"Why does the 18th Century attract "Imaginations" ?" Topic

@ Oldenbarnevelt: Looking forward to discover the Duchies of Gelderpuff and Sans Soufflé! Do you already have a blog to post your painted minis, (projects of) flags, map… ?
Do you know the 'Emperor vs Elector' collective blog, the tribune / exchange board of the 'League of Lace Wars Imagi-Nations' emperor-elector.blogspot.com ? Time is as elastic as space, there.

Duc de Limbourg: For two embattled countries, C. Grant's 'The War Game' offers a rather simple but efficient campaign system, including an astutely abstracted system of 'taxation'.

For a large campaign involving almost 20 countries on imaginary 'Pangaea', the umpire developpped a more sophisticated set of rules, with a frequent use of 'event cards':
link

Thanks,
"The wargame" is already on my wishing list after buying a second hand Tony Bath and "Charge".
Thinking about starting a imagin country (in the french revolution period or 1690 time frame).
But starting without overdoing it to keep interest is my problem.
gretings
Jan, DdL
ca-ira.blogspot.com

By the way, is there somewee a "how to start a imaginary country" web?

By the way, is there somewee a "how to start a imaginary country" web?

No, but if I may ever so humbly submit, there is an entire series of articles on this very subject, relating to my own Wars of the Faltenian Succession, in Battlegames issues 1-12, available as digital downloads at link

There is also a free download of an article I wrote on the subject way back in 1987: PDF link

Henry
Battlegames
battlegames.co.uk

Henry's articles are inspirational -somehow he revived what P. Young ('Charge!) and C. Grant ('The War Game') started in the late "60.

Once you feel interested and have toyed with some ideas, the only rule is: "Follow your inspiration – develop first what motivates / thrills you must."
Some 80 'individual' blogs are linked to 'Emperor vs Elector' emperor-elector.blogspot.com : browsing their early archive you'll see that almost each of them started from a different point of view (and developed an individual approach). Some started by designing original uniforms and flags (David's 'NBA' templates are an unvaluable help and inspiration), some the geography and resources of their country, some its history since the Dark Ages, some the personality of the current ruler, the Court plots, a few 'adventuring' characters…
Not all those aspects have to be developed: P. Young never bothered to publish a map of his 'Electorate' and 'Empire', which remain hollow names, excuses for isolated battles; and his regiments were 'historicals' moonlighting under a fictitious name. C. Grant -a player in Tony Bath's 'Hyboria'- had a full map of Lorraine and the 'VFS', and developed original flags and some uniforms for the VFS, and the character of some (often picaresque) 'personalities'. The 'creator' of the Soweiter League enjoyed to draw the map of each 'component state' but never bothered to build a general map from these jigsaw puzzle pieces, while the uniforms and 'profiles' of each regiment reflected the characteristics of its geographical origin.
Some design a whole continent, some a pair of mini 'hereditary enemies'.
Some players develop in depth the history and traditions of each regiment, some use shamelessly the same minis for different regiments from a battle to another…

Regarding uniforms and flags, some prefer to stay with historical units -can appear in 'historical' games, are probably easier to sell when interest changes- but even the most 'die hard historicals' finally give in to tempation and raise an original unit (DAF's "Milady de Winter's Black Legion", a mixed Legion of light troops in exotic clothes and a battalion of 'River Marines' in Wittenberg…).

Feel free!
And please… keep us aware of future developments -nothing as convenient and friendly as a blog -as you already have, and 'labelling' the relevant posts, btw…

Henry,
thanks for the link, will read through the Faltanian Sucsession series. I must have the original Battle of 1987 somewhere at the attic. Thought I started buying Battle with the edition in which was the second part of the Dendermonde siege until it combined with Military Modelling. Shows my age.

Abdul, thanks.

greetings
jan, DdL

It was in Miniature Wargames, under Duncan Macfarlane's stewardship, not Battle.

Henry

Correct, sorry.
But have those too

Well, I have just started mine – New Byzantium (was already a web page, now just set up an an Imagi-Nation blog).

novobyzantium.blogspot.com

I think as well as all the tiny statelets you can use in this period (I have a French Army as my 18th century "main" force) the Asian armies are still more equal than they become later on.

Fwiw my French units fight as New Byzantine ones but I replace the French flags with Byzantine ones, just make them slip on/slip off on their poles.

I was just going to ask if anyone knew of a ruleset to cover duels (sword or pistols).

Enguard will do it for you.

To set up viable ImaginNations you need to use a period of history where

1) Lots of little principalities and Duchies

2) Common technology so that no one can overpower another.

3) A period where civility prevailed and common rules existed.

Personally, I would prefer Sengoku Japan, but most folks feel closer to their Europeon roots. My family fled Europe to escape the noose or whatever hideous penalty they earned so I'm perfectly happy to abandon the "Olde Country" for something more exotic.

All Wargaming is FANTASY. ALL WARGAMING is fantasy, be it French Old Guard or orcs. It's all about the gaming. At some point you reach an age when the labor of pretending that somehow we are smart because we call them the 6th SS Field Machine Sword Battalion is too much work and we just want to play the silly game. It gets around all of the books, and research and lets us just have fun.

@ freecloud: excellent news! Link added on 'MCristo by LaceW '. I really enjoyed your subtle 'embezzlement' of de Saxe's 'Reveries'…
"my French units fight as New Byzantine ones but I replace the French flags with Byzantine ones, just make them slip on/slip off on their poles.": according to your description of the Novobyzantine army, more 'exotic' troops are to be expected? Anyway, a blog is so convenient to post photos…

@ mikeah: I'd add "A period attracting specially imaginative, open-minded, tolerant wargamers highly receptive to flamboyant uniforms and generally to the visual appeal of table-top armies; a period where civility prevails among players (thus, neither overcompetitive nor believing they are really 'simulating' History)"… Napoleonics, WWII, Ancients-Medievals more recently… seem to concentrate fault-finding overserious 'historical anoraks'; even 'imaginative' Victorian gamers appear to be more at ease with 'historically accurate' Monegasques on Mars than with Ruritanians on Earth?

@ Duc de Limburg: personally I'm far less fond of Revolutionary uniforms (skimpy, without lace, more 'uniforms' within a given army) than of WAS ones – but then, the Emigres and some 'Legions' (many foreign in origin) of French army wore sticking uniforms which would make an Imagi-Nation proud -you illustrated some on your blog (and you *can* always 'translate' them on 'elegant' SYW minis…).

@ Timurilank: 'En Garde!' link : appears to be highly detailed, like the original 'Runequest' combat rules (i.e. too much?) -does not seem to cover pistols?
In my time I used 'Pirates' rules to approportionate the characteristics of gunpowder weapons to those of 'cold steel' ones in the D&D system I used for mid-18th C. RPG.
Maybe some 'skirmish' rules would give you enough details: 'Legends of the High Seas'? link The 'Gloire' set link enjoys a very good press link . Maybe even Sharp Practice toofatlardies.co.uk/blog/?p=312 ?

abdul666lw, I shall ask around the club who has a copy of the rules you mentioned.

Cheers,

@abdul re: more exotic troops – oh yes, as a lazy gamer I am very keen to ensure as much usability both ways happens :-)

You can comfortably expect my French to field the Legion d'Orient, a light mixed cavalry and infantry unit that for some odd reason most 7 Years War Chroniclers don't mention in French service.

@ Abdul – read your MCristo – noticed you have already stolen a march on me, my New Byzantine "Gianitzarii" (and French foot of my Legion d'Orient) are some OG Nizam i Cedit figures I have lying around :-)

Seems that there could be a little "gasp" Fantasy lurking in most of us SERIOUS wargamers afterall! Not that there's anything wrong with that Seinfeld!