The Bayonet & Musket Battles series is GMT's follow-up to the extremely popular Musket & Pike series, showing the movement of European warfare from tactical systems based on shock to a modern reliance on firepower. Volume 1, Banish All Their Fears, covers the battles of Neerwinden(League of Augsburg), 1693 and Blenheim (Spanish Succession), 1704.
Larger armies and the primacy of firepower mean significant changes for the familiar Musket & Pike game system:
Larger armies. Brigades became the primary battlefield maneuver element, and while retaining foot battalions and horse regiments as our unit scale, we've made brigades paramount. Shifting brigades between wings and committing them into action to take advantage of enemy mistakes was the essence of victory for the great commanders of the age, and we've built that into the game.
Supremacy of firepower. Combat has been streamlined and simplified so that most unit combats are now resolved in 1 - 2 die rolls with decisive results. Players will soon learn the importance of creating and using fresh reserves to bolster their shot-up frontline battalions.
Ages 12+
2 players
90-180 minute play time
