A Trench Too Far is a set of free wargames rules for playing miniatures games set in The Great War. From the rules set:
This rules set builds upon previous experiences with game design, to provide a comprehensive set of rules for early 20th century low level combat, principally focused around The Great War 1914-18, but covering the period up to, and including, the Spanish Civil War. WW1 is often viewed as playable only as a skirmish trench raid game, or as a game of regiments and divisions. This is quite a fallacy, as any in depth examination will reveal. The intended scale is that one base of miniatures represents one squad or section. Figures will be grouped together in larger formations to facilitate movement and combat. Rules are intended to provide an easy, quick moving game, that presents as much detail as possible for the period. All dice throws are standard 6 sided dice (D6)
The Wire by Jim Wallman is not exactly a set of miniatures rules. Rather, it is a set of umpired rules designed to provide the participants with the feel of command during the Great War. Wallman writes:
This is the combat resolution system for a command post game about commanding brigades and divisions in WW1 – particularly focussed on 1916. The rules are intended to be run in real time, and by umpires – who then write messages to the HQ players in the form they would have been historically, and subject to the delays and inaccuracies that would have existed at the time. The players never see the rules at all, and must work from a map (ideally in a smelly cellar by the light of a flickering oil lantern while umpires chuck buckets of earth at then).
De Bellis Horibilis is a DBA variant for World War I by David Manley. I know that my friend Bob Beattie once did a successful Great War game using Hordes of the Things rules, so this should work well also.
My gaming group had long ago concluded that Games Workshop’s Epic system was jsut a World War I game in disguise. Most of our games worked out like this: after an initial bombardment, attacking forces make a mad dash across no man’s land into withering fire until the surviving forces come to grips in hand to hand combat.
Apparently, we were’t the only ones who thought that.
Matt Fritz has written a set of quick play rules called Day of the Dreadnaughts for recreating the Battle of Jutland. The set includes links to paper models, in case you want to try it, but don’t hvae the appropriate miniatures.
The Perfect Captain’s Battle Finder is a set of 64 cards—done in the usual high quality graphics—that you use to generate terrain for your miniature wargames battles. There also are rules for using the cards to create linear campaigns, and maneuver campaigns using the downloadable force counters, order and control markers. There are even revenue and siege rules.
Truly innovative stuff, and something that I’m going to use almost immediately.
The game goes in two stages: first, the order of battle must be entered (preferably by the referee). Second, the game commences, with each unit being called up in a completely random order. (This sounds pretty bizarre, but it serves to reproduce the unreliability of communications on the battlefield in a simple, effective fashion.) Once called up, the condition of the unit is reported to the computer, and new orders are given. The actions taken by the unit - based on the last received orders - are then announced by the computer, at which point the player moves, places sheafs for artillery fire, etc. Unlike other games, you do not announce your intent to move and then move the unit on the tabletop. Instead, you issue orders to move that may wssssell never be received, and then hope that the unit moves the following turn.
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.
