Ponte di Spurlacco – Final round up

A few days after fighting the battle, I thought I’d jot down some final details and my reflections on the game while it’s still pretty fresh in my mind.

The casualty returns were as follows:

Medetian Army

Braganza Infantry Regiment          7 figures
Sebastiani’s Grenadiers                1 figure
Weissach Grenz                           2 figures
Montanelli’s Cuirassiers                9 figures (unit retired)

Total                                             19 figures (380 men, of whom about half could be expected to return to the colours during the campaign)

Fleurian Army


Bravence Infantry Regiment          18 figures (unit dispersed)
Friant’s Jagers                                2 figures (unit dispersed)
Wurttemberg Jager                        2 figures
Legion de Fleurie Hussars             1 figure

Total                                              23 figures (460 men, of whom about a third could be expected to return to the colours during the campaign)

Not too bloody, all things considered. However, with the Medetians holding the ground at the end of the battle (and therefore capturing some of the Fleurian wounded) and with two Fleurian units dispersing (with inevitable further losses to desertion), the actual result was probably more in the favour of Medetia than the close tactical victory would suggest. Certainly the Medetian main army would now be able to capitalise on its advanced guard’s hard work and gain an early advantage in the campaign.

The next clash would take place on Fleurian soil then. I need to look through other scenarios I have kept over the years (many of them Charles Grant’s Tabletop Teasers) and decide what will offer the most interest and fun next time round.

In terms of the rules, although I still have some reservations about certain bits (generally the ‘weightiness’ of them rather than the quality),  they did play well and give me believable outcomes. Where there were surprises and dramatic events they all felt plausible for the period and unit types involved, and (assuming I interpreted them correctly) coped well with the ‘tricky’ bits such as split units, fighting over bridges and in built up areas, etc. The Ayton games had given me some familiarity with Henry’s rules, although I think they work better for smaller games with fewer units, where you have more time to appreciate the details of the fighting they’re designed to evoke.

I was pleased with the look of the game itself, and although I still think the rivers are a little ‘bright blue’, the gloss paint does offer different depths of colour and levels of reflection depending on the light, which I like. I wasn’t sure about leaving so much of the table empty of scenery and had been tempted to place more trees, walls, rocks, etc, but having manoeuvered fairly large units all over the place, I’m glad I didn’t!