"Army lists" Topic

It isn't rare for a published set of rules to have sample army lists added as appendices or in several additional army list books.

I'm well aware of the commercial implications of the latter practice but ignoring that, what role in a rule set do army lists play?

By this I mean are they important in they add to the design philosophy? Do they say something about the writer's view of how battles were fought in this period?
Or are they just there to save the wargamer researching this period?

Do you use them? How?

As the proud author of a non-commercial* rule set, I'm wondering if I should add army lists.

* non-commercial in that no-one in his right mind would buy them

I think they reinforce the prejudices of the author. Or they are a form of manipulation. I remember when I first start playing Konig Kreig and wondering why Austrian battalions were 16s when Prussians were 12s. In the end I realised that the author (Barry Grey?) was compensating the Austrians otherwise they would have always lost to the Prussians.

Now I don't use Army Lists but appreciate that they may be useful to people just entering a new period.

A skrimish game, but I put some example designs in my (free) QILS[/ruleset. I also put sample/recommended designs for in my scenarios. Why:

1) I think it gives players a leg up. They don't have to delve into the details of the mechanics if they don't want to.

2) You can play right away with an army list.

3) It is a good tool for teaching by example. I usually (and now always) put in designer's notes to explain what the intended capability outcome is.

4) The ones I provide are the ones I playtest with, so you know the scenario "works" with those.

I prefer the type of list where you have to role for the composition of your army.

I prefer the type of list where you have to role for the composition of your army.

That's definitely worth considering!

Army lists for miniatures rules can provide a starting point for players new to a historical era within the context of the rules. If you see a movie or TV show/documentary on a period you know very little about, and think it would be cool to game, an army list could offer advice when it came time to purchase lead or plastic.

If it's a historical era, the more you've read about a period, the less useful army lists become because you may be likely to know how many of this formation equal that formation or what weapons are available to a variety of formations or what formations were at a particular battle.

When I designed Snappy Nappy (Napoleonics) and hosted games, I used historical battles and formations. Most gamers already understood Napoleonic warfare and my scale is so large (2 stands = 1 brigade) that it was easily understood. Thus, I did not include Army Lists in SN, which also kept the page count down and kept costs down, too.