Alamo 1836 Rulebook

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

• 1 – OVERVIEW
  • 1.1 - Officers
  • 1.2 – Officer Losses
  • 1.3 Counters and Placement
    • 1.3.1 - Texans
    • 1.3.2 - Mexicans
    • 1.3.3 - Texan Artillery Placement
    • 1.3.4 - Preliminary Bombardment
    • 1.3.5 - Placement of Texans
    • 1.3.6 – Placement of Mexican Troops
• 2 – GAME TURN
• 3 – FIRE PROCEDURES
  • 3.1 - Mexican Rifle Fire
  • 3.2 – Survival Roll and Moral Test
  • 3.3 - Retreat
• 4 – CANNON FIRE
  • 4.1 – Alamo Cannon
    • 4.1.1 – 18-Pound Battery
    • 4.1.2 – Center Battery
  • 4.2 - Mexican Battery Fire
• 5 - MOVEMENT
  • 5.1 – Mexican Assault Column Movement
  • 5.2 - Ladders
  • 5.3 - Ditch
  • 5.4 - Palisades
  • 5.5 - Zone of Control
• 6 - OPENING A BREACH
• 7 - MELEE
  • 7.1 – Melee with Stacked Units
  • 7.2 – Capturing Cannon
  • 7.3 - Ammunition
• 8 – RALLYING MEXICAN UNITS
• 9 - HOLLYWOOD VERSION
• 10 - VICTORY CONDITIONS

1 – OVERVIEW

The game is played solitaire, but it is suitable for two players. It requires a six-sided die (1d6), counters, and an A4-sized map found in the magazine. Mounting the map on hard cardboard will create a firm playing surface.

1.1 - Officers

A - Texans

Colonel William Barret Travis and Colonel James Bowie: + 1 bonus; Colonel David (Davy) Crockett: + 2 bonus. Colonels add their bonuses to Texan units with which they are stacked during the fire and melee phases.

B - Mexicans

General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna: + 2 bonus. General Cos, Colonel Duque, Colonel Romero, and Colonel Juan Morales: + 1 bonus.

A Mexican officer allows all units stacked with it to receive his bonus during morale checks for losses received from defending Texan cannon and rifle fire (See Morale test). The bonus modifies melee die rolls for units stacked with an officer. In addition, any infantry unit stacked with an officer may advance two zones per turn instead of one.

1.2 – Officer Losses

An officer (Texan or Mexican) cannot be targeted if he is stacked with an infantry unit. Upon elimination of the infantry counter, the player must throw a 1d6. On a roll of:

• 1: the officer dies
• 2-6: the officer survives and moves to the closest infantry counter.

If an officer counter is alone in a zone, it is automatically eliminated in case of a melee.

Officer losses, except for Santa Anna, have no effect on the game. If Santa Anna dies, the game ends immediately because the Mexican army routs.

1.3 Counters and Placement

1.3.1 - Texans

A counter represents 10 infantry volunteers or a gun and its five-man crew. They lacked training and moved about as they wished.

• Texan Volunteers: 2 counters; Officer: Colonel William Barret Travis
• Tennessee Volunteers: two units; Officer: Colonel James Bowie
• Regulars: two counters; Officer: Colonel Davy Crockett
• Other Volunteers: 6 units. Cannon: 12 counters

1.3.2 - Mexicans

A counter represents 80 soldiers, 80 cavalry, or a battery of four guns and its crews.

1.3.3 - Texan Artillery Placement

Place the 12 guns in their designated locations (the number "1" or "2" on the map represents the number of guns placed in a zone) and then conduct the preliminary bombardment.

1.3.4 - Preliminary Bombardment

The preliminary bombardment phase represents the five days that preceded the final assault.

The player rolls a 1d6 at the start of each bombardment round to determine which side of the Alamo the Mexicans will fire at. (All batteries fire at the same target)

• 1-2: Bombard the west side
• 3: Bombard the north side
• 4-5: Bombard the east side
• 6: Bombard the south side

To determine specific targets for the Mexican batteries, roll the die again:

• 1-3: Fire at the guns. (In case of multiple targets, randomly select a gun by assigning a number(s) to each of the various cannon and then roll a 1d6. The resulting number indicates the target).
• 4-6: Fire at the walls to create a breach. (In case multiple wall sections are exposed to bombardment (walls or palisades adjacent to the interior zones of the Alamo compound) randomly determine the targeted walls using the same method as above for selecting guns).

Bombardment Effects: Throw a 1d6 with a + 1 bonus for each battery that fires. On a roll of 6 or 7:

• A breach has been created if the target is a wall (place a « Breche » marker on the wall).
• A cannon is destroyed if the target is a gun (remove the destroyed gun's counter).

(Targets selected during the bombardment do not receive survival rolls)

Counter-battery fire

At the end of each bombardment round, the Texans can return fire with all guns facing the Mexican batteries. Throw a 1d6 for every 2 guns that fire (a lone cannon is ineffective). On a roll of 6, a Mexican battery is neutralized for one turn (it cannot fire in the next round).

If a Mexican battery is neutralized in the final bombardment round, it cannot participate in the final assault on March 6.

1.3.5 - Placement of Texans

At the end of the five bombardment rounds, the player places the defending units in any zone behind the compound walls or on the Alamo's firing platforms.

Note: Counters placed inside enclosed buildings (see illustration) can only fire through doorways with one exception. Units on the gun platform inside the chapel can fire at exterior targets. The cannon placed in the chapel can fire inside as well.

Place the Davy Crockett and William Travis counters on infantry units of the player's choosing. Put the James Bowie counter in the zone with his name; it cannot move.

The player then rolls a 1d6 and consults the Mexican Placement table to determine the map edges where the Mexican assault columns enter.

1.3.6 – Placement of Mexican Troops

Throw a 1d6 and consult the placement table—the die roll applies to all four assault columns. Reroll the 1d6 for the reserve column and the artillery (cross-reference the result with the first die roll to determine the map edge, e.g. a die roll of 1 followed by a die roll of 3 results in the reserve column and artillery arriving from the east).

Note: General Santa Anna will take no risk and will not approach closer than one zone from the wall of the Alamo mission.

After determining the entry edges, the player rolls a 1d6 for each battalion within a column. Each map edge has six numbered zones (e.g. South: S1, S2, S3...). Put the column commander and half of the first battalion's counters in the zone corresponding to the die roll (e.g. a roll of 1 for a column entering from the south equals S1). Place the other half of the battalion in the next numbered zone to the right. Repeat for the column's other battalions, if there are others. (If a starting zone is already occupied, reroll the die).

Mexican Placement table (PLACEMENT MEXICAIN)

The printed table is labelled in French ("Dé" = die, "Colonne" = column, "Artillerie et Réserve" = artillery and reserve). Its compass points are translated here: Nord = North, Sud = South, Est = East, Ouest = West (printed as "O").

Die	1	2	3	4	5	6
Column 1	North	East	North	South	West	South
Column 2	North	East	North	South	West	South
Column 3	South	West	East	West	West	South
Column 4	South	West

Source note: the table is transcribed as printed. The example in 1.3.6 says that a die roll of 1 followed by a die roll of 3 sends the reserve column and artillery in from the east; on this table, a 1 followed by a 3 gives the artillery the South edge and the reserve is not placed by a 3 (the reserve row uses 4-6). The example is left as printed and this discrepancy is flagged rather than corrected.

Battalions with four counters are placed in two groups of two units. Battalions with six counters are placed in two groups of three units. The sappers (Zapadores) are placed singly or in a group of two counters. Place the batteries off the map edge indicated in the table above.

First assault column (General Cos)

One infantry battalion (Aldama, regulars) of six counters; a sapper company (Zapadores, regulars) of one counter

Second assault column (Colonel Duque)

Two infantry battalions (Toluca, militia; Allende, regulars) consisting of four counters each; a sapper company (Zapadores, regulars) of one counter

Third assault column (Colonel Romero)

Two infantry battalions (Matamoros, regulars; Jimenez. regulars) of four counters each; a sapper company (Zapadores, regulars) of one counter

Fourth assault column (Juan Morales)

One infantry battalion (San Luis, militia) of six counters; a sapper company (Zapadores, regulars) of one counter

Reserve column (General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna)

Remaining artillery batteries (up to 3 counters)

One cavalry regiment (Dolores, regulars) of four counters

2 – GAME TURN

The battle has no set number of turns. It lasts until all Alamo defenders have been killed. Each turn consists of the following phases:

1. Alamo cannon fire
2. Alamo infantry fire
3. Alamo defender movement
4. Melee
5. Mexican cannon fire
6. Mexican rifle fire
7. Mexican movement
8. Melee

The Texans begin the first turn after the preliminary bombardment ends and all the counters are in place.

3 – FIRE PROCEDURES

The Alamo defenders can fire over the outer walls of the mission. Mexicans can shoot at targets on the walls but not at targets inside enclosed buildings (see 1.3.5) or at units not on the exterior walls. Once inside, Mexican units can fire at defenders that are not on the walls. When firing into a zone with a stack of two or three counters, the topmost unit suffers all fire effects. The other counters remain unaffected. A unit cannot shoot into or out of a building except through the entrance door and only at the zone on the other side of the door.

Note: A Mexican unit can fire over other Mexican counters at defenders located on the exterior walls of the Alamo.

Roll a 1d6 per zone (unit or counter stack) firing at a target:

→ Range of fire

• Infantry: 2 zones
• Cannon: Unlimited

Note: Cavalry cannot fire.

→ Die roll result to hit a target

• 4 + in the open (bare terrain)
• 6 + under cover (Mexicans: Woods, Ruins; Texans: Behind walls, Wall breach; All: enclosed building).

→ Fire modifiers

• • Bonus of a Texan officer stacked with the Alamo defenders
• • 1: infantry fire into an adjacent area
• • 2: Texan cannon fire into an adjacent area
• • 3: 18L cannon fire into an adjacent area
• • 1: fire from a group of three Mexican units stacked in the same zone
• All these modifiers are cumulative

Note: An unmodified roll of 1 is always a miss; an unmodified roll of 6 is a hit!

→ Results

• Alamo defenders and cannon: Survival roll if under cover; eliminated if unprotected (in the open).
• Mexicans: Moral test.

Note: A Texan counter is unprotected if the fire comes from within the fort, and it is not inside a building.

3.1 - Mexican Rifle Fire

Mexican soldiers fire in priority at the cannon or defenders closest to their position. In cases of more than one available target, they fire at the zone containing cannon.

If several guns are in range, the player will use a 1d6 to randomly determine the target for the Mexican soldier counter(s).

3.2 – Survival Roll and Moral Test

→ Survival Roll (Texans): Throw a 1d6

• 1-2: eliminate the counter (Cannon fire = opening a breach in the wall)
• 3-6: No loss. (Cannon fire = no effect on wall)

→ Moral Test (Mexicans): Throw a 1d6

• 1: remove the counter from the game (Rout)
• 2-5: no loss. The counter must retreat one area immediately
• 6: no loss. The counter continues to advance the next turn

Note: An unmodified roll of 1 is always a loss; an unmodified roll of 6 is always a success.

→ Moral Modifiers

• • Bonus of a Mexican officer stacked with the target
• -2: if hit by cannon fire (-3 for the 18 pounder)
• -1: if hit by two units firing together
• -2: if hit by three units firing together
• -1: Mexican militia (San Luis and Toluca)
• -1: Mexicans entering a zone occupied by a Texan counter, free fire at the first unit in the stack.

An eliminated Alamo defender counter (Infantry and Cannon) indicates that the counter's 5 or 10 volunteers were either killed or gravely wounded.

A cannon counter whose crew has been eliminated is turned over. If a Mexican counter enters its zone, the Mexicans capture it intact and can turn it against the Texans. Leave the Mexican counter on the Texan gun.

An eliminated Mexican counter indicates that soldiers, after having suffered some losses, withdrew from the combat zone and have rallied off the map.

3.3 - Retreat

A counter must retreat into the zone from which it came. A counter that withdraws from the map must return to the zone from which it left. A unit that retreats may advance in the next movement phase. Eliminate counters that cannot retreat.

Retreat is impossible under the following conditions:

• All of zones behind the unit each contain three friendly counters.
• An enemy counter is adjacent to the zone of retreat.
• A wall blocks the unit's retreat.

4 – CANNON FIRE

Place the cannon of the Alamo defenders in the zones marked on the map. Guns cannot move once in place.

Following the bombardment, the Mexican guns cannot move once they have repositioned.

4.1 – Alamo Cannon

The player selects a target located in each gun's field of fire and fires normally, adding any possible bonuses. The cannon may not fire at the Mexican guns except during the preliminary bombardment.

An Alamo gun can fire to its rear if Mexican units enter the mission compound but only into an adjacent zone.

4.1.1 – 18-Pound Battery

The biggest Texan cannon is located in the map zone marked 18L. Bonuses: + 3 when firing and - 3 for Mexican morale tests.

4.1.2 – Center Battery

This battery protected the main gate of the mission. Its central position allows the guns to fire at any Mexican unit that penetrates into the fort and is located in its field of fire.

4.2 - Mexican Battery Fire

The player rolls a 1d6 each turn to determine targets for the three batteries:

• 1-2: Fire at the cannon facing the Mexican gun positions, one Texan cannon per battery. If Mexican guns are still available, then fire them at infantry on the walls.
• 3-4: Fire at the infantry present on the walls facing their position, one target per battery. If there are insufficient infantry units, then fire remaining guns at the wall facing them.
• 5-6: Fire on the fortress walls to open a breach

Throw a 1d6 with a + 1 modifier for each battery that fires. A roll of 6 or 7 scores a direct hit.

→ Results

• Infantry: Survival roll (otherwise destroyed).
• Cannon: Survival roll (otherwise destroyed).
• Wall: Survival roll (otherwise a breach is opened—place a « Breche » marker).

5 - MOVEMENT

• Texan defenders: 3 zones per turn. Stacking: yes, 3 counters maximum
• Texan cannon: No. Stacking: yes, 2 counters maximum
• Mexican Soldiers: One zone per turn, two zones if stacked with an officer. Stacking: yes, 3 counters maximum
• Mexican Cavalry: 4 zones per turn. Stacking: yes, 3 counters maximum
• Officer: 4 zones per turn. Stacking: yes.

A counter must stop if it enters an enemy-occupied zone and conduct a melee!

Mexican counters must stop when they reach an Alamo wall. They cannot move to the other side except by ladder or through a breach.

Up to three counters plus one officer may stack in a zone.

A gun may stack with two infantry counters or two guns with one infantry counter.

Terrain:

• The stream does not block movement, but a cavalry counter must expend all its movement points to cross.
• Cavalry may enter the Alamo compound only through a wall breach.
• The small lake is impassable.

5.1 – Mexican Assault Column Movement

Once in position, the Mexicans advance each turn in the direction of the fort walls and, if a breach in the wall exists, they automatically pass through it.

If there is no breach, the Mexicans head to the closest gun position to scale the wall there. If two counters of the same battalion are adjacent but isolated during their movement phase, they may enter the same zone to regroup.

5.2 - Ladders

Mexicans are equipped with ladders and can scale a wall or platform at the beginning of their movement phase with the exception of the chapel platform (no scaling against enclosed buildings and areas protected by pits). The player tosses a 1d6, and the unit succeeds in gaining a foothold on the wall with a roll of 5+. Otherwise, it remains at the foot of the wall.

If a defending counter is on the other side of the wall that the Mexican counter has scaled, he gets a free fire and hits the Mexican unit on a roll of 4 + (no modifiers) before the melee.

For stacks of two or more Mexican units, place an « Echelle » marker on the counters if the player manages to emplace a ladder. The player can move one counter per turn because of the ladder (no roll needed to scale an emplaced ladder), the remaining counters on the other side of the wall waiting their turn. A ladder, once in place, cannot be removed.

5.3 - Ditch

No Mexican unit with a ladder can pass through a zone containing a ditch.

Cavalry cannot pass through a wall breach in a zone containing a ditch. However, infantry may attempt to scale palisades in a zone containing a ditch.

5.4 - Palisades

A Mexican infantry can climb over a palisade during the movement phase on a 1d6 roll of 5 +.

Texan units on the other side of the palisade can conduct a free fire before the melee and hit with a 1d6 roll of 4 + (no modifiers).

An officer can cross over freely if an infantry unit has managed to do so.

5.5 - Zone of Control

A counter must stop the moment it moves adjacent to an enemy unit unless it wants to melee with him. In this case, the counter may continue to advance if it has enough remaining movement points to enter the enemy zone. An officer alone has no effect.

6 - OPENING A BREACH

Sappers (Zapadores) can open breaches in the Alamo walls.

Sappers must begin the fire phase adjacent to a compound wall. On a 1d6 roll of 5 or 6, the sappers successfully open a breach. Place a « Breche » marker on the targeted wall. A breach does not cause losses to defenders on the other side of the wall, but they must retreat into an adjacent zone.

A cavalry unit may pass through a breach without stopping into a zone behind the wall.

Note: Cannon fire and sappers cannot open a breach in a compound wall or palisade located in an interior zone. Only one breach attempt per zone may be conducted each turn even if two sapper units are present in the same zone.

7 - MELEE

A unit can initiate a melee if it enters a zone containing an enemy counter(s).

The melees are conducted separately. The player rolls a 1d6 per counter or stack engaged in the melee. The side with the higher score wins and the loser is eliminated. In case of a tie, the Alamo defenders win the melee. Automatically eliminate an officer if the unit it is leading is destroyed. The Alamo defenders roll first and then the Mexicans.

→ Melee modifiers

• • Bonus: Texan or Mexican officer stacked with the counter(s) conducting the melee.
• • 1: Texan units defending an area or building.
• • 1: If two units are stacked together.
• • 2: If three units are stacked together (including one gun).
• • 1: Mexican infantry/sappers (effect of mass).
• • 2: Cavalry
• • 2: Cannon (effect of canister rounds)

7.1 – Melee with Stacked Units

When a stack of counters melees, the topmost counter incurs the result of the melee. If eliminated, the counters underneath must retreat to an adjacent zone of the player's choice.

If the attacker loses the melee, the survivors retreat to the zone from which they assaulted unless enemy counters are adjacent to that zone of retreat.

Eliminate units that cannot retreat (see 3.3).

7.2 – Capturing Cannon

When the Alamo defenders lose a melee (retreat or elimination) and the zone contains a cannon, the Mexicans capture it intact if the Texan melee roll was an odd number. If the melee result was an even number, the crew destroys the gun before succumbing in the melee.

7.3 - Ammunition

A Texan gun that participates in four melees can no longer fire (turn over the counter). It is out of ammunition, and its crew must fight as an infantry unit with a – 1 combat modifier.

8 – RALLYING MEXICAN UNITS

When all the counters of a battalion have been eliminated, the battalion rallies off map and returns.

At the beginning of the next turn, the eliminated battalion returns to the game at full strength minus one counter. Place the battalion on the map edge where it started at the beginning of the game.

If a battalion has already left the game once because of losses and is destroyed again, it will reenter the map as it did previously but with one less counter than before.

Accordingly, when a battalion enters the game for the second time, a battalion containing six counters is reduced to 5 units and a battalion of four counters returns with three.

At its third appearance, a battalion that previously had five counters drops to four and a battalion of three counters is reduced to two.

There is no limit to the number of times a battalion may return to the game, but each time it is with one less counter than before.

The Zapadores count as a battalion consisting of four counters.

Note: Permanently eliminated counters count towards victory points!

9 - HOLLYWOOD VERSION

Davy Crockett

The player can have Davy Crockett meet a sacrificial end if no more than 2 defending units remain on the map and Davy Crockett is still alive. In this case, the magazine (zone "M"), where the ammunition is stored explodes if the Davy Crockett counter manages to enter it. All counters in zones adjacent to the magazine are automatically eliminated.

James Bowie

If a Mexican unit enters Bowie's zone to melee, eliminate his counter automatically. However, the Mexican is hit on a roll of 3 + using a 1d6 (effect of his multiple pistols), and it must undergo a morale test with -2 modifier.

Note: If the player wishes, he can move the Bowie counter like the other officers at the Alamo. In this case, Bowie is not considered sick at the time of the assault, and he can be placed in any area of Alamo. If the player uses this rule, he must adjust the point totals required for each level of victory!

10 - VICTORY CONDITIONS

The game continues until all the Alamo defenders are dead. Therefore, the number of turns is unlimited. Once all the defenders are eliminated, the player calculates victory points.

For each permanently eliminated Mexican unit, he gains 1 victory point.

• 0 to 2 points (0 to 3 if Bowie is active) (0 to 200 deaths): Overwhelming Texan defeat.
• 3 to 4 points (4 to 5 if Bowie is active) (300 to 400 deaths): Draw
• 5 to 6 points (6 to 7 if Bowie is active) (500 to 600 deaths): Victory for the Alamo's defenders
• 7 points or more (8 + if Bowie is active) (700 dead or more): Crushing victory of mythic proportions for the Alamo defenders

Note: historically, Santa Anna's losses are estimated to be about 600 men.