Terra Ferra

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====== Border War ======

{{tag>"Author's View"}}

It has been a long time since my last post.  The reasons are diverse both in the real world and wargaming world.
Firstly, Basic Impetus 2 was released and Andy and I changed focus from the 19th century to the ancient and classical world.  I was involved in the original Impetus rules but lost some interest when the community changed and competition became the driving force behind the rules rather than history. A return to the simpler world of the updated Basic rules was therefore a welcome change. I think the competition guys had a big hand in the army lists though.

After than summer, my boat and volunteer work got in the way before (drum roll) Andy got a dog! Why is that important I hear you ask. Well while Terra Ferra is a one man effort most of the games were played at my place with Andy. Now he is reluctant to leave the dog all day so will only really play at his place which has fewer resources than mine, also we are gaming less frequently. We have started a Bloody Big Battles Franco-Prussian campaign in 10mm but Terra Ferra it is not.

The lack of  an opponent has therefore prompted a rethink. As TF will have to become a solo venture what rules should I use and does the campaign need changing? I find 'Field of Battle 2' our previous rules of choice are a bit of a chore for one person to run. So this late summer-autumn I have been scouring the net for ideas. One which came up was a set called “Tin Soldiers in Action”. They do have mixed reviews on the net due particularly to the apparently 'iffy' translation from German and the price at £30. I read a lot of stuff at [[http://daleswargames.blogspot.co.uk|Dales Wargaming Blog]]. For solo play the rules seemed to offer a number of advantages no measuring (its uses a grid) and card driven activation. I decided to take the plunge and ordered of Caliver. I also bought a gridded battlemap, I have a number of gridded rules such as 'Square Bashing' and Sam Mustafa's 'Rommel' so the outlay was not a total waste if TSiA  was a flop.

Not being able to access my wargame table for a week after the book arrived (workmen doing alterations to house) meant I read the rules rather than just jump in as usual!! While there are a few translation issues I did not find them too bad, in fact clearer and a better read than some English sets. The rule book is a hard-backed 250+ pages. The rules themselves are not particularly long but have a large number of  'special' rules sections to allow you to tailor the game to your tastes and most of the book is spent explaining how to do those adjustments.
On Boardgame geek there is an introductory scenario 'Hooks Farm' which I played and posted as a border clash. 
I was quite happy with the game. A solo games need to be simple to run (at least for me) as you have to play both sides and too much housekeeping can really make gaming hard work. TSiA trotted along just fine and while the game was not exactly riveting (it was after all a demo) and I did need to restart a few times due to missed rules (due to me trying to use just the QRS). I felt there is defiantly a good game in there and I am happy with the results. Will I use them again? Yes but I will need to work up some army lists (Need to read chapter 5 I think).
Terra Ferra

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