Kulm 1813, sort of.

Met with friends and family over MLK Jr. weekend for our 7th annual King Con gaming 'convention'.  This year we had participants from 4 states, including as far away as Kansas and New York. (The event was in NE Ohio.)

We played a total of 12 games by my count, many board games and several larger mini games, which will be featured here. The first was Kulm, 1813. Or sort of. I sold my Austrians years ago (I substituted Saxons in their stead), and had to use what troops I had to sort out the rest the best I could. I just felt it was an interesting situation that was good to game. No one seemed to mind that the buttons and turnbacks may have been incorrect than the actual historical participants. I suggest you do the same. Hah!

I apologize in advance for the quality of some of the pictures. I usually take better pictures but screwed the pooch on many of these.

The gang. Three of my brothers attended! Somewhere, my mother smiled as we are finally at the age where hardly anybody cried when we lost and no one punched each other. 😊

A view of the whole table from behind the French lines. We used Age of Eagles rules, in my opinion a great adaption of the F&F rules for Napoleonics. I am such a geek, I even had my copy of the rules signed by the author several years back at a convention.

The same from behind the Allies' lines.

Note the Russian Grenadiers in the wood in the bottom center. That wood would become the site of a real back and forth.

French Dragoons screen the advancing Polish infantry.

Russian Cossacks and heavy Currassier in reserve behind the stream.

The Allies refuse their right flank in an effort to protect the road where the rest of the Allied armies are retreating. The French would earn extra VP for capturing the exit.

Polish lancers lead the way.

Polish Hussars advance with the infantry in the center, ready to exploit any holes in the Allied lines.

The attack by the French right against those Grenadiers begins.

A view down the French lines as more and more troops get stuck in.

Cavalry charge in the center!

The Allied left flank, trying to hold behind the stream and make the French pay for every yard. Sorry, I mean 'meter'.

As the battle rages on, evening sunlight falls on the Russian Hussars.

The Hussars charge in the center. The Russians form square and repulse them!

In the 'not really there' category, French Guard Grenadiers advance. They are aiming at seeing the Russian cavalry off.

The Prussians appear on the French left flank. (My command) They immediately fail their orders rolls and sit there like little lumps of white metal.

The French CinC is in the thick of it as they continue to grind forward.

From behind the French lines, you can see they have pushed all the way through the wood and begin to threaten the Allied flank.

Artillery supports the French advance. The Russian Grand Battery in the center was a huge deciding factor in French dispositions and movement throughout almost the entire game. That is, until French counter battery fire damaged some of the Russian guns. This allowed for the major French push in the center.

At this point we called it, and though the Allies had a sizable victory, one or more turns would have seen a major swing as the French were poised to exploit all the damage they had done. But we were hungry and had dinner reservations! It was much closer than the final score indicated.

It was a good game, I think. Everyone seemed to have a good time. My fear of it just being a smashmouth slog was mitigated by the fact that we were all together and just playing games like we used to 40 years ago.

It was a good day.