A Near Run Thing is a set of Napoleonics rules by Peter Hunt of the -- are you ready for this? -- Hong Kong Society of Wargamers. From the members list, it seems that Hong Kong has quite a thriving miniature wargames community.
Back to the rules: A Near Run Thing apparently once was available as a commercial set, but now is revised and available on the net. Peter Hunt writes:
The design parameters of these rules are to be able to play a visually pleasing, historically accurate wargame of a corps sized Napoleonic battle in an evening. Formations must look right and the rules should benefit those who use historical tactics and penalise those who don’t. Much is often made of the “scissors, paper, rock” relationship of Napoleonic cavalry, artillery and infantry to each other. This simple concept is a truism but the real truth of Napoleonic tactics is much more complicated. Therefore the problem for providing playable, but realistic rules is deciding the balance between historical realism and playability.
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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