Broadsword: Wargame Rules for Medieval Battles - review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

"They assembled from all sides, one after another, with arms and horses and all the panoply of war . . ."
                                        - Anna Komnene

Other than The Universal Soldier, none of the rulesets I have reviewed so far have covered the medieval period, yet since my earliest days as a wargamer it has proven one of my favorite periods.  One of the earliest sets of rules I played was a simple set of one page medieval skirmish rules in the back of the Hinchliffe Guide to Wargaming (the second edition one, with the picture of the Zulu war figures on the front cover).  I will write a review of those later, but after that set of rules I migrated to some other sets (Knights and Magick by Arnold Hendrick; Wizards and Heroes from Heritage Games; Chainmail by Perren and Gygax; and the second edition of Warhammer, although played without magic).  Many of these are on the planning pile for reviews in this series.

A set of rules that I played in the 80s a few times, but that I really liked (and the design left an impact on me) wsa a set from FGU, called Broadsword.  It was written by George Schneider, and published in 1977.  It was based on the set of rules that had come out earlier from FGU, called "Royal Armies of the Hyborean Age" (RAHA) that presented a set of rules for wargaming in Robert E. Howard's Conan setting.  This is interesting, as a throwback to the Tony Bath early wargaming days, where he hosted battles of the Hyborean Age as the setting for his ancient and medieval army mashups.

The FGU rules for RAHA covered most ancient army types that are typical in the world of Conan, but that also covers a lot of medieval figures.  When Schneider took the rules as his inspiration, he left out the purely ancient troop types (mostly chariots and elephants) and focused more on typical medieval European armies, and troop behaviors.

The set is based on a 1:20 figure scale, and recommends that missile and skirmish units be 12-18 figures each, and that shock units of infantry or cavalry be 18-36 figures each.  Large manly units!  Larger units of peasants are also mentioned.

The turn sequence is based on simultaneous moves, and flows like this:

1. Write all orders for the turn.
2. Move for phase 1, declaring charges first.
3. Resolve missile fire, if desired.
4. Move for phase 2, declaring charges first.
5. Resolve remaining missile fire.
6. Resolve melees.
7. Execute breakthroughs, pursuits, and retreats.
8. Resolve pursuit and breakthrough melees.
9. Carry out resultant mandatory retreats.

The two phase movement system is interesting... each unit can do two of the following functions during a turn, but each function can itself be used only once per phase (so you could Change Formation, and Move, but you could not Move twice).  Written orders specify which:

1. Change Formation
2. Change Facing
3. Move or Charge 

Allowable orders are not mentioned, except to note that orders must specify which function is in which phase, if a charge is phase 1 or 2, and if the unit has "charge if charged" orders.  Ahh, the joys of games where you have to write orders.

Actual movement rates are in inches.  Which is a nice simplification.  The ranges are quite generous, and they work for 25mm figures (which is how we played it).  With 15mm figures, the author recommends halving it.

But the two phases of movement, and two different actions, is an interesting system. When we played it, the folks I played it with would use a graphical system to do orders.  Each unit would be listed on a piece of paper, and then there would be ruled lines and between each, and two columns for each turn (one for each phase).  In a column, you could write FORM, FACE, or a box (representing the unit) with an arrow showing which way to move, or a C or CIC for charge, and charge-if-charged.  Simple enough, and then interpretation was done on honor system (I don't think we ever played with a referee).

Shooting and Fighting both are based on a number of factors per figure (based on the fighting type, and modifiers, for a base factor - and then modified by a plus die and a minus die to randomize it).  Once you had your factor figured out, you multiply it by the number of figures fighting, to see how many casualties you did.  The system was simple, with 20 men per figure, for each full 20 casualties you did, an enemy figure would die.  So, for instance, if you have 18 knights that can fight, and they end up having a total factor value of 7 points each, on the turn they charge, by multiplying 7 x 18, you get a total of 126.  That means that 6 enemy troops would die, with 6 factors left over.

The basic rules as written state, that if the leftover factors are 10 or less, then no additional figures die, but if 11 or more, then an additional figure dies.  These days, if I played, I would allow a d20 roll against the remaining casualties, to see if the extra figure dies (something I picked up from my friend Ron when we used to play the George Gush Renaissance rules way back when).

In general, I would refer to this combat system as the "factors per figure" system, and other than a table of the base factor per figure, it is mostly done through multiplication, and the random factor comes in (as it is in Broadsword) in a dice roll modifying the base factor, or in a dice roll to determine extra kills, or both as recommended above.

I personally used this system in several sets I wrote in the 80s, "Patriot's Blood" for the Revolutionary War, and "KriegsHerren" for renaissance.  It is also used in a set of Medieval rules that I ended up playing a big, called Knight Hack.  It is used in other rulesets, as well.  In reality, it could be converted to a "factors and table" system, if you simply multiplied out the factors by a number of figures ahead of time, and printed it on a lookup table, but basic multiplication never bugged me.

The rules finish up with basic (generic) army lists for European Feudal, Saracen/Moslem, and Mongol armies.  As well as 11 historical scenarios.  A word about those scenarios - they are mostly for large armies, at least for 25mm armies.  Now, back in the 70s and early 80s, I recall playing with folks who had huge (1000+) figure armies in 25mm for medievals or renaissance.  At the time, I was just a poor student, and the only army I had that was that large was my old Orc and Goblin army that I used for Warhammer 2nd Edition.  What a beauty.  But in high school, I never could have dreamt of an army of 300 or 400 25mm knights.  So, I think we shrunk down the unit sizes to play some of the battles.  We would play with unit sizes of maybe 24 infantry, and maybe 12 cavalry.

The first time I played one of the historical battles, full size, was maybe around 1985 or so, playing (from the book) the Battle of Lincoln (one of the smaller scenarios in the book).  That was fun.

The king divided his army into three forces, and the opposing side did the same. The Bretons and Flemings, under the command William of Ypres and Alan of Dinan, were in the front rank of the royal army. Facing them was the fierce mob of Welshmen, led by the two brothers Maredudd and Cadwaladr. The king himself dismounted with a number of others, and fought stalwartly on foot for his life and the preservation of his kingdom. In the opposing army Earl Ranulf dismounted with his troops and reinforced a brave contingent of foot-soldiers from Chester to give battle. And Robert, earl of Gloucester, who was the greatest in the army, commanded the [men of the Bessin] and other disinherited men to strike the first blow in the battle to recover the inheritances they claimed. 
                          - The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis

I got to play the Rebel army, loyal to Queen Matilda.  At the time, I was using 25mm figures I had recently gotten, by Essex, from the (now sadly gone) Wargames, run by Johnson Hood - their ads can be seen in many an old ruleset and wargaming magazine.  I still have some of those figures.

The war was over the Barons wanting a king, rather than a queen (even though Matilda was daughter of Henry I, it is complicated, and considered by some historians as the first English civil war, also lumped together with the general 12th and13th century Baron's Wars in England, but that may be a stretch).  Although the guy playing the side of King Stephen's army used a borrowed army of medieval Germans, complete with Teutonic Knights and Sword Brothers, it was still a great game.

I did a lot of research on the fight between Stephen and Maude for that game, and became quite a fan of old Maude (Queen Matilda, daughter of Henry I).  Later on, my wife and I would have a cat named for her.

Broadsword is a good ruleset, and a pretty solid example of the "factors per figure" combat mechanism. The split movement system is pretty neat, especially since you have to do a different function for each phase.  It might be worth trying out again, but these days it would pretty much be in 15mm.

Cavaliers and Roundheads - review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

Keep your faith in God, but keep your powder dry.
  - Oliver Cromwell

Cavaliers and Roundheads is a set of rules for English Civil War wargames, published by TSR games.  It was written by Jeff Perren, but with the help of Gary Gygax.  The set I am most familiar with, and have played, and will be reviewing is the second edition, published in 1975.

First, a bit of personal reflection...

This is a great set of rules, that can serve for large wargames (or small, although the combat system's rate of attrition moves pretty fast for a small game), of the sort played at conventions and at wargames clubs.  Many years ago, I used to be lucky enough to play these rules at the wargaming shop where I played and worked, through my undergraduate college years - Campaign Headquarters.  Armies were of the "hundereds of figures per side" variety, sometimes reaching thousands.  Played on a great 6x12 table, with lots of great terrain (although some was clearly medieval - which could be forgiven in the case of stone churches and castles, less so in the case of thatched cottages).  These rules were definitely written with that sort of game in mind, and to be played in glorious 25mm (or 30mm, as the rules point out) - as a good friend of mine refers to - the "one true scale".

I have a sizable collection of 25mm ECW figures myself, although (sadly) they are not painted.  Not-so-sadly, they are mostly of the Wargames Foundry variety (I bought them when Pendragon used to be the dealer here in the United States, and I loved swirling through their drawers of figures, looking for just the right castings).  That is a painting project I have been putting off for years, although relishing it in my mind.  Weird.

What I do have, that I could use these rules for, is a decent sized collection of 15mm figures.  They would work fine, I think, and perhaps a solo game (or even a club game) is in the schedule for the near future.  As I mentioned in the review of Forlorn Hope, ECW (and perhaps, more generally, the entire Renaissance period) has been, and remains, one of my personal favorite wargaming periods.  I can't explain it, but I've always been drawn to the history, the uniforms, and the fighting tactics.  Over the many years I have been a wargamer, it has only been eclipsed, I think, by maybe Medieval, and/or Ancients as a personal favorite period.

NOT from the rulebook, yet how could I resist?

Scale and Turn Sequence

As mentioned the game is played, probably most commonly, and written for 25mm-30mm figures.  It can handle a smaller scale (say, 15-20mm).  Each figure represents 20 men, and the ground scale is not given.  All ranges and movement values are given in inches, for the two scales (listed, 20mm and 30mm).

At the 30mm scale, Pikemen can move 6", and Musketeers 9".  Cavalry can move 12".  There are, of course, other units, those are just given for a feel for the movement speeds.

Long range, at 30mm, for a Musket is 24", and for a Heavy Field Gun, 36".  Pistols may fire a maximum of 6"

There are two possible turn sequences given.  First, there is the possibility for orders, and simultaneous move.  This appears to be pretty freeform, with both sides making a note of all movement, for each unit, and then it is interpreted, executed, and followed up by first Fire combat and then Melee comat.

The second option for moving requires no orders (other than general orders of what turn reinforcements are to arrive, etc).  It is executed this way:

1. Side "A" moves all infantry units.
2. Side "B" moves all units.
3. Side "A" moves all cavalry and artillery.
4. Simultaneous fire, with all cannon fire first, then everything else.
5. Surviving troops will then Melee, where applicable.

Once this is complete, then it is repeated, with the two different sides alternating who is side "A".

Movement

As mentioned, there is a simple movement chart with moves given for all unit types in inches, depending on what scale (20mm or 30mm) the game is being played in.  There is no charge move for infantry, but Cavalry and Lobsters can charge move (which is a double move) provided they (1) haven't done a charge move in the previous two turns, OR (2) have not moved at all on the previous turn.  Dragoons (and of course, Artillery) join Infantry in not being able to charge.

Some interesting limitations on movement exist, as well.  While musketeers can freely move and change formation and facing on a single turn, Pikemen can only EITHER move, or change their facing on the same turn.  Also, firing units are limited in their actions, and the game requires reloading.  While cavalry with pistols who perform a caracole, will automatically reload their pistols, Musketeers must do this an action.  A musket armed unit can do two actions per turn - the three allowed are Move, Load, Shoot.  So if the unit moves, it can only either Shoot (if already loaded), or Load (if previously having shot).  If the unit stands in place, it can both Shoot and Load.  Light field guns can also do two actions per turn, but heavy field guns can only do one action per turn.  Other limits also apply, and there are straight forward terrain rules.

Shooting

Musket fire is very straightforward and simple.  Roll 1d6 per firing figure (two ranks can fire), and based on range then hits are scored on results of 4,5,6 for Short, 5,6 for Medium, and 6 for Long.  This is against formed foot (which means Pikemen).  Against cavalry, muskets and artillery all hits are halved.

Artillery is more interesting.  Based on the type a gun, a number of dice are rolled.  A light gun rolls 4 dice, and a heavy gun rolls 3 dice.  Examine the individual dice scores.  At Long Range, the lowest scoring die is the number of hits delivered.  At Medium Range, the next lowest die is the result, and at Short Range, the third lowest die is the result.  I have always liked this system.

There are rules for the carricole maneuver for cavalry with pistols (assume two pistols per figure, if the unit is close enough, and willing to perform the retrograde away, then the front two ranks of cavalry can each fire two pistols at the target unit...).  And there are rules for Hand Grenades.

Melee

Melee is handled by consulting a simple table which gives you how many Ranks are fighting based on the figure type (Pikemen, 2 ranks; Cavalry, 1 rank; etc.).  Also, depending on the target you are rolling against, it gives you a number of dice per figure (ranging from 2 dice per man, down to 1 die per six men), and also the score that will kill figures.    A number of special cases and limitations round out this area of the rules.

This is definitely a system that is related to the "dice per element" sort of combat adjudication mentioned already for both The Universal Soldier and also the WRG Wargames Rules 1685-1845. In this case, it is definitely a "dice per figure" variation, as with The Universal Soldier.  One of the possible criticisms of the rules are that there is no standardized basing (same criticism of Chainmail, although in both cases, I think that the rules were written as club rules first, and in the club they were played, most armies already existed, or there was an unspoken standard basing going on).

Morale

The morale rules are also, like the rest of the set, quite simple.  Roll 2d6, and score a 6 or higher to pass morale.  There are, of course, modifiers.  If a failure is rolled, then the unit retires.  Here you dice for movement (2d6 for 20mm, and 3d6 for 30mm), and also a dice for direction (straight back, or veer off 45 degrees to either side).  Rules exist for regaining control, and also for rolling to keep Cavalry from pursuit.

Extras

There are rules for several optional areas like desertion, elite units, etc.  There is a nice, short section detailing typical units, some army sizes from famous battles, and a simple painting guide that would certainly get a newcomer going in the right (approximate) direction.

Opinion and Comments

These are simple, simple rules.  Perhaps that is why I enjoyed them (there is hardly anything here for a large group of gamers to argue about, and everyone can eventually make a great move or volley of fire).  They don't have the period specific detail of Forlorn Hope or other rules that I also enjoy for the period, but are straightforward enough for a complete neophyte in the time period to enjoy, as well as an old hand, if he doesn't turn his nose up at too much lack of details.  Keep in mind, that I feel these are written for large games (and that is how I most enjoyed them), and the detail is right on the money for that large sort of game.

As mentioned, my 25mm ECW figures remain unpainted.  And yet . . . I do have a 15mm collection that is usable, and growing (meaning: more figures in the works, and on the painting schedule).  The basing dilemma could be solved here, since I use a basing standard that is not too far off something WRG-ish - meaning, that my pike and heavy infantry (billmen from the trained bands, for instance) are mounted on 40mm wide bases, with four figures per base.  My shot are mounted on 40mm wide bases, with three figures per base.   My horse are mounted either 2 or 3 figures per base (lighter horse, such as dragoons, are 2 per base; heavier horse like lobsters or chargers are mounted 3 per base), also on 40mm wide bases.

Given my existing collection and basing, I would feel quite fine doing a game using those figures, and these rules.  Casualty markers would be fine here, probably nylon upholstery rings (my usual poison for 15mm casualty marking).  It could be a fine game.  Certainly one to compare to some of the other ECW rules I play, including Forlorn Hope, The Universal Soldier, and the upcoming (to be reviewed) 1644.

Of course hosting a game with 300 or 400 25mm figures per side, with all the regular cast of ODMS club members playing, would be a fine thing as well.  But wigs, feathery hats, and Spaniels would have to be provided, for the players to really feel like they were in the Recent Unpleasantness.

Random Battlefield setup

My recent review of Dominance included a nod to the random table layouts that the author includes in the rules set, as a pretty neat resource for gamers.  I remember back when I played some Dominance, I had two renaissance armies (one infantry based - Swiss, and one cavalry based - French), and my friend and I who played the rules would randomly select one of the table diagrams in the book, and then dice for initiative in setup, and for side of table.  We would do our best to lay out the terrain based on what pieces we had (pretty easy), and off the whole shooting match went.

This got me to thinking, and looking around at different systems on blogs and in articles on random battlefield set up.

Over at Warfare in Miniature, there is a system that the author (James M) devised that is basically a PDF with six pages in it.  First you dice for a page in the document (1-6).  Then you toss two percentage dice, to generate a number from 1-100.  Consulting the page you rolled up, you will find a grid, with 8x9 squares on it, and with the numbers 1-97 on spaces in the grid.  If you roll 1-97, then the space you rolled is the upper box of your wargames table.

The orientation of the number, is the direction of "north" on your newly generated terrain area.  Green areas are forest, brown areas are hills. Red lines are roads, blue lines are rivers.  Green boxes are built up areas/fields.  Simple.

Each space on the grid represents 2'x2' on the gaming table, so you will have a grid of 3 spaces (or 6 feet), by 2 spaces (or 4 feet) to lay out your table in.  So for each of the six pages there are roughly 97 tables, that is a total of 585 tables, or something mathy like that.  But, the remaining three chances (98,99,100) for each page are also accounted for - they are tables that have homogeneous terrain over the whole surface.

Seriously, this is cool, try it out.  The article is Here.  The document is Here.

Another system that exists (and there are a number) that uses cards for the battlefields is the most excellent Battle Finder system from The Perfect Captain. As always, the rulesets from The Captain are free, although donations to charity are recommended by the authors.

Battle Finder is a complete campaign system, presented in a generic sense, although The Captain has developed some specialized adaptations for several medieval and renaissance games.  In short, you construct a campaign map (or scenarios in a linear or narrative campaign) using some easy to print out small cards, each of which has a nice 4x6 tabletop pictured on it.  Here are a few examples.

The Battle Finder system allows these cards, individually, to be mounted on a map that replicates a hex grid (each space connects to six surrounding spaces).  An individual card, printed and cut out, looks like this:

A most excellent system, and the campaign rules are terrific.

Dominance - review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

Dominance is a set of Renaissance period (1494-1529) wargames rules written by Ian Wilson, copyright 1986, and published by Raider Games in 1986, and a second printing in 1988.  They are available, still, through Partizan Press.  I could not find too much contemporary information about Raider Games, except to say that at one time, in addition to Dominance, Raider also produced "Napoleonic Rules for a Large Scale Wargame with Small Scale Miniatures" by Peter Dennis and Cliff Knight, as well as "American Civil War" by the same authors.  They also produced a set of dark ages rules ("Oshere's Helm" by P.J. Duckworth) that I have never seen myself (I have seen the other two sets mentioned previously).

In addition to Dominance, Ian Wilson has also more recently (2009 or so) published a number of rules and articles in Wargames Illustrated, and released a second set of Renaissance rules, dealing with Eastern Europe (1558-1699), called "Husaria" in 2003, printed by Caliver Books for The Pike & Shot Society.

Dominance is a nice set of rules, based on the idea of Combat Factors, which then turn into (with random dice factors added in, and also tactical modifiers for situation) a number of Casualties inflicted on an enemy unit, determined by consulting a Casualty Table (I refer to this system as the Factors and Table method, although that seems pretty obvious).  This is how both Shot and Melee combat work.  This is very similar to a broad family of wargames, going back to (at least) earliest versions of the WRG Ancients wargames, but really (as in the case of the earlier reviewed AWI ruleset, Valley Forge) tracing back to the casualty tables that were in the earliest Kriegspiel wargames from the 19th century.

For rules covering the Renaissance period, at a minimum, the George Gush rules (1976 - review of these coming soon) published by WRG use a similar system.  Both Gush and Wilson rely on a figure scale of 20 men per casting, and left over casualties are kept track of on paper.  A great modification of the rules (discussed more later, in the review on the Gush rules) is to use a d20 and each turn, after all whole figure casualties are removed, a d20 is rolled and compared to left over casualties.  If it is less than the number, then an additional figure is removed, but nothing is kept track of on paper from turn to turn.

It will be interesting to see an analysis of the casualty chart here, with the one in the Gush rules, or the older WRG Ancients rules (a future review is also planned for these), but those will be presented in the later articles.

Note that this system - the Factors and Table system - is very different from the systems presented by Donald Featherstone's War Games (1962), which are all of the "roll 1 d6 per figure, and a casualty results on 5,6" variety.  That is not a bad method, and countless permutations and improvements of it exist, including the previously reviewed WRG Wargames Rules 1685-1845, and also a version is in The Universal Soldier.  The Factors and Table system, however, is much less prone to the winds of luck, or fortune, or kismet - or whatever it is that wargamers are calling it these days, when you roll a handful of dice, and 80% of them come up with 6s.  Also, the adjudication of combat is much quicker, or at least it is once the players or umpire have mastered the Factors tables, and understand what the tactical pluses and minuses are for most common situations.  It still has some randomness, introducing the stochastic variable of a chance die roll, so all Fortuna is not missing from the process.

One nice thing about the Factor and Table system as it is implemented here, is that the factors are based on Weapon System vs Troop Type.  Often it is troop type vs troop type (as in Might of Arms, War Cry and many other rulesets, to make their appearance here in reviews), with a modifier for weapons.  In this case, it seems to make sense to have the weapons themselves included.  Also, as the Author points out in notes at the end of the volume, many typical mixed weapon formations are accounted for, when they are nearly universal (like the practice of including zweihanders or polearms within the front ranks of a pike formation), are then accounted for in the combat factors of the dominant weapon system (in this case, Pike), so mixed units don't have to be accounted for in the rules - always a messy situation.

Movement and Ranges are given in Inches, which is very nice.  The rules state a ground scale of 10 yards to the inch for 20-30mm figures, and 20 yards to the inch for 9-15mm (40 yards for 5/6mm).  However, having everything in inches in the combat and movement tables is a great blessing.  Given how much scale creep our 15mm figures have had since 1987, I think it is fair to say that they could be used with the 20-30mm ground scale, without too much cognitive dissonance.

Otherwise the rules are pretty straight forward.  They are predicated on umpired play (they were written by Ian for a wargames campaign, which he umpired), and hence use rules writing, some rules for command and control (how to change orders, the effect of leaders on combat), and use simultaneous movement.  Given all that, the turn sequence is pretty straight forward - move, shoot, fight, morale.

As mentioned, these compare very well to the George Gush Renaissance rules from WRG (originally).  Where Dominance really shines is that in narrowing the focus of the rules (Western Europe, chiefly the Southern or Italian Renaissance, in the years 1494-1529), a particular style of combat, troop types, and battlefield behavior are focused on.  This gives a tighter and more constrained set of rules than Gush presents (more on that in the later review), but it also means that the rules are shorter, to the point, and read and play easily.

Given the tight focus of the rules, the army lists supplied in the book are fantastic, and really cover the breadth of the Italian Renaissance, as well as the early Wars of Religion.  The list of armies included is:

Early English	Late English
Florentine	Early French
Late French	Holy Roman Empire
Spanish Holy Roman Empire	Irish
Italian Independent City State	Milanese
Neapolitan	Borgia Papal
Papal	Scottish
Early Spanish	Late Spanish
Swiss Confederation	Venetian

These are great, and are presented as a invariable core of troops, with a series of optional add on units, etc that have a points cost.  So an army would be at a minimum the core troops described as the Basic Force, but based on the value of the army (whether in a one time game, or due to some campaign factors), could have additional units, described as Reinforcements.

The army lists in the volume that accompanies Gush is an incredible source of information and data about the armies of the time period, and the breadth of armies and options are much greater than presented here in Dominance, but again, I view that as a detriment.  The specific flavor of each army is preserved by the Basic Force.

Finally, one more thing that the rules, as a wargaming guide, give to a gamer or referee of a campaign is a great set of 20 maps, each of a 4x6 wargames table, with a variety of typical terrain features.  This could be keyed to locations on a campaign map, or could simply be used with a d20 to determine a random battlefield (or reproduced on cards, and use in some sort of filing system for the campaign).  A very useful appendix in the rule book.

All in all, I like Dominance, and have enjoyed playing it in the past.  For a modern gamer, the Factor and Table system, although in use in a lot of games, does not seem to be where modern rulesets are going.  More frequently, these days, there is the opposed die roll method, or the dice-per-figure system, but the older method is faster, and gives the schooled player (who has played the rules a few times) a good eye for how many casualties to account for in a situation.  This means that the player can make more educated decisions - always a good thing.  So they are a trade off - not as exciting and fast (and of course - the modern aversion to simultaneous movement), but great coverage of a specific period, and a "scientific" method for doing casualties.  A good ruleset, and a good benchmark against which to compare other, perhaps more popular, rulesets using similar mechanics.

Forlorn Hope - review

I had rather have a plain russet-coated Captain that knows what he fights for, and loves what he knows, than that which you call a Gentleman and is nothing else.
- Oliver Cromwell, 1643

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

Cover for earlier edition, frontpiece for the 1991 edition

Forlorn Hope is a set of rules for English Civil Wargames, first published in 1987, that I have been quite fond of over the years, having played many times in 15mm with a variety of friends, especially in the old ODMS club, when it played at Campaign Headquarters, Gamer's Guild, and World's Best Comics.

I currently own a copy of the 1991 printing of the rules, although there are newer editions.  My own set still handles quite well, and has not loosened up at all over the years.  It is a set, according to the design notes of Messrs. Berry and Wilkins, that was designed primarily for tabletop play, and based on tabletop experience, rather than a strict translation of space and time (as in a simulation).  I think it succeeds well.

The units have five possible factors describing them:

• Arm - Infantry, Cavalry, Dragoons, Artillery
• Class - Veteran, Trained, Elite
• Tactics - (Cavalry Only) Trotters (close and shoot), Gallopers (charge home)
• Order - Normal Order, or Open Order
• Ratio - (Infantry Only) The ratio of shot to pike, given in the terms of 2:1, etc.

In addition, Artillery comes in different varieties (Ultra Light, Light, Medium), and troops can be in a number of different formations (but can change formation during the game).  Line, Column, Fire Stand (similar to the later Square formation), Cavalry Line, Cavalry Column, and March Column.

With these factors, a great variety of different troops from the English Civil War period can be described.

Units are under orders at any time during the game.  There are chances, based on a dice roll, to change orders (and it depends on what order you are in, and what you are changing to, that determines this - followed by a D6 roll to see success.

The available orders are:

• Advance to Fire Combat
• Advance to H-t-H Combat
• Hold
• Retreat
• Screen

The game has the following five steps in a turn sequence:

1. Declaration and Reaction (new orders, leaders leave units, declare charges, etc)
2. Movement (move, routers first, then charges, then other units)
3. Fire Combat and Reaction
4. Hand to Hand Combat (first casualties determined, then reaction tests)
5. Reaction and Rallying (situational morale tests, rally from rout or pursuit)

Scale: Movement and Ranges are all given in Inches.  No ground scale is given (see the note on design above).  Figure scale is 1:33, so that a unit of 400 men would be 12 figures.

Determining Combat Factors

There is a single combat table, used for Shot or Melee, which is based on determining a Factor, and then cross indexing it with the number of figures involved.  Those are divided up into groups of 1,2,3,4,5, or 10 - and then a dice is rolled for each group.  The procedure is to go for as few (large) groups as possible, and then the dice roll gives you the number of casualties (based on a casualty table).  So, as an example, if you have 24 figures in an Infantry unit in melee combat.  You would look up its combat factor (which would be based on several things, but chiefly it's shot to pike ratio).  Once you had the factor, you would find that row on the casualty table, and then use the 10 column (rolling on it twice) and the 4 column (rolling on it once) to determine the number of casualties.  In that way, you rolled for 10+10+4, or 24 figures.  Casualties are in whole figures, no record keeping.

A very satisfying set of rules that plays well, although it does have somewhat of an 80s feel to it, especially in the area of Reaction Tests, which are (if I recall) many, and with a half page of factors to consider for plus or minus to the target number.  Once you play a game or two, however, it becomes pretty quick to work through.

Prognosis: I love these rules.  However, I found that it was difficult to convey what is going on to somebody who is not a fan of either ECW or Thirty Years War military history.  The different types of cavalry tactics, and the possibility of infantry units being of different ratios of pike to shot (note: you never change how many figures you have of either type, you just use what you have, but the ratio is all important for figuring out combat factors).  For those who get it, and like it, however - this is a great set of rules for the pike and shot period.  There is a Yahoo group that offers up some rules variants, including a lot of Thirty Years War information.

Two army lists

The rules are also quite complete, for tabletop battles.  Not too much in the way of campaign information, but a wide variety of different armies, and rules on how to select your figures based on the army you choose.  This involves random dicing for things like Ratio and Class.  Again, very satisfying.

One of my favorite periods, and one of my favorite rulesets.  Considering they are almost 30 years old, that is a good thing.

Valley Forge - review

“Our cruel and unrelenting Enemy leaves us no choice but a brave resistance, or the most abject submission; this is all we can expect - We have therefore to resolve to conquer or die: Our own Country's Honor, all call upon us for a vigorous and manly exertion, and if we now shamefully fail, we shall become infamous to the whole world. Let us therefore rely upon the goodness of the Cause, and the aid of the supreme Being, in whose hands Victory is, to animate and encourage us to great and noble Actions - The Eyes of all our Countrymen are now upon us, and we shall have their blessings, and praises, if happily we are the instruments of saving them from the Tyranny meditated against them. Let us therefore animate and encourage each other, and shew the whole world, that a Freeman contending for Liberty on his own ground is superior to any slavish mercenary on earth.”
― George Washington

[This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).  This one is less like the others I have written, in that this set of rules is not one that I have played a lot, but I still find it (at least personally) influential.  I would like to discuss why.]

The frontpiece - the cover is a lovely color version of the same painting,
but mine has a big SALE sticker on it

Let me start this by saying that I would be surprised to find gamers who are currently still playing Valley Forge.  However, I have fond memories of this ruleset, and it has a fascinating history (and conceptual lineage), so I would like to say a few things about it.

This is from the set I own, which is Valley Forge, published in 1976 by TSR.  I purchased my set from a hobby store (the still operating Denbigh Hobby, in Newport News, Virginia) back around 1981, while I was in high school. This was in reaction to having purchased and painted maybe a dozen or so 25mm American War of Independence figures (probably Hinchliffe figures, but possibly Minifigs - they had come from open packages, and were repacked in plastic baggies, which made them much more affordable for my high school student budget).  A second edition (Valley Forge II) was published the same year by Dave Wesely, the Author of the rules, by himself.  I have never seen a copy of that edition.

David Wesely - author of Valley Forge

This is a set of rules that has (according to both the introduction written by Dave Arneson, and a blurb on Boardgame Geek) inspiration taken by the author, from a much older set of rules from the US Army, written in the 1880s by Lt. Totten.  These were based on the Kriegspiel rules.  A good history of wargaming from that time is found in a book chapter that I co-wrote on the history of combat models and simulation (1).  That source does not mention Totten, but it mentions some of the other developments that came out of the Kriegspiel rules in the 19th century.
 

Towards that end (rules based on Kriegspiel), the Valley Forge rules make perfect sense - they are a tabletop simulation of combat during the American War of Independence, with particular detail to the number of actions that can take place in a 1 minute turn.  Also, the (mostly) deterministic nature of combat is based on the number of casualties that a volley of fire, from 100 men, can result against a massed enemy infantry unit, at different ranges.  So, for instance, the movement and volley rates are given for infantry for a 1 minute turn.  An example - British infantry can fire 6 rounds with a Brown Bess musket, in a turn, if performing Rapid Fire.  An American Rifleman with a Kentucky Rifle can only fire once in the same period, but at a range of 25 inches (250 yards), will be 42x as likely to inflict a casualty.  The rules are not wholly deterministic.  There are some random factors, and also a method for determining the chance of a Probability based activity being successful.

Why is this important?  Because it illustrates that rules designed to be a simulation (as all in the Kriegspiel family are) first, and a game second, will be excruciatingly detailed in things that are important for the simulation to show.  In the case of Kriegspiel, to allow Officers in training to make realistic decisions about battlefield conditions, based on how effective troops behave.  In the case of Valley Forge, it is to allow wargamers to see what the realistic behavior of the troops were on a Colonial American battlefield.  All games, especially wargames, are somewhat of a simulation - but equally, all simulations are based on abstract models.  Typically, it serves the community of gamers who will play a wargame to include more abstraction and introduction of random elements (dice, cards, etc) to make the game "fun" and to introduce a sense of chance that we like in our hobby pursuits.  Valley Forge has less of that, and is much more detail oriented - closer to a simulation, than a game (if you allow there to be a continuum).

Some particulars of the rules - they are designed for 25mm figures; 1 turn is 1 minute; 1 inch is 10 yards; 1 figure represents 30 men.

Here is the turn sequence -

1. Referee gives information and messages to players
2. Players write orders
3. Players declare orders, perform initial volleys, and announce charges.
4. Simultaneous movement
5. Effects of fire are calculated
6. Effects on morale from movement and casualties are calculated
7. Final volleys calculated
8. Melee is fought, if applicable, and results applied
9. The referee may execute through steps 6-8, for isolated parts of the battlefield, before returning to the whole scene, if appropriate. 

So, a number of things that would turn off a modern gamer (simultaneous movement, order writing, requiring a referee, deterministic casualties, and realistic times to reload and fire artillery - many turns in between shots, for all but the smallest pieces).

Okay, so why am I writing a review of a set that I never played in a club or at a convention, and only halfheartedly tried at home?  Because of the detail and research that David Wesely invested in his rules.  He was a graduate student in Physics at the time that these were put together, and he would go on to take a commission in the US Army and work at Aberdeen, and other places.  This certainly means he appeals to my Engineering Professor persona, but also a wargamer he appeals to my attraction to accurate military historical detail.  The musketry information, and other information in Valley Forge has been raided by yours truly over the years for rulesets I have put together myself, albeit with mechanics that were closer to a Game than to a Simulation (more random chance involved, and more abstract results).

As a wargamer, I would prefer to play British Grenadier, or Black Powder, or any of a number of rules (including some coming up in this series of reviews, such as Koenig Krieg), but I have fond memories of Valley Forge.  Mostly because it was the first scholarly wargame I ever encountered, and also because of the tie to Kriegspiel type rules, and mostly because of the debt for the scholarship that I owe David Wesely.

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(1) Margaret Loper and Charles D. Turnitsa: “A History of Combat Modeling and Distributed Simulation,” Chapter 10 in Tolk (ed.) Engineering Principals of Combat Modeling and Distributed Simulation. Wiley & Sons, 2012.

WRG Wargames Rules 1685-1845 - review

This is another review in the Once and Future Rules series, of wargame rules that are out of print, but that got a lot of play at one time (at least, in the clubs and groups I played in since the early 1980s).

The version of the rules that I own (physically), and that I am reviewing here, are from July 1979.  There was evidently an earlier release that same year, and also a release in Australia (with a yellow cover).  But the version I have is dated July 1979, and pictured here.

This is a 48 page book, and does a pretty thorough job of presenting a set of tabletop rules (no campaign rules, although they are hinted at) for the core of the horse and musket period.  While written for anything from 6mm up through 30mm figures, most of the games I have played, or watched, have been either 25mm (the majority) or 15mm (a close second).

The topics covered by the rules, and the table of contents are as follows:

1. Introduction
2. Method of play and time, ground, and troop scales
3. Troop types, basing, organization and values
4. Choosing terrain and setting up a battle
5. Weather, time of day, and visibility
6. Formations
7. Orders, command and control
8. Playing Equipment
9. Sequence of Play
10. Reaction Tests
11. Steadiness and Order
12. Movement
13. Shooting
14. Hand-to-Hand Combat
15. Casualties, damage to property and engineering
16. Prisoners and victory
17. Suggested wargames units for Marlburian, Seven Years and early Indian Wars
18. Bibliography
19. Miscellaneous Information

The troop scale of the rules is 1:50 for the infantry, and 1:40 for the cavalry.  Ground scale is 1 inch to 25 paces (so, 40 inches for a mile).

Training and Morale classes are divided up between Regulars and Irregulars.  Regular classes include Elite, Veteran, Trained, and Raw.  Irregular include Fanatics, Soldiers, Warriors, and Levies.

Troop types are, of course, based on employment and equipment -

• Cuirassiers
• Heavy Cavalry
• Light Cavalry
• Irregular Cavalry
• Line Infantry
• Light Infantry
• Irregular Charging Infantry
• Irregular Skirmishing Infantry
• Engineers and Pioneers
• Mounted Infantry
• War Elephants
• Transport
• Staff
• And a small constellation of artillery types (different weights, rockets, and different mobility types - such as foot, horse, elephant)

Basing figures is based on a rather typical WRG 60mm wide base for 25-30mm figures.  Infantry get 4 figures per stand, and cavalry get 3 figures per stand.  In both cases, fewer figures are used for irregular units, for instance.  The basing of typical infantry and cavalry as (respectively) 4 and 3 figures is extremely helpful in combat, as shooting and fighting are done in those increments.

A point system is given for competition games, and pickup meeting engagement.  Rules for terrain selection and battle setup (entry sequencing, off table troops, flank marches, etc) are included.

Troops can adopt a number of different formation (column, line, square, skirmishing) depending on the troop type. Order writing is addressed - and pointed out (in the text, as well as in the introduction) that these rules require no order writing because of their turn sequence. Which brings us to:

Sequence of Play (alternating between players)

1. Response Phase
2. Shooting Phase
3. Hand to Hand Combat Phase
4. Maneuver Phase

This is an interesting turn sequence, mull over it for a second.  You start moving charges, and other moves, at the end of your turn, at the last phase.  At the start of the next turn, your opponent then immediately rolls for reactions, and his troops may have a response to your charge.  Once that is done, you complete your charge.  Then comes shooting, fighting, and regular maneuvers.

Okay, enough with all that jazz.  There are specifics on turning, marching, expanding, taking reaction tests and all that.  But the thing that keeps these rules fun, and still have a following , is the method for determining shooting and melee casualties.  When a unit engages the enemy it gets to roll a certain number of d6.  Usually this is 1 per 4 figures for infantry, and 1 per 3 figures for cavalry.  This is why those stand sizes make sense.  For shooting, cross index the type of weapon (musket, medium artillery, etc) and range, vs. the target disposition.  That can be a dense target (such as the flank of an infantry formation), or a normal target, or a covered target etc.  The table then gives you the results, on 1d6, for which numbers will produce a Hit.  In some cases, there are multiple hits from a single dice, if the right target number is rolled.  Easy. I refer to this as a "dice per element" system, which is different from the "dice per figure" system that Universal Soldier uses.

Example: Musketry from regular infantry, at up to 100 paces (4 inches) will roll 1d6 per four figures firing (so, say a 16 figure infantry battalion, representing 800 men, would roll 4d6).  The table for the weapon at that range, vs. a Normal target, says "2345H 6HH" - that means on each dice, if it is a 2,3,4 or 5 it causes one hit (a dead figure), and if it is a 6 it causes two hits (two dead figures).

Melee is very similar (you roll the same number of dice), but the matrix for determining hits is very much simplified for melee combat.  That table compares the fighting troops, and breaks it down to: Mounted vs Mounted
Mounted vs Foot
Foot vs. Mounted
Foot vs. Foot

For each of those lines on the Hand-to-Hand combat table, there are three columns - if you are at Disadvantage, if you are on Equal Terms, or if you have an Advantage.  There is a method for determining whether or not you have advantage, but in my experience from years ago, in 99% of cases, it is obvious (once you work through the method a few times).  If you have to figure it out, then there are points to add up and compare.  It is possible that a unit is advantaged to a foe it is fighting, on the front, for instance, but disadvantaged against another foe on its own flank.  It all works out.

Then you roll the dice, and the table tells you, again, how many hits you score for a dice toss.  For instance, Foot vs. Foot, on equal terms, will score "456H" - which means on a 4, 5 or 6 on the dice, one enemy Foot figure is killed.  Mounted vs. Foot, with advantage, is deadly.  The results are "23HH 456HHH" Which means on a 2, or 3, each dice rolling that number will kill two enemy figures, but on a 4,5, or 6 each dice rolling those numbers will kill three enemy figures.

Interesting odds and bits on engineering rules, and how to treat structures, officers, and prisoners round out the rule book.

There is a reason these are still played by some people, and hated by others.  There is a lot in these rules to reaction tests, which may or may not be your thing.  The fact that there is no simultaneous movement is a bonus.  And the combat adjudication is simplicity itself, once you get the hang of figuring out advantage.  They do, however, tend to bring out some extreme gamesmanship (i.e. - min-maxing?) that I have only seen topped with Napoleon's Battles.  But that is a different story.

Several supplements have come out over the years that are useful.  One of the best is a set of 18th century army list rules that I have, from the Cheltanham Wargaming Assocation.

These offer up a number of rules, and hint at some changes for linear warfare.  The cover everything from Marlburian up to Revolutionary armies (both American and French).

Later on WRG themselves produce Seven Years War army lists, with actual (official) changes to the rules to accommodate linear warfare better.  It seems that the rules themselves are more suited to Napoleonic warfare (being more fluid).

I don't have the 7YW army list book, so I can't compare them to the Cheltenham book.  Equally, I never got a copy of the Tabletop Games 1:50 Napoleonic Army List book, which also was widely touted for use with the rules reviewed above.

My opinion?  I like them.  I like the mechanics.  But I also very much like the Tac50 rules from Ben King covering the same period, and they play easily as fast, with easier to navigate text and reaction rules.  Maybe these need a replay.  Maybe not.  I understand there is a modern version, for free on the internet, called ELAN that are a refinement of the WRG rules.  That deserves a look.