A thick heavily illustrated and very colorful rulebook. Ground scale varies with base size varying. Bases represent battalions. There is no figure scale I can find. The rule book seems split fairly evenly between the rules and organization and leader rankings for the nationalities involved. There is also a brief section on scenario and a short sample scenario.
A set of rules for Napoleonic land combat written by Peter Gilder and first published in 1970.
Designed with 25mm figures in mind, the figure scale is 1 to 20, 1 gun to 2, 6” to 100 yards, with a game turn representing about 30 minutes. The game uses 15 phases with order writing and simultaneous movement.
An adaptation of the American Civil War rules Fire & Fury the rules are nicely presented with a chatty presentation covering all aspects of the game in a style tailored to beginners especially in the opening chapter and introduction.
Graphics are very good, evocative of AH’s Napoleon’s Battles. Finer points of the rules are well illustrated. A single tear-out page containing critical charts and tables can be found at the end of the book. Several scenarios are included containing graphic representation of each army’s organization.
Figures are mounted in a manner similar to Napoleon’s Battles with 1 figure equaling 90 actual soldiers. one inch equals 120 yards. A game turn represents 30 minutes. The rules require 10-sided dice. Optional rules are few and scattered through the text for example, a rule limiting Austrian commanders from leading from the front.
There is also an attractive website associated withe the rules and an expansion for 18th century conflict. In addition to an online store. there are downloadable player aids and scenarios. One useful aspect is the inclusion of moderate sized battles in the scenarios. not everyone is ready to game Leipzig or Waterloo.
A game turn consists of a roll for initiative followed by alternating player turns composed of 3 phases, movement, fire, and melee. Leaders impact die rolls that allow the brigade size units to act. Casualties are indicated by removal of multi-man stands. Stands are grouped into formations though brigades themselves are also considered at a lower level based on the nationality of the army and the year of the scenario.
Tacforce is a game that was published in1980 under the dual banner of GHQ and GDW though the rules were designed and written by Frank Chadwick lending more weight to the GDW side with regulars like Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman, and Greg Novak along for the ride. The rules have a current incarnation as Tac II. The rules cover then contemporary tactical land combat with 1/285 miniatures.
The 3 book format was still in use. The rules seem reminiscent of the other 3 book tactical combat series of the moment written by Chadwick, Striker for the RPG Traveller.i
As a quick aid, information on vehicles and weapons is carried on a series of cards. Organizational material necessary to approaching the scenarios is included in book3, the scenarios and advanced rules are foundin book 2, and basic rules in book 1.
There is also a banal set of counters, and some charts and organizational sheets.
Scale is 1 to 1 for vehicles and guns. Infantry units represent squads or fireteams. A turn represents a minute of actual time. An inch is 50 meters. A turn consists of a movement phase and fire phase, first for Soviet forces, then for the US. Morale is effected by fire. Close assault also occurs as a portion of the fire phase.
As with so many GDW rules sets, rules appear in the oddest places. The rules for basing for example appear on the very last page of book 3.
Another set for that somewhat obscure period between the introduction of infantry firearms and their universal use among infantry. What was the rest of the infantry carrying? Pikes, halberds, swords, and anything else that could jab or cut.
Stands of figures represent 50 – 125 men and animals. Turns cover 5 – 15 minutes of time. Ground scale is based on figure basing which can follow WRG or Foundry rules.
The rules cover the basics. Orders represented by markers are issued, players determine initiative, units charge, units move based on orders, units fire, and then there is close combat. Finally, there is a recovery phase for rallying, resting, and rearming. There are also rules for tournament games and some optional rules covering close combat and things like weather and elephant stampedes.
Finally, there are 50 army lists covering forces from the 15th – 17th century including a few odd ones like Aztec and Dutch Rebellion. These are comparable to WRG Lists though I have not made a direct comparison.
The authors are clearly aiming for ease of use while not discarding the complexities of the period. Orders are explicit, record keeping replaced by markers. I was unable to locate the downloadable order markers but assume they are ou there somewhere. The rules start with an explanation of why the gamer will enjoy them. That seems a basic goal.
A thick book with the ambitious subtitle offering miniature rules and army guide, written by Pete Berry and Ben Wilkins and published by Partizan Press, this, the third edition, in 2003. Of the hundred or so pages, 36 are devoted to the rules, the rest to army lists, scenarios, historical notes, uniform and flag notes, advertisements, designer’s notes, cartoons, and a recommended reading list, lavishly illustrated with a lot of color and guaranteed to fill in an afternoon.
The authors offer a suggested ground scale 1” = 20 yds., though suggest flexibility. Figure scale is 1 = 33. The rules are written for 25mm and 15mm with a addendum for 6mm. Frontage and depth per figure are 20mm x 20mm and 15mm x 15mm respectively for infantry, 25mmx 40mm and 20mm x 20mm for cavalry though I suspect the 20mm depth should be 30mm.
Units receive orders. Turns are divided into declarations and reactions, movement, fire combat and reaction, close combat, and reaction and rally. Rules are distinctly British with a nod to both WRG and Warhammer and extensive morale considerations.
An unusual choice for a pike and shot set of rules, DSSS specifically addresses itself to the Thirty Years War, a series of connected conflicts pitching various armies against each other often based on religious views. Bloody, interminable, and virtually ignored by most gamers, gamers are more often drawn to the English Civil War or the escapades of French musketeers.
Rules were written by Douglas Hubbard in 1993 and play tested at the 1993 HMGS convention. Ground scale is 1” = 40 yds., figure scale 1 = 50, turns = 30-45 minutes. The rules were written for 15mm figures with an infantry base size of 1” x .75” with 3 figures.
A handy sequence of play is offered on the inside front cover broken down into a move/fire phase with players dicing for initiative and conducting a series of rounds until all units are done or mutual consent from players. This is followed by a brief leader phase and a detailed close combat phase. A turn ends with a command control phase.
There is a brief outline of unit organization as well as a list of possible formations including column, line, square, and wedge with excellent illustrations for guidance.
The book ends with a selection of extras including army lists for Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, the Holy Roman Empire, Bavaria, Saxony, Bohemia, Spain, and France. There are 3 cavalry heavy scenarios including Lutzen, Jankov, and a hypothetical battle, Anfangsthal. There is page of designer notes and a bibliography which for some reason misses some pretty important works, notably C.V. Wedgwood’s book The Thirty Years War.
From Steve Jackson still focusing on less complex rules came this game featuring cars and trucks battling each other on miniature highways, 1” = 15 feet. Later supplements introduced additional vehicles and terrain, boats, helicopters, shopping malls, as well as additional weapons. Though 40 years old, the game and its supplements are still available at Warehouse 23.
Car Wars used card cutouts moved along a square grid at a scale of 1:180, smaller than the more common 1:160 N scale (what else is new?). According to the Stuff of Legends website, a company called T-Rex produced the first miniatures, though molds and masters were soon picked up by Grenadier Miniatures who added a package of trucks.
Currently, miniatures made specifically for Car Wars Are no longer available though with the fifth edition the scale has been modified to accommodate larger scale vehicles. Irregular Miniatures has in the past offered these sort of cars in 6mm though it is not clear if these are still available.
Ground scale is critical for most wargame rules. How else could you translate a real world battlefield to the limited space of a ping pong table? More recent battles cover more ground as weapons’ ranges increase and number of soldiers increase.
Below are some samples of ground scale including some board games to offer a visual reference. How the game boards align with the rules depends a lot on how one determines the actual size of a hex. Perhaps 2” per hex? What is very clear is that the closer scales inject more detail. Eventually, the carefully drawn obstacles and terrain features merge into blobs of brown, green, grey, and blue.
The Blue Light Manual 1” – 17 yds
A Glint of Bayonets 1” – 22 yds
American Civil War 1” – 25 yds
Stars and Bars 1” – 32 yds
Johnny Reb III 1” – 50 yds
Circa 1863. 1” – 50 yds
Volley & Bayonet 1” – 100 yds
A lost labor of love from a couple who had apparently written novels about the fantasy world. Mike Gilbert also illustrated many of FGU’s earlier titles. The rules appear to strive for a simple medieval world combat system albeit with firearms and magic. There are also simple rules for ship battles.