At one time, Wargames Research Group provided all rules for all wars. This particular rule book shows the upgrade to graphics on the cover perhaps as a result of a new printing by Heritage. The rules are fun and that is really what they should be. It is likely best for small unit actions with 1/72 figures and vehicles.
Tag Archives: Land
Modern War in Miniature
This mysterious set of rules was supposedly the inspiration for SPI’s Sniper. I do not know if this is true but spent some time tracking down a copy. Cheap copies are difficult to find but there is a downloadable version here:
So what do you get? The rules seem vague dependent on judge or judges conversant with the data in the book. Miniatures are placed on a sand table and a judge will perform some action with the figures dependent on player orders and the judge’s interpretation of how the miniatures would act. The judge also performs all necessary die rolls when some element of chance creeps such as whether or not the enemy is spotted or the accuracy of weapons fire.
I have heard the rules described as the first role playing rules but they really are not. Only the vagueness of the rules compels the use of judges though judges can also provide a fog of war by limiting player intelligence of the opposing force. The tables that fill most of the book offer something akin to tables in a standard wargame albeit more exhaustive. But the rules are presented through a series of examples which would seem to lessen their usefulness. But like the designers at SPI, players may find the rules provide a helpful stepping off point for an exploration of modern era combat.
As an example of the information contained in the tables, the Nambu machine gun model M1922 is 6.5 caliber with a weight of 22.5 lbs, manufactured and used by Japanese forces,has a muzzle velocity of 2400, an effective range of 300 yards and a rate of fire of 8 rounds per second.
Rules appear to require no scale in particular though the author uses 1/87 or 1/100 scale figures. Figure scale is 1 to 1.
Colonial Skirmish Wargames in Miniature
This little rule book permitted games as close in spirit to playing toy soldiers as I can recall with statistics for firearms and measures for a variety of activities. The colonial era is always fun to play since opposing sides usually have complementary strengths and weaknesses.
Hey! You in the Jail!
The Old West if the Old West had been the scene of huge gun battles between angry settlers, trigger happy cowboys, mounted posses, etc. From Peter Pig which also manufactures figures to go with it though I will confine myself to plastic cowboys. The drawback is that there is no facility for shoot-outs.
Napoleon’s Battles
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Napoleon’s Battles
At one time, perhaps under the urging of S. Craig Taylor, Avalon Hill flirted openly with miniatures rules. Napoleon’s Battles was meant to allow the massive battles of the Napoleonic era be gamed with a reasonable number of figures. Sadly, even at 1 infantry figure equals 120, the number of figures for even a small historical scenario seems enormous. The format provided follows the standard 3-book format, the first, an introduction to miniatures with information on basing, painting, history, organization, etc., the second, the actual rules basic to advanced and optional, and the third, the actual scenarios including fictitious ones. Supplements amended and revised the rules while adding additional scenarios including the enormous Leipzig scenario in the red module. Module 2 also introduced a tie-in to AH’s Empires in Arms game allowing the game to serve as a campaign and battle generator for miniatures.
Napoleonic Wargame Rules
Since I first saw them, I wanted one of these little spiral bound books from England. The Tunbridge Wells Wargames Society shown on the book’s cover was a wargaming group started by George Gush who wrote quite a bit on wargames and wargame rules.
The rules specify no scale for time or distance and no figure ratio. However, unit sizes are provided with specific British and Austrian infantry regiment numbers and all other nationalities under a generic category. These are combined in battalions of 30 men and 3 officers. Cavalry regiments consist of 20 men and 2 officers. A gun detachment has a single gun and 5 men.
Play appears to be simultaneous though this is not stated. Sequence proceeds with order writing, retreats, charges, additional movement, firing, and morale tests.
Movement allows a half move and fire or stationary and fire twice. Terrain includes roads, linear obstacles,breastworks, woods, hills, and buildings all of which have varying effects on movement. Breastworks and buildings deduct from musketry rolls, woods can block fire after 3 inches. Line of sight is required for a hit. An artillery template is provided covering canister, ball, and shell.
Morale tests occur as a result of a variety of events and require the roll of a single die which is modified by additional factors. The rules also include the use of saving throws which tend to benefit officers and infantry under cover. Generals are immune to fire but can be captured.
The rules suggest that men can be mounted on bases. Formations offered are column, line, square, or open order. Column has a frontage of 8 men or less, line more than 8 men for movement. Open order 1″ between individual figures, 2″ between movement trays. For melee, line is 2 ranks or less, column more than 2 ranks.
In other words, much that one would expect from dedicated British hobbyists before more formalized rules conventions. There is no date on the rules, they do not appear to have a copyright. The booklet is 32 pages in length.
Warhammer English Civil War
Warhammer English Civil War
A Warhammer version of the English Civil War. Apparently, the Games Workshop staff had been using the Warhammer rules in an historical context and it is no wonder that based in England, they should offer a set specifically adapted for the English Civil War. Unlike other historical modules, this one is complete unto itself, not an addition to Warhammer Ancients. Just as in Warhammer, figure scale seems vague and there are lots of interesting personalities available for each army. With instructions on painting, scenery, scenario generation, and just about everything one could want in a book like this including full color photos. Just be ready to roll a lot of dice.
1644
1644 Rules For Battles Of The English Civil War
A fairly simple set of rules from Foundry Miniatures for English Civil War battles comparable to Warhammer Historical though without some of the colorful personages that invariably would show up.
De Bellis Renationis
De Bellis Renationis
Another hard to find set of rules from WRG revisiting the 16th and 17th century from the perspective of DBM. Likely it helps to have some army lists handy.
Chainmail, Rules for Medieval Miniatures
Here is a battered up copy of Chainmail published by Guidon Games before their acquisition by TSR. Gary Gygax co-creator of D&D wrote this with Jeff Perren a local hobby shop owner. As an afterthought, a fantasy supplement was added including monsters, heroes, and wizards. The rules were heavily referenced in the original D&D. It is for this reason that the rules book is highly sought after. There are three editions the first two published by Guidon Games, the last by TSR. This is the second printing of the second edition published in Belfast, Maine.
The second edition has some modifications to the first including the inclusion of giants. I am not sure the rules are still in print or frequently played but they certainly hold a place in wargaming.
So what are the rules like? The figure scale is 1:20, the ground scale is 1″: 10 yards. Two sequences of play are offered. One is an alternate move system with the usual move-fire-melee with first player decided by roll of a die. The other is a simultaneous movement system with a phase for writing specific unit orders.
Terrain is pretty standard though there is no provision for buildings except castles in the siege rules and no impassable or desert or beach terrain.
Figures are not based. The rules were written for Elastolin/Starlux figures which have standard bases. 25mm scale is assumed though there is provsion for 30mm. 15mm is not mentioned and likely still unknown at the time the rules were written.
Formations are very limited to column, line and square with optional rules adding a hedgehog formation. Facing and formation changes occur as portions of a unit’s move. Move and range distances are given in increments of 3″. There are rules for fatigue that involve bookkeeping to note a unit’s activity.
Firing is gauged by type of weapon which determines how often during turn the weapon can fire. Beyond that, one simply adds up the number of figures, determines whether or not the target is armored, rolls a single die and consults a small chart in the book to determine the number of casualties inflicted. Arquibuses are handled individually. Rules for cannon fire require the use of a specially marked dowel.
Melee is handled on a figure by figure basis with individual die rolls. There are also optional rules including prisoners, charges, and hedgehog formations.
Morale checks follow melee and may result in retreat or route.
Historical characteristics are also provided. Knights may charge without orders. Peasants may completely ignore orders. Mercenaries may also ignore orders based on the roll of a die. Generals may also be included, granting a bonus point to die rolls of associated units and mandating a morale check if eliminated.
There are also rules for jousting and castle sieges and the highly thought of fantasy supplement which allows players to introduce fantastic persons and creature into games using the basic rules. These fantastic beings are usually allowed the strength of multiples of a standard unit type. There are also rules for magic.
It is easy to see the appeal of the ruleset when they were the only game in town. Now they provide an historical context by which current games can be measured.