Introduction

Designer David Erickson states that his goal for Horse & Musket is to "recreate the 18th Century battlefield in an authentic and enjoyable manner." A follow-on game to Dragoon (Boku Strategy Games / Battlefront.com), Horse & Musket enables the gamer to try his or her hand as a commander in five wars of the century in question. This game offers twenty-one separate battle scenarios from: The Great Northern War, The War of the Spanish Succession, The War of the Austrian Succession, The Seven Years' War, and the American Revolution. The wars represented are generally overlooked by the general public these days. Even in military history circles and courses these conflicts are often given only cursory attention. It should be remembered that many major battles of the 18th century represent classic military operations. These battles of the 1700's commanded by Frederick of Prussia, the Duke of Marlborough of England, Charles of Sweden and others were studied in detail by commanders of later eras. Carl von Clausewitz, Napoleon, Wellington, Lee, Grant, Jackson, Maher, and all the commanders of the 19th Century were students of the tactics and leaders that fought on these fields.

Battles spanning seventy-eight years of military operations are presented in this game: 1700 to 1778. Needless to say, the battles and leaders represented in the various scenarios represent a wide range of situations and military command styles. To name a few: At Narva, Charles XII leads 11,000 Swedes in a surprise attack, through a snowstorm, against 40,000 Russians of Peter the Great, commanded by General de Croy. The Duke of Marlborough commands an English attack against the French at Blenheim. Marlborough pits his skill against Marshal Villars of France at Malplaquet (historically, a Pyrrhic victory resulted for the English and their allies). Marshal Saxe of France leads 70,000 Frenchmen against England's 50,000 men under the Duke of Cumberland at Fontenoy. Frederick of Prussia fights the Duke of Sousbie at Rossbach and (historically) gains a great victory against almost 2:1 odds. The last four scenarios come from the American Revolution. In them, George Washington faces British generals Howe and Clinton in the battles of Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. The gamer who plays these scenarios can gain a good knowledge of the organizations and tactics of warfare on the 1700's battlefield.

Game turns are representative of fifteen minutes in real time. The map hexes represent an area of 150 yards. Twelve types of terrain, from clear to slope to fortifications, depict the various battlefields of the game. There are three types of unit icons. Infantry units represent battalions. Cavalry units are two to three squadrons in strength. Artillery units are batteries of up to fifteen guns. Additionally, commanders are represented by individual figures.


Scenario selection.	The bombardment phase.

Play Sequence

The game manual is well organized and complete. I did find it necessary to read a little in order to familiarize myself with the sequence of play. The game is played in a series of phases. Board gamers will be familiar with the sequencing used. Phases are: Bombardment; Command Turn; Command; Activation; Action (1st Fire, Movement, Defensive Fire, 2nd Fire, Assault); End of Action; and Withdrawal.

As indicated above, artillery fires come first in the sequence of play. The Command Turn occurs once every hour (every fourth turn). During this turn, the overall commander distributes extra command points, thereby increasing the chosen subordinate commanders' command ratings. This procedure represents the concept of an army commander's ability to influence the battlefield at the critical point; or at least where he perceives the critical point.

Are you enjoying this Review? Here you can send it to a friend.

Protected under copyright and international treaties. No portion of this web site or the files contained therein may be obtained for other than personal non-commercial use nor may they be reproduced or otherwise redistributed. Violations will be prosecuted to the maximum extent possible under the law and may result in severe civil and criminal penalties.

All other copyrights and products mentioned on The Wargamer are the property of their respective companies.

Introduction

Installation

Play Sequence