"1st Colonial board topic! Name your top three wars to game?" Topic

So what are your favorite wars to game?

Mine would be the Zulu War, Sudan and Pony Wars.

Thanks,

John

The Achin War, Boxer Rebellion,German Colonial.

In no particular order, NW Frontier, Sudan and Zulu War. But many others interest me, just don't have the figures or the time time to paint them all…Boxer Rebellion, FFL in North Africa and Indochina, German East Africa, etc.

I have or painted and sold off locally figures for NW Frontier, Boxer Rebellion, Sudan and Zulu wars.

I prefer NW Frontier and Boxer Rebellion, all played with TSATF and 800 Fighting Englishmen.

Zulu Wars, The War in Sudan and the Boer War.
Joe

Indian Mutiny, Boxer rebellion, Sudan

I also have the Italians painted for Adowa. Just taking a breather before I start on the Abyssinians.

NWF, Indian Mutiny, British vs Slavers on Lake Tanganyika.

Indian Mutiny, Persian/NWF and Zulu

Boxer Rebellion
Pony Wars
Northwest Frontier

Well I only have Zulu Wars so will have to say that – even thought i have not had a game yet. Perhaps a small one over the Christmas break is in order.

Boer War.

Anglo-Sikh Wars, Sudan, Anglo-Zulu War

NWF, 2nd Boer War, Sudan.

I would like to do the Sikh Wars and the Mutiny someday if I win the Lottery though….

The Sudan, German colonial and Belgian colonial campaigns.

Not necessarily in order but Boxer Rebellion, Irish war of Independence, French and Indian war.

Second-tier would be conquest of Mexico by Cortez, Northwest frontier, and German East Africa during the great war but not sure that constitutes a colonial game as it involves great powers fighting each other in a Third World setting. What is a colonial game? One between a technologically advanced State and a primitive culture. I guess the French and Indian war is the same as the German situation, great powers fighting in a Third World setting.

Boer war constitutes something of an anomaly in that both combatants had the same level of technology. I count the IWI as it seems analogous to that war.

Another component of what makes a war "colonial "is that only one side is able to direct force at the other's homeland. The British can attack the Boers but not vice versa. The Indian mutiny is likewise a uni-directional conflict between two almost technologically equal enemies. In both cases the "colonial power "had citizens resident in the fighting area.

I once played a "colonial game" with TSATF between Romans and ancient Britain's as it seems to meet the definition of a colonial War.

Sudan/Anglo-Egyptian wars, Sikh Wars, NW frontier.

Northwest Frontier
French Foreign Legion
Not a colonial war geographically, but from the same time period: Greco-Turkish War of 1897

I'd love to do far too many other colonial wars, of which only the Sudan and the Sepoy Rebellion have any real chance of coming to pass.

Grelber

Northwest Frontier 1897, Zulu 1879, Boer War 1901. I love the varied dynamics in each of these theatres of war.

Also enjoy the Sudan and want to do the French Foreign Legion sometime.

The Herero War of 1904, the Nama Wars of 1904-1908, the Zulu War of 1879.

Sudan, Zulu War, German colonial

Sudan in 15mm, Zulu War in 28mm (with plans to do it in 15mm as well) and Indian Mutiny in 28mm would be my current 'top 3' in that I've got the figures, played some games and enjoy reading up on the subject.

Most of the other campaigns listed above appear on my 'to do' list inevitably and I fear this board may well add to that list.

And, being a Brit, I've only ever played 2 games of TSATF and its variants in over 30 years of gaming!

Second Afghan War 1878-1880, various campaigns on the North-West Frontier 1860-1897, FFL in Algeria & Morocco 1875-1912. Have long wanted to add the French conquest of Algeria 1830-1847 to my list, hope to some day.

I'm mainly a Sudan player, although I'm working on a set of Pony Wars rules to use with the 15mm collection I've had but not used for nearly 20 years.

Good question – only three?

The Sudan, which was my first foray into colonials when I was fourteen, using Airfix conversions, an the plasticine and banana oil combination that we used prior to two part putties. No, they weren't very good.

The NWF. I couldn't do this until I discovered how to make really big foam hills.

Darkest Africa, the general anarchy of central and eastern Africa in the Victorian era.

All of the above sound good. But my forces are currently fixed on the Soudan, the Zulus, and the Northwest Frontier, with a slight foray into Darkest Africa.

Jim

Indian Mutiny
Boxer Rebellion
Dark Africa

Just say NO to Zulu's!

Otherwise, NWF, Sikhs, Sudan in no particular odor.

NW Frontier, Sudan and Boxer Rebellion (and German East Africa in the Great War).

Zulu War
Sudan
Boxer Rebellion

Not in order; NW Frontier, Boxer rebellion and the Sudan. I have also painted some Italians for Abyssinia and I am currently painting French Armee d'Afrique (Legion and Spahis)

NWF, Darkest Africa and the scramble on Mars…

And three cheers for all the people above who have colonial blogs that I've been watching over the years!

Sudan, Italian invasion of Abyssinia & darket Africa.
One down two to go.

AZW, Sudan, Maori War

Let's see, Anglo-Zulu wars :) seeing as I live on the doorstep of the battle fields. Anglo-Sikh wars and the Conquest of the American Union Campaign. ( I do like those Perry miniatures, and Her Majesty commands it :)
Cheers all here's hoping this is a very popular board.

FFL, Sudan, NWF

tough to choose

NWF
Pony Wars
FFL

Zulu War
Boer Wars
Sudan

NWF Frontier for me (2nd Anglo-Afghan War). But it's been a long-standing idea of mine to do the NWT as well, specifically the 1885 North West Rebellion.

2nd Ashanti War; Boxers, Early Sudan (pre Brit intervention)

Zulu wars, 84-85 sudan, and 2nd afgan war. 15mm/18mm figures I'm almost done with my 25 + years sudan project.

Ah for me at the moment Tai Ping/Opium War, Indian Mutiny and the Sikh Wars. I'm finishing off some Persians for fun and games in Afghanistan and the Caucasas.

Interesting thread!

Mine would be:
The Sudan (my biggest collection ever, though now sold off)--I like the various troop types and kinds of actions in this conflict.

The Sikh Wars (either one): along with the Sepoy Rebellion, I'd say this is the only colonial opponent that came within a hair of defeating the Europeans--actually, there were the Boers also, but that's a different situation. The Sikhs were a very, very tough army to beat in the field. If they had been better led it would be a toss up as to who would have come out on top. This fact makes the wars very dramatic for me. The Khalsa/Sikh army also had hordes of irregulars, so a painter can get his fix for painting wild types…and what colonial gamer worth his salt can't have fun painting Akalis (Sikh fanatics)?

My third choice would be Boxer Rebellion. I would love, LOVE, to play a Peking Legation game--it has so much potential with the various squabbling foreign powers, the marvelous cityscape, the vagaries of Chinese intentions, a colourful opponent (Tigermen, Boxers, the different Imperial units)…It's all very tempting. The trouble is the city board needed. I know realistically I'll never have the time/interest/finances to build a board full of Chinese buildings, not to mention the canals, etc. It would make a great club project, I'd think.

Sudan (1884-85, 1896-1898); Boxer Rebellion; Anglo-Zulu War.

Northwest Frontier, Sudan and Darkest Africa.

1. Any thing in the 1876-1890 time period (this covers just about everything: the Zulu War, 2nd Afghan War, 1st Boer War, Mahdist War, 9th Frontier War, Northwest Rebellion, Apache Wars, Sino-French War, Black Flag War, Northwest Frontier, Franco-Dahomean War, Satsuma War, Anglo-Egyptian War, etc…).
2. Boxer Rebellion
3. French Foreign Legion

Bobgnar

Interesting thoughts on what constitutes a colonial war.

Re. the Boer War, though I agree that the Boers could not attack Great Britain itself, it should be remembered that they did attack British territories (Natal, Cape Colony, Rhodesia) – indeed, it was their invasions of these British territories that sparked the war.

I agree that it is an anomaly as it was more of a war between European nations… which just happened to take place in Africa.

Re. the question:

Boer War
Sudan Campaign
Matabele War

Daryl Haselton
Try looking up the 55 minutes at Peking from the Old Wargames Illustrated in November 1989.

TOP game I've played it twice with 15's, both times forgetting to garrison the wall and what happens to the French until afterwards. Sometimes ya just never learn.

My 15mm games are Sudan 1880's, Abyssinia 1880's and 90's, and (soon after 20 years of painting) Sikh wars 1840's.

Have got figs for Maori wars, Zulus and 1st Boer war on the boil but not yet gamed. Soon.

Herero War (just getting started with this one)

Ethiopia late 1800s (Italians) – not gaming, don't own figs, but it keeps drawing my attention

Many others hold interest for me, so hard to put a third here.

What would be grand is an updated listing of current available figures for all scales for all colonial powers and their adversaries.