"Figures you have no rules for" Topic

Generally I have some idea. I have, however, started AWI armies more than once with absolutely no idea of what rules to use. I have looked at lots of them, and had nothing that interested me. I love the period. I love the uniforms. I like that there is little cavalry. (I hate painting cavalry.)
Anyone else love a period they can't find rules for that they really want to play?

Yup…Spanish Civil War. It is my imagination that is at fault. I want all sorts of issues relating to politics (Bolsheviks vs. Anarchist for example). All you get is World War 2 Lite. Meh. I'll stick with my imagination…

Well, for the period…
I started out with 1776, in 1978.
They were the usual rules of the time. Add up a bunch of positive factors, subtract a bunch of negative factors, and add to the die roll. Not to mention simultaneous movement.
Since then I have tried Compleat Brigadier (too predictable), Patriots and Loyalists (We didn't play often enough to get it right), British Grenadier (ditto) and a few others. I settled for Warfare in the Age of Reason, not because it was "perfect", but because our group has been playing it for years and understand it. I like it. It FEELS right for the period.

Lately I have been trying The Sword and the Flame for individually based figures, and it works like a charm.
Battles like Cowpens, Moore's Creek Bridge, Concord, Wyoming Massacre, etc are too small for the brigade level games I mentioned above. Some may differ, but if you are having fun, you are playing it right.

When I first read your title, I immediately assumed that you had no rules for oddball stuff, like amusettes. I'm sure I'll figure that out before I get finished painting them.

To answer your question, tell us what specifically you are looking for in an AWI rules set. I gave up looking for the "perfect" because if I followed that quest, I would never play AWI at all, which is my favorite period. What others like SuperMax may like, may not be my cup of tea, and what I like may not be theirs. YMMV. It's all good, as long as heroic Yankees fight for freedom versus dastardly Brits.

Please note that I have nothing against PaL, BG or any other rules. I simply HATE going over a rules set the night after I have run a game badly and finding the subtle rules I missed or screwed up on. Not the fault of the rules, but if you play three games a year, that is what will happen.
Plsy with what you are familiar with.

I had a longer, more descriptive title, but it was too long. :) I had not thought of TSATF. I am looking for something that will do smaller battles. I may try TSATF and see if I like it.

Still don't have a set of 'Mad Max" rules that I'm happy with, but loads of models done

For all that I love the Age of Sail… Nothing. Save me from rosters, pre-plotted movement, and hexagons. (And no, I don't need to "just try" any of those things, I've played all those mechanics enough. I have even written rules that use them. I'm done.) Still looking. And writing. And painting. And now waiting for Post Captain.

Medievals. Why are rules for this period always so slow, plodding, and intense? It has to be the simplest period possible, yet the rules are typically difficult for trained lawyers, or simply write out the player (deploy here, like this, maneuver precisely this way or that way, roll dice, done. What, you don't enjoy doing precisely what you're told? That's unrealistic!). Lion Rampant has promise, if I can be bothered to rebase.

Specific to AWI, I agree with John the OFM – play the rules that everybody knows, and just add "house rules" for period flavor. Nearly every gaming group with interest in historical miniatures has some preferred horse & musket rules that can be modified. It's a simple period – two troop types, two formations, mostly shooting and running away. I settled on Regimental Fire and Fury because it's fun and satisfying and draws lots of players locally. Good enough.

- Ix

Northumbrian Tin Soldiers' Nightfolk figures.

I never buy figures until I already have a set of rules that I want to play. Mind you, by the time I've got enough figures painted I've changed rule sets several times.

I have a nice collection of 1/285 Vietnam era aircraft. I enjoy the Blue Sky Rules and have been waiting for a jet-age version of these rules. Meanwhile, they are painted and awaiting their first mission!

I have a few horror type figs that I don't have a well defined plan for, nor any rules to go with them.

Zombies. I have dozens of them, but no rules. I've looked at most of what's available, but just can't seem to settle on one.

Yellow Admiral,

I agree with you about sailing rules. I'm still searching for a set to use with the plethora of Whiz Kids plastic ships I have.

Lion Rampant has promise, if I can be bothered to rebase.

As far as Lion Rampant, there is no need to re-base your figures as long as you can have units of 6 or 12 figures. I've seen games being played with multi-figure bases and the casualties are just marked with caps or rings.

Jim

Zombies are good. You could add them to almost any game. :)

My own "age of sail" rules started on hexagons-- VERY large HEXAGONS 12" across, but are going to free move. I started on Hexagons simply because it was easier than fiddling with a lot of idly-biddily rules. Once I got the principles down I could go back and re-adapt to free movement. In my game there are no rosters, no ship cards and pre-plotted movement.

Basically ships are rated on guns and sails or combat power and sailing power. "Power" here represents BOTH the material of the item and the ability when using it. That is, the number of guns plus the expertise to use them as one factor. Thus a factor of 8 might be a huge ship with lots of guns, but very poor ability in using them, or it could be very few guns, but an expert ability in using them. Likewise a sail of 8 could be lots of masts and sails but very poor ability to use them, or it could be a relatively small area of canvas but with expert sailers.

Anyway, in movement the person with the smallest value of ship in movement moves first. Then the next smallest moves and does what he wants, the next slowest etc. The only restriction is you cannot move over a ship on the table top. There is a wind direction and if you tack across it you have movment penalties etc. Combat is at the end of the turn when everyone blazes away at once.

Not the most detailed or elegant, but it works well.

Basically how this works out is that players either keep in line ahead and throttle back their speed to the slowest, and the two lines come together and blaze away at each other. OR they break apart and get into a melee, which means neither of them are going to be doing any fancy sailing because so many other ships are around and they can't simply run over each other. In this case ships will either choose to bash on or sail away out of the melee to come back later.

We got to this after several battles where we noticed that with the hex movements it generally turned out that the ship which was the most powerful sailer did what it wanted anyway and so all the rules we had for complex sailing were really useless and just make-work.

I do not believe I have ever started a wargaming period knowing what rules I would use.

I've been wanting to do English Civil War for years but have never found a set of rules I like. I want rules for 10 – 15mm figures which treat pike and shot together but don't need big units, which deal well with different types of horse and which portray highlanders but I've never found a set I really like.
I'm still hopeful something new will come on the market though.
All the best,
George.

We have a house rule set for the AWI that we use. I can e-mail you a copy so you can look them over if you like.

I have 2 lonely little Crimean War 10mm figures I received as a sample years ago. They're missing both an army and a rules set :-)

I have a boatload of Zombie Smith's 28mm Quar, including tanks. Still looking for rules to use them with.

Am I the only one who makes up his own rules until he finds a set he likes?

Dear Bill N

No, I do, but I usually stay with my own rules.

Otto

I have a decent sized Planet of the Apes Gorilla army. It has seen little action since I haven't been sure what to use for rules.

My Ancient galleys languish for the same reason. Why game ancients if the rules don't let you use at least 40-50+ galleys per side?

Like mentioned above I haven't really found a Age of Sail set of rules I like.

It's all good, if you are enjoying yourself.

I often start a new period without a clue what rules I'm going to use.

Rules come and go but figures last forever.

I'm still looking for a perfect set of WW2 rules after 40+ years.

For big galley games try Corvus from the Society of Ancients

Bought a bunch of English 18th Century highwaymen. They look great. Never found any rules that will actually let me use them.

I've got a bunch (as in several hundred) 1/300 WWII armour etc, all painted up. Still got no idea which way to go. Board gaming style units, FoW or something more old school like WRG.

I just can't seem to recapture the joy I had as a youngster with WWII.

Inkpaduta – try 'Flashing Steel'.

All of them when I buy them. None of them after they are painted.

Thanks Henry I will give them a look.

Listen to me folks:

There Is But One True Set of Rules for Horse and Musket Wargaming! WRG 1685-1845, 1979 ed. All Else Is Heresy!

@ Martin Rapier;

I too have never found the perfect WWII rules. Most are way too tank heavy and get bogged down in trivialities like, " which has more penetration
power? A Krupp or a Rheinmetall-Borsig 20mm cannon?"
I want a set of WWII rules that fit on a 5"X7" card. The sort of thing you might have taped up inside you station in a Sherman tank!

Might try adapting WRG1685-1845!