Irregular Wars is a set of free wargames rules for playing smaller battles in the Elizabethian Age. The scale is 1:25. The authors write:
Irregular Wars is intended to provide a fun and easy, fast-play, set of rules for the smaller engagements of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras in Ireland, the New World and the East Indies. In these smaller engagements the strategic emphasis lay in the thoughtful use of the landscape to achieve victory. Furthermore, the enthusiasm of volunteer or militia soldiers was far more important to the outcome of such small encounters than sheer numbers alone. The army lists (of which expansions are welcome) are tailored around volunteer or militia forces and the unpredictability of the size of the resulting armies (known as battles) is reflected in the variable nature of battle recruitment. For larger engagements, two or three battles may be fielded together under multiple lords, one of which must be designated commander-in-chief. For each extra lord per side, the battlefield should be widened by 1’.
Ray Lucas offers Capitana, a set of naval rules specifically for 16th Century galley warfare in the Mediterranean. They were written for the NLWG 2009 convention game.
Pikes and Gendarmes is a set of big battle rules that had their origin as a variant of Larry Brom’s seminal The Sword and The Flame. This is set, obviously, in the Renaissance era.
GLORIOUS VICTORY (AGV) is a reasonably quick and easy set of wargames rules designed for the period of warfare from around the early 15th century through to the latter part of the 16th century, thus covering the War of the Roses and most of the Renaissance period.
This is an easy, introductory game on the first battle of the English Civil War, based on a system derived from the old SPI Thirty Years War system, modified with the introduction of a chit drawing leader activation procedure that makes the game different each time you play it and perfect for solitaire play. Easy to understand and fast playable (less than an hour), and full-color map (with the position of the different units printed on the map for an immediate set-up).
Contains:
11 x 17” full color map (2 - 8.5 x 11” parts)
113 full color counters.
Rules in English and Italian
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.
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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.
