Pony Wars: The Homestead Turns 1 - 8.

The first outing for Pony Wars rules which has been languishing for a couple of years now having completed all the figure painting required.

The rules were originally written in 1980 and recently updated. They are firmly aimed at the earlier Hollywood version of the Wild West rather than historical accuracy. Written primarily for 15mm figures, Baccus now have a range of 6mm tailor-made for these rules. 

A table size of 8' x 6' was recommended for 15mm figures with all measurements in inches. I have selected a 6' x 3'9" table for my 6mm collection with measurements reduced to two thirds. A suitably sized 2/3 ruler can be downloaded from the Pony Wars website which I have printed off for use.  

4 scenarios are included with the rules, the first being 'The Homestead'. It seemed as good a place to start as any and should allow for a decent test of the rules.

In this scenario, there are 5 homesteads scattered across the board, each with 5 civilians occupying them. 4 of the 5 are situated near passes which provide shortcuts but with the risk of an Indian ambush.

For ease of reference, looking towards the fort is north, left west, right east with south in the foreground.

Fort Laramie is situated at one end of the board. They have received word from scouts that Indian war parties are on the loose placing the homesteads at risk. It is the task of the US to round up all civilians, including any that appear as a result of cards drawn, and to escort them safely to the fort.

The appearance of Indians, civilians and US reinforcements will be determined by drawn cards and dice rolls will indicate where on the board they enter. 

Victory points will determine how well the US did with the game ending when there are no civilians left to save.

Dice rolls are made to ascertain the US cavalry strength at the start. The garrison consists of 10 infantry, 2 x 6pdr cannon with 4 crew each, and 9 cavalry with the General commanding. The cavalry and General are a reserve and may be deployed from the fort but at a victory point cost. 

It was my original intention to break the segments down reporting on turns 1 - 12, 13 - 24 and 25+. This neatly aligned with level 1 and level 2 relating to the relevant card details on reinforcements etc. with turns 25+ being no further cards drawn unless the drums were beating. 

It was also my intention to be more brief on the action report. On that I failed and with wargaming time in short supply over the past month have decided to limit this first segment to 8 turns which should be more digestable. 

Continued -