These rules were derived from The War Game by Charles Grant and though not quite the same they are inspired by the thought of this great man. The intention is to develop a fast fun set of rules with no paperwork, readable in under an hour and of less than a mere 30 pages. I hope my small contribution provides something you will enjoy.
Players will find that the emphasis had been placed on the American War of Independence and American Civil War. This was done to get the particular troop types of that conflict vetted in these rules. There is no reason why these rules cannot suffice for any European war of the same period.
A basic set of war game rules must provide a vehicle for troop movement, a procedure for deciding combat and a method for accounting for the results of combat (casualties and routed units). Laid over all this, the war gamer must be confounded with command and control issues and logistics problems. All this must be done without unduly complicating the rule system and maintaining game playability and realism.
The basic rules have been modified to give more of a musket-smoke-among-the-trees game than a wild-charge-to-the-death game. Chances to hit are low, but it is difficult to charge to contact or receive a charge. The charts have been modified so that you want to roll high, not low, and the number of different types of dice has been reduced. The firing and combat charts have been redone.
The Warhammer English Civil War group not only has lots of information for fans of the game, it also hosts a number of Warhammer variants, including an American War of Independence version.
R.J. Rockefeller offers “Fortunes of War”, a set of free miniatures rule for the American Revolution. R. J. writes:
Fortunes of War is a comprehensive and complex battalion level game. Figure scale is 1:30, ground scale 1”=15 yards. Units are defined by order, training level, morale level, and armament. Command is simple, but still limiting. Emphasis is on replicating 18th century linear warfare, its New World peculiarities, and the interaction of troop types. Although not intended as rules set for beginning wargamers, mastery of the rules will be rewarded with a realistic, exciting, and yet playable game.
Ken Cliffe of All The Kings Men Toy Soldiers offers a set of free miniatures rules for the Horse and Musket period called “Armchair Generals” Designed for the classic 54mm toy soldier, the rules set comes in several full-color pdf files.
These rules differ greatly from my other rules & variants using card decks, since movement, fire etc in this game are not dictated by the cards at hand, but merely influenced by them. The idea was to create a pirate game with interactive sea & land battles in the same scale, but you might just as well make it a land or sea battle only. In order not to overcomplicate matters, the mechanics of movement, fire, combat & morale are kept simple (2 pages each for land & sea battles), but the flavour of Errol Flynn swashbuckling adventures is being created by cards offering both hazardous situations and great opportunities rather than by adding umpteen rules. The reason I use poker dice in the game is not only because pirates gambled (be it not dice poker…), but also because the game of dice poker offers an interesting range of combinations for the dice. The “I feel lucky!” rule adds an extra dimension for true daredevils.
Flintlock and Ramrod is a very nicely done set of free miniatures rules by I Colwill, L Colwill, G Rose, P Blake & M Blake.
The authors say that the rules are designed
to cover small scale Actions, particularly at Platoon and Company levels, from the early 18th Century to the mid 19th Century. The British fought the French throughout the world, and especially in India and North America between 1730 and 1760, and British Legions consisting of troops made redundant by the Peace of Vienna in 1815, fought in Portugal and South America well into the second half of the 19th Century using weapons covered by these Rules.
I think Fire and Fury is the finest set of miniatures rules ever written. It has elegantly simple mechanics, fun gameplay and set the standard for high-quality rules presentation.
Now the Fire and Fury people are at work on a version for America’s other “horse and musket” wars: The Revolution, War of 1812, and Mexican War. You can find the playtest versions of Fire and Fury: Americas Wars here.
These rules are an adaptation of the Warhammer English Civil War rules for the French
and Indian War (FIW). This set seems ideal for the FIW because the Warhammer game
mechanics are, in effect, made for a large-scale skirmish game. It remains merely to
adapt the man-to-figure ratio, ground scale, and weapon characteristics. It is also safe
to assume that someday Warhammer Historical Wargames Ltd. will produce an “official”
set for this period, and you will already have your units painted up and ready to go!
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.
