"What's Your Favorite ECW Rule Set ???" Topic

Please pick only one.

If you could only play one set of ECW rules, which one would you pick . . . and why?

Also kindly refrain from sneering at the rules others prefer. Please just pick your favorite and tell us why you prefer it.

-- Jeff

Pike and shotte.

Uses mechanisms my group are familiar with as we play HC and BP.

It feels like pike and shotte without getting bogged down in ludicrous details like pike ratios.

Its fast.

Warhammer ECW. I feel the same about it as Mr. Plant feels about his set. 8)=

Warhammer for me too. Great fun. Enjoy P&S too but if I could only have one it would be WECW.

Depends on the scale of the battle :

Large battles (small figures !) : Renanisance to restoration

Skirmish : Once upon the time in the West Country

Something in the middle : haven't yet settled on a set , have 3 in the frame at present

I like Warmaster ECW best, after that Black Powder.

Advanced Armati.

It works, uses mechanisms my group are familiar with and has good period feel after a little tinkering. Can cope with reasonable sized battle comfortably in an evening. suits any common figure scale.

Has unit-to-unit combat avoiding all the pitfalls of bits of shot and bits of pike (which is not how battles seem to have been fought).

I will be doing Newbury II with adapted Armati at SELWG I believe …

Phil
ECWBattles

Use the one our group developed: Charge Yr Pikes!

link

It handles how we play – for the fun with enough "flavor" so we know we're doing ECW rather than Napoleonics.

The rules are for 15mm figures organized into infantry regiments of 32 figures (16 pike and 16 shotte) and cavalry regiments of 12 to 18 figures. Very simple mechanics based on Larry Brom's old school rules.

Jim

The rules are for 15mm figures organized into infantry regiments of 32 figures (16 pike and 16 shotte)

That's unusual. Most ECW wargames rules have foot regiments with a ratio of 1 pike to 2 shot. Of course some regiments in the ECW, particularly in the early period, did indeed have a ratio close to 1:1 but that was mainly due to a lack of firearms.

They're all rubbish – just ask Ken ;-)

But I rather like Victory Without Quarter – mainly because of the randomness and they produce a fun game.

Forlorn Hope is my choice.
Large battles or small battles are both handled easily.
Unit individuality.
Leader individuality.
Proper period feel.

I agree with Gloria Smud.

Jeff,

Since the only time I can get a game in is at one of the conventions, FOGR is what I play. However, if I can get an opponent up here in the wilds of North Central PA, I would try Victory Without Quarter. I too think it looks like it makes for a fun game.

David

Regiment of Foote – Peter Pig rules.

I like the mechanics for troops marching to the battlefield, uncertainty of the units that arrive, and the overall feel of the rules.

Very elegant system.

I agree with Gloria Smud.

Forlorn Hope, the best out there for ECW, IMHO.

I like DBR.

Wow I saw this thread and I was hoping it would help me decide what rules I want to use. I have in the wheelhouse FOGR, Regt of Foote, and Pike & Shotte. Since this is a period i want to put together soon so I have to make a decision. I have not heard of victory without quarter.

Victory without quarter is well worth a look -written by Clarence Harrison who had a big hand in 'Beneath the Lily Banners' -has anyone used that for the Civil War?

I have not heard of victory without quarter.

TMP link

PDF link

George Gush's venerable Renaissance rules. I started playing them when they were new & have never found any better, IMO. A figure represents 20 men on the field so you can have units that match historical numbers, frontages, pike/shot ratios & subunits; they provide for the historical range of armament, morale & training. A game turn is simultaneous movement, shooting & melee phases, which I much prefer to IGO-UGO.

so you can have units that match historical numbers, frontages, pike/shot ratios & subunits; they provide for the historical range of armament, morale & training.

You can of course do that with other rules for the period as well.

George Gush's venerable Renaissance rules.

One of my 3 main contenders for medium sized battles.

They're all rubbish – just ask Ken ;-)

They're all great. Just ask Gloria Smud. :)

Warhammer ECW is my fav, want to play Regiment of Foote at some point and give Pike and Shot a try. I have also heard good things about Forlorn Hope.

I have high hopes for the forthcoming Impetus Ren rules – Baroque. Only hopes so far though.

Piquet Anchor of Faith, then Pike and Shotte

Yep Impetus Baroque when it's out should fill this gap for me. Single stand units is the way I want to go now as well.

Another vote for Gush. Still the best.

I like Gush, have enjoyed Folorn Hope but for the last year or so have stuck to Piquet Anchor of Faith.

Used Gush back in the early 90's – now much prefer DBR, and haven't yet tried FoG:R

Still seeking attention Ken – ever considered answering a posters question – Jeff asked for which set we would prefer & to only pick one.

Banksy in your hasty efforts to follow me around TMP abusing me, getting snipped & dawghoused for your efforts you really do appear to have got completely got hold of the wrong end of the stick.

The whole point was that unlike some people how could I possibly express an opinion on sets of rules I don't own, haven't played or even read. Especially negative or critical ones. Likewise how could I express an impartial, rational and unbiased view if I'd already said they were not up to standard.

Some people have picked rules that I don't like – but they do …. so! If I something had +ve to say about their choice I would. I'm not making -ve comments about them – even if Jeff hadn't already asked us not to I wouldn't.

Jeff asked us to pick one preferred set so I stated I liked VWQ – I've read them & played them – I may own, have played or even read and osiibly liked or disliked other sets but VWQ are my preference. So what's your problem?

For me its

Battles: Charge yr Pikes! (plus some modifications) – suited my needs, liked the unit activation by card (and they were free !).
Skirmish games: I use a variant of my own 18C skirmish rules

daghan/banks o yarrow have had their accounts closed, due to sock puppeting.

I like the looks of the Polemo system, but haven't played it yet – given the way things go, I'll probably print out some paper bases to give it a test before I have any figs ready.

Will look into some of the other recomendations from here too, and Impetus seems like a contender too.

I like the pike and shot rules in Black Powder supplement Last Argument of Kings. Similar to Pike and Shotte but has unit to unit combat without separate pike and shot bits.

Forlorn Hope, without question.

h

Had to google sock puppets….??? very strange behaviour….hilarious …..who is having who on here ? hahahaha

Pike and Shoote

"First Choice" totals so far . . . and clearly there is no consensus with 16 different rule sets mentioned amongst 27 votes:

3 VOTES each (2):

Forlorn Hope
WarHammer ECW

2 VOTES each (7):

Charge Yr Pikes
DBR
Gush's Renaissance rules
Impetus Baroque
Pike & Shotte
Piquet Anchor of Faith
Victory Without Quarter

1 VOTE each (7):

Advanced Armati
Last Argument of Kings
Once Upon a Time in the West Country
Polemos ECW
Regiment of Foote
Renaissance to Restoration
Warmaster ECW

-- Jeff

I agree with Gloria. TVWQ

Here'sanother vote for DBR.

Glorious Mud is another sock-puppet account, and has been closed.

Ken Portner has chosen to leave TMP.

Man i dont understand some of this childish stuff but anyway….Pike and Shotte for me…..Gush and Dbr would be my runners up but i prefer them for Italians Wars era rather than ECW

Despite rather arguable historical accuracy I find WEC give me a fun game with enough of the feel of ECW.

advanced armati for me too. 15mm one inch square stands 5 foot (3 fore/2 aft) or 2 house per stand. I tweaked them some, simular to what Phil did and did away with the "manouveur groups for lite troops and heavy troops

VWQ for me. Great for small to mid sized games. Always great fun when we play.

Forlorn Hope
Very Civil Actions by the Perfect Captain

Are my votes.

William

I am still looking for something which "feels right" to me. Polemos is a pretty good effort, but I am looking forward to the upcoming rules by Bernie Ganley of Realistic Wargames. Also trying, so far slowly and unsuccessfully, to modify Commands and Colors Ancients for the ECW.

Mollinary

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned Field of Glory:Renaissance, which work very well for ECW.
DBR also works fine, as does Regiment of Foote.
Warhammer ECW we found had a lot of grey areas connected with pike & shot sometimes being treated as one unit, sometimes as seperate units, but the cavalry stuff worked well.