Tag Archives: King George’s War

French and Indian War: Gorham’s Rangers from Galloping Major Wargames

When most people think of irregular wilderness rangers fighting in the French and Indian War, most thoughts go to the famed Rogers’ Rangers. Another lesser known ranger unit of the period was Gorham’s Rangers, first raised by John Gorham in Massachusetts in the 1740s. Joined by his brother Joseph Gorham, the unit saw action in King George’s War (1744-48) and the even more obscure (at least to this American) Father Le Loutre’s War (1749-1755) in Nova Scotia and Acadia. Like Robert Rogers, both John and Joseph Gorham earned commissions in the British Army. Joseph would go on to lead the rangers in key actions in the French and Indian War, including the Siege of Louisbourg (1758) and the Siege of Quebec (1759).

With some 28mm models from the Galloping Major Wargames Allies on the Frontier Kickstarter from 2019, I decided to mix up my ranger forces with a representation of Gorham’s Rangers. With brown coats, red facings and a mix of hats, the models brought the opportunity to create a real mixed force of poses and styles in a different color scheme from all my other models of the period.

Painting galloping major figures is always a joy, with big chunky sculpts brimming with detail and personality. Adding some Gorham’s Rangers to my collection allows for not only some welcome variety, but will also opportunities to game even early periods in North American colonial history on the tabletop.

French and Indian War: Compagnie Franches de la Marine from Galloping Major Wargames

Fan favorite Galloping Major Wargames launched its second Kickstarter campaign in July 2017 with a line featuring Compagnies Franches de la Marine. Billed as “regular soldiers recruited in France for colonial service,” this 28mm campaign added seven new packs to their catalog, plus a single character figure which instantly became one of my favorite.

I ordered three packs of figures (FIW FCFI, FIW FCF2 and FIW FC3) featuring soldiers and command clad in “Canadian/outpost” clothes and wearing a mix of bonnets and tuques. I chose to paint them up in a variety of colors so they mix equally well with my Canadian militia units or stand alone as recruited French soldiers.

These soldiers were commonly posted at forts and fought in battles all across the French and Indian War era, so they come in pretty useful in a lot of gaming scenarios. Overall the poses are pretty basic in loading, at the ready, advancing and firing, with a little extra personality in the command figures. Other figures in the Kickstarter featured more formal short jackets and tricorne hats, and the entire range is now available for sale through the company’s website.

The gem of the entire offering is the individual Daniel Hyacinthe de Lienard de Beaujeau figure. A Canadian officer and veteran of King George’s War, Beaujeau was an inspiration to his men and often led them into battle bare-chested and dressed in Indian garb. He died in the opening minutes of the Battle of the Monongahela in July 1755 and remains a somewhat legendary character of the FIW period.

I’m always glad to add more Galloping Major figures to my collection, and the Beaujeau figure really made this campaign worth it.

Boardgames of the French and Indian War – Part II

Battle of Fort William McHenry during French and Indian War

Quite some time ago, I wrote a round-up of my favorite boardgames of the French and Indian War. Since then I’ve been focusing pretty exclusively on the FIW using 28mm miniatures and Muskets & Tomahawks. I’ve also spent a lot of time over the past year reading about the period and visiting historic sites in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and West Virginia that tell the story of the FIW.

Between travel, research, painting miniatures, building scenery and running through tabletop scenarios of the period, I’ve continued to build up my collection of FIW-themed boardgames. With that, I have a second list of more of my favorites from this empire-defining conflict in North America.

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Quebec 1759 (Columbia Games)

You can’t beat Columbia Games for their quick-playing and unique block games for which they are known. I have Liberty: The American Revolution 1775-83, their American Revolution game, on my shelf, and about a year ago I finally to picked up a copy of their FIW game Quebec 1759.

Released in 1972, Quebec 1759 was one of the first block wargames produced and has remained in print for 45 years as a game perfect for entry level players as well as those experienced in the hobby. I’ve been trying to track down a first printing of the game for a while for the embossed blocks, but I couldn’t pass up a great deal on a 1980s edition with 50 stickered blocks for $20 at a convention flea market a couple years back.

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Map and wooden blocks from Quebec 1759

Playable in about an hour or so, this classic abstractly captures the meeting of the British forces led by James Wolfe and the French defenders commanded by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm in September 1759. The decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham outside Quebec City left both men dead and was the beginning of the end of French rule in North America.

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Typical stickered wooden blocks from a mid-1980s edition of Quebec 1759

My near perfect copy captures the charm of the original edition with its signature wooden blocks, 10″ x 32″ elongated heavy cardboard map and a mere four pages of rules. The game is played over 16 turns with each side — British and French — plotting their moves in advance on paper and then simultaneously revealing them. There are no spaces on the map. Instead ten road-connected land zones and a bisected St. Lawrence River.

The game has remained a classic for a reason, notably its fast play that rewards numerous replays and taking turns on either side.

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End of Empire: 1744-1782 (Compass Games)

Command was a bi-monthly magazine published between 1989 and 2001 which focused on military history, strategy and gaming. Issue 46 from December 1997 features articles on New France, the American Revolution, George Washington and his spy network, and famed traitor Benedict Arnold. The issue also contains a full hex and counter game called End of Empire which captures the grand sweep of North American history from the 1740s through early 1780s. The game was subsequently reprinted as a box game from Compass Games as End of Empire:1744-1782.

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My copy of Command #46 featuring End of Empire just prior to punching the counters

End of Empire covers a wide period from King George’s War, FIW and the American Revolution. Over a dozen scenarios allows play of specific conflicts or campaigns in a few hours, and a full game is playable over the whole period that will run to more than 15 hours for truly committed players. The game is regimental in scope with a huge hex map spanning the entire North American East Coast and contains hundreds of color counters representing British, French, Spanish, Indian and Colonial forces. For a real deep dive into nearly 40 years of colonial conflict, this is the game.

Wilderness Empires (Worthington Publishing)

I’m a big fan of Worthington Publishing’s games. I have three of their American Revolution games – New York 1776, Trenton 1776 and their latest, Saratoga 1777. The simple graphic maps and wooden blocks make Worthington’s games easy to grasp while also providing some great strategic play specific to the conditions of certain battles and campaigns.

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Map detail and wooden playing pieces from Wilderness Empires

With Wilderness Empires, most recently reprinted in 2016, Worthington captures the larger scope of the grand strategy of the FIW in a mix of point-to-point movement, blocks and cards. Designed by my pal Bill Molyneaux, a FIW reenactor and game designer, the game is steeped in real history while producing introductory level play of the period for 2-4 players.

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French (top) and British (bottom) cards from Wilderness Empire featuring original art by Don Troiani

The components are hefty 1″ wooden blocks with nicely rounded corners representing French, British and Indian forces. Indian towns, special wood dice, a large board and cards featuring beautiful original art by Don Troiani round out what’s in the box. Their artwork aside, the cards provide tactical play of reinforcements, leaders, campaign actions and specific play of historical units such as Rogers Rangers and Indian allies.

If you’re lucky, you can track down this recently out of print game in gift shops at various historical sites and forts in the northeast for a great intro to the period.

1759: The Siege of Quebec

1759: Siege of Quebec (Worthington Publishing)

Worthington has also produced a new spin on the famed siege of the era with 1759: Siege of Quebec. The game presents a bit like the classic Columbia game covering the same battle but with a unique 2-in-1 package that allows for both 2-player and solo play, a rarity for games of the period.

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The beautiful map for Worthington’s 1759: Siege of Quebec

This game is gorgeous. The area movement map is bisected with by the St. Lawrence River and has defined deployment areas for stickerless blue (French) and red (British) blocks. In the 2-player game, separate hands of Command Decision cards and Command Field Orders books allow each side to make selections on what they do each turn. Cards are revealed and resolved, with casualties and morale tracked toward victory. The solitaire game uses a separate set of cards but plays out in a similar way.

The game falls into the modern string of fast-play “lunchtime games” which typically run less than a half-hour, making 1759 a great modern spin on the often-covered battle.

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1754: Conquest – The French and Indian War (Academy Games)

I’ve long been a devotee of Academy Games and their take on American history through their highly accessible and educational games. I have copies of their American Revolution game 1775: Rebellion, 1812:The Invasion of Canada and the immensely challenging Freedom: The Underground Railroad, so when I heard they were producing a FIW game, I knew I’d be getting a copy.

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Set-up of 1754: Conquest from Academy Games

The game, 1754: Conquest, follows the same basic mechanics of 1775 and 1812 and rounds out Academy’s trilogy from their “Birth of America” game series. All three games feature wonderfully colorful maps with area movement of small cubes using small hands of action cards keyed to historical events and personalities.

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One of my many plays through 1754: Conquest

In multiple plays of 1754, I’ve found it to be the most challenging in the series. Fortifications, muster points for militia and harbors for arriving British and French reinforcements all reflect the major points of control important to the war. As with all games in the series, this one serves as a great entry into wargaming the period while also providing a challenge to more experienced gamers.

Bayonets & Tomahawks (GMT Games)

One of my most anxiously-anticipated games is GMT’s Bayonets & Tomahawks which has been on their P500 pre-order since 2015. There’s been a steady drip of development and playtesting articles over the game’s long gestation, and in late 2019 some near-final box art was made available.

A 2018 playtest map for Bayonets & Tomahawks, slated for delivery in late 2020

As with all things that come out of GMT, the looks like its going to be a beauty with custom dice supporting a unique battle system and full-color round, square and triangular counters for different forces, fleets, forts and game conditions. The playtest map looks stunning. The game will play over shorter scenarios or the full war with raids, battles, construction, sieges and naval actions. Cards will support historical events and military actions. Having not gotten my hands on it as of yet, I can’t wait to unpack and punch this game when it becomes available, hopefully in late 2020.

New Game Weekend: A Few Acres of Snow

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 “You know that these two nations are at war about a few acres of snow somewhere around Canada, and that they are spending on this beautiful war more than all Canada is worth.” — Voltaire, Candide (1758)

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the area of what would become the Northeastern United States and the neighboring Canadian Provinces of Ontario and Quebec were a battlefield for French, British and Native American control. With the two European empires locked in a protracted series of large and small wars around the globe, the American colonies were often a sideshow to the global conflict. In the colonies, King William’s War (1689–97), Queen Anne’s War (1702-13), King George’s War (1744–48) and the French and Indian War (1754–63) each played a role in shaping not only the birth of the United States of America but also the face of the entire globe for centuries to come.

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A mid-18th century map of British and French colonies in North America

(from New York Public Library Map Division)

I grew up in Western New York State, spent most of my twenties in Eastern Michigan and Western Pennsylvania, and finally settled in New York City nearly twenty years ago. In my life I’ve logged many a road trip to the landmarks of British and French military control at Fort Stanwix, Fort Ticonderoga, Fort William Henry and Fort Niagara, along with various battlefields and stops at roadside markers. In July, I’ll be swinging by Fort Necessity in Pennsylvania where a British officer named George Washington first commanded troops in an opening battle of the French and Indian War. I’ll also be swinging through Letchworth State Park which was occupied by the western edges of the Iroquois Confederacy which sided with the British during the era of European conflict. In short, I’ve spent my entire life living amid the ghosts of the contested colonial regions of the North American colonial wars.

AcresCardsSample cards from A Few Acres of Snow

At the recent D-Day Plus 70 weekend at Metropolitan Wargamers in Brooklyn, NY I was fortunate to score a copy of A Few Acres of Snow in a dice-off raffle. Created by famed designer Martin Wallace and released by Treefrog Games in 2011, the game takes its name from a quote from Voltaire’s Candide commenting on the absurdity of European focus on colonial wars for territory. AFAOS takes players through the French-British colonial period in North America as each nation competed for control of the continent. Within the theme, the game is a rich mix of deck-building and area control mechanics as players seek to settle and defend key areas of the map.

snowsymbolsCard symbols from A Few Acres of Snow

(Wagon, Bateaux, Settler, Military Strength, Money, Fur, Ambush and Ship)

The two-player game begins with players choosing a side as the British or French with a set number of settled outposts in the wilderness of 17th and 18th century North America. British begin with their main settlements in New York and Boston while the French player starts with Quebec. Players begin with a draw deck from which they start with five cards. Playing cards in turns of two actions each, players perform a variety of actions including settlement, fortification, raids, sieges, trade, piracy and a number of card management options. Symbols depicted on each card allow for enormous flexibility in how each player executes their strategy of expansion. For example, a player might begin with a Location card setting off from an existing settlement. From there, a card is played with the appropriate movement symbol like a Bateaux along a river. Once at a new location, a card with a Settler might be played to create a new settlement. As a player’s holdings expand, their decks grow in size and options, leading to even more potential paths of empire growth. Once all settlement tokens are used or major settlements like Boston or Quebec are captured, the games ends and victory points are scored.

IMG_3640My first play of A Few Acres of Snow

In my first play through AFAOS, I faced off with my son playing the French and me playing as the British. The game plays in about an hour, but on our first run we went to a bit over 90 minutes as we wrapped our heads around the rules. After I quickly sailed to and settled Halifax well within the bounds of French country, several  sieges commenced. In his first siege attempt, my son was repelled by my superior military might powered by my store of money. He then took a few turns to quickly trade a lot of fur (one of the strengths of the French player) to buy additional forces for a second siege which chased my British from his territory.

IMG_3647My heavily-settled British Atlantic Coast in A Few Acres of Snow

In the meantime, I pushed inland with a string a settlements toward the Great Lakes in the hopes it would expose Quebec to a siege. However, my son quickly landed a stronghold in my coastal territory in a siege victory at Pemaquid. I retaliated with two failed attacks on Pemaquid using Native American raiding parties. Having held on, my son launched an attack on Boston and my British rule of the colonies fell.

Our first game showed us how quickly AFAOS can move once you get the mechanics. Getting the right cards in and out of your hand is key to winning the game, and the cards shift in importance as the game quickly unfolds. The balance of trade, expansion and military actions does a fantastic job in re-enacting the dynamics which played out between the British, French and shifting Native American allies over some 150 years. Even though we upset the course of history, we both walked away pretty thrilled over our new game and chatting up strategies for the next time we meet up in the woods and along the coasts of Colonial America.

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