Will McNally has this set of free wargames rules for the American War of Independence. What makes these rules different is that they come with free software! Once the orders of battle are set up, the rules are run by a computer through clicking on options with a mouse. The rules run on MS-DOS, but can, of course, be run in a DOS box in Windows 98 or XP. If you're like me, and have an old MS-DOS laptop sitting around, this could be a perfect use for it.
I've always thought that there was great potential for using laptops in miniature wargaming. Even better: someone should write a program for managing tabletop games with a PalmPilot.
BoyInBlue1 has an article on how to paint Full Thrust ships. Full Thrust is a great fleet action science fiction miniature wargame. It is relatively simple, and has rules for designing your own ships.
On the heels of breaking the 25,000 hits mark, Monday set a new record for hits in a day: 650+ I don' t have the exact number yet -- my counting service hasn't sent me the official daily report yet. But the graph clearly shows 650+
Huzzah!
Nation States is a free online game based on the novel "Jennifer Government" by Max Barry. He designed the game, too. Here's how he describes it:
Jennifer Government: NationStates is a nation simulation game. You create your own country, fashioned after your own political ideals, and care for its people. Either that or you deliberately torture them.
I've always wanted to be an "enlightened monarch."
Miniature Wargaming is part of the "adventure games" hobby, which includes r ole p laying and board games. Wargamers recreate battles on the tabletop with toy soldiers, like a more complicated game of chess. Models range in height from 6mm to 28mm tall, with 15mm and 25mm being the most popular. There also is a growing interest in toy soldiers and military models, such as the 1/32 and 1/35 scale plastic soldiers from Conte, and Marx.
The most popular miniature wargames are fantasy and science fiction based, such as Warhammer, Warhammer 40K, Warmachine and The Lord of the Rings. World War II games such as Flames of War and Axis and Allies are new favorites. Other favorite historical periods include Napoleonics, the American Civil War, and ancients, such as Romans or Greeks. Other gamers enjoy miniature naval wargames, recreating battles like Trafalgar, Jutland and the Coral Sea.
Hobbyists research historical periods and paint their tiny soldiers in accurate uniforms. Others develop "historically realistic" rules sets or build scale battlefield terrain using model railroad techniques.
For pictures, visit the gallery.
Some of the bigger hobby companies are Games Workshop, which produces Warhammer, Wargames Foundry and Old Glory Miniatures. Wizards of the Coast produces several lines of pre-painted miniatures games, such as the Star Wars and Dungeons and Dragons miniatures games, and a historical game with pre-painted miniatures: The new Axis and Allies game. Wizkids produces a fantasy collectable miniatures game, such as the Mage Knight and Heroclick fantasy games, the science fiction games MechWarrior and Rocketmen, as well as the quasi-historical Pirates of the Spanish Main.
