It all started on a whim. I was fantasizing about painting a few armed civilians. They would be used as 'allies' for my regular troops to add a bit of colour. So I had a look around the figure sites hoping to get a few packs in time for Christmas to paint over the holidays. I found some good looking civilians in Peter Pigs Wild West and ACW ranges. Freikorps15 from TSS provided some communards (They also have started to sell some Carlos War Spanish of which more in the future). The orders arrived almost immediately and duly inspired the Christmas plan when in the bin and I started painting. Of course the few battalions of allies had gone in the buying and I now had enough for 4 infantry battalions 1 Cavalry with dismounts and an artillery battery!

With the painting underway I began to plan a game. The Insurrectionists were far too weak for a normal game, especially as I planed to designate them as smoothbore musket armed 'rabble'. They need to be fighting in an urban environment manning the proverbial barricades. I though for a while about what rules to use but in the end returned to FOB2. The still too weak civilians given a stiffening of 'civic guards' using my figgibicci figures as raw part-time soldiers. The table was 'designed' rather than generated as usual with each 'town' section representing a 'block' of houses and other buildings separated by a quite wide street. I added a park (with a palm tree!) and moved the sections around until there where no long lines of sight.

I also placed makers to indicate possible rebel positions, the game was set! Andy took the Kellerites, he knew I had been painting the Insurrectionists but not exactly what or how many I had finally produced. So he went in blind. He discovered that Artillery are vulnerable in built-up areas!! Pressing on he kept finding a lack of long lines of sight made fire fights bloody or ineffective depending on his approach.

Eventually however the truly cr*p quality of my command and troops told. The game however had not been a walk over and had taken some 4 hours of house to house, (or at least block to block) fighting before the rebels finally failed there Army Morale test.

In conclusion I was happy that the game had gone to the wire and the 'Urban' landscape had worked. Andy is keen to fight in a city again but this time with two regular forces!