Tag Archives: Land

Board Games, Wargames

Soldier King

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Frank Chadwick continues his exploration of the then relatively unique point to point mapboard first used in A House Divided. Here, it takes the form of a multi-player game untethered to history with 4 asymmetric kingdoms competing for control of an island.

The counters as with many GDW games are thin, glossy, and serviceable with the usual simple palette of blue, red, green, and yellow. Little information is presented beyond symbols for infantry and light or heavy cavalry and a title indicating levy, veteran, or guard.

The overall situation coupled with the simplicity of the playing pieces makes this a nice choice for a campaign for musket era figures. Chadwick’s followup miniatures game for the Civil War follows a similar approach. The Civil War expansion for his Volley & Bayonet rules offer details on transferring the bard game battles to miniatures.

Rules

Et Sans Resultat

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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 sample page showing the colorful style and heavy use of illustrations.
Rules

In the Grand Manner

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A later edition of the rules published in 1994.

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.

Rules

The Age of Eagles

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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.

A glimpse of the attractive illustrated examples used throughout the book. The graphics should be instantly familiar to readers of Napoleon’s Battles.
Maker

OKB Grigorov

Some unusual 1/350 scale tanks made by OKB Grigorov, a European company specializing in 1/72 armor and 1/350 submarines. They also produced a range of 1/350 armor, mostly eastern front WWII vehicles. The items are still listed on their website though they do not appear to be for sale at the moment. The packages include PE detail pieces so expect to do a little work to make these pieces look good.

Miniatures Rules, Rules

Tacforce

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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.

Board Games

Red Star White Star

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Tactical Game 3 had an impact that reverberated for years. SPI and Avalon Hill batted the concept around for years. Here is an early entertaining but flawed iteration from the early 70s as the system is applied to then contemporary warfare in western Europe. The game would ultimately be replaced by the ambitious Mech War 77.

As suits a game of this sort where scenarios are ahistorical, the game relies heavily on contemporary military documents and organizational layouts. Scenarios explicitly list on-paper elements as well as idealized conflict situations meant to illustrate doctrine.

The game is a remarkable change from the series games up to this point. Most noticeably, the board is large, with few hills, divided into a number of sections. Infantry and artillery include their vehicular component in a single counter. Ranges for HE weapons can be as large as 72 hexes. Helicopters can move swiftly across the board with relative immunity. TOW offer enormous AP attacks that can guarantee destruction of armored units.

There are also odd rules. TOW units disappear after firing. Units may also triple their fire for single turn then disappear as well. There were a bunch of other complaints addressed in a sheet of errata including the unpardonable sin of missing a counter for a scenario. One complaint was that the Russian forces were modeled on outdated and incorrect data that left the Russians far too weak.

The game of course hints at changes to come. Soon, SPI would introduce their SiMove system while covering a range of WWII theaters. The final iteration of the system would be October War designed by Mark Herman who would go on to rewrite the system as Mech War 2.

Rules

Renaissance Warfare Rules for Tactical Miniature Battles from 1494-1690 A.D.

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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.

Rules

Forlorn Hope

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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.

Rules

Dutchman, Spaniard, Switzer, Swede

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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.

The author explains his rules.