Karl McEntegart wrote:
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And that is - ok, can you stack infantry into those hexes? You've already maxxed out the frontage -so where exactly are these infantrymen supposed to be shooting from? Rhetorical question. Google 2nd ull Run Staff ride- you'll bring up a pdf mind you all of the Staff Ride pdfs appear to have been made on an assembly line -so this part about the arty is in all of them. It's on page 36 of the 2nd Bull Run on though."
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As Paul stated, and an excellent point in respect of stacking infantry in a hex with a deployed artillery battery and indeed one I personally gave little consideration to within these games. Although as remarked, it would be a rarity to see such happening particularly on a tabletop. Many board games as we know strictly regulate what may be allowed deploy in and (strictly) punish those who ignore such rules. Whilst we are all conversant with the stacking limitations within our games vis a vis the number of artillerymen per gun counting against the hex stacking limit, it does not however appear to take account of the guns themselves or indeed caissons, ammunition etc. and the physical space required for such and especially as referred to, within an area of 125 yards. It may therefore very well be considered that to deploy a 'formed' infantry unit of 2xx/3xx/4xx men in a hex with a deployed battery is indeed 'unrealistic' and/or ahistorical.
Another 'House Rule' rears it's ugly head and as doubtless we have all discovered previously it gets to a point where the game rules played bear little resemblance to the original. To conclude, I suggest it is a 'game', to be played, enjoyed and even savoured, and if we change it/modify it and tinker with it incessantly we do not necessarily increase the 'reality' but merely bring it to a point of unplayability. A case in point being two tabletop wargame rules sets, way back in the day, well regarded and widely played, Empire Napoleonics and Command Decision WWII. We should therefore, I believe, attempt to create our own reality within our games using the engine provided but always with an eye to historical precedence.
A house rule seems problematic in this instance unless you go to the extreme of 'infantry can not stack with artillery'. If you don't go to that extreme you then have to decide how many men may enter a hex when artillery are present (if one gun then a max of XXX men, if 2 guns then a max of XXX men, etc). Very messy.
I looked at several tactical boardgames to see how they dealt with the issue. One 'abstracted out artillery entirely by including them within a larger unit's strength, one used areas not hexes, and two prescribed a maximum of one artillery counter per hex (in hexes that appeared to range from 150-200 yards for the two different games [no scale given]).
One, Across 5 Aprils, limited stacking to a maximum of two counters per hex so you could have 2 artillery counters, or two infantry counters, or one of each (plus other variations when cavalry is considered). Hexes were stated as representing 300 yards across, infantry counters are (generally) brigades, and artillery counters are stated as representing "several batteries (4-6 guns apiece)" of various gun types. So it would appear that the battles from this game are probably suffering from the same issue of 'where are they firing from' that appears in our games. Although it's about five years since I played those battles I recall that this anomaly did not seem to affect gameplay or lead to wildly ahistorical results.
So, I suspect that 'Where are they firing from?' is something we have just have to live with unless players decide to adopt an extreme house rule or a complicated one. The anaomaly created by 'overstacking' a hex with both infantry and artillery does not seem to severely affect gameplay or lead to wildly ahistorical results (such as having up to 20 guns in a hex). So, I will simply 'live with it' and battle on.