First Look: Skirmish Sangin

When I first heard about Skirmish Sangin I took a look at their website and was a little concerned that the mechanisms might be a little heavy for the type of game I was envisaging.  Despite the draw of the Empress Modern British range, I already have the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (using Force on Force) I wasn't keen to have two games that were going to play too similarly.  So I wondered whether I could do the Modern Brits at a different level (the Soviets being at Platoon plus) and so Skirmish Sangin came back onto the radar.

I picked up a hard copy of the rules at Salute but they are also available as either a pdf (£7.50) or hard copy (with the pdf as well for £25) from the Radio DishDash website (and in hard copy from other distributors I believe).

The rules are 170 pages in full colour (in softback if you get the hard copy) and illustrated with plenty of photos from the MoD and of various wargames along with a few explanatory diagrams.  After an introduction and a brief history of the conflict the book moves on to creating a suitable force, provides orbats for British, Australian, New Zealand, French and US ISAF forces before moving onto the rules themselves, followed by an example game, two scenarios, the quick reference sheets and some counter sheets.

Troops are given a "Body" attribute which determines their various combat skills and their initiative sequencing along with an armour rating (to reflect body armour if any) and morale.  Morale and skills are expressed as percentages.

Each turn each figure will activate four times and have three action points available to use.  The sequence in which the figures activate is dictated by their Body attribute which are grouped and this allocates their activations across the ten phases of each turn.  This approach reminds me of the system used by older games like Phoenix Command and Car Wars but in a simplified form.  Actions include various movement modes, kneeling, going prone, getting up, climbing etc. as well as spotting and combat actions.  Since a figure's position (moving, stationary, kneeling, prone etc.) along with their location is significant for spotting and firing you do need to think carefully about your use of actions.

Both spotting and combat actions start with a basic skill level and then the relevant modifiers are applied before a d100 roll.  Whilst the list of modifiers in each case is substantial it quickly becomes apparent which are routinely applicable to your current situation.

If a successful shooting roll is made the damage is then rolled and the target can then roll their armour (if they have any) to reduce or eliminate the damage.  Any residual damage then determines how badly injured the target is and whether any nearby troops' morale is affected.  However, even a miss will result in a morale test being required.

As I am sure you can see there isn't anything revolutionary here but the moving parts are assembled to produce a more granular level of game than say Force on Force - which is what I was looking for.  The rules are very nicely presented and I am interested to see how they play out on the table.

First Look: Regimental Fire and Fury

With the original (Brigade level) Fire and Fury rules one of my favourite sets of rules and now, sadly, no longer available I decided to take a look at their Regimental little brother.

Regimental Fire and Fury comes as a 96 page full colour hardback book and are set out in a two column format interspersed with photographs, diagrams and tables.  The format will be instantly familiar to anyone who has seen the original Fire and Fury.

The rules were written for 15mm figures but are easily converted for larger or smaller figures.  Units are made up on several, multi-figure, stands with each stand representing 40 men.  With the exception of some types of stand having moved to circular bases (more cosmetic than material) and a couple of new markers being introduced everything else looks pretty much the same as the original - which means you can use those troops without any changes. As with the original these rules are based around the d10.

Each game turn is divided into two player turns each of which has three identical phases - Manoeuvre, Musketry & Cannonade and Charge.  The Manoeuvre phase combines movement and morale in a single elegant mechanism.  Musketry & Cannonade allows the opponent to resolve defensive fire before offensive fire is resolved.  And finally Charge is where melee occurs.

Casualties from firing and melee are represented by the removal of stands.  Units have three states of effectiveness - Fresh, Worn and Spent - which is determined by the number of stands lost.  This allows different levels of effectiveness to be reflected (three are suggested Spirited, Reliable and Unreliable) by units being able to have more stands removed before they drop to the next level.

All of this will sound remarkably familiar again to anyone who has played the original rules but there are a number of changes which have been introduced to reflect the different level of engagement being represented.

In Brigade level Fire and Fury a unit's experience (Green, Veteran or Crack) was used to determine its effectiveness; however, in Regimental Fire and Fury these have been expanded to include Trained and contribute their own modifiers and have separate target columns on the musketry table.

Formations remain pretty much the same with line, field column and march column being represented with the main change being line is two stands deep and a single stand deep represents an extended line.

Command radii has taken on something of a new dimension as rather than contributing a bonus on the Manoeuvre table separate columns are included for units In Command and Out of Command which allows for a non-linear impact on the effects.

More granularity has been introduced with regard to weapons (which was mostly abstracted at the Brigade level) with entries for Rifle Musket, Repeater, Breechloader, Inferior Rifle, Rifle Carbine, Smoothbore Musket and Shotgun & Hunting Rifle appearing in the Musketry Fire Point table for example.

There are a number of other changes from the original rules but it looks as if they have incorporated all the changes within the original (excellent) framework and so I am very much looking forward to trying these on the table.  I suspect I may have to develop an aide memoire to the changes which I will post if it's any good.

First Look: Longstreet

Longstreet is the latest set of rules from Sam Mustafa (the creator of Maurice, Lasalle, Grand Armée and Might & Reason) and are for the American Civil War.

As with Maurice the rules require the separate deck of cards although they are used in a slightly different way.  Frustratingly you actually need two sets of some of the cards and so despite buying the rules and card set I can't actually play without either buying another full set or downloading, printing and cutting out the cards from the website.

The rules themselves are 160 pages long and in colour but have been printed in a smaller format than Maurice.

The rules use base width measurements and so rebasing isn't typically required and a single stand is intended to represent 60-80 men.

As with Maurice the cards play an key part in the game.  In this case they aren't used for their "span" but rather are discarded to invoke actions and then (as with Maurice) used to modify or interrupt them.  The deck has a number of other types of cards other than the action ones - some of which are only required for the advanced game.

At the beginning of a turn a player may choose to reshuffle (which has an inbuilt penalty as a number of cards are discarded if you do) and then, as with Maurice, there's an option for a fire phase followed by the player choosing from movement, combat or passing.

The advanced game introduces your character who can then be developed through the campaign system along with a variety of advanced rules (for heroes, sharpshooters, repeaters etc.).  There are sections on club games, scenario games and the grand campaign.

This is all rounded out with three appendices covering FAQs, a card manifest and the quick reference sheets.

I will be interested to see how the rules compare to Regimental Fire and Fury (which I will also be trying out).

Some sample pages from the rules and a "lite" version are available for download from the Honour website.

First Look: By Savvy and Steel

By Savvy and Steel is the latest release from Two Hour Wargames and is obviously intended to capture the spirit of the Three Musketeers.

The rules are 90 pages can be purchased as either a pdf or in hard copy.  As you might expect By Savvy and Steel is built around the Two Hour Wargames' reaction system but with a few extra elements in keeping with the genre and combined with a campaign system based around the fictional country of Edenstein.

Character generation is somewhat more detailed than many of the other THW rules - largely as these are based on having a much smaller number of characters.  In addition to the usual Reputation, players have to determine their character's Birthright, Social Standing, Age, Nationality, Class and Attributes.

Once you have your main character you can then try to recruit some Grunts to help you on your adventures - this can actually form part of your adventure.

The core rules will be very familiar if you've used the reaction system before; however, you can supplement the standard melee mechanism with a special more detailed duelling system if both participants are of sufficient social standing.

The rules are about half the book and are then followed by a campaign and scenario system which takes up the remainder and provides plenty of variety of genre appropriate situations and encounters.  It includes everything you need to generate non-player characters and PEF (possible enemy forces) rules which will allow players to play against the system or for the game to be played solo.

Given that I have suitable figures for the Musketeers, Cardinal's Guard etc. I could hardly not try these rules out and I'm looking forward to getting them to the table.

First Look: Ronin

Ronin is the latest offering in the new Osprey wargame rules line - this time skirmish in the Age of the Samurai.

I wasn't sure whether to pick up a copy of these rules as I had been somewhat disappointed with A World Aflame - the previous one in the series I had bought.  But having read some interesting descriptions of the combat system on line I thought I would take the plunge.

The rules are produced in the standard Osprey Men-at-Arms etc. format softback with 64 pages in a single column format.  I'm still not a fan of this format as I think it doesn't suit rules but I suspect it allows them to produce them more easily and less expensively than creating a new layout.

After a brief introduction the background is covered in a couple of pages before moving into the rules themselves.  These take up around 14 pages with a further four pages of special rules and are then followed by the faction lists.  There are 7 scenarios, a campaign outline, a short tournament section, a couple of advanced rules and an appendix with information about translating the rules to other periods (Kamakura and Late Edo); some further suggested reading, a couple of counter and reference sheets along with a roster sheet.

 The game itself is broken into turns each of which has 5 phases covering priority (initiative and morale), movement, combat, actions (including missile fire) and an end phase for housekeeping.  The rules themselves are fairly basic but an interesting action pool system has been included within the combat system which looks like it should lift this to a might higher level of interest (if you would like to see a run through I would recommend reading the outline in the post of the Lead Adventure Forum here).

Essentially these are another of the gang level rules that seem to be popping up at the moment but the period and the interesting action pool mechanism were enough to pique my interest and the figures which Northstar are producing to accompany the rules are rather nice too...

First Look: Chain of Command

Just in case you've been hiding in a cave somewhere you may not have been aware of the release of the latest set of rules from the TooFatLardies - Chain of Command - which are designed for Platoon level games using a 1:1 man to figure ratio.

Given that I have enjoyed playing most of the Lardies' previous offerings and having had my appetite whetted by their YouTube videos, I decided to take the plunge and pre-ordered the rules.

I went for the bundle which included a hard copy, the tablet enabled PDF version, the branded dice, markers and the resin jump off points.

It may seem a little strange to have both the hard and soft copies but I have to admit that having a real book to read through and consult is still something I like - even this far into the 21st Century; however, the PDF does have the advantage of being searchable and so is more useful for checking on things during a game.

The hard copy is produced in a very similar style to I Ain't Been Shot Mum III, their company level rules, in that they're an A4 paperback.  They are 104 pages in a two column format broken up with pictures, diagrams, tables and examples:

The core of the gameplay will be familiar to anyone who has played the recent offerings from the Lardies with command activations, variable movement distances and shock; however, they have two new features which make these rules quite distinct.

The first is the patrol phase - this happens before the main game with both players moving patrol markers in order to determine the limits of the scouting that both forces have carried out before the engagement.  Once completed this will establish the non man's land between the two forces and their available jump off points.  The jump off points represent the locations which the units can reach safely without being observed or engaged by the enemy and provides a really interesting advance from the standard Lardies blinds system.  The new approach allows for flexible deployment, ambushes and the ability for the enemy to secure on of your points and really limit your options.

The second new feature is the dice activation system and associated Chain of Command dice.  Rather than using a card activation system (which has long been one of their trade mark mechanisms) Chain of Command has each player roll a number of dice determined by their force and affected by in game results.  These dice then determine whether teams, sections or leaders may be activated or whether the Chain of Command dice should be increased or whether the turn will end.  Turns are divided into a variable number of phases with initiative alternating (unless determined otherwise by the activation dice roll) and only ending on specific rolls of the activation dice.  This approach makes each phase and turn somewhat unpredictable giving you some real challenges and decisions to make.  When a leader is activated they can use their command activations to activate individual teams or sections, or to remove shock etc.  The Chain of Command dice build up until they reach a level which allows you to use them for certain bonus activities - like deploying some troops in an ambush or ending the turn - providing additional options.  All in all they sounds very interesting and I'm looking forward to getting them to the table shortly.

The rules also cover all the other stuff you would expect (support weapons, vehicles etc.) and include six generic scenarios and army lists for Germany, Great Britain, the US and the Soviets.

The accessories I picked up included four nicely cast resin jump off point markers (each different), acrylic pinned (12), tactical (6) and overwatch (6) markers, and four large d6 with Chain of Command printed on one side (in place of the six).

Rules for Montrose

With my figures progressing, albeit slowly, I now need to decide which set of rules I'm going to use for my Montrose project.  At the moment I have three candidates, two of which I have played:

The first is For God, King and Country by Bruce McFarlane published by the Canadian Wargamers Group.

As with the other CWG books, this is a guide to the period with a set of rules and scenarios.  The mechanisms seem to be a mash up of the melee rules from Flower of Chivalry (their medieval rules) and the musketry from Habitants & Highlanders (their French Indian rules) with a few specific rules added.

Of course it, like their other rules, does suffer from some rather poor proofreading (as you can see from the cover!)  But as the book contains scenarios for Montrose (Tippermuir and Aberdeen) it's a pretty good place to start as it requires the least work anyway.

Next up is Pike & Shotte by Steve Morgan published by Warlord Games.  I've played these once before - using my Tudor Ireland figures - and quite enjoyed them.  Obviously they're a derivation of Black Powder but with enough changes to make them period specific (or annoying if you're too familiar with BP I suspect).

Unfortunately Pike & Shotte doesn't have any pre-prepared scenarios like For God, King & Country but it does have army lists for Montrose and the Covenanters which is a good start.

The third alternative I have is Bloody Kingdom by Stephen Danes published by AB One Games.  I believe this uses some of the same mecahnisms as his Thirty Years War rules Father Tilly but with some specific Civil War elements added.  Since I haven't yet played either set I can't yet voice an opinion but they look interesting based on a quick read through.

As with Pike & Shotte, Bloody Kingdom doesn't have any pre made scenarios for Montrose; however, it does have sample army lists for Scots Royalists and Covenanters.

I'll be trying each of these out in turn once I have enough figures based and will then report back.  But in the meantime if you've played any of them I'd be interested in your opinion!

For God, King and Country is available from Caliver Books for £17.50 in softback or from Sabers Edge as a PDF for US$9.00.  Pike & Shotte can be sourced from Warlord Games for £30 or you can save yourself some money (as I did) and get it from Amazon for only £19.20.  Bloody Kingdom is available as a PDF from Sabers Edge and Wargame Vault for US$16.00.

First Look: Dead Man's Hand

One of my purchases at Salute was a copy of the new Wild West rules from Great Escape Games, Dead Man's Hand.  The rule book is 44 pages long in a softback, staple bound, full colour format.  It comes with a set of small cards in a plastic box.

Other than the contents page, the rules are laid out in a single column format with large section and sub-section headings and are interspersed with photographs of miniatures and comment bubbles from various line drawn characters.  The inner side of the front and back covers are a quick reference sheet with one in metric and the other imperial measurements.

The game appears to be intended as a cinematic take on the West and provides for 4 separate factions - Lawmen, Cowboys, Outlaws and Desperados.  Each faction is intended to be represented by a gang whose stats are similar but not identical and who have slightly different abilities.

The game uses the pack of cards both for initiative (using their number) and also as special events/actions (using the text printed on the card).  The card suits are allocated one to each gang.

Each player is dealt a hand of cards from their suit and then uses the remaining cards in the draw deck for initiative purposes.  You have some control as the first card is dealt face up but the remainder are face down; however, there are some switching and abilities which may affect the final allocation.

Each figure has three actions per turn including moving, aiming, shooting, reloading and recovering (removing the effect of markers).  Shooting is based on a d20 mechanism using ranges with some simple modifiers, whilst melee combat is based on a d10.  Target figures have some limited opportunities to interrupt an active figure and there are some morale rules when your gang reaches certain casualty levels.

Games are intended to be played as a series of linked "scenes"; however these can be played separately.    A selection of scenes is provided within the rules and these can be played in various combinations as they differ in size and duration.

The rules are rounded out with a page of markers which you can copy and cut out or a set of lazer cut MDF markers are also available:

The rules and cards are £20 and the markers will set you back another £8 (although you could cut out your own).  Great Escape have also commissioned a set of pre-painted laser cut MDF buildings from 4Ground (one of which I also picked up at Salute).  I am looking forward to getting these rules to the table and it has certainly reignited my interested in Western games.

First Look: Deus Vult

The Medieval period and, in particular the Crusades, have long been of interest but it's another one where I have found it difficult to find a set of rules I was happy with for more than a skirmish.  So when I spotted that the new Deus Vult rules from Fireforge Games was in the NorthStar sale I ordered a copy.

The rules come as a hardback book, in the smaller Osprey size rather than the larger Black Powder format, they are 192 pages in colour and are split into 16 main sections.  The rules themselves are around 75 pages in a two column format interspersed with photos and art work with a side bar containing explanations and quotations.

The rules are written for 25-30mm figures and a 6' x 4' playing area for two players but there are specific sections which allow you to use different figure and table sizes along with more players.  Figures are intended to be individually based but on movement trays (to allow for casualty removal) with infantry on 20x20mm bases 6 to a stand (3x2) and cavalry 25x50mm 2 to a stand - but they also have suggestions as how to deal with differently based armies.

The rules are principally d6 based, although d4, d8, d10 and d12 are used for the leader duels.  In some cased you can end up rolling quite a few dice - which is great if you like that sort of thing!  Army lists are provided for the Early Crusader States 1100-1128AD and the Arab Dynasties 945-1150AD with some sample units for other eras (e.g. Teutonic Knights, Seljuk Turks) with the full lists coming in supplements to be release later.  

Armies are built in Divisions each commanded by a Battle Leader who is pretty crucial to their success although more from an activation and command basis; however, they do have some attributes which seem like they could be pretty handy.  There is an interesting pre-battle phase with the opportunity to using scouts to influence terrain and deployment and also to introduce some subterfuge which should add some interest value.

A set of seven different battle scenarios are provided covering everything from a stand up fight to an encirclement.  There is also a summary of the Crusades but not much detail on any of the battle unfortunately and an overview map.  This is followed by an almost blow by blow account of the fictional battle of Samosata, some advice on flexing the rules and creating new scenarios followed by a set of game aids and the reference section of the rules but no separate quick reference sheet.

I must be getting old but the small typeface and fonts used on the back cover and side bars (especially as it's white on dark brown) I found rather hard to read.  The rules themselves are relatively clear and the scenarios seem to have a good range of options.  I was initially put of by the points system but that's not a deal breaker for me as it is a useful tool for evaluating the relative power of different units and abilities.  There's some nice eye candy with the photographs and artwork which certainly provide some inspiration and the sample battle really helps to put the whole thing together.  I am really looking forward to giving these a try on the tabletop.

Amazingly enough this is actually my 500th post on the blog so that's another little milestone I've reached!

First Look: SAGA The Raven's Shadow

I had a chance to pop into Orc's Nest again today (always a mistke for my wallet) and luckily they had a few copies of the second supplement for Saga and so I decided to pick one up.

Like the Northern Fury, the previous supplement, The Raven's Shadow is published in a similar style to the main rule book and is accompanied by four cardstock battle boards.  This supplement is slightly longer than the previous one at 28 pages and introduces four new factions - the Franks, the Irish, the Norse-Gaels and the Kingdom of Strathclyde - along with some new rules, Q&A and an errata.  All the new factions utilise the existing available dice (Franks = Normans, Irish = Scots, Norse-Gaels = Vikings, Strathclyde = Welsh).

There are two new rules for Saga introduced by the Raven's Shadow - Melee/Reaction Abilities and War Banners.  Melee/Reaction Abilities are, as you might expect, new abilities but these can be used prior to the existing melee steps.  War Banners allows you to substitute a banner for one figure in a hearthguard or warrior unit which then allows the unit to rest any time during a turn (assuming this has been "paid" for with the appropriate dice).

As before, each faction has a brief introduction, any special rules, new Heroes and the faction's specific abilities which run to around four pages per faction with a few accompanying photographs of appropriate figures.

The Franks allow you to choose between a Merovingian, Carolingian or Capetian Frankish warband each of which have different builds.  The Frankish Warlord and hearthguard must be mounted.  The Irish have the option of fielding Wolfhounds in place of a warrior unit and upgrading individual hearthguards to Curaidh champions.  The core feature of the Norse-Gaels seems to be challenges and the Strathclyde warbands are mostly mounted and can deploy some off table initially.

As I have figures for some of these factions already and am particularly interested in the Irish I thought this would be a useful addition to my Saga collection.

First Look: A World Aflame

Osprey have launched a series of wargames rules booklets, the first two being Dux Bellorum (Dark Ages) and A World Aflame (1918-39).  Given my interest in all things interwar I decided to pick up a copy of the latter.

The book is produced in the standard Osprey style used for their Men-At-Arms series and the like.  It's in a single column format (but only taking up two thirds of the page width) with black text on a white background with various colour tables, illustrations and photographs to provide interest.  It's 64 pages in length including the three pages of sample cards and the unit sheet at the rear.

Following the contents and introduction, the rules are broken into six main sections after which there are sample unit lists, a scenario, a list of the artwork references and the sample cards.  There's no quick reference sheet included, however.  The rule sections are Pre-Game Considerations, Let the Games Begin, Movement, Firing, Melee and finally Morale.

In the introduction the author clears states that they are "written in what is nowadays often called a retro style, and pay homage to rulesets written by such wargaming legends as Charles Grant and Don Featherstone".  This is quite evident, not only in the writing style but also in the mechanisms - mainly D6 with modifiers - even average dice are utilised.

Units are typically 8-10 figures representing a section; however, the author says there isn't a figure scale, nor for that matter is there a ground scale or time scale for turns - all of which places this firmly at the game end of the spectrum in my view.  Units are graded for initiative (2-5) and morale (2-6); officers are graded from 1 to 3.  The rules then outline the structure for Company, Battalion, Brigade and Army levels, although I assume (as is indicated in the scenario) since it is not explicitly stated as far as I can see that individual figures would be representing more than a single man for the larger scale games.

The rules include ammunition supply, weather, snipers, tank hunters, artillery and the like but the key to game flavour appears to be the chance cards.  These are intended to be produced for the specific theatre and some examples are provided at the back of the booklet.  Essentially these are to represent external factors, random events and to control the dominance of certain troop types or weapons.

Each turn the players select a unit and then dice for initiative to see which acts first.  Initiative is a D6 modified by the unit's initiative rating, the officer's grade and whether the unit is Confused or Demoralised.  Officers have a command radius - 15" for unit officers but only 5" for higher command levels.

Movement is variable with a base distance plus the roll of one or more average dice unless you are crawling when you lose the base movement.  This can be done by figure or by unit as long as you specify beforehand (the latter would be my preference I have to say).

Firing is determined by weapon type, with each having a number of dice to roll, three range bands (which vary by weapon) and a target number for a hit at that range.  There is also a small number of modifiers largely to address firer and target states.  If you score a hit then the target becomes as casualty.  Rules are also included for firing at vehicles, grenades, artillery and mortars (including smoke) and for anti-tank combat.  This latter section has some interesting elements to cover the various improvised approaches common in the period - petrol bombs, crowbars, dynamite and so forth - as well as more regular methods.  There are also rules for flamethrowers, gas, mines, aircraft and trains.

Melee is conducted by the attacking unit taking a morale test, then the defending unit and then rolling a modified D6 for the units who actually get into hand to hand.  Each figure who loses (i.e. rolls lower) becomes a casualty.

Morale is a combination of the unit morale, officer grade, an average dice and some modifiers aiming for a target number and the comparing with a table if the unit fails - the table distinguishes between advancing and defending, and first and subsequent failures.

Sample units are provided for the Spanish Civil War, Russian Civil War, Warlord China and the fictional British Civil War.

The included scenario covers three days of fighting in the Battle of Jarama in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War and has 10 figures representing each company.

Overall the rules have some interesting features; however, I am a little concerned they may be rather fiddly (particularly with the variable movement) - of course only a real game will tell.  Production is generally typical of Osprey but the layout could have been better adapted to the short paragraphs of a set of wargames rules and better proof reading could have eliminated the few more obvious errors.  I think more explanations and examples would also have been beneficial but I suspect the page count will have limited the opportunity for including these.

I will report further once I've been able to test them in action.

First Look: Dux Britanniarum

Dux Britanniarum is the latest addition to the Too Fat Lardies range.  The sub-title "Wargames Rules for Dark Age Warfare in the Age of Arthur" clearly places these in the early Dark Age period after the Romans had gone and when Britain was threatened by the Saxons.

Similar to their other recent publication - IABSM3 - this is a full colour perfect bound book accompanied by a set of printed cards (normal playing card size this time) and, in this case, an A3 colour map.  The rules are 92 pages which, following the introduction, are broken into five main sections, or "books".

Book One covers setting things up in four sections:

• Setting Up Your Campaign
• Selecting Your Kingdom
• Assembling Your Forces
• Creating Your Characters

The rules are intended to be driven by a simple to manage campaign system which provides a context for each game and an opportunity to develop your leader characters and forces.  This allows a variety of games to be played which have more meaningful objectives.  This is an approach I really like as it will avoid that "last two minutes of the superbowl" style play where everything is thrown in recklessly near the end of the game with no thought to the consequences!

Your initial force will contain a Lord, two other leaders, a champion and a number of units.  Units are Levy, Warriors or Elite troops (6 figures) or Harassing troops (4 figures with missile weapons).  Tabletop games can then affect the size and composition of your force, for example, cavalry may become available later in a campaign.  An initial British force will have one Elite unit, two warriors, three Levy and one of missile troops; whilst a Saxon raiding force will have two Elite, three warrior units and one of missile troops.

Book Two goes on to explain the campaign, development and the like in 7 sections:

• Beginning Your Campaign
• Career Paths
• Filthy Lucre
• Objectives
• Force Deployment
• Campaign Structure
• Raids & Battles

Book Three then covers the actual tabletop rules, which have a number of similarities to other Lardies sets.  The rules are card driven (although with no equivalent of the "Tea Break" card - which means everything activates each turn).  They also have units receiving "shock" as a result of combat which can be removed by leader actions (IABSM, Sharp Practice, Through the Mud & the Blood).  They have a separate tactical card deck and also allow formations (like shieldwall) to be formed from multiple units (similar to Sharp Practice).  But these have been combined with enough specific elements to make these play differently from those other sets.

Each game is broken down into three phases, the first covers events before the game, the second the game itself and the third after the game.  Games may either be raids or battles - which operate slightly differently.

Phase One helps you set your initial morale level and the opportunity to prepare your men for the fight through speeches, drink, consulting the gods or having a single combat between each sides' champions.  Then the initial Fate Cards (tactical cards) are dealt.

The Fate Cards have three characteristics, they may have a suit (Saxon Boars or British Dragons or neither), they may be Pursuit or Retreat cards and they have their primary function as described by the main text.  Cards with suits may only be played when a leader is activated where as the ones without a suit may be played at any time; additionally they may provide bonuses to the player whose suit they belong to.  Cards with Pursuit or Retreat printed on them may be retained for use in the third, post game, phase.  The other cards generally provide a bonus to fighting, movement, activation or have an effect on your troops or your opponent's.

Phase Two covers the actual tabletop action.  As with some other Lardies' rules activation is driven by the main card deck.  Each leader and group of missile troops has a card in the deck.  When a leader's card is drawn they may activate a number of units or formations at a distance determined by their status (1-4) to move, join a formation or remove shock, or they can spend an initiative "buying" a card from the Fate Deck.  His troops then carry out their actions and a Fate Card may be played.  Once complete he may draw a further Fate Card (unless he has his maximum already) and then the next activation card is drawn.  Un-commanded troops may only activate after all the cards have been drawn; however, they cannot move into combat or join formations on their own.  One little wrinkle to this sequence is the Carpe Diem card which, if played, allows a player to play multiple Fate Cards at one time - which can be very useful - however, you still only get to replenish your hand one card per activation.

Movement is variable, usually 3D6, with modifiers for terrain, interpenetrating other units etc.  Combat is typically 1D6 per figure fighting to hit with a separate roll for effect.  Shock is accumulated as a combat result and ultimately will lead to the unit withdrawing unless removed by a leader.

The game is ended either by a force's morale collapsing or by them achieving their scenario objectives.

Phase Three, the post game part, allows you to resolve whether a withdrawing side will be pursued or can evade their pursuers - this is where those Pursuit and Retreat Fate Cards come in - which then affects the scale of the victory.  The the results of the game are calculated and the appropriate table consulted to see the effects - generally, how long it takes to recover losses, whether you get reinforcements and how much loot you may have got away with.  This then gives you options as to how you can develop your leaders, forces and the campaign as a whole.

The first three books are followed by The Book of Battles which contains the rules for terrain and scenario generation and The Book of Kingdoms which provides a map and brief background on the British Kingdoms of the time to allow you to anchor your campaign.

The rules are available in hard copy (£20), pdf and tablet-enabled pdf (with lots of easy to tap link buttons) for £15 each.  You can download and print the cards or buy the professionally produced set either separately for £8 on in combination with the rules.  The Lardies also sell starter armies for the rules containing figures from Gripping Beast.

As I was lucky enough to be one of the first 800 to ordered the rules I also received a 28mm "Arthur" figure:

All in all I think the production is very good with a nice graphical style, clear layout and the cards, in particular, are very pleasing.  I am hoping to get them to the table in a couple of weeks to try them out in anger and will report back on how they work in action.

First Look: Pike & Shotte

Pike & Shotte is the latest addition to the Warlord rules stable and another of the "Black Powder family".  In this case the heritage is very obvious as this was apparently originally conceived as a supplement but ended up growing into a full set in its own right.

Pike & Shotte is intended to cover the 16th and 17th Centuries and since I have figures and have enjoyed reading Black Powder and Last Argument of Kings I thought I would pick up a copy.  Pike & Shotte is very like Black Powder both in terms of content and layout.  It is a full stand alone ruleset (which seems very much like Black Powder) but with background for the Italian Wars, Tudor Wars, Thirty Years' War, English Civil Wars and the Wars of the Sun King.  It's hardback with 208 pages and has the same attractive presentation style as Black Powder with lots of eye candy.

The book kicks off providing an overview of "the Age of Pike & Shotte" covering the core troop types and basic tactics.  The next 80-odd pages covers the basic and advanced rules followed by discrete sections on each of the Wars it covers.  These latter sections contain a brief overview, special rules and one or two scenarios along with appropriate army lists.  The book is rounded out by a two page quick reference sheet (which can also be downloaded from Warlord's website).

I haven't really given the Black Powder rules a decent try as yet (having only played a single game) and given the similarity of these I suspect these will play the same albeit with certain period specific aspects (pike for example!).  I'm not sure whether these will end up being my chosen rules for this period (only some more games will tell) but the book is beautifully presented and will nicely grace your bookcase shelf or indeed your coffee table.

Amazon have the rules available for £19.50 (which is where I picked up my copy) - although they do have the wrong cover picture for some reason (pre-production artwork?) - I've popped a link below if you're interested:

Dux Britannarium Available for Pre-Order

Too Fat Lardies have just announced that their new Dark Ages rules are now available to be pre-ordered.  The actual release date is slated to be 30 July.

The rules focus on the early Dark Age period (the Age of Arthur if you like) and are, as usual with the Lardies, card driven.  As with IABSM they will be selling professionally produced sets of cards to go with the rules (which will be normal playing card sized this time apparently).  The preview shots of the cards look rather nice and bundles of the rules and cards are available too.

People who pre-order can get hard copy and pdf along with the cards and the first 800 will get a limited edition "Arthur" figure too.

Richard Clark, the author, gives a good overview of the rules and, in particular, their easy to run campaign system on the latest Meeples & Miniatures podcast (episode 91).

First Look: John Company (Edition the Third)

Whilst looking around for a set of rules for larger Indian Mutiny games I came across John Company from The (Virtual) Armchair General.  A little research indicated that these might be suitable so I picked up a copy from Mutineer Miniatures along with a few additional packs for my next units.

John Company comes as a 196 page softback book with an optional graphics pack (which consists of colour versions of the back and white card and counter pages in the main book).  The colour covers contain back and white content in single column format with various tables, diagrams and contemporary illustrations.  The rules also come with 4 double sided quick reference sheets.

John Company is intended to cover all the campaigns of the Honourable East India Company from 1750 to 1860.  The smallest unit is an Infantry Battalion, Cavalry Regiment or Artillery Battery and the rules recommend a player for each Brigade (or roughly 50 figure bases).  The rules we written for 25mm miniatures with a ground scale of 1"=100' but are easily adapted to other scales.

The rules are card driven with Orders, Actions and Events decks.  Each turn you need to determine whether units are out of command (in which case they roll on the "Without Orders" to determine what actions they may have available).  The a card is drawn from the Orders deck for each General - you can then determine from the General's leadership rating how many orders he may give this turn.  Orders cards may also indicate that an Event has occurred, in which case a card is drawn from the Events deck.  Order counters are placed next to the relevant units.  There are 23 different orders which may be issued broken down into four classes - defensive, advancing, retiring and charge.  Certain orders are only available to certain unit types and some orders are "continuing" (i.e. they only need to be issued once).

Once orders have been placed those with charge orders will declare their charges and then these are resolved, with conflicting charges resolved in order of die rolls.  The remaining units in each Brigade need to wait until the Brigade's card has been drawn from the Action deck in order to activate and carry out their orders.

The rules make extensive use of the "resolve" test to determine what the units actually do within the context of their orders.  Each unit has an initial resolve level determined by their type.  Up to forty different modifiers can be applied to the initial resolve level, some positive but most negative, depending on the unit's condition and circumstances (some of the modifiers are dice rolls).  A table is then consulted cross referencing the resulting morale against the unit's order class and formation.  The results range from a bonus to movement through to rout.  This modified resolve is also used (after applying further modifiers) as the unit's fire factor which, compared to the numbers of basing firing, determines the result of small arms and artillery fire.

Melee can only occur in the event of a charge and once again the current resolve level is used.  Confrontation modifiers are applied and the units' resultant resolves compared.  This determines both the losses and the result of the close combat (if indeed the units come into contact).

There are sections on terrain, weather and optional rules for fatigue, artillery bombardment, sappers, confusion, night fighting and the like.  Army profiles are provided for the various combatants along with three introductory scenarios one each from the 1st Afghan War, 1st Sikh War and the Mutiny.  There are also designers notes, sections on figure sources, uniform guides and s list of battles fought by the HEIC.  The back of the book then has the pages of cards, counters, markers, templates etc.

The rules look interesting but the extensive use of modifiers may make them somewhat fiddly - only a tabletop game will determine that - but the approach makes them look like they should be good for solo play; however, the presentation of the rules could have really been improved.  I didn't really find the contents page layout as clear as it could have been.  The approach of embedding and explaining the modifiers within the main body of the rules does not help readability particularly when combined with the single column format and I'm sure having 4 "quick" reference sheets may not find favour with some.

First Look: Beneath the Lily Banners (2nd ed)

Having read through the first edition of Beneath the Lily Banners (BtLB) which I have had for quite some time, I thought they looked like an interesting proposition for my 15mm WSS project; however, a number of articles on the second edition indicated they were not only improved but were also clearer and better explained.  So based on that and a recommendation from Ray over at Don't Throw a 1, I decided to pick up a copy.

The rules are intended to cover the period 1660 to 1721 and can be used for either small engagements at 1:5 or larger ones at 1:40 ratios.  In the latter an 18 figure unit (3 x 6 figures) represents a battalion.

As I haven't played the first edition of BtLB properly I can't do a fair comparison between the two editions; however, the second edition is certainly thicker!  It's a full colour softback with around 117 pages (including some adverts), in a two column format.  The text is interspersed with various photos - mainly of lovely 28mm figures - some of which are annotated to explain the rules along with a few line drawings.

The rules are broken down into 11 sections, followed by some optional rules and events.  This is followed up by sections on the Great Northern War, Eastern Wars and King William's War providing various adjustments for those theatres.  A scenario, Steinbeke July 1692, follows along with sample armies, a painting guide, bibliography and roster sheets.  The rules also come with two separate double sided quick reference sheets (they aren't two copies of the same QRS).

The rules are well laid out and the explanations seem pretty clear.  The rules work on a simultaneous activation basis so placing orders is required.  You dice against the ability level of your commander (from Plodder to Gifted) to determine how many units you can order each turn; however, there is a mechanism to avoid being unable to order anything for more than a single turn.  The section on fighting in built up areas is a nice addition and something that is often skimped on in other rules and the random events provide a nice flavour (although these can be omitted if they're not your cup of tea).

Overall these are very nicely presented and look very interesting.  I am looking forward to actually trying them out on the table and see how they compare to Maurice.

First Look: Maurice

Since four possible choices for rules for my Marlburian project clearly weren't enough, I decided to pick up a copy of Maurice too.

The main rulebook is softback and 112 pages long.  It is split into two main sections, the Basic Game and the Advanced Game.   The first section covers the introduction, game set up, an overview of play, movement, volley & bombardment (firing), combat and some housekeeping.  The second section covers Epic (campaign) Points, Notables (personalities), optional advanced rules, historical scenarios, the Succession Wars campaign system and the Quick Reference Sheets.  The book is US letter size, generally in two columns and full colour.  The rules are clearly explained with examples, diagrams and interspersed with pictures of figures etc.

The rules are intended to cover a century of warare - 1690 to 1790.  This is quite a range and there were a significant changes in tactics over that time.  In addition, the unit and ground scales are flexible.  So these are clearly intended to lean more towards the game end rather than the simulation end of the spectrum.

Units are artillery, regular or irregular infantry and cavalry.  They are intended to be represented by four bases although other than for formation representation I am not sure this is critical as there is no figure or base removal.  Distances are all stated in "Base Widths" and so can be used irrespective of the actual basing of the figures.

The system relies heavily on cards, is IGO-UGO but with the chance to interrupt actions if you have the appropriate card.  The cards themselves are available separately (in a rather nice box), you can download the ones for the Basic Game from the website (but not for the Advanced Game).  A card based system for random terrain generation is included based around a fairly standard table set up and there is a points based system to create pick up and play games.

Each player has an initial hand of cards, which is usually larger for the player designated as the attacker.  These Action Cards are either Interrupt Cards (which can be played in the opponent's turn), Event Cards (which may be played to cause the card text to come into effect) or Modifier Cards (which can be used to improve the various Actions).  All the cards have a Span number on them as well and can be played for this rather than their other role (more of than later).

A game is played in alternating rounds with the attacker going first.  The active player can decide whether there will be a volley phase in the round (where infantry will fire) although the passive player can reverse this decision if they have the appropriate card.  The active player then has a choice to Pass, play an Event or play an Action.  Passing allows you to draw three cards into your hand (up to a normal maximum total hand size of 10) but do nothing else.  Playing an Event allows you to play an Event Card and have the text occur but does not allow you to draw any cards.  Playing an Action allows you to activate a group of units to march, charge, rally or, if they are artillery, bombard.  The more aggressive the action the less cards you get the draw into your hand.

The groups of units you can activate are quite limited, they must be of the same type, in the same formation and in the terrain that has the same impact on movement.  In order to activate a group you need to play cards the sum of whose Span numbers is equivalent to or greater than the distance between the C in C and the nearest unit of the group.  In addition you can play Modifier Cards which are relevant to the action they are performing.

Movement is dependent on unit type, formation and terrain and formation changes are neatly handled with both having the appropriate limitations for the period.  Oblique movement is available as an advanced rule to be included for games later in the periods covered.

Firing consists of a roll to hit which must then be converted to a Disruption.  Units can usually take 4 Disruptions before they evaporate.  The rally action can be used to remove Disruptions.  Melee is an opposed dice roll added to a modified combat value for the unit quality (Elite, Trained, Conscript etc.).

A game will run until the card deck has been run through a couple of times (a reshuffle card is added after the first time through, which allows the discard deck to be shuffled back into the draw pile and then removed after it appears) or when an Army's morale breaks.  If the card deck is exhausted then night is deemed to have fallen and control of a pre-determined objective determines victory.

The advanced rules provide for Epic Points which are useable in a campaign context; Notables who are attached to individual units and can provide them with benefits or, indeed handicaps (this is the age of nepotism!); reinforcements, engineering, pikes, additional artillery rules and an outline of how to play with two players per side (using two card decks, I note).

Guidance for scenario designers is also included along with three historical scenarios - the Battles of Fontenoy in 1745, Kolin in 1757 and Brandywine in 1777.  The Succession Wars section then provides a simply framework for playing campaigns and there are a few FAQs and the five page QRS to finish off (although it should be noted that the QRS is bound in and there isn't a separate one provided - a pdf is available to download though).

Overall, I am impressed by the presentation (although it ought to be good considering the price!), the card based approach looks very interesting but I am slightly worried that it may end up being a little too abstract - only actually playing will tell that though.  It will certainly be interesting to compare these to the other rules I have for the period.