"Craig Taylor's "Rally Round the Flag"" Topic

I've heard lots of good things about these old rules, but never played them when they were still in wide circulation. I ahve a chance to get a copy now and am just wondering if anyone would like to share their thoughts on the rules. What are they like? What's the scale? I've heard that the rules can be very bloody -- true? Is there order writing in the game?

Do the battles feel like ACW battles?

Any info appreciated. Thanks.

If it is the one I played back 25 years ago, the smallest unit was a regiment. They were easy to learn and play and I had fun with them. I would still be playing them but I moved into Napoleonic with Napoleon's Battles and everyone in the shop I played at moved to Fire and Fury (which is also a fine set of rules).

I would reccommend trying them, if you like ACW and even if you are into Fire and Fury. The level is slightly more tactical but I think you could use the same figs with no base changes though maybe different number of bases per regiment. I say maybe because this is all from memory. I no longer own the rules, unfortunately.

I always thought the movement rates to slow. Craig Taylor's rational for friction during movement might be logical but lead to dull games with difficulty in manuevering.

I played them for many years and always enjoyed them, but I agree with Abu, movement is slow. I also found artillery too powerful, but firepower and movement rates can easily be changed. The well organized, single-page information sheet really simplified play.

Thanks. Do they use order writing?

IIRC, they use simultaneous timed movement.

Thanks,

John

Some info here:

TMP link

Allen

they use simultaneous timed movement.

We loved the rules, but this is why we abandoned them a few years ago.

Everyone moves figures like mad and figures get mistreated in doing so. My friend does all the ACW work and I didn't like the idea of competitive friends running roughshod over his wor, so we went back to Piquet.

Enormously fun, but timed movement ws brutal on figures.
--
Tim

I cut my teeth on these rules in the 70's. As I recall it was when Uncle Duke came to town to demo his revolutionary (acrylic) paint system. We really enjoyed the rules with the noted exception that movement was dead slow. And I have to agree that artillery was a little too powerful… thats why I have a battery of 24# howitzers in my box!

Everyone in the club was supposed to bring a brigade and a battery for the games. This lead to some rather immaginative units! We even had a way to randomize unit grade and weapons (rolling a lot of 6's in a row could get you an elite unite with Henry rifles. That club is long gone now, but the memories linger.

We haven't played them in years, but now I'm going to have to dig them out again for old times sake.

I think I still have my old copy from the 1970's. They were my first ACW rules as well, and we had lots of fun playing them many years ago. I recall we used a sequential move system instead of simultaneous movement.

I remember that because artillery damage was tied to weight of shot, our favorite killer field piece was the 20-pound Parrot rifle.

I have a copy of these rules and played them a few times with a friend. I did not like them because infantry in line move only 2" a turn, and the long shooting ranges allow so many shots to occur before a unit can close with the enemy that it just gets shot to pieces. That's my 2 cents, anyways.

They are still my favorite rules, and although dated, I enjoy them.
The rules (Published by Iron Brigade), are currently "under revision", and it is hoped that they will soon again see the light of day in a more modern form.

That's all I can say for now.

I used to play Rally Round the Flag at a friend's place, and really enjoyed the games. One aspect that I especially remember is how regiments would rout, but then rally, and move right back up.

My friend tweaked the rules by dropping the timed movement, and by using playing cards to determine who got to move or pass on moving a unit, e.g. a black card = one Union unit, a red card = one Confederate unit.

I still play them when I get the chance. I'm considered very eccentric at my group for preferring simultaneous movement in all my gaming. One approach to the slow movement is to move at 25 mm speed but shoot at 15mm ranges. Artillery is powerful but if you are careful to use historic ratios it is not too bad. Onward through the gunsmoke!

Great Beer and Pretzels rules. Lots of fun.

Our group changed the unit grade such that 3 stands were elite, 4 crack, 5 average and 6 green. Worked real well.

As for "timed movement".. never used it.

It is still my favorite set of rules for ACW.

Our grouped keep to the timed movement, but like chest, once you took your hand off the command stand couldn't move it again for the rest of that turn.

When it came to weapons and troop quality, we would limit each, which was easy when you only had a limited number of points (100 plus a precentage die roll of a possible another 100). Elites and crack were no more than 4 stands each, 5 to 6 for avearge and green could be up to 8. We only allowed smooth bore and rifled muskets.

As to weapon firing distance verses actual hsitorical firing distance, that is an issue I see will most rule sets.

I have the rules in hand now, and am just curious as to how people declared charges. It seems to be simultaneous too, so what do folks do to avoid the "if they are charging, then I'll charge them" syndrome. Write them down ahead of time? What if a charger is charged by a third party? Sorry if this is covered, I just skimmed the rules.

A very good set of rules for its day, long ago, several glitches that were fairly easy to solve with local adaptions. Played a lot of scenarios with them until newer more up to date sets came on the scene. Still likely to appeal to some ACW gamers yet today. Worth a look anyway!

You can realistically spice up the movement rates by using a different movement rate for strategic (out of the combat zone) movement, march column and road movement. I decided not to mess too much with the tactical movement as the relationship between the fire casulty tables and time to come into contact would be screwed up from the game system.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[
MOVEMENT Restrict by formation at the start of the turn. Wheeling or pivoting cost the inches of the part of the unit that moved the most. You can change formation and move half. Columns changing to line measure distances from 1/3 their column length position. 1" penalty per contour, hedge or wall.
Within 600 yards (12)" of a formed enemy unit or artillery you can move:

Infantry: line 2" skirm/open 3" column 4" road/charge/retreat 5"
Foot Artillery: 4" when limbered over open ground, 2" rough, 1" light woods 0.5" prolong
Horse artillery 8" 4" rough 2" light wood 0.5"prolong
Calvary: line 4"…open 5"…other 8" (road 12")….charge/retreat +4" officers and aides 18"

Cavalry may mount/dismount when moving at infantry speed. Calvary may dismount & FIRE. Cavalry can fire while mounted at a -2F table.
Artillery: 2 of 3. MOVE, LIMBER/UNLIMBER, FIRE
:
Outside of 12" from a formed enemy unit you can move strategic:
Infantry: line 4" skirm/open 5" column 8" road column 12"
Foot artillery 8"open, 12" road horse artillery 12" open 20" road
Calvary: line 18" open, skirmish or column 24" road column 28"

If you are fired at while in strategic movement, the fire is at +2F tables, you take a morale check and the strategic movement is ended. Strategic movement must be either on a road or GUIDED. GUIDED means a detached calvary or aide figure accompanies the head of the unit (up to 6" ahead) AND your route to the objective is written down at the start of the strategic movement. Road intersections for road strat. Movement must be "guided" by an aide or cavalry squadron or there is a 1/3 chance of taking the wrong fork for the first and each additional fork in the road.
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Theree is a new set of rules called Rally 'Round the Flag by LMW Works that is quite good. Authored by Scott Monsour. I hope Craig Taylor's rules make it back into print.

"Rally 'round the Flag" by Craig Taylor, Battleline Publications 1975 (Atlanta Minature Batlegaming Society) is what I have based my home brew rules on. Is the LMW Works (Scott Monsour) a completely different set, or based on the earlier title of the same name or a later update of the original rule set? I'm pretty sure that the Battleline version is out of print and I wonder about sending even altered versions of its tables around.

Scott Monsour's is a completely different set of rules.

I have an update version of these rules along with instruction aides and cavalry specific rules, if anybody is interested in giving them a look.

I played Napoleonics using a modified version and really liked it. As for simultaneous movement, we just had each player move units starting left to right with no time limit. I also liked how the melee mechanic worked. The charging unit takes fire then tests moral and if he passes then the defender checks moral to see if they stand. If they pass then there is a melee. Cuts down on a lot of melees and seemed pretty historic to me.

The 'test to charge', 'test to stand' mechanic was pretty standard back in the day. It cuts down on melees, but you instead spend most of your time making morale checks.
Newer rules have tended to incorporate the morale checks into the melee phase – so hand to hand combat may not actually have taken place at all, depending on the outcome.
Saves time, and gets the same end result.

The original rules that I have do not have any "test to charge" nor a "test to stand". My altered version also do not have these. I do have the rule that the brigade commander must be in command radius (12" to the unit or continuous touching units in that brigade) to allow a charge. Likewise in the cavalry-heavy rule subset (used for battles that are mainly cavalry on cavalry), the regiment must be commanded (or have a brigade aide attached).

There is a phase that if a unit stands and takes a charge, it fires on a "shaken-ness table", which reduces its effective fire (fire goes to a poorer fire table- early fire or scattered fire rather than controlled fire at 50 yards). But no pre-melee morale roles for charging or being charged. (If players charge with a very shaky green unit- then they get what they deserve).

We use simultaneous movement for both sides and this makes the game go much faster than a IGUG style or a card-driven activation. (this helps compensate for the slower tacticial movement rates). Who charges whom is usually not an issue when playing with gentlemen. If it looks like it could make a difference, then the simple fix is to opposed roll for initiative (divisional commander plus brigade commander plus 1D6 for each side) for settling who declares the first charge. Alternately sometimes we place one of three types face-down chits (charge, hold or move) by units that are likely to be involved and go from there. Whatever people feel like doing.

The 2" movement in line was a killer for me, plus the fact that the rifled muskets could shoot a long distance in inches. You better have a lot of cover or your forces would get shot to pieces before they could get anywhere near the enemy. It might be realistic, but it didn't fit my definition of fun.