"English Civil War - Best Rules?" Topic

What are good rules sets for the English Civil War?

I will be using 28mm figures.

You will now get a million posts asking you to define "good"!

Maybe ask what rules people use and the reason they like them?

Big battles, a few companies a side or single figure skirmishing?

All will get very different responses.

George Gush' "Renaissance Rules." Still the best.

Warmaster English Civil War, bar none.

pictorsstudio.com/WMECW.htm

Of course I might be a bit biased. It will work for 28mm. All you need to do is put 8 figs on a movement tray and that counts as a third of a unit.

Larger battles. I've played "Once Upon A Time In The West Country" for skirmish games.

Victory Without Quarter? Can't beat the price!
PDF link

Like Shagnasty I still have a liking for George Gush's "Renaissance Rules." but have not really tried anything new in ECW for 20ish years.

x42

Second Victory Without Quarter

My favorite has always been 1644. The first set I ever tried and have not found any reason to change.

Tom

Forlorn Hope is my favorite.

Victory without Quarter is a nice little set of rules. We have played it several times and it works well, doesn't take long to get a handle on the rules and still gives a good feel. Good for a weeknight game.
For the weekends, I like the Pike and Shotte rules from Warlord, uses the Black Powder engine with mods, some a bit contentious depending upon your understanding of the period, but it plays well.
Though you asked about larger battles, I can't resist mentioning the Perfect Captain's Very Civile Actions! Not a skirmish set, more in the range of small battles, but a very good set of rules.

Piquet Anchor of Faith is very good. I have Pike and Shotte but not sure about it, though I am a fan of Black Powder. Warhammer ECW is a nice book, even if you don't like the rules.

I've gone back to Gush with some modifications. Nothing else reflects the history I've read as well.

I have tried many or most of the above mentioned rules. The one I have stuck with is 1644. One of the biggest reasons is it's super-easy combat chart. No moral role to see if you charge is a close second. If you are silly enough to charge at the wrong time, you can. Everyone I have met complains about the "point of pike" chart. I mostly ignore it. The disparity of pikes works itself out, I find. I like the set-up pre-game, but don't use it very often. Comes with a nifty campaign game that is lots of fun.

A while back I asked what ONE ECW rule set people would choose if they could only play one . . . and the results were all over the map. There clearly was no consensus.

But if you would like to check out a lot of choices take a look here:

TMP link

I will say that of all of the ones I've checked out personally (and I've not checked them all by any means), "Victory Without Quarter" has come closest for my taste . . . but I'm writing my own set of rules (for personal, not commercial use) simply because none of those I've read is quite what I want for myself.

Each of us has different aspects or views of the period and so wants something a bit different in our preferred rule set. I urge you to sample a number . . . and certainly if a potential opponent in your area has a favorite, give that a very serious look . . . until you find the one you want.

"VWQ" is a reasonable place to start your search because it is not only free but it plays well and is fun.

PDF link

-- Jeff

Warhammer ECW and Pike & Shotte are pretty good for 28mm games.

And many more opinions here…

TMP link

Pike and Shotte. All the cool kids play it. It's the new and shiny. You have a pretty good chance to get someone to game with it.

I like the look of Victory Without Quarter. Easy to understand.

Pictor's Warmaster ECW variant looks like a strong contender as well.

Gush's rules are WRG by any other name. You will love them or hate them. Check out WRG Ancients. Similar in game mechanics so you will have an idea of what Gush's rules will be like and make an informed decision from there.

Baroque for me – Impetus variant

Only basic free version available at the moment but full fat version due for release very soon.

Carnage & Glory II ECW is really good. I'm running Auldearn game this weekend with them.

I am still with 1644. It's nice to have the old edition without the photos (although I have that too), so you can concentrate on studying the rules.

I am revolving a few minor adaptations but they are generally clear and sufficiently sophisticated without exorbitant dice-rolling.

No matter what rule set you use, I can strongly recommend that you mount up figures with a magnet system. I have a large collection of 25s, and it was a big chore to base them all on metal and make magnetic movement stands, but it was the right call for me. I can use the same figs for skirmish as well as big battles. It also allows changes in unit composition as the war goes on. I have run more skirmish type games than big battles. Very nice to know I will NEVER have to re-base.

Timmo Uk
Any chance of sharing your Gush modifications with me? I own both rules and lists by Gush and want to get my club mateys into using them.