"semi skirmish wargames rules?" Topic

Looking foward to the future I will certainly be doing 18th century soon.

Now I am after something quite specific in terms of rules but i dont have much experience in this area. For 28mm I dont like big gunpowder battles. However I also dont think much of small skirmishes with 1:1 ratios. Im looking for something in between with both formed troops and light/skirmishers. I would expect the game to start with skirmishing and then one side to commit his formed troops at a decisive point. It needs to be fast play for club gaming without too much focus on blood and guts. I prefer morale/shooting over too many "melees"

As to period Im thinking either GNW – with wild cossacks and various other russian irregulars contrasting with peters new army and solid swedish OR FIW with regulars, rangers, indians and the like. I dont need too much crome so i think any black powder era rules should be ok. Im more interested on how the core rules perform.

You'll likely want to tweak some ruleset rather than search forever for the ideal.

Maybe take a look at British Grenadier.
link

I would also recommend Drums of War along the Mohawk by Bill Protz, which can be found here: link

Jim

May I suggest our horse and musket toy soldier rules? While written for 54s, they could certainly be used for smaller scales. Plus, they're available as a free pdf download:

PDF link

I don't know Ken, but will second his suggestion: All The King's Men are eminently playable with 28mm figures on a standard 6'x4', and I think it's very generous of him to post them for free! Never mind the coloured dice, all you need are a red, yellow and green marker of some sort for each unit, and you're off to a very enjoyable game!

If I could offer, we make a set of rules for 28mm figures called "Stand Your Ground" that was specifically written for the French and Indian War or American War of Independence periods. The game is playable through three scales, all based on the same set of rules. All that changes is the ground scale, the figure ratio, and how you view your figures.

We have several scenarios in the main rules and our scenario booklet that cover large skirmishes to major engagements. We play both types of battles with no problem at all. In fact, we made it a point to have several (at least a third) of the scenarios we publish at the large skirmish or company level.

If interested, please go to: larrysgameroom.com for more information.
Thanks, Larry

I have played most of the rules mentioned above but for FIW, This Very Ground is very close to what you are looking for. Although advertised as skirmish, it is really a small unit set of rules – definitely in-between as you put it. The Unit is the level at which the action occurs although figs are on individual bases. Melee Combat is a bit weird but can be replaced with a simple dice-off method. Rules are simple, but it takes several reads to get the hang of the system.
Would work well in a club, fast-play environment. Best for encounters between 4 -10 units of 10 figs per side.

4-10 units, 10 figs per side sounds about right.

Is TVG the set with the interesting fire system? That is – you adds puffs of smoke depending on how many of your men are firing?

The Perfect Captain's "Actions" series is right in the middle as well ("Spanish Fury" and "Very Civile" being for the late 16th and mid 17th Cent, and "Red" being for 20th Cent, RCW). You would have to modify to suit, of course.

link

Best,
Ed M

I would also add Perfect cpatain John Bull and Patriots… the action series moved to the american war… I think there is also a FIW mod around…

Arrigo

blucher: TVG does use the firing mechanic mentioned. You use counters to represent levels of firing (called volume of fire in the rules). The firing is modified by how many men are in the unit, the formation they are using etc.

I do think TVG would work to represent the small unit skirmishes you mention.

I would expect the game to start with skirmishing and then one side to commit his formed troops at a decisive point. It needs to be fast play for club gaming without too much focus on blood and guts. I prefer morale/shooting over too many "melees"

TVG allows you to do just that because of the rules built in for formations and unit types. Focus is more on firing, though melee is decisive when you can get into it. I think you'll like how it plays.

There are alternate fast resolve melee rules in the rulebook now that get rid of some of the problems of the older melee system bogging down.

Oh, and TVG is a easily modified and adapted set which can be used to play almost any horse and musket era.

Hope that helps.

Keith

i just looked into TVG and it doesnt actually meet the requirement of "semi skirmish" Its actually 1:1 scale which is too small for what I wanted. I was looking for something like a couple of battalions per side.

however, I dont see any good reason for this to stop me using them and just pretending they are 1:10 or 1:5?

They are pretty cheap anyway so think ill buy them and see.

Drums of War Along The Mohawk
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oldregimerules.com
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Available again! Published 1986.
Easy, fast and fun to play.
An historical miniatures wargame for the French and Indian Wars 1744-1766.
48 pages, 7 chapters, 1 appendix, Quick Reference Charts, photographs and diagrams.
Adaptable to 15mm miniatures.
Lake George Campaign Map.
Original and newer Quick Reference Charts.
Tons of background information.
Skirmish, multi-brigade or frontier siege wargames for 20mm-40mm miniatures.
North American linear warfare in all its permutations.
Win the continent for your Sovereign or Woodland Indian brothers.
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Thank you Col. Campbell for the mentioning Drums.
Bill

blucher: oh, my bad, I misread and thought you DID want 1:1. My fault for skimming your original post too fast.

Some of the players on our Yahoo group have played TVG using different ratios and have said it plays fine that way. IIRC they were using it for AWI in 1:15.