"Zulu War Rules & Figures" Topic

Can anyone suggest a rules set and either 10mm or 15mm figures for the Zulu War? Thanks

The "only" rule set for Zulu Wars is "The Sword and the Flame." It was designed for that war. In fact Rorke's Drift was assaulted so many time during play testing that several of the play testers swore they knew it better than their own home.

Pus there is a version where the players are the British and the game master controls the Zulus.

Jim

I always thought the Essex 15mm range looked nice. Their figures paint up very well.

The Sword and the Flame would be a great rules set to start with. They are a lot of fun!

ColCampbell,

Were you part of the playtest group doing Rorke's Drift? If so, do you remember (roughly) how many Zulus v. Brits? I just acquired the Warlord Rorke's Drift set with 40 v 20…was wondering if that would give a good game, or do I need more…..

Thanks,
Dave

Essex are very nice and its worth checking out Lancashire Games who offer a very good deal price wise their figures are comptible with Essex.

Hi Dave,

I'm sure Campbell can give you a better answer, but in my experience you'd want 60-80 Zulus against 20 British defenders--it depends how many rifles the Zulus have. You could still play with what you've got by simply recycling the native units; native commanders had a lot of trouble coordinating attacks anyway, so this is actually quite realistic. The only thing missing with this approach is the massed ranks of 'the man killing machine'. Hope this helps.

Gotta go with ColCampbell, TSATF. Dave, I think the TSATF rules say 3 to 1 for Zulu games. That seems about right to me anyway.
Peter

Whilst I agree with the TSATF recommendation, for the sake of variety here are three other rulesets I have thoroughly enjoyed for this period:

Colonial Adventures from TwoHourWargames link

Modified Sharp Practice from TooFatLardies link

Bundock & Bayonet free from Bob Cordery's website link

As for figures I have Pendraken 10mm and Essex and Minifigs 15mm and I like them all. Here is a TMP link to a 2008 era post that may be of help for 15mm Zulus.

Have fun!

TSATF works well for the zulu wars. I'd go with Pendraken 10mm figures.

Battles for Empire 2 is a fun rule set and downloadable.
We've played many Zulu games with set.

bfe2wargames.blogspot.ca

Figures: for 10mm it's got to be Pendraken, with maybe some Steve Barber for added variety. And don't forget Baccus for 6mm if you want really big battles. For 15mm I'd go for a mix of Blue Moon (the range is not yet complete but planned) and Old Glory 15s. The Essex figures are nice but glueing all those spears and shields can be a chore.

Rules: I can see the appeal of TSATF for large scale skirmishes in 28mm (but think that Sharp Practice does it better) but I guess you're thinking of larger battles like Isandlwana or Ulundi with the smaller figures and I don't think that the rules can cope with that.

I've used Battles for Empire, and adapted 'Science v. Pluck' for this level of game but now using a home brew 'big battle' version of Sharp Practice in which a British company is represented by either 2 or 4 4-figure stands (roughly 1:10 or 1:5) depending in how many Zulus you want to field – a Zulu regiment of 80+ figures looks impressive!

Hope this helps

Field of Battle II is a perfect fit for Colonial battles larger than a skirmish. We have used it for the Zulu wars several times. It becomes a nail-biter! The Natives have the potential to rapidly overrun the Imperials if they catch them unaware or unable to fire. In fact, I have found that our games have mimicked actual history quite closely. I have seen the British shoot down charging Impis with impunity when they are in a secure defensive location and not surprised. I have also seen the Zulus wash their spears in blood.

The great thing about Field of Battle is that you have to be cautious about when you fire. Firing is not unlimited as it is in many rule sets. You also constantly worry about having your NNC in any real position of danger as they may possibly crumble away at exactly the wrong moment!

I am an old time TSATF fan. I played it so many times I can't count for a wide variety of Colonial battles. For skirmishes it's excellent! A Hobby standard for the period. But for larger battles than that you could not make me give up using Field of Battle even with an assegai pointed at me!

Thanks,

John

Check out my blog for 10mm zulu game pics, modeling info, and a set of custom rules (A2Z).

link

David G.

I'd echo John Leahy on Field of Battle II I've used it for Tai Ping, Mutiny and Sikh war battles and it gave a great game every time.

The point about fire power is a good one idealy you want to stay loaded until you turn a fire card. That produces a crushing volley as you fire twice. It aint easy though and if you time it wrong you're in trouble.

I happen to have some cheap Zulu War figures for sale on my blog…Essex and Stone Mountain (look on the Bazaar page). I would almost say that the Stone Mountain ones are nicer.

As for rules, I might even have a copy of Fields of Battle lying about.

Jason – If you are interested in the figures or rules, let me know and I will see if I do have the rules. preds81 at yahoo. Take a look at the blog for what I have for Essex and Stone Mountain figures.

ambushedinthealley.blogspot.com

Victoria's Battles Zulu War,
Give me your email and I will get you a free PDF Copy

Thanks Morning Scout- jasonpasquale AT yahoo

Done, check your email

Here are a couple of my blog posts on my 15mm Isandlawana game.

link

link

And here is an old TMP thread that discusses the figures I used.

TMP link

Gallia and Naismith make nice 15mm Zulu War figures.