Triumph on a Grid
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2024 12:57 am
A friend and I recently played Triumph on a grid. It worked quite well, speeding play and allowing us not to worry about base size. We used a 2' x 3' grid, with 1" squares. The fundamentals of Triumph are robust, so a changing the board size and consolidating into only two sizes of bases did not affect play much.
Here are the rules we used.
Gridded Triumph
Gridded Triumph adapts the rules of Triumph to be played on a grid. It fits with the most commonly available grid, with 25mm (1”) squares. Bases are 50mm wide.
Gridding improves play in a number of ways.
1. It speeds play by eliminating the need for measurement.
2. It solves some awkward situations which can come up in movement.
3. It forces the players to adopt the linear tactics common before the 19th century.
4. It makes it easy to use a variety of different miniature types.
5. You can use existing miniatures without rebasing.
Basing
Only 2 sizes of bases are used, 25mm x 50mm (for all infantry except rabble & bow Levy) and 50mm x 50mm (for cavalry, rabble & bow levy).
Game Board
The typical mat for D&D is 2’ x 3’, effectively 24 x 36 MU. Make sure to use the edge squares. This is a 25% reduction from the normal Triumph board. The terrain boxes are 12 MU x 12MU. You can also create a mat with any desired grid.
Terrain
You can use the usual Triumph rules. Available mats for D&D support dry-erase markers which can be used to draw the terrain. For clarity, the terrain affects the entire square.
Camps
The normal camp size is 2MU by 4MU.
Movement
A stand can move five ways.
1. Forward
2. Oblique
3. Pivot
4. Side-step
5. Back-step
Forward The stand moves 1 step forward. This costs 1MU.
Oblique The stand moves 1 step diagonally forward. This costs 1½ MU. Note that another unit or difficult terrain to the side of the unit does not interfere with the oblique movement.
Pivot The stand turns 90°. If it is 4 square stand, it remains in place. If it is a 2 square stand, then 1 square remains in place, while the other rotates 90°. This cannot be executed during a group move. If the square opposite the pivot can’t be entered (because of enemy units or friendlies that can’t be passed through), you can’t pivot. It costs 2MU.
Step The stand moves 1 square to the side or rear without changing facing. This costs 1 MU. This cannot be executed during a group move.
Difficult Terrain and Combat If the combat edge is on a line with difficult terrain on one side and open terrain on the other, then the non-phasing player decides whether the combat is considered to be a difficult terrain battle or an open battle.
Pursuit & Fall Back If a unit wins close combat and conducts pursuit against a foe who is falling back and the defeated stand is faster than the victorious stand, the victorious stand will fall back an extra square(s) to leave an empty square between them.
Here are the rules we used.
Gridded Triumph
Gridded Triumph adapts the rules of Triumph to be played on a grid. It fits with the most commonly available grid, with 25mm (1”) squares. Bases are 50mm wide.
Gridding improves play in a number of ways.
1. It speeds play by eliminating the need for measurement.
2. It solves some awkward situations which can come up in movement.
3. It forces the players to adopt the linear tactics common before the 19th century.
4. It makes it easy to use a variety of different miniature types.
5. You can use existing miniatures without rebasing.
Basing
Only 2 sizes of bases are used, 25mm x 50mm (for all infantry except rabble & bow Levy) and 50mm x 50mm (for cavalry, rabble & bow levy).
Game Board
The typical mat for D&D is 2’ x 3’, effectively 24 x 36 MU. Make sure to use the edge squares. This is a 25% reduction from the normal Triumph board. The terrain boxes are 12 MU x 12MU. You can also create a mat with any desired grid.
Terrain
You can use the usual Triumph rules. Available mats for D&D support dry-erase markers which can be used to draw the terrain. For clarity, the terrain affects the entire square.
Camps
The normal camp size is 2MU by 4MU.
Movement
A stand can move five ways.
1. Forward
2. Oblique
3. Pivot
4. Side-step
5. Back-step
Forward The stand moves 1 step forward. This costs 1MU.
Oblique The stand moves 1 step diagonally forward. This costs 1½ MU. Note that another unit or difficult terrain to the side of the unit does not interfere with the oblique movement.
Pivot The stand turns 90°. If it is 4 square stand, it remains in place. If it is a 2 square stand, then 1 square remains in place, while the other rotates 90°. This cannot be executed during a group move. If the square opposite the pivot can’t be entered (because of enemy units or friendlies that can’t be passed through), you can’t pivot. It costs 2MU.
Step The stand moves 1 square to the side or rear without changing facing. This costs 1 MU. This cannot be executed during a group move.
Difficult Terrain and Combat If the combat edge is on a line with difficult terrain on one side and open terrain on the other, then the non-phasing player decides whether the combat is considered to be a difficult terrain battle or an open battle.
Pursuit & Fall Back If a unit wins close combat and conducts pursuit against a foe who is falling back and the defeated stand is faster than the victorious stand, the victorious stand will fall back an extra square(s) to leave an empty square between them.