wargamer enjoyed it! I'll be playing it again soon, and I consider my £50 very well spent.

Do I think the scale or the set nature of the terrain tiles is a problem? Not for me. This is a self-contained game. The pleasure of the play lies partly, like chess, in the fact that the playing field is equal- the armies are identical in size and makeup, and the topography won't drastically benefit or punish either player however they are arranged. It's not a system for refighting Waterloo, and doesn't aim or claim to be. Although it's difficult to know how I'll feel after a few more games,  I don't think this is a game which will benefit from adding stuff to in the form of other miniatures or new rules. It makes a virtue of being stripped down to the bone and entirely self-contained, and there are other rules that will better handle that sort of expanded remit.

Not completely flawless in execution but very good quality, fundamentally sound and heartily recommended.








30 comments:

  1. Very interesting, Thank you... What did your wife think about it, tellingly would she play again?

    cheers

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    1. She enjoyed it, and she did indeed agree to play again- high praise indeed!

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  2. I found the game to simple, combat is just a 1d6 roll off, highest wins. No command and control, just make sure all units are adjacent to each other and move the all. No randomness to mix it up and make you think, just roll forward and roll a die. Very disappointed and certainly not worth the £50 asking price.

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    1. that's fair enough. I'm intending to use a few different grid based rule sets with it, including the one I'm working on myself, so for me the game suits my test, and I can definitely get my money's worth. One little wrinkle in the predictability is the mechanism whereby a unit that is defeated in combat but not killed will be sent back to the 'starting line'. This means that the Brigadier must decide whether to leave his brigade stranded and go and fetch the shaken unit, or leave them grounded at the board edge. The opposing player must kill an entire brigade to get that point (I think- the rules call for the brigade to be 'taken out'), so must dispatch a brigade or concentrate artillery on killing the stranded unit, which may be three turns of movement away.

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  3. Bought it yesterday at salute. It's a nice set, easy to play and gives a simple fun game. I don't need all games to be complex and time consuming. I'm happy with product and price.

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  4. Great review, thanks. The bases matching the ground are very visually pleasing!

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    1. cheers! Yep, the bases are the same green plastic. I'm planning to paint the set, and not sure yet whether to flock bases.

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  5. Great review - thank you.

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  6. Cracking review Joe may pick this up at some point.

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    1. It's great Tim. Let me know if you do, you can play a bigger game with doubled up boards!

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  7. I pre ordered through Caliverbooks.
    Now very much looking forward to receive my copy!
    Thanks for the review.

    On other grid based rules: Have you heard or To the Strongest? A game for ancient and medieval games, also grid based and doesn't use dice. I believe there was a Raphia refight on Salute (huge table most of the times). You should sheck that out, as it is a great and quick game.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks- To The Strongest sounds great, I'll have to have a closer look

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    2. To the Strongest is a great game, very easy to learn and play but neck deep in tactical decisions. He was there at the Broadside show last year Joe, might be going again this year.

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  8. Hi,
    I found my way here via Bob Cordery's blog (author of 'The Portable Wargame' book). Have been looking forward to a few reviews before I buy! I think you present a very balanced review of the game, it's never going to suit those who enjoy complex rule sets but would most certainly suit me. I can imagine that the sprues and boards will become independently available in time, to allow for expansion, as most Perry plastic sprues are.

    Painting sounds a good idea. Thanks for the review.

    Lee.

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    1. Hi Lee

      It was Bob's work with portable grid-based games that got me interested in this sort of game in the first place, and I knew that if the provided rules didn't suit me, I could just use his!

      I'd be interested to see whether and when Perry expands TB, and whether the parts are offered separately. I'm already pondering how I might use the board to fight medieval games too...

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  9. Great review. Thank you. I think I'll be adding this to my wish list.

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  10. A very good review, which when read alongside mine gives anyone who is interested in buying this game very full coverage of the product.

    The more I look at it, the more I am enamoured of it. I really do hope that they produce other versions and/or expansion sets. I pushed a few pieces around on the boards this morning, and think that will work very well indeed with my rules.

    All the best,

    Bob

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    1. I've just been off to read your own review, and have left my thoughts on it over there. I'm glad you liked it- it has a charm that overcomes its flaws. I'm already wondering what I can do with it outside the provided rules. I think your suggesting of an ACW set would be a fine idea

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  11. Your review along with Bob's sold me 2 copies....thank you for your efforts.

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    1. glad to hear it! Hope you get plenty of use out of it.

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  12. I played this for the first time the other day. The rules are excellent in terms of what the game is trying to achieve. But they are poorly-worded, or suffer from unnecessary brevity, meaning that key things have to be house-rules. As you say, retreats aren't clear, especially the baseline retreat/rally (do you go into any square on the baseline? Can you be adjacent to an enemy? Can you be in a square you couldn't reach with a move because of enemy units? And more) and artillery arc of fire (one of the examples seems to contradict the rules). A FAQ would be welcome.

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  13. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  14. I play Napoleonics with 28mm metal figures and reasonably "complicated" rules. I am getting this game. The rules don't matter too much as they can be fiddled with to suit your temperament. That was a GREAT review and was the final straw in making me purchase it. Thanks.

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