"Battle Report and Review: War-gaming 19th Cent. Europe " Topic

I decided to take my little toys on a little solo excursion and try out the Neil Thomas Rules, and also review them.

Find the full review here
link

With Respect
KTravlos

Thanks for the report.

About 12 months ago, a friend with an interest in the period hosted a game using these rules.

We had fun…..when isn't gaming fun?

However, I thought skirmish troops (light infantry) seemed inordinately strong.

I know, a criticism based on one game is hardly valid so I'm interested in your comments.

Ochoin

i see your point. They can move and fire, and almost always get a saving throw. That said my feeling is that if you follow the advice and rules Neil puts out for army makeup, they should be a very small part of the army. And frankly they make little sense post-1866 when most troops fight in their way. The element really represents dedicated skrimisher units in armies where infantry still fought in close order. They also are fairly vulnerable to cavalry.

But yes, I think you are right that they could be used in a broken way. After more games I will tell you if it becomes ad issue, and what I did to address it.

Thank you. There's nothing a little tweak can't fix.

Konstantinos very useful stuff thanks. Having been doing the 1859-1871 period for a while now with Volley & Bayonet plus Black Powder, both giving good results but a different levels of detail. How large have you gone? Be keen to see Konningratz or Solferino replayed with Neil Thomas's rules. Have done both with V&B with bases abstracted to represent divisions rather than brigades; still proved very large games.

For the time I am focusing at minigames.I like the speed and space requirements. To be rank after 10 years of war-gaming, games that last too long do not excite me anymore. This is why I like these rules.

Once my friends prepare their Ottomans for 1877 we can try a bigger scenario with Neil Thomas Rules.

Our armies are built for Divisional level Black Powder games(basic unit battalions of 12-24 figures, 3 to 6 bases). In Neil Thomas rules that gives us heft.

I think Konnigratz and Solferino may be too big except if you decide that each Neil Thomas Unit = Regiment.

But you never know until you try.

Or you can use Altar of Freedom or Big Bloody Battles, which are explicitly built for very large actions. There are also the 1859, 1866 and 1871 rules, which are worth a try (and worth buying for the research in them).