First of all, let me say that I am long time reader of TMP and have been a member for over a year but I don't normally post here (or anywhere else for that matter). I am not a spammer and am not trying to sell anything, I would just like a few serious gamers to give me their opinion on my rules. I have been gaming for 30+ years and will play just about anything, card games, board games, role playing games, and of course miniature wargames. I own and have played many of the various ACW rules out there and in particular I have Fire and Fury, Johnny Reb II, Piquet Hallowed Ground, and Volley and Bayonet. I like them all for their various strengths but none of them are the "it" rules for me. So earlier this year I set out to write a set of rules that would be the end all be all for my tastes in wargaming. I have put a great deal of time and effort in writing and playtesting the rules but I have a limited number of opponents and there are no wargaming clubs in my area (central Georgia, USA). So I have decided to come to good ol' TMP for help in putting the finishing touches on my rules. If I get a good response I will probably make the rules available for free to the community at large. I have entitled the rules "Whistling Dixie" as I am not aware of any other rules by that name.
A short description of the rules from the current draft:
0.1 What is Whistling Dixie?
Whistling Dixie is a historical miniatures wargame designed to allow armchair generals to recreate large actions of the American Civil War. These rules are designed to play large battles in a manageable area and in a reasonable amount of time. While not a strictly fast play set of rules they will still allow a large battle such as Shiloh to be played in a single evening. These rules are not intended to push the envelope of the hobby and an experienced gamer will notice that Whistling Dixie is heavily influenced by (but not derivative of) popular "old school" rules and more recent game systems. Whistling Dixie seeks to avoid complicated rules or gimmicky game-play and instead focuses on accessibility and playability. The game emphasizes quick and easy resolution of rule mechanics, little to no bookkeeping, and using tactics to win battles. In a game of Whistling Dixie all the information that the players need to fight an entire battle will be found on the game table and on a single page quick reference sheet.
0.2 What You Need To Play
You will need a 6X4' to 9X6' table (depending on how large of a battle you want to play), a variable number of metal, plastic, or paper miniatures on movement "bases," miniature terrain to represent the physical features of the battlefield, a handful of six sided dice (referred to as d6), a set of average dice (An average die is a six sided die with its sides marked 2,3,3,4,4,5 and referred to as AvD, if you don't have access to average dice you can simply use a normal d6 and consider a 1 to be a 3 and a 6 to be a 4), and a tape measure or ruler. A common deck of cards can be used for the activation deck, or you can download card templates from the Whistling Dixie yahoo group. You will also need some informational markers to show shaken, disorganized, damaged, and routed status.
0.3 Game Scale
The basic unit of maneuver is the infantry brigade. The game uses the number of bases per brigade for combat and morale so the number of figures per base is not relevant to game play. To ensure consistency of measurement for movement and fire combat the recommended base size for each element of the brigade is 40X20mm (1 1/2" by 3/4") but most any common basing will work. Ground scale is roughly 60 yards per 25mm (1 inch). A brigade rated as regular would have a line frontage of 160mm (6 inches) or roughly 360 yards. A game turn is represents approximately 30 minutes of "real" time.
If any of you fine folks would be interested in playtesting the rules you can go to the whistlingdixiewargame yahoo group and sign up. If you mention TMP I will grant you membership and you can grab the rules and such from the files section. If you have any questions for me I will do my best to answer them here.
Thanks,
Andy Bailey
Warner Robins, GA USA
prepares to do some regimental-level ACW gaming.
