"Skirmish two-parter" Topic

What is your favourite skirmish style period and why? And, do some periods lend themselves to skirmish style war gaming than others?

I like mid-19th Century skirmished, but that's because I like it overall best for entertainment wargaming. I enjoy all the "cusps" you have in mid-19th Century battles … ranged weapons are just on the cusp of becoming totally dominant over close combat weapons. It is the cusp of tacitcal logistics, communication, and triage medical services. Industrialization is bringing things that used to be only available at high price to the common man as routine tools … or weapons! I probably haven't covered a dozen other cusps that are faves of others here (and me, too).

I think the 19th Century – or any other period you can get the similar mix of different warfare modalities – lend themselves best to skirmish gaming. I really want to have lots of options and have maneuver interact with possibility to define the outcomes. I also like the unpredictability/unreliability of 19th Century "new" technologies and how that plays out in battle. The umpty-skruntz will be THE game-changer on the battlefield … when it works.

That said, we probably need a better term than "period", which implies a time frame. What I discussed above covers a time frame (loosely, the way I did it), but it also focuses on specific locations and cultures without explicitly listing them. I like the word "genre" for this.

Medieval, because I love medieval warfare. It doesn't suit skirmish gaming any better than other periods. But typically in the medieval period "skirmish" described the vast bulk of all combat….

I'm pretty much a 20th century onwards gamer, but I have been itching to do some viking/medieval stuff lately.

I've been very taking with the idea of campaign play in recent months as well, and skirmishing works well for that.