horse and musket

Simple Rules For Musket Era Battles

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These rules are just what they say they are: Simple Rules for Musket Era Battles. John Michael Fisher writes:

Years ago in England, men such as H. G. Wells and Don Featherstone wrote rules for fast-moving, fun wargames with toy soldiers (military miniatures). They were eventually eclipsed by players who wanted more sophistication and realism in their games. Unfortunately this led to tedious gaming sessions that were as enjoyable as calculating one’s income taxes. The rules here are a return to the simple game, using playing cards instead of dice, a new way of resolving combat, and individual figures rather than groups of men on stands. They work for any number of toy soldiers and are fine for solitaire games.

I agree with his sentiments exactly, and as I get older, my tastes move away from simulations and more to games with the right “feel.”

Fire and Discipline Wargames Rules for 1740 to 1850

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Fire and Discipline was originally published (in 1988) to cover tactical warfare from 1740-1850. It is now in two versions, one focusing on firepower, the other on discipline. Both versions use the same basing and organization structure. The rules are lengthy because many simple questions are answered with the clarification examples. Optional rules are included to allow for more realistic and slower play for those who prefer it. After learning the rules most players will be able to play a friendly game by using only the pullout charts.

Fog of War Rules For Horse and Musket Games

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Phil Johnson and Les Benoot offer a pdf download of fog of war rules for the horse and musket era. These are a generic add on for other horse and musket rules sets, and are intended to reflect the problems offered by visibility and scouting on command control.

Hex Command Gunpowder Rules

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Hex Command Gunpowder are a set of free wargames rules for the horse and musket era. They are designed for a 1 stand = 100 men scale. The authors write:

These rules were designed to bring a simplification to wargaming with miniatures because it resembles a board game more than a complicated historical simulation. These rules are intended for any horse and musket era and with slight modifications can be used for any conflict in that range.

These rules do not consider formations as influencing the outcome of battle, other than if a unit is ordered or disordered, because the system compensates for the effects of various tactical realities. The game is intended to be played on hex grid pattern of 4 inch hexes, though this is
not required (numbering each hex is essential for playing via the internet), with the top left corner being a whole hex, and the hexagon orientation being that the flat top and bottom are parallel with the long sides of the surface (hexes are not “pointed up”). Game Mapper is
recommended to assist scenario creation and game tracking.

Bravado Horse and Musket Rules

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Bravado is a set of free wargames rules for the horse and musket period. There are guidelines for both the American War of Independence and Napoleonic Wars for play. The rules employ an interesting mechanism where the players compete for initiative, deciding how much they will risk disaster in order to have another phase of movement or attack or time to reform their regiments.