Andrew Fisher has created a set of free Napoleonic wargames rules called Throne of Bayonets. Andrew writes:
I like a set of rules to tell me what it is trying to do in the introduction. This lets me get a quick idea of whether I’m likely to enjoy the game, and therefore helps me to decide whether or not to buy. Most rules allow only 5 minutes action in a 15 minute turn in order to ensure that battles last more than 20 minutes; this set uses a realistic time and ground scale to allow very quick action – sometimes – but it also ensures that a lot of time is spent in waiting for orders or in indecisive firefights and half-hearted cavalry charges. To make this workable you have to be able to play a lot of turns, so I’ve made the rules very simple, with a minimum of tables and dice roll modifications. In playtest, players using up to a division each proved able to fight in close to real time, even in their first game.
Incidentally, the title comes from a Boris Yeltsin quote from 1991: You can make a throne out of bayonets, but you cannot sit on it for long.
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.
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