"What Colonial Wars Rules works best with 10mm? " Topic

What Colonial Wars Rules works best with 10mm? I have Black Powder, TSATF, and 800 fighting Englishmen. But are these the best rules to use at this scale? TSATF is recommended for 25mm, as is I think 800 fighting Englishmen. I know Black Powder will work, but will I get a good period flavor? Can I use stands in place of individual figures in TSATF, AND 800 fIGHTING Englishmen? What would be best for basing if I could? What other rulesets are out there I could use? I'm just getting started with this historical period. So I have a lot of questions. Thanks for any help.

What Colonial Wars Rules works best with 10mm?

Rules in general are not size specific.

I have Black Powder, TSATF, and 800 fighting Englishmen. But are these the best rules to use at this scale?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!

I know Black Powder will work, but will I get a good period flavor?

If you use the right special rules then you will.

Can I use stands in place of individual figures in TSATF, AND 800 fIGHTING Englishmen?

Of course you can!

What Margard said.

Personally, I use TSATF for everything. Never saw the need for 800 FE. You should just use whichever rules you like best.

Rick

Rules in general are not size specific.

But some are clearly geared toward one end of the scale spectrum or the other. Individually-based skirmish rules, for example, aren't usually the best mix with 6mm minis.

I think he's looking for more guidance than "eh, whatever."

TSATF

Eric

Yes, guidance is what i'm after. I just want to make sure 10mm will work well with 25mm rules. That is one question I have being a smaller scale, they may not look so good individually based. That is one of my concerns. Thanks for all input so far. It is appreciated.

Battle for Empires and Field of Battle are both element based games. Both are great sets of rules for Colonials although I'm more partial to Field of Battle. My Zulu War battles have been real nail biters.

Thanks,

John

Completely agree with DarthFozzyWig. Rules, in some ways (and especially depending on scale), are size specific. There are people who game Volley & Bayonet with two 54mm figures on a base representing a brigade, but that is not typically the norm of what a gamer wants.

In an attempt to answer the original poster's question, there is a ruleset called Battles for Empire that is geared towards larger colonial battles. It seems to be highly regarded. I owned it, read it but never got around to that project and sold it. Too Fat Lardies has a Sudan set called "They Don't Like it Up 'em" or something like that…it could do well with 10mm. Hope this helps.

Science versus Pluck.

It all depends on what style of game you want to play. The classics are TSATF for skrimish, Science versus Pluck for campaigns, and Battle for Empire for larger scale actions. If I had to pick one it would always be TSATF, as you can easily scale it up or down and bolt on whatever campaign or big battle rules you like.

I wasn't at all impressed with how Black Powder handles colonials.

The Great Game free rules are an excellent set and give good results for the period. They are element based. I have a link to them on my site.

Individually-based skirmish rules, for example, aren't usually the best mix with 6mm minis.

Not necessarily true. Several people are really enjoying the FUBAR skirmish rules with 6mm figures.

For mass colonial combat we use Induanas, Colonels & Emirs. A 1:10 scale with each stand having 3 castings for European trianed 40 x 20 and 4 t o6 for native trained 40 x 30

We've used TSATF with 15mm figures in a Boer War game. Even though Larry has distance scale modifiers for 15mm, we used the 25mm distances which tended to replicate the long ranges of the Boer Mauser rifles. You could probably do the same for 10mm or use the 15mm distances. You can also use stands if you want. TSATF is so flexible that just about anything can work.

Jim

Hey Pete. I have recently printed off the Great game rules and supplements. I must admit I like the scenarios and the general concepts in the rules. However, as written the rules are unplayable. There is no explanation about how the sequence of play works. Also, exactly how many hits units take is not explained anywhere in the rules. There are a few other trouble spots but those are some of the the most glaring. I chatted with a gent on the Colonial War's yahoo group who is a big fan of the rules. He kindly provided me with his interps. However, the average gamer wouldn't be aware of that.

If these things have been updated somewhere then a good set of rules might be had.

Thanks,

John

I ordered Battles for empire and Science versus pluck. This along with TSATF, 800 fighting Englishmen, and Black Powder, should give me a nice variety to try. Any other recommendations or discussion would be welcome still. Thanks to everyone.

10mm-wargaming.com used to have an extensive writeup on 10mm colonials, though I was unable to find the page. by the way, I will be offering up a large batch of Perrin 10mm 100 brit foot and leaders plus cavalry, wagons, artillery and gatling gun units and 200 zulus on marketplace soon, mostly based and primed, at about 60 percent off retail (sorry about the blatant self promotion, but thought you might be interested)

@warpig69 – you probably mean my old website? 10mmWorld.com

Cheers,

Christopher

John I know what you mean about the Great game.I'm in the process of trying to clarify the rules because I think they have great potential too.

christopher -- yes that's the one, excellent 10mm resource

Just took a look at Pete's revised notes in the Great Game. It provides a much better clarification of how the rules work.

Well done Pete!

Thanks,

John

@ JoeRockhead

BFE would work fine for 10mm and be very appropriate if you like element based figures and your Colonial battles to be on a grander scale (as in unit sizes of companies or greater).

I very much like the Unit Conduct Chart that merges moral and C&C into the same roll (and role even).

Look for the BFE Yahoo group, plenty of support there. Also plenty of v2 stuff that is imminent… which might just annoy you a tad having bought v1 rules but even then they are a good set.

The v2 changes (that we've just played recently) greatly improve combat and move the game along at a quicker pace and has more 'realistic' results.

Yep, looking forward to BFE 2nd edition. Always thought that BFE deserved more attention.

Thanks,

John

Just signed up for the Battles for Empire group on Yahoo. Thanks!