Phil Walling | 11 Jan 2009 9:12 a.m. PST |
One of my friends popped by yesterday and brought me a gift. A copy of Warfare in the Age of Reason – link Has anyone played this, and what do you think? |
Sigwald | 11 Jan 2009 9:34 a.m. PST |
They are one of my fav's for 18th Century battles. Simple rules and players are rewarded for adhering to period tactics. Once either(or both)side has taken significant damage you start rolling army morale that factor in losses vs points for gaining objectives etc and once either side fails army morale the day is lost for them and they must withdraw removing arguments about who actually won. I like it for AWI although a lot of fans of the rules seem to like it only for SYW. |
Stosstruppen | 11 Jan 2009 9:34 a.m. PST |
Its what I use for AWI. I really enjoy the rules. |
kaaawa 96730 | 11 Jan 2009 10:03 a.m. PST |
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Dan Cyr | 11 Jan 2009 10:14 a.m. PST |
There is a very active Yahoo group for the rules and the authors are on the group. link The rules are excellent and the most common set that I see played at conventions. Dan |
CATenWolde | 11 Jan 2009 10:23 a.m. PST |
Can anyone comment on how well it handles WSS as opposed to SYW? |
Olaf 03 | 11 Jan 2009 10:31 a.m. PST |
I have played it for both AWI and SYW and I think it works well for both. |
DOUGKL | 11 Jan 2009 10:43 a.m. PST |
I've played it and enjoy it. I agree with Sigwald; you do better if you stick with the tactics of the period. |
DestoFante | 11 Jan 2009 11:03 a.m. PST |
WSS was covered in one of the supplements that followed the 1st edition. I do not know whether the changes in the 2nd edition would affect a WSS game. |
Der Alte Fritz | 11 Jan 2009 11:13 a.m. PST |
WSS was covered in the supplement with the yellow cover. Features naval rules as well. I've played many an enjoyable SYW game with Age of Reason rules. I would recommend doubling the size of the units from 12 to 24 figures and placing them in 2 ranks. |
altfritz | 11 Jan 2009 12:03 p.m. PST |
We played it regularly (ie. practically weekly) for several years. We started with 24-figure units but switched back to 12's. The main difficulty with the rules is the definition of a secure flank. Once you have that settled so everybody is clear then it is great fun. The Campaign system: "A Sport of Kings" is simple but good. The battle maps are also a great idea. |
CATenWolde | 11 Jan 2009 12:14 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the info on the "yellow" supplement. How many supplements were published for the rules? |
Olaf 03 | 11 Jan 2009 2:30 p.m. PST |
If you are interested in supplements for the rules you may want to check On Military Matters, I noticed he had a couple of supplements for Age of Reason, but I can't remember if he had the "yellow" one. |
Phil Walling | 11 Jan 2009 3:21 p.m. PST |
Thanks for the comments folks :) One question though
is it a suitable set to use with 6mm figures? I suppose its down to base size and such.. |
altfritz | 11 Jan 2009 3:31 p.m. PST |
I don't see a problem as you'd probably be supplying both sides. |
andygamer | 11 Jan 2009 3:41 p.m. PST |
I suppose you could use 6mm figures putting as many figures on the 25mm (or 15mm) bases as you prefer and then use a ratio of, let's say, one "25mm casualty" out of the 12 figures to a unit equals e.g. four "6mm casualties" on your base. And doing things like every three sets of "6mm casualties" would see you remove one base of figures from a unit. The first, blue-cover supplement includes a mini-campaign game of Fredrick's 1757 invasion of Bohemia; rule additions to add Spain to the Sport of Kings war rules (including maps like the orginal SOK ones for some Spanish American possessions); seven battle scenarios (including New Orleans 1815 as both sides in the War of 1812 used linear tactics); designers' notes; and errata and Q&A etc. for the original rules. (The Yahoo group is good for it too.) The yellow supplement has a full set of naval rules usable on their own or to replace the rudimentary naval rules from the SOK rules; the WSS amendments; and nine battle scenarios (including three from WAS Italian campaign); and further errata and Q&A etc. section. |
IGWARG1 | 11 Jan 2009 3:47 p.m. PST |
Rules simulate linear tactics of the period really well. Very simple and easy to understand mechanics. The way rules are organised is not perfect, but not a big deal. For larger games we activate several units at once, instead of individual units. Single unit activation works well for small games involving 5 or so units per side and perfect for small engagements of AWI. WSS supplement in Yellow book has excellent suggestions for armies of that period that should work, but our club do not have WSS figures and we didn't try it. |
andygamer | 11 Jan 2009 5:42 p.m. PST |
The yellow one was January, 2003; and the blue one was 1995. If they've been re-released, in paper or electronic form, you can find out at the Yahoo group. link |
John Leahy | 11 Jan 2009 9:43 p.m. PST |
i like the rules. However, I thought that the general consensus was they didn't really handle the AWI that well? Not so? Thanks, John |
Jeff of SaxeBearstein | 11 Jan 2009 11:38 p.m. PST |
Ian Croxall of Warflag.com fame has posted a set of WSS "amendments" that his group uses: link Of course he's using 25mm figures . . . I'm not sure how well they'd adapt to 6mm . . . he also has some good WSS Army lists for AOR (scroll to bottom of above linked page for links). The basic AOR rules didn't suit me . . . but that's not unusual, so I ended up writing my own rules for my own use . . . but lots of people play AOR and enjoy it. -- Jeff
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raylev3 | 12 Jan 2009 4:58 a.m. PST |
Played it quite a bit at our club and I even ran a campaign game
.love the rules, but even with only 10-15 units per side it's tough to get to a resolution in a single evening. It's complicated enough to where you'll want to download the flow charts available on the Yahoo group. Agree with Alte Fritz regarding number of figs per unit. We went ahead and went with 12 per battalion, to save money, but 24 per battalion looks a lot better. |
altfritz | 12 Jan 2009 4:44 p.m. PST |
I think the problems with AWI probably stem from the way the rules handle light infantry. We experimented with the rules quite a bit when using 24-figure units. Hitting on "10"s for example in certain circumstances. We also occassionally used a multi-stat line. So Line might be 222s – Melee/Morale, Maneuver and Firing. So Prussian line would be 232's, etc. |
alairduk | 07 Dec 2009 5:50 a.m. PST |
Main problem we had for the AWI was that the rules recommend swapping to 1:25 figure:men ratio and this has subtle effects on unit morale. I think they work just fine if you are prepared to play the AWI at 1:50 ratios but some of the units are going to be tiny! |
onmilitarymatters | 10 Dec 2009 3:06 p.m. PST |
Also note that there is a scenario book for WaR: WARFARE IN THE AGE OF REASON: Vol. 1 Campaigns and Battles. Various scenarios, battles and campaigns. 1 vol, 84 pgs 2008 HOPEWELL, OMM PUBLISHING NEW-softcover $20.00 USD Plenty in stock. Dennis from OMM onmilitarymatters.com |
PIPERS | 21 Dec 2016 3:19 a.m. PST |
Hi. I got a copy of this Game and i Hope To enjoy it. But i need hannover's army list |