AWI using Hail Napoleon

After playing Musket Action for some weeks we decided to re-fight last week's Musket Action battle using Hail Napoleon, so we could compare the two sets of rules better.

This week the French & Continental Allies are on the left with Jim & Chris while Mark Commands the Brits on the right. 

The Allies have advanced only to form a sound defensive line, clearly showing their intention to defend.  The Brits have accepted the challenge & are making a general advance.

On the Allied left flank the Indians attacked the woodsmen & the Hessians attacked the Militia.  Both attacks have been beaten off.  The Brits are still advancing in the centre.

On the Allied right the woodsmen are slugging it our with British Light Infantry in the orchard while the British Grenadiers engage the Militia in the farm yard.

The British Vets advance has slowed as they help out the Hessians on the their left who are under pressure from the Militia in the woods to their front & woodsmen on their other flank.   The Brit cavalry is being moved to the centre.

Under a renewed attack by Hessians & British Vets the Militia on the left look about to break.  But the detachment to their right has weakened the British infantry's attack on the French & it is not going well.

On the left the Militia have been beaten.  In the centre the British infantry has been beaten off.  On the right, the woodsmen in the orchard have broken the Light Infantry, & though the Grenadier's firepower has forced one Militia unit to withdraw from the farmyard, another has taken its place & the Grenadiers are under pressure. 

The Brit's last chance was to charge the French with their cavalry.  One unit did break through, but the other was repulsed & the isolated cavalry was shot down by the remaining infantry & the British infantry finished off by musket & artillery fire.

Now to compare the two battles with different rules:

Result:  The Brits won attacking with Musket Action, the Allies won defending with Hail Napoleon.  But this was due to the winner's better strategy in both cases.  There were no claims of outrageous bad luck by the loser in either case

Time: The HN battle was finished about 3/4 of an hour faster than the MA.  But last week in MA the Brits attacked in a slow methodical manner whereas this week they pretty well went straight at the  enemy.  But I suspect that the IGoUGo of HN is inherently a bit faster.

Ease of Play:  Both sets are equally easy to play, requiring little looking up of the QRS.  But HN does require frequent reference to the large Break Test table posted on the wall.

Enjoyment:  Both sets are fun to play with a nice balance of skill against uncertainty of the dice making for an interesting & exciting game.

Activation & Manouvre:  The activation system in MA feels less frustrating than HN's.  The manoeuvre speeds are similar.  The MA test has 6's good, whereas I have always hated the Warlords' Activation Test making 1's good & 6's bad.

Combat:  The combat systems are very similar, so equally easy to use & give similar results.

Casualties:  HN uses counters to record casualties, MA removes figs. Both have their pros & cons.  My system of mounting individual figs on washers with magnetic movement trays makes casualty removal easy, but there is more pack up time required.

Conclusion:  I like them both, but I wrote them both, so I would wouldn't I?  I think MA is definitely better for small actions.  HN may still be better for large actions because the IGoUGo is inherently a bit faster.