by Paul LaFontaine, 31 May 2026
Three players participated in this scenario. We played the battle of Marsten Moor, an engagement in the English Civil War that was a turning point for Royalist support in the north of England. Players Lewis++ and Tiberghien commanded the Royalists, Rebelsqurl commanded the Parliamentarians.
All players and the umpires had physical sets at their locations and the umpire reports were pointers via Discord allowing players to keep the situation on their own maps.
The two sides chose to take a defensive stance and neither delivered a knockout blow. As the Royalist Army survived the encounter, Lewis++ and Tiberghien achieved a marginal victory, having lived to fight another day. Both sides were commanded by skillful players and the match was one of both teams probing for weaknesses, with neither able to find a decisive advantage.
The Problem
The Royalists have a smaller force and are disadvantaged in their positioning on the lower ground. The Parliamentarians have the advantage of the high ground, and have to decide when to come off that position to make their attack. The timing of this has to ensure the Parlimentarian forces are not thrown away piecemeal.
Western (Blue) Briefing
Pike and shot warfare dominated European battlefields from the early 16th to late 17th centuries, combining long pikes (12-18 foot spears) wielded by dense formations of pikemen with gunpowder weapons (arquebuses and later muskets) fired by musketeers. The tactical system emerged because early firearms were slow to reload, inaccurate, and vulnerable in melee combat, requiring pikemen to protect shooters from cavalry charges and enemy infantry while the shot provided ranged firepower to disrupt enemy formations and counter opposing pikemen.
Our blocks for this scenario:
-Infantry block – battalion of around 1000 pikemen
-Artillery block – battalion of around 1000 musketeers
-Cavalry block – regiment of around 2000 horsemen
In this scenario a tercio is two “battalions” of infantry and one “battalion” of musketeers. A tercio generally moves and fights as a unit.
The infantry in column moves two counter widths per turn, cavalry four. When in formation for battle, the tercio can only adjust its facing and move minimally.
Your Order of Battle
You are marching toward Altbruck and have a report the enemy has been spotted west of that town.
most images can click to enlarge
The enemy has a larger force in columns marching into the forests on the hills above Altbruck.
East (Red) Briefing
[ed: identical to the Western (Blue) Briefing]
Your Order of Battle
The Battle Area:
You are marching east from Kleindorf toward Altbruck. You have a report the enemy has been to the southeast of Altbruck in column:
Reports are that you outnumber the opposition.
Turn 1
Rebelsqurl leads his column east, leading with four cavalry regiments of 2,000 each (1). Behind them follow four tercios of infantry (2), organized into pikemen and musketeer groupings.
Lewis++ places his cavalry to the north under the command of Tiberghien (3). He also has three tercios organized for combat along the road to Altbruck (4).
Turn 2
Rebelsqurl‘s cavalry reaches Altbruck (1) as the infantry tercios continue marching east along the road behind them. Lewis++ orders his infantry to proceed north in column (2) toward the ridge and woodline. Tiberghien takes the 6,000 cavalry under his command and rides south toward the woods southeast of Altbruck (3).
The Royalist forces are splitting to put strength on the flanks while the Parliamentarian forces remain focused on Altbruck.
Turn 3
Rebelsqurl leaves 2,000 cavalry in Altrbuck (1) to secure the town and sends 6,000 cavalry north to screen (2).
His tercios begin moving to extend their line as the first reaches the ridgeline (3). He plans to spread the tercios along the ridge while holding one in reserve.
Lewis++ continues marching his tercios north into the woodline (4), though they are now visible to the enemy cavalry in Altbruck. Tiberghien reaches the southern woods and begins concealing his cavalry there (5).
Turn 4
Rebelsqurl sends the cavalry in Altbruck south to determine what is happening with the Royalist forces in the forest there (1). He continues spreading his tercios along the ridge while using the 6,000 cavalry in the north to screen his infantry (2).
Lewis++ begins deploying his tercios in the forest northeast of Altbruck, intending to establish a defensive formation there (3). Meanwhile, Tiberghien conceals his three cavalry regiments in the forest south of Altbruck (4).
Turn 5
Tiberghien sends the Royalist cavalry out of the forest in a hard charge, striking the Parliamentarian cavalry and driving them into a headlong retreat (1). The collapse exposes the Parliamentarian southern flank.
Unaware of the action to the south, Rebelsqurl continues deploying his tercios along the ridgeline (2).
In the north, Lewis++ continues positioning his tercios for the strongest possible defense, while watching the northwest carefully, where he believes the enemy cavalry may attempt a strike (3).
Turn 6
Rebelsqurl‘s cavalry retreat back through the woods has left the southern end of his line exposed (1). Realizing the danger, he orders his larger body of cavalry to move from north to south (2).
The Parliamentarian tercios are now spread along the ridgeline in a defensive formation (3).
Tiberghien pulls his cavalry back into the forest (4). He understands their presence is now known, but does not want their exact situation tracked.
Lewis++ continues orienting to the northwest, concerned that an attack may come from that direction (5).
Turn 7
Rebelsqurl orders his cavalry forward to attack and make contact with the Royalist cavalry (1). However, Tiberghien has already ordered his cavalry eastward, and the Parliamentarian horse fail to make contact. Tiberghien intends to hide his cavalry in the eastern forest.
The Parliamentarian tercios are now fully spread in a defensive formation along the ridge and are ordered to hold position (2).
Lewis++, realizing the main action is developing in the south rather than the northwest, begins reorienting his reserve tercio in that direction (3).
Turn 8
Tiberghien successfully reaches the forest and begins moving north to rejoin Lewis++ (1). The Parliamentarian cavalry loses the trail and halts, prioritizing the security of the main force rather than pursuing the enemy into the woods (2).
Rebelsqurl orders his tercios to maintain their defensive formation (3).
Lewis++, now fully aware that the main action lies to the south, moves his reserve tercio onto the southern ridgeline (4).
Both infantry forces are now established in defensive positions.
Turn 9
Tiberghien continues marching north along the woodline and rejoins Lewis++ (1). Recognizing that the threat now comes from the northeast, Rebelsqurl orders his cavalry northward (2). Both forces are now mostly in defensive posture.
Turn 10 – END OF SCENARIO
Tiberghien moves his cavalry north, but by this point the horses are exhausted and incapable of offensive action (1). Rebelsqurl shifts his forces north and sends a parlay to Lewis++, stating that he will not attack if the Royalists withdraw (2). At this stage, no battle will be fought today. The Royalist forces have survived.
This is another of a series of Kriegsspiel AARs very similar to the events in our Wargame HQ at the Origins Game Fair. You can find the original article here.
What happens when you host a battle and nobody fights? When the objective of a scenario is framed simply as winning the immediate engagement, without reference to the larger strategic context, a situation in which no contact occurs can appear to produce no outcome at all.
In this case, however, the Royalist forces represented more than the troops on the field. They were tied to a broader network of loyal subjects in the north, and the continued existence of the army carried political and military consequences beyond the battlefield itself. Historically, the Royalists were decisively defeated, and that defeat effectively ended meaningful support for their cause in the north.
Here, the result is different. The Royalist army survives intact. That survival preserves northern loyalty and keeps the wider Royalist effort alive in the region, altering the historical trajectory of the campaign. It is a thin victory, but a victory nonetheless for Lewis++ and Tiberghien.
Historical Outcome
The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644 and became one of the decisive battles of the English Civil War. Prince Rupert had maneuvered to relieve the siege of York, forcing the allied Parliamentarian and Covenanter armies under the Earl of Leven, Manchester, and Fairfax to abandon their withdrawal and rapidly redeploy on Marston Moor. Tensions existed within the Royalist command, as the Marquess of Newcastle and Lord Eythin urged caution and delay, while Rupert insisted on an immediate battle. The Parliamentarian and Scottish forces occupied the higher ground on Marston Hill, while the Royalists formed on the lower moorland behind a drainage ditch. Throughout the afternoon the two armies exchanged fire and maneuvered cautiously, but as evening approached and the Royalists began settling for the night, the allied commanders launched a sudden attack during a thunderstorm, catching many Royalist troops unprepared.
The battle opened with fierce cavalry fighting on both wings. On the allied left, Oliver Cromwell’s cavalry routed Prince Rupert’s wing after a prolonged and brutal clash in which Cromwell himself was briefly wounded. Rupert attempted a counterattack with his reserve cavalry but was eventually overwhelmed and driven from the field. On the allied right, Sir Thomas Fairfax initially struggled as rough terrain and musket fire disrupted his formations, allowing Royalist cavalry under Goring to counterattack successfully and throw parts of the Parliamentarian line into confusion. In the center, Scottish infantry formations endured repeated assaults and moments of near collapse, but disciplined reserves under Lumsden and Manchester stabilized the line long enough for Cromwell’s victorious cavalry to regroup and sweep across the battlefield into the exposed flank of the Royalists. As darkness fell, the Royalist army disintegrated into isolated pockets of resistance, culminating in the famous last stand of Newcastle’s “Whitecoats,” who fought stubbornly until overwhelmed.
The defeat at Marston Moor shattered Royalist control in northern England and marked the first major defeat of Prince Rupert in the war. Approximately 4,000 Royalists were killed and 1,500 captured, while the allied armies suffered far lighter losses. Newcastle, having lost both his army and fortune in the King’s cause, went into exile shortly after the battle, and Rupert withdrew south to rejoin King Charles I. York eventually surrendered, and the Royalists effectively lost the north except for isolated garrisons that were gradually reduced over the following year. The battle also elevated Cromwell’s reputation as a cavalry commander and demonstrated the effectiveness of disciplined horse and coordinated infantry support. Strategically, Marston Moor permanently shifted the balance of the war by depriving the King of northern manpower, resources, and freedom of maneuver, while strengthening Parliament’s confidence and operational momentum.
Conclusion
This scenario was like an art house film. Short on action but very long on tension. Lewis++, Tiberghien, and Rebelsqurl maneuvered across the battlefield, each attempting to uncover weaknesses in the opposing force while avoiding being drawn into a disadvantageous fight.
Rebelsqurl adopted a defensive strategy along the Marston ridgeline, the same position historically occupied by the army at the start of the battle. He ultimately chose not to attack.
Lewis++, commanding the Royalist infantry, spent much of the game concerned about potential flank attacks from the northwest and southwest. Although no major contact occurred, he maneuvered defensively throughout the session in response to those perceived threats.
Tiberghien, meanwhile, roamed the battlefield searching for an opportunity to gain an advantage.
All three players reported feeling strong tension and engagement throughout the game, even though the total action amounted to only a single skirmish. The sense of uncertainty and maneuver created a compelling experience despite the limited combat.
In the after-action review, we discussed the difficult position Tiberghien found himself in after driving away the Parliamentarian cavalry in the south. He had gained access to the enemy’s southern flank, but he was too far away from Lewis++ to coordinate an attack to take advantage of the situation.
The game being used is Battle Decisions: Kriegsspiel from Catastrophe Games.
Both Lewis++ and Rebelsqurl remarked afterward that each had been attempting to lure the other into attacking a strong defensive position, where the attacker would likely suffer the heavier casualties.
In the end, neither commander was willing to oblige the other.
The game was fast because there was little combat. 10 turns in 70 minutes for 7 minute turns.
The playtesting hypothesis for this scenario was to place unit strengths directly on the counters. I painted one to four pips on the sides of each counter, allowing me to read unit strength from an oblique angle, while overhead photographs still showed only the clean counter faces, as seen in the after-action review.
This proved useful once the players began task-organizing their forces. For example, when Rebelsqurl split his cavalry into two separate commands, I could quickly track the relative strengths of the detached formations simply by viewing the counters.
One drawback emerged during movement. My habit of pushing entire groups of counters together with my fingers often shifted their orientation, causing the wrong strength number to become visible. I then had to rely on memory to restore the counters to the correct facing. At that point, the counters were no longer reminding me of the strength; instead, I was adjusting them based on remembered information.
I think the four-pip system has reached the practical limit of its efficiency. The difference between tracking strength directly via the counters versus recording it on a unit sheet now appears roughly equal. In cases such as RebelSqrl detaching a cavalry force, the change could just as easily have been recorded on the unit tracking sheet without creating additional confusion for the umpire.
As a result, while I do like this approach, I am not planning to include it in the boxed version of the game. The unit tracking sheets are ultimately just as efficient, and they must be included anyway to keep the scenarios clear and manageable.
Thanks to Lewis++, Tiberghien and Rebelsqurl for playing. Come join us as we continue to explore the key decisions historical commanders had to make as they face the great moments of history. We’ll see you out there.
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