The Charge: The Light Brigade at Balaclava

A solitaire game based on the Charge of the Light Brigade at the Battle of Balaclava, 25th October 1854. This charge was the climax of the battle, part of the Crimean War, where a massive Russian cavalry force had attempted to raid the British base at Balaclava. This raid was rebuffed, but an order from the British commander, Lord Raglan, to re-take some captured redoubts was disastrously misinterpreted and the British Light Brigade was sent on a doomed charge down a valley surrounded by Russian cannon and infantry. This resulted in Tennyson writing his famous poem and Raglan's reputation was tarnished. The game is actually two linked games, although either can be played separately and there is a historical variant too: Game 1: The Battle. This is where you, as Lord Raglan, have to manage the Battle of Balaclava. You must rebuff the Russian cavalry raid (hopefully helped by the Heavy Brigade and the "Thin Red Line") and set things up so that when the fateful charge happens, it won't be quite such a disaster and, more importantly, your reputation comes out of this affair smelling of roses. You do this by assigning Aides-de-Camp (represented by cards) to try and move your forces. You can also try and get the French to help and even spend time countering whatever that scurrilous hack Russell is scribbling down. You are against the clock though - at some point time will run out, someone will declare that the Russians are taking your guns out of the captured redoubts, and that will trigger the charge... Game 2: The Charge. The set-up of the actual charge down the valley depends on what happened in the battle. You will have a target to achieve with as few losses as possible. As well as the 15 units representing the Light Brigade, you might even get 15 units for the Heavy Brigade as well. The charge is very much about pushing your luck - your cavalry will charge down the valley, enduring fire from all sides, must then overrun the guns at the end of the valley, eliminate as many Russian cavalry as possible, and then return back up to where they started, again being peppered with fire and also opposed by the Russian's Jerpokin Lancers - Good Luck! Game contains: Map of the battlefield of Balaclava and the valley where the charge took place. 130 counters. 28-page rulebook. 8 page booklet about the battle. Play aid sheet. D6 and D10 dice. -description from designer