Perry Travel Battle – First Game (Solo)

Introduction: Whilst on holiday I gave the game a run through, solo of course as there was no way I could persuade my wife to partake!

Below is the turn-by-turn account of what happened. As well as the outcomes, I’ve tried to record my obvious errors & learnings along the way.

Games Set-Up: Firstly, both sides diced to see which board edge would face them. The board edges are numbered 1-4 so you roll 1D6 per board to decide which edged faces you. If you score 5 or 6 it's your choice!

Numbers are moulded on the underside

The armies (named for this article; Red & Blue) were then broken down into three brigades each. For simplicity, I opted to go with those shown in the rule book.

Red diced and won the 1^st pick for deployment, which meant that Blue had the first move. Without thinking, I placed Red’s right-hand brigade artillery unit in a position where they couldn’t fire (Doh!).

Blue Move 1: All three brigades began their advance across the board.

Red Move 1: I moved up the Red infantry as they are safe from contact yet (no ranged fire for infantry, just hand-to-hand) and I’ll put them in square formation next move (takes one full move to do so).

The Red left-hand artillery fired at a Blue target 5 squares away. They rolled a 6 (=hit) but followed up with a 3 for effect (= carry on regardless)

Blue Move 2: Their left-hand artillery moved over to put them in a better position to fire next time.

The Cavalry began a charge in the centre. The infantry moved, but this may have been an error – perhaps they should have moved into square?

Red Move 2: The left-hand cavalry charged home (Light cav. Vs. Guards!) forcing the Blue Brigadier to fall back 2 squares. The centre infantry units split themselves between the built-up area and moving into square formation. This left their Red Brigadier separated and would mean they cannot move next turn. The right-hand infantry units spread themselves out ready for action.

The artillery unit in the centre opened fire. Requiring a 3-6 to hit it scored 3. However, a damage effect score of only 2 meant the target could carry on regardless.

The right-hand artillery suffered a similar result.

The left-hand cavalry charge met with more success. 2 Red bases vs.  Blue base resulted in a score of 9 vs.6 – Blue loss and 5 vs. 1 another Blue loss!

Blue Move 3: The left-hand artillery unit needed >1 to hit. They rolled a 3 hitting the target but then rolled a 2 = carry on regardless. The right-hand artillery unit also tried a shot, needing a 5 or 6 to hit. Scoring only 3 this was a miss.

The Blue heavy cavalry charge reached the Red Guard Infantry in square formation. The first Blue unit rolled 1D6 vs. 2D6 for the Red Guards (with a re-roll option). Blue scored 4 whilst Red initially scored 2 (1+1) but on a re-roll scored 5 (+4). This meant a difference of +1 in the Red Guards favour. This pushed the cavalry base back one square.

The next Blue heavy cavalry unit rolled 4 vs. 10 for the Red Infantry (2D6 again, 4+6 rolled). This was a difference of >3. A Red win and the losing base being removed from play.

Finally, the two Blue light cavalry units charged one Red light cavalry unit. This gave Blue 2D6 rolling 7 (5+2) vs. 1D6 for Red who only rolled a 1. This was a Blue win that was >3 so the Red base was removed from play.

Red Move 3: Two cavalry units (1 heavy and 1 light) engaged Blue infantry in square formation. This gave Red and Blue 2D6 each. Red rolled 6 (4+2) and Blue 3 (2+1), a difference of 3 meaning a Red win and the Blue base being removed from play.

Then there was a cavalry vs. artillery hand-to-hand engagement. The Red cavalry having 2D6 and the Blue artillery only 1D6. The Red cavalry scored 6 (4+2) and the Blue artillery only 2, a difference of >3 meaning a Red win and the Blue base being removed from play.

Finally, the right-hand Red artillery tried a shot but missed, only scoring 1.

Blue Move 4: Once again, the Blue heavy cavalry in the centre charged the Red Guard Infantry in square formation. This time the Blue Cavalry used their re-roll ability after an initial score of 1, resulting in a final score of only 2! The Red guards countered with 2D6 rolling 8 (5+3), a difference of 6 meaning a Red win and the Blue base being removed from play.

Next, two Blue light cavalry units engaged a Red infantry unit in square formation. Blue rolled 10 (6+4) vs. Red rolling 6 (5+1). The difference of 4 meaning a rare Blue win and the Red base being removed from play.

A Blue guard vs. Red guard infantry class resulted in Blue scoring 4 and Red scoring 6. The difference of 2 meaning the Blue unit was driven back to the edge of the board. Once their it took a rally test scoring 2 on 1D6 = fail! The Blue unit being removed from play.

Finally, the remaining Blue artillery tried a shot but missed, only scoring 1.

Red Move 4: Two Red heavy cavalry units + one light cavalry unit charged Blue’s infantry in square formation. The resulting score for the Red cavalry was 9 (4+2+3) vs. a score of 5 for the Blue infantry (3+2). The difference of 4 meaning another Red win and the Blue base being removed from play. This destroyed the first Blue Brigade. One down two to go?

The Red guards in square formation engaged the Blue light cavalry unit and with a difference between scores of 5 - 10 (5+5) vs. a score of 5 - destroyed them.

Three Red infantry units (1 guard, 2 standard infantry) make a devastating attack on a lone Blue Infantry unit, scoring 17 (6+6+5) vs. only 2. A difference of 15! As ever, the Blue base being removed from play.

Blue Move 5: Whilst the remaining cavalry in the centre withdrew, but the right-hand infantry units made one more attack. The first Blue infantry unit scored 3 vs. the Red infantry scoring 6! Another Red win and the Blue base being removed from play. The other Blue unit fared little better with a score of 5 vs. a Red guard infantry score of 7 (5+2). The difference this time being 2 resulted in the Blue unit withdrawing to the board edge and taking a rally test. This was passed with a score of 6, but with the remains of the brigade scattered to the four winds, the Blue force capitulated and handed victory to the Reds.

Conclusion: Now I’ve read a great deal on line about TravelBattle – some very good, some quite critical. Personally, I really enjoyed.

I think the rules are easy to learn, thought provoking and quick in use. I think the fundamental point for reviewers of this product is to remember IT IS A GAME – NOT AN HISTORICAL SIMULATION. 

Once you’ve got that in mind, you can judge it objectively for what it is….a beautifully produced war game that is loosely based in the horse and musket period.

I love it and would recommend it most strongly to anyone else who may be interested.