"What Rules To Use For The Spanish Civil War?" Topic

Looks like this question has not been asked in quite some time so I will pose it again. I am on the eve of painting my first units for the SCW and I am curious as to what people like in their rules and why. I have copies of the following but have not used any of them yet;

IABSM
Triumph of Will
A World Aflame
I have an older rules set I cant remember the name though….

What are your thoughts on these or some other appropriate sets? Do they give a good flavor for the period. Also what is a good guide as far as the various factions and their allegiances?

TIA,

Kevin

There's also Chain of Command from the Lardies, which has lots of (free) lists. The games I've seen seem to be full of character. Platoon plus support, unless you go large when you might put a companyo n the table.

The TFL forum has lots of battle reports.

I use RFCM's AK47 Classic with Martin Rapier's variant. Simple rules and the pre-game political charts make for a chaotic game

Oh I have CoC as well

I've played Bolt Action with SCW and I like it a lot more for that than for WWII actually.

Another good game, especially for when you have only managed to finish 10 or less figures a side, is Infinity. A sci-fi game but great for modern combat. I use it for French Indochina.

You'll have to come up with stats for weapons but given the vast number of options they have listed modifying them from something that already exists really isn't hard and the more the troops are similarly equipped the easier it is.

infinitythegame.com

Also, the rules are free.

Not played SCW for a long time, but I too am a fan of Martin Rapier's Mexicanski 36 AK47 based rules.

I'd say pick what scale of game you want first and then look for a set that fits, but Mexicanski 36, IABSM and Chain Of Command would all be good picks in my book, depending on the size of engagement you want.

Another vote for Chain of Command.

CoC for me too.

My pick would be one of the AK47 mods for larger games, CoC or IABSM for individual figures.

Triumph of the will didn't work for us for some reason, but I don't really recall why.

Yet another vote for CoC.

Go to the SCW forum here on TMP for several AARs using CoC.

Triumph of the Will in my neck of the woods. Although I reckon an AK47 adaption would be fine too. For the post 1936 period where the fighting was much more between "proper" armies than I would look towards using a WW2 set. All depends on your take on things and what size game you are playing.

IABSM or CoC

You might consider Peter Pig's Bayonet and ideology. Uses a grid just like PBI. a table is 4x4 feet. Lists for all factions.
I use the Ian weekley Spanish buildings, they ar nice and bulky. Still more SCW figures coming out from PP.

martin

I have used the Disposable Heroes supplement. I like the militia rules. They are not as good as regular troops but not useless. I think Ak47 would work in 15mm

Despite really wanting to like it, I wasn't terribly impressed with "World Aflame". Peter Pig's Bayonet and Ideology is a trifle old, but still works well. If you like PBI, you'll probably like B&I.

CoC would be awesome! There is specific IABSM SCW variant, Up Your Cara al Sol!. It was either in a Special, or perhaps it was free supplement they used to give out?

Nice to hear someone still plays "Triumph of the Will". That would be a lovely set for TFL to update.

Update TotW? Would be ideal, although it gives a decent game as it is, well with a bit of our usual tinkering anyway.

TotW has been our game for SCW. I like the unit sizes. But did need tinkering.
Would love to see an update.

An may I suggest 20mm

All of the above are very good. I would look at TotW, while it didn't fit our needs it's a very innovative set. I think there is also a SCW variant for the Lardies Through Mud and Blood but I could be wrong. I have played many games using the Rompan el Fuego variant of Rapid fire and enjoyed them. Personally I use a very heavily modified version of he Charles Grants "Battle".

Fatman

Like Jlundberg, we use the Iron Ivan games suppliment for the SCW. It is called "Primera Battala" and there is a battle suppliment as well. I like the rules and have used them for 20mm scale miniatures, which are relatively inexpensive and there are a great variety of units and armored vehicles available.

Hey Fatman,
I friend is begging me to run an SCW scenario so that he can use his Italians, he really likes rapid Fire.
May give it a shot.

If you already have Chain of Command then remember that the SCW variant is free to download from the Lard Island News section of the TFL website. Just look for CoC Espana. It includes Army lists for all the factions.

I generally prefer higher level actions, so Brigade level and up. Mexicanski 36 is pitched at that level, although hardly a detailed simulation.

I've used operational sets like Megablitz for higher level games.

Skirmish doesn't interest me much, any old tactical set works fine for lower level stuff. Crossfire is fun.

Hi Martin, I'm interested in your SCW Mexicanski 36 scenarios on your page here:
link

Some great ideas there. The "Coffee in Huesca" file doesn't seem to have a map included although the others do (unless I'm missing something?)
Cheers

Thanks to all for the wonderful input. Looks like a combination of the Lardie rules will suit me fine, especially since I have the ones in question. I am in fact about 3/4 the way through my first batch of figures. They are those wonderful 20mm Minairons figures, at least this group (the Militia Women). I do have some HPC figures as well and I am looking forward to their return sometime.

I will need to figure out a basing scheme for multiple figures. What do others do for CoC when they have multi based infantry?

What do others do for CoC when they have multi based infantry?

I just used casualty figures beside the base. My Germans were based for PBI, which made things easier, since the LMG and riflemen were separate bases. FoW doesn't differentiate between the two, but you'll need to somehow for CoC. In CoC you'll be splitting the squad's rifle and machine gun sections apart all the time.

We've done Crossfire SCW but the problem is it just feels like Crossfire.

D6 Junkie
If you do drop me a line on

fatman_bear1ATyahoo.co.uk

I might be able to help

Fatman

For CoC most 28mm players use single basing and I do the same with my 20mm. Others prefer to base some as 2 or 3 figures multi bases with enough singles to "make change" or for Leaders. As long as you can distinguish between rifle and LMG teams you will be fine.

John

We've done Crossfire SCW but the problem is it just feels like Crossfir"

Tbh, I think that is the problem with most tactical rules and the SCW. At company level it is much like any other twentieth century warfare.

Wrt the Huesca scenario, there is a hand drawn map lurking in my files somewhere, but I must have done it 15 years ago.

Iirc it is basically just two parallel lines of hilltop positions, with Huesca in the distance behind the Natinalist lines. Pretty much as described in Homage to Catalonia.

Yeah, I think there's sort of a "mid-size" range where a lot of combat will be interchangeable. Gotta either get bigger or get down to the individual guys and roleplay it a bit.

Another vote for the CoC-SCW variant. I'm using Miniarons and RH Models 20mm.

Triumph and Tragedy is well liked for small skirmish actions by some of the players who write on Lead Adventures Forum. There's a whole forum section at the top of LAF dedicated to Triumph and Tragedy. I think the SCW supplement is called Libertad o Muerte.

Arc of Fire also covers SCW, along with everything else in the 20th Century. That's another set of skirmish rules that can be purchased from Brigade Games.

I once had a fiddle with 40K as it already had Chaplains and commissars in it.
I like Peter Pig's Bayonets and Ideology- which is getting a revamp I understand.