The following scenario is loosely based on the first engagement of the American War of Independence- the British march on Lexington. It has been "road tested" on two occasions with different results. On the first occasion Baronet Parrish's redcoats were fought to a stand–still by Tony De Lyall's militia (Doug still blames it on the red wine, and the fact that his soldiers were marching at their own initiative by 3.00 am). On the second occasion "No Flint' Grey's Regiment of Buffs seized and fired the arsenal. This doughty Regiment then retired under heavy fire, finally clearing its line of retreat at bayonet point. This charge gave the British a last turn/ last die roll victory over Colonel Hughes militia. On both occasions I have acted as a non-playing umpire. Call me old-fashioned if you wish, but I believe that the no-playing umpire introduces a lot of 'colour' into gaming. As umpire I variously regulate the arrival/existence of reinforcements, control the use of hidden deployment and movement (how else does that rifle company in the woods remained concealed?) and control random events. Of the latter my favourite is the arrival of an incoherent/ambiguous message from an off-table commander in chief demanding results. It is easy to be critical of the performance of Marshall Ney at Quatre Bras. However, it is surprising how many players get in an equivalent muddle when given equally ambiguous orders by their 'superiors" off table. This scenario is ideally suited to the use of a non-playing umpire. The American player doesn't know the full strength of the British attacking force nor does he know the strength of his own reinforcements and the roads by which they will be arriving. However, he does know that the Hull Militia have promised help and that they should be arriving at some stage during the battle. The British player has no idea of the special rules governing the use of Minutemen, nor does he know the strength of his enemy. However, he soon realises that the further he marches onto the table, the more numerous his enemies become. The Player Notes are handed out on the day of the game to put players in the mood. Anyway, settle back, open up the bottle of red (an essential tool to most gamers I know), and enjoy! More Lexington AWI Lexington: Introduction AWI Lexington: American Player Notes AWI Lexington: British Player Notes AWI Lexington: Referee Summary More American War of Independence AWI Hessians: Historical Background AWI Hessians: Hessian Recruitment and Performance AWI Hessians: German Troops in America, by Unit AWI Hessians: Wargamer Introduction AWI Hessians: Miniatures The French Army in the AWI The French Army Organization and Uniforms Back to Table of Contents -- Kriegspieler #5 To Kriegspieler List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Kriegspieler Publications. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com