I picked up this book at a closeout sale and I’m really glad that I did. As a fan of the American Revolution period, I found it to be full of useful information. Duffy is a superior historian and writer, who manages to combine great detail with an easy to read style. Every aspect of warfare in this period is covered: the officers, common soldiers, sieges, set piece battles, and the home front. It’s a superior read.
Military Experience in the Age of Reason (Wordsworth Military Library)
King George Commands and We Obey is a set of free wargames rules for American War of Independence, Napoleonic Peninsular and the American War of 1812. The author writes:
My key requirements are:
I spend a large amount of time and money collecting units. I decided I wanted them to stay on the table long enough for people to see, therefore no casualty removal.
I hate the “my turn/your turn” approach. With that in mind I use a card based turn system. I first used this in my Dad’s army game. Depending upon the level of game you are playing, a playing card is allocated to each unit or in larger games brigade commanders and above. This also means turns are not all the same as an end of turn card can come up at any time.
They have to be easy to learn. The common approach should assist with this and it is then just about the era specifics.
As little paperwork as possible. Most units have a small tab on a base. This contains all the information you need so no other paperwork, in most cases. This could of course be kept separately rather than attached but I think in a demo game it also allows visitors to see which units are representing which.
Enjoyable. I am not too serious and enjoy a light hearted approach at times to rules. Have a look at my rocket rules. While they may be a little slow to enact, imagine the gasps as rockets snake across the field. You never really know where they will end up!
Loose Files and American Scramble by Andy Callan was one of the first American Revolution games that I played. Originally published in Wargames Illustrated in 1987, it is a lot of fun.
American War of Independence is a set of free wargames rules based on Neil Thomas’ Napoleonic Wargaming and Ancient and Medieval Wargaming. Interestingly, all movement is based on “base widths.”
Sons of Liberty is a set of free wargames rules for miniatures games set in the American Revolution. Author Wes Rogers also offers a play sheet for reference. The scale is 1 figure=20 infantry.
