American Civil War Game Club (ACWGC)

How do you get victory points in relationship to artillery on HPS games? [?]

General Don Golen

I Corps /Army of the Potomac
"The Iron Corp"

Killing them. If you capture them you get points while you hold them with a combat unit. If you spike them no points. Kill them with fire and you get permanent points.

I think they need to award points for spiked guns.

You do take ammo and get ammo from each gun you capture, so that's always nice.

MG Al "Ambushed" Amos, Commanding Officer
1st Div, I Corps, AoP, USA

I was wondering, because I noticed I was spiking guns and didn't seem to do much (except, hopefully, render them useless to the enemy).

General Don Golen

I Corps /Army of the Potomac
"The Iron Corp"

I believe spiking renders a 50% point value, but I don't have the game in front of me to test.

LGen. Hamilton
II Corps
ANV, CSA

Rich,

In four scenarios playing the phased style in HPS Gettysburg, you get no points for spiking. I've checked at the beginning of the turn that I'm setting on enemy guns and points are there. I spike the guns, and the points are gone.

MG Al "Ambushed" Amos, Commanding Officer
1st Div, I Corps, AoP, USA

I think the 1/2 value is added at the end of the game, but I can't swear to it.

If I owned Texas and Hell, I would rent out Texas and live in Hell.
- General Phil Sheridan

Lt. General Rusty Hodgkiss
VIII AoS

Phased play all options.

Captured 4 guns earned 240 VPs.

Next friendly movement phase spiked all 4 guns only had 120 VPs, moved occupying unit back to friendly lines dropped to 0 VPs.

Game ended. 0 VPs for spiked artillery.

I like to spike guns and then move the spiking units out of harm's way. I'd like to keep some VPs for disabling the guns, but at least the enemy loses ammo and can't use the guns anymore.

Only one unit needed to spike any number of guns in any number of units in the stack. Unit doesn't lose Movement Points to do it, just need to spike the guns before using any Movement Points of the spiking guns.

MG Al "Ambushed" Amos, Commanding Officer
1st Div, I Corps, AoP, USA

I think you have to keep a unit, inf or cav, on the spiked guns to get the points...

Jim, I think you're right, but I hate losing men for nuthin'.

MG Al "Ambushed" Amos, Commanding Officer
1st Div, I Corps, AoP, USA

This thread fairly summarizes why I don't like, and rarely use, the captured artillery optional rule. First, most players don't understand it. Second, while I can see halving the points for spiking (your side doesn't get to reutilize the tube), it's a poor simulation of reality not to get points for controlling the field where those guns were abandoned.

I suspect the rule is rendered this way because the game engine has no way of determining "control" unless there's actual occupancy of a hex. I wonder, though, if it couldn't be the last player to have passed through that hex (as with objectives).

In any case, it peeves the hell out of me that so many players automatically use "all options on" as a default, as if each optional rule were an improvement. They're not.

Gen. Matt Perrenod
<i>The Blue Ghost</i>
Superintendent, Union Military Academy
1st Brigade, 2nd Division, VIII Corps, Army of the Shenandoah
UMA Class of '01

Matt,

Sorry that it, as you say " it peeves the hell out of me".

I did not use all the rules until Kennon posted his recap of all the rules. His presentation sold me on trying them all on. Having done so now for four or five games, I like them all ON.

Some are awkward, but players can work around the awkwardness, and by reporting them here and to HPS can get these issues resolved.

Try them, you may like them, if not relax its only a game. [:)]

BTW, since you're with an academy, please allow the newbies to use and test all the options so they can find their own comfort level with the engine. Thanks.

MG Al "Ambushed" Amos, Commanding Officer
1st Div, I Corps, AoP, USA

Since he is with a Yankee Academy, he should spend his time taching usefull topics for ya'll, like for instance....

1. Running away
2. Advanced retreat methods
3. How to rally routed troops
4. How to abandon supply wagons
5. Withdrawal of units from the map

BG Hank Smith
Army of Georgia
Smith's Corp Commanding

Why, when the CSA already has them mastered?[:D]

Maj.Gen. Drex Ringbloom,
Commanding 2nd Div, "Corcoran's Legion", VIII Corps
Army of the Shenandoah

General Drex

I was going to respond but you said it all in a much more eloquent fashion



Lt Col Jack Waldron
UA/AoS/XX Corps/2nd Div/3rd Bde

"My aim, then, was to whip the rebels, to humble their pride, to follow them to their inmost recesses, and make them fear and dread us. Fear is the beginning of wisdom." William T Sherman

A good tactic if you have the time and resources available is to capture and hold the guns. Bring up you own guns adjacent to the capture guns and start killing them. You will get the full point value per tube that way for the remainder of the game.[:)]

Lt. Gen. Ed Blackburn
I/I/VI/AoS

"Forward Bucktails"