Flat Out War is a “universal” set of free wargames rules. They’re designed to let players use any miniatures in any period. The underlying principle is that a miniatures abilities are determined by dice with different number of faces.
Miniatures Rules
To End All Wars – WWI Wargames Rules
To End All Wars is a set of free wargames rules for squad-based WWI miniatures games. The authors write:
To End All Wars is a miniature game that attempts to accurately recreate the First World War. Players control teams which have different roles in combat. They use a combination of teams to take positions on the battlefield and force their enemy from the trenches.
Laser Grenadiers Science Fiction Rules
Laser Grenadiers is a set of free wargames rules for science fiction games. The author writes
LaserGrenadiers extends modern combined arms combat into the future, allowing players to field powered armor infantry, tanks, crewed weapons, tanks, wardrones, helicopters, battledrones or “mechs,” artillery and ground attack aircraft. Vehicle propulsion systems may be wheeled, tracked, grav, hover, rocket or walker. The rules include all types of science fiction weaponry (lasers, cone rifles, phasers, ion cannon, etc.), but do not include psionic warfare. Fire combat dominates the game, with melee combat occurring infrequently. The rules were intended for use with any science fiction figures the players may have, and have been used for battles ranging from a few figures on each side up to the final battles of major campaigns with up to a hundred figures and twenty armored vehicles per side.
Silly Movie Skirmish Game
The Silly Movie Skirmish Game is designed to mimic over-the-top action hero movies.
The author writes:
This game was developed by myself as a quick and easy, simple as can be, fun table top game using any miniatures. The game is not designed to be a simulation of real combat, it is designed to mimic the over the top action and ability witnessed in many a action film.
With a little tweaking the game can be sci fi, horror or wargame. The idea is to create a movie style hero or team of heroes of different heroic value and pit them against stupid bad guys and increasingly clever villains.
For a normal game Grunts and Henchmen (cannon fodder) should be set at HERO 0, favourite units set at HERO 1 with NCOs at HERO2. Lesser HEROs should be set at 3 to 4, with screen idols set at 5 to 6. OTT Heroes set at HERO 7.
For a more true to life game, the max hero should be set at HERO 3 and those characters should be seen as the best SF force (SAS, SEALS etc), Elite forces maybe set at HERO 2 and Normal NCO’s set at HERO 1.
Keep your games simple, don’t go into much depth, enjoy mindless action J
Eagles At Quatre Bras
Eagles At Quatre Bras is a set of free wargames rules for brigade level Napoleonic games on a division level. Author Norm Smith writes:
They are solitaire friendly, can be played through in a single session and are set at the lower end of the complexity spectrum. Emphasis is on giving a good game rather than simulation.
Using a 4’ x 3’ table with 4” hexes, gives a grid of around 12 hexes wide by 9 deep, which typically accommodates something like the Battle of Quatre Bras with around 4 divisions per side.Units are representing brigades and divisional artillery, with a hex limited to holding no more than 1 unit and any accompanying leader.
Scale and basing of the figures do not really matter as it is simply the formation in the hex that is considered, with the player showing line, column and square formations for infantry and line for cavalry and artillery. A suggestion is 2 or 4 bases for infantry and cavalry and 2 bases for artillery.Giving a ground scale has been deliberately avoided as this allows for some disfunction, such as light infantry being able to fire two hexes and also leaves the player with some flexibility when designing battlefields, to get bigger battles into this small area or to go to a lower level such as units representing regiments. Basically if it looks and feels right, then go with it.
The system uses standard six sided and ten sided dice (the 0 on a D10 is read as ten), plus a pack of standard playing cards.