A Detailed Review 1. Overview There are several rule sets available to the wargamer interested in recreating the battles of the American Civil War. One of those is "Hallowed Ground", a supplement for the miniatures rules system, Piquet. Piquet, and the Hallowed Ground supplement, were written by Bob Jones. Piquet is a multi-period rule system, grounded in the black-powder period of warfare. It emphasizes the unknown and fog-of-war, using a system of initiative and command utilizing polyhedra dice and card decks. In order to use the Hallowed Ground supplement, one must also have a copy of the Piquet Master Rules. Hallowed Ground (HG) is a regimental-level game, meaning the basic unit of maneuver is the regiment. Regiments are composed of multiple stands (almost always four), but the stands have no sub-unit capability. A suggested basing system is given in the Piquet Master Rules, but as pointed out there, as long as both sides use the same basing system, any basing system can be used. Each infantry stand can take three hits, and therefore usually has three figures on it. A cavalry stand, similarly, can take two hits, and thus has two figures on it. An artillery stand has one gun and 3 crew. The Master Rules recommend that infantry and cavalry units should almost always have four stands, and represent regiments, since capability and effectiveness are being represented, rather than numerical headcount. Roughly, each stand is equivalent to 100 effectives. Artillery is grouped into single-stand sections or half-batteries, while batteries are typically represented by two stands. For scales, ground scale is 1 inch equals 25 yards, and one turn equals 30 minutes. Since Piquet has many unique features, we'll cover some of them below, in the pre-game set up and a typical turn structure. 2. SCENARIO BUILDING AND PREGAME Piquet has several ways to construct battles. In addition to the typical historical and 'textbook' scenarios, plus point-based games, it offers its own list-style, or CDT, method for scenario creation. First, each side selects a basic unit count; this may be similar numbers for a fictional meeting engagement, or more disparate sides for an attack/defense game. Then, consulting the CDT, the forces are apportioned out according to the percentages 'typical' of that force, in both infantry/cavalry/artillery terms, as well as elite/regular/militia terms. This creates forces with an appropriate feel for the particular side and year. Once the scenario and forces are determined, by CDT or other method, the pre-game set-up activities begin. The forces, typically a division, are organized into brigades. Then each officer is rated by rolling a 20-sided die and consulting a Leadership Quality table. This roll might be modified by side and year (in 1862, in the East, the Union is at -2, and the Confederacy is at +2 for officer quality), plus possibly a scenario special rule. The, each unit has it's Battle Quality rolled for as well, which again might be modified by side and year (1862 East: Union, +0; Confederacy, +1) This might also be modified by specific rules as well (Virginians, +2; Kentucky troops, -1). This Battle Quality gives a result like "Battle Weary" or "Determined," and each level also gives a Basic Die Value (BDV) that will be used as the basic combat value. There is even a result of "Vacillating," where unit quality determination is deferred until the unit actually enters combat! A die may range from a 4-sided die up to a twelve-sided die, with larger dice representing more effectiveness. This BDV is then modified by weapon and unit type to determine the unit's Fire, Melee, and Morale values. Note that these Leadership and Unit quality results are kept secret from the opponent until combat as well. Next, the CDT is consulted again, to get a number, called the CD, for card divisor. Each side divides their unit count by the CD, and this will result in a number of draws from the Army Characteristic Deck, or ACD. These draws will determine the side's basic morale level, as well as possibly provide additional units or capabilities. Lastly (whew!), each side assembles its Sequence Deck. We'll cover more about this in a moment, but a Sequence Deck represents the capabilities of the army as a whole. It essentially lists all the different 'phases' (fire, movement, rally) an army has; each army might have a different number of movement or fire 'phases'; for example, the 1862 Union Army in the Eastern Theater has three Musket fire phases, two Cavalry Move phases, and two Melee phases; the Confederates have only two Musket fire phases, but three Cavalry Move and three Melee phases. This shows some essential differences between the two sides. 3. TURN SEQUENCE And finally, the units are set up and then the first turn can begin. A 'turn' in Piquet is composed of a variable number of 'phases', each of which has a number of 'initiatives.' The interaction between turns, phases and initiatives recreates both the ebb and flow of initiative on the battlefield, as well as the swings from long pauses to periods of frantic activity. First, the Sequence Decks are shuffled, and then the two commanders each roll a twenty-sided die. The high roller wins the initiative, and gets the difference in the dice rolled as 'impetus,' which are like command points. Each phase has 20 impetus to distribute, and this is subtracted from the phase total and given to the winner. Each impetus point can be used to: Flip a new card from the Sequence Deck. Have one or more units act on the current card. Have one or more units fire. Be placed in an Opportunity reserve. Cards can be things like 'Infantry Move', 'Cavalry Move', 'Officer Check', 'Major Morale Check', or 'Change Formation', plus many others. Normally, each unit requires one point to act, and may not act more than once per card. As an exception, units within range of their brigadier may all act on a card for a *total* of one point, unless the action is to fire or initiate melee. A unit that fires may not fire again until the appropriate (Musket, Artillery, Elite) 'Reload' card comes up (Bob Jones, the designer, notes that this card should more properly labelled 'Peak Fire Effect', the unit being assumed to be actually firing continuously, until they take a break, reload and reform.) Combat resolution is fairly straightforward. A firing unit will take their Fire Combat die, modify it up and down by size steps (a 6-sider up two would be a 10-sider, an 8-sider down one would be a 6-sider, etc.) according to the fire modifier chart, and then the attacker rolls the resulting die. The defender in fire combat rolls a 6-sided die. If the firer rolls higher, the target loses a number of figures equal to the difference, otherwise no effect. Melee is similar, except both units use their Melee Die, and both modify according to conditions. In addition to casualties, a unit falls back a number of inches equal to the number of hits inflicted, plus if the attacker's roll is double the defender's roll or more, the unit will also rout. A commander may spend one of his morale points and trigger a morale check any time an enemy unit takes hits. The enemy then checks morale, and the unit may have no additional effect, or may increase to a worse morale state (disordered, routed, routed+unralliable). Units that rout, lose a melee, or are destroyed also cost their commander a morale point. Once an army has lost all their morale points, they are likely to disintegrate during the next major morale check. Once a commander has used all his impetus that initiative, the command dice are rolled again and another initiative is started. Regardless of the dice difference, no player may receive more impetus than that remaining in that phase. At the end of the phase, the impetus total is reset to 20, and play continues. The turn ends only under one of two conditions: One side has run through their Sequence Deck. The two dice are tied. The Sequence Decks are reshuffled, and a new turn is started. 4. TENSION One of the things that a game of Piquet creates is tension. Assume you have an infantry regiment in the edge of some woods, and looking to cross some open ground to another set of woods. To their left, in the open area, is a cavalry regiment. Under most rule sets, it is a simple determination whether the infantry will reach the distant cover before the cavalry reaches them. Not under Piquet. Given the impetus system, combined with the Sequence Deck, the commander does not know how many Infantry Move cards he will get to, nor how many points he'll get, and there are always more units to use than points. Similarly, he doesn't know when or how far the cavalry will move before he gets to move again. Think about an actual regimental commander, in a similar situation. Standing on the edge of the woods, wondering "Has that cavalry regiment seen us? Will they charge, or are they waiting because of some other orders? Just how far is that wood? Is that a blackberry bramble ahead of us (which if so, will surely slow us down)? Dare I risk moving forward?" Piquet can 'recreate' such tension, even if it doesn't 'simulate' it. Similarly, Piquet helps recreate realistic battle tactics. One of the participants on the Piquet group on Yahoo, Cris Brown, once said: "In most games, you think about how many turns it will take to move a given force to a given objective. In Piquet, you have to think of that in terms of how many cards and pips it will take. Let's assume that you have a mixed command group with three infantry [regiments], two cavalry regiments, and two artillery batteries, with which you intend to attack a [gentle] ridgeline. Your opponent is relying on a [heavy] woods to protect his right flank. You figure to use your artillery, cavalry, and one infantry [regiment] to demonstrate at the base of the ridge, while your remaining two infantry regiments move through the thick but shallow woods and hit the enemy's flank. A reasonable plan, or so it seems, right? Hmmm... Assuming you're two moves from the base of the ridge, [...] you'll probably spend at least two turns, maybe more, trying to get this (very complex!) plan off the ground... with a command group split up and vulnerable for most of that period. Then, when the whole thing collapses, you'll probably want think it was because you never won enough impetus, or you got lousy card draws... Truth is, you'll never win enough impetus or cards to bring off a plan of this sort; not without a couple of Brilliant Leader cards, a "Hidden Path" stratagem, and/or incredibly good luck. This is a long-odds plan, and once you've had your head handed to you on a plate twice or three times, you won't even attempt it. Later, when a neophyte opponent does attempt it, you'll smile and rub your hands together in evil glee." 5. PROS AND CONS No rule set is perfect, and Piquet is no exception. Certainly, is a very good, yet different set, and may not be everyone's cup of tea. High points: Creates a great deal of uncertainty and tension. Reinforces period tactics. Works very well as a set of rules for solitaire gaming. One set of rules for miniature warfare from 3000 BC to the present (with the appropriate supplements, of course.) Low points: Works less well with more than two players (one per side). Does not handle very small (single brigade) or larger (multi-division) battles as well. Not as well known as other rules; you're more likely to find someone familiar with Johnny Reb than Piquet at a convention or club meeting. It can take several games to get the feel of the systems. Some wargamers only get to play three or four times a year, so a system like Piquet won't work for many of them. 6. CONCLUSION Piquet is a very different set of rules. Currently, it is available via mail-order only, through the Piquet website (). There is also a Piquet discussion group on Yahoo. Also, there is at least one Piquet session at Cold Wars and Historicon every year, and often many more. If you are a conventioneer, please take the time to try out a game of Piquet the next chance you get. Back to Table of Contents -- ACW Newsletter # 2 Back to ACW Newsletter List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by Marc Shefelton. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com