Pickup Games & Scenarios

09. PICKUP GAMES & SCENARIO GENERATION

1.0 The Random Engagement Generator

[RULE-09-1.1] Playing Without a Historical Scenario: While Dress on the Colors is heavily designed for recreating historical American Civil War scenarios, players will often want to set up balanced, competitive "pickup games" at their local club. To ensure every battle feels distinct and tactically challenging, players can use the Random Engagement Generator.
[RULE-09-1.2] Generating the Battle: Before deploying any miniatures, players roll 1D6 on the Deployment Type Table and 1D6 on the Victory Conditions Table.
[RULE-09-1.3] Initiative & Attacker/Defender: Unless the rolled Deployment Type dictates otherwise, players roll 1D6 against each other. The highest roller chooses which table edge they wish to deploy on and decides who will deploy their first Brigade. The player who deploys first automatically becomes the Active Player for Turn 1.

2.0 Deployment Type Matrix (Roll 1D6)

1D6 Roll	Deployment Name	Setup Rules & Arrival Mechanics
1	The Meeting Engagement	Vanguard forces collide. Both players deploy only 1 Brigade within 6.0" of their respective table edges. The rest of their armies are held in "Reserve" off-table and march onto their friendly table edge on Turn 2 (second brigade) and Turn 3 (remaining brigades).
2	The Pitched Battle	Standard formed battlelines. Both players deploy their entire armies simultaneously before Turn 1 begins. The deployment zones extend up to 12.0" inward from their respective friendly table edges. Players alternate placing one brigade at a time.
3	Flank March	A surprise arrival. Player A (Defender) deploys their entire army normally (12.0" from their edge). Player B (Attacker) deploys half their army normally, but the other half is held in reserve. On Turn 3, Player B's reserve arrives on a randomly determined side table edge (roll 1D6: 1-3 Left Edge, 4-6 Right Edge).
4	Dawn Assault	Early morning fog and low light. The Defending player deploys their entire army up to 18.0" from their edge. The Attacker begins completely off-table and moves onto the board on Turn 1. During Turn 1, all shooting and command radius ranges for both sides are halved due to the dim morning light.
5	Echelon Attack	Diagonal confrontation. Players choose opposite corners of the table instead of flat edges. Deployment zones are measured 18.0" radially outward from the chosen corners. The armies fight diagonally across the center of the table.
6	River Crossing	Forcing the ford. The table is bisected horizontally by a river or deep stream with only 2 passable fords or bridges. The Defender deploys their entire army on one side of the river. The Attacker deploys on the other side and must cross under fire.

3.0 Victory Conditions Matrix (Roll 1D6)

1D6 Roll	Victory Condition	Win Requirements & Game Length
1-2	Break the Enemy	Pure Army Morale. There are no geographical objectives or turn limits. The game ends instantly the moment one army has 50% or more of its Brigades in a "Broken" state on the Faltering Clock (see Chapter 07). The broken army loses cohesion and yields the field.
3-4	Key Terrain	Objective control. Before deployment, players take turns placing 3 Objective Markers on the centerline of the table (representing crossroads, high ground, or farmhouses). The game lasts exactly 6 Turns. The player controlling the most objectives at the end of Turn 6 wins. Control requires a non-disordered infantry unit within 3.0" of the marker with no enemy units within 3.0".
5	Breakthrough	Shatter the line. The game lasts exactly 6 Turns. The Attacking player wins if they manage to exit at least 2 non-disordered infantry regiments off the Defender's starting table edge. The Defender wins if they prevent this from happening by the end of Turn 6.
6	The Grand Hybrid	Casualties and Ground. The game lasts exactly 8 Turns. Players score 1 Victory Point for every enemy brigade that reaches a "Broken" state on the Faltering Clock, and 1 Victory Point for holding the physical center point of the battlefield at the end of Turn 8. The highest score wins.