This Yahoo group has free wargames rules for recreating battles of the Indian Wars in the Old Northwest: the French and Indian War through the Blackhawk War.
War of 1812
King George Commands and We Obey
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:
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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.
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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.
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They have to be easy to learn. The common approach should assist with this and it is then just about the era specifics.
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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.
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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!
La Petite Guerre Skirmish Rules
La Petit Guerre is a set of free wargames rules for small scale actions in North America in the 17th – 19th century.
Fire and Fury America’s Wars
I think Fire and Fury is the finest set of miniatures rules ever written. It has elegantly simple mechanics, fun gameplay and set the standard for high-quality rules presentation.
Now the Fire and Fury people are at work on a version for America’s other “horse and musket” wars: The Revolution, War of 1812, and Mexican War. You can find the playtest versions of Fire and Fury: Americas Wars here.
Away Boarders War of 1812 Great Lakes Naval Rules
Away Boarders is a neat little game for a little-considered theatre of war: The Great Lakes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The author also includes some nice 2-D paper models of the ships, as well as counters.