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Weight of Fire Plus

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Weight of Fire Plus is a set of free wargames rules for:

playing games representing small battles in the mid-Eighteenth Century period of European history, using 20-25mm size model soldiers. The rules cover the period from when all European nations adopted the three-man-deep platoon firing system up until the rise of the mass conscript armies of the Napoleonic era; very roughly A.D. 1740-1790, when musketry weight of fire ruled the battlefield. The rules do not try to recreate every aspect of 18 Century warfare; for example, the rules ignore most of the complexities of manouvre. The rules are intended only to model the “classic” tactics of the period.

The rules are designed for games using 6-12 units per side. A game like this should take about four hours for a pair of opponents familiar with the rules to complete. Typical game setup involves two fairly equal forces
facing one another across a game table laid out with terrain models representing hills, woods, streams, etc. Victory conditions to win the game may vary widely, but usually one player wins when a stated number of the
enemy’s units have been destroyed or routed off the game table before a set number of turns have been played.

Rules

Playsheet 1

Playsheet 2

Afriborea Colonial Wars Rules

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Prolific games designer Rudi Geudens offers Afriboria, a fast play, card driven set of colonial rules. What’s really neat about this game is that Rudi has designed some gorgeous custom cards, as well as labels to stick to six sided dice for use with the game.

Dark Age Infantry Slog

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The Dark Ages Infantry slog, by Andy Callan, originally appeared in Miniature Wargames #7, back in 1983. Now they’re available here.

It’s an interesting system. Callan writes:

As for the battle itself, I decided that the armies weren’t going to be capable of much tactical manouvre, so this meant that I would have to find some other focus for the wargamers attention (since tactical manoeuvre is at the heart of most conventional games). I therefore decided that, in keeping with the spirit of the period, it would be LEADERSHIP rather than GENERALSHIP that would be the central factor. The player would have to LEAD his army to victory, rather than just issue orders. Accordingly he would need to be involved in forming up the army, and ‘psyching up’ the warriors for the fight, as well as getting stuck in and setting a good example for his men when it came to the crunch. All this was allowed for by giving each leader a number of ‘Leadership Points’ (LP’s) which he can use, each turn, in various ways.

Each group of warriors carries three separate ratings:

1) AGGRESSION: a measure of their enthusiasm for the fight and blood lust! Ranging from 1 (craven) to 8 (psychopathic).

2) FORMATION: a measure of orderliness and density of the ranks. Ranging from 1 (chaotic mob) to 8 (shield wall).

These first two are capable of adjustment by use of Leadership Points, which is not true of:

3) STRENGTH: an amalgam of numerical strength, physical freshness (yes, I know Vikings didn’t use underarm deodorants!) and military efficiency. The rating established at the start of the game can only decline as the battle progresses.

But the best way to describe these rules is actually to print them in full, together with some explanatory notes. The game mechanisms, which include elements of whist, poker and playground games, are unconventional, but the intention was not to be obscure for obscurity’s sake. Its just that these simple mechanisms seemed to me the best way to create a game which (to quote Ian Greenwood, whose passion for Anglo-Saxon warfare is second to none) ‘wouldn’t offend the sensibilities of Viking or Anglo-Saxon devotees who like their games to look and feel like the real thing … (and in which) … the player himself, in the role of leader, could win or lose battles according to his ability to bluff, counter-bluff or pre-empt his opponent’.

Fantasy Warriors rules

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I own a copy of the original Grenadier Fantasy Warriors boxed set. In fact, all the dwarf and orc miniatures that came with it are still unpainted and on their sprues. (I already had hordes of Games Workshop orc and dwarves and simply played with those).

The game had a lot to recommend it: the figures were great, they were a good bargain, and the rules were a marked departure from Games Workshop. What we liked most about the rules was the emphasis on command, rather than on individual super figures. Sadly, however, it’s been out of print for many years.

Now you can get the original rules as a download here. As for the figures, I understand that there is an italian company that produces them, but I’ve had no success in finding them.

Loose Files and American Scramble

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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.