"AWI Skirmish rules?" Topic

I'm still sorting through things after my relocation and yesterday I cam across about 20 Front Rank 40mm figures I had totally forgotten buying! Anyway, I really enjoy painting these guys and wondered whether anyone might suggest a suitable set of Skirmish rules for the period? I'd be happy to purchase some additional figures if required but wouldn't want to go higher than 20 to 30 per side if possible. I did think about the Chosen Men rules from Osprey but don't know enough about them to decide whether they would be suitable for either the scale or the period.

Thanks.

We have a home grown rule set for the AWI and also one for the FIW for our 40mm figures. Send me an e-mail and I will send them to you. msc1d@aol.com

"Fire and Steel" by WRG.
Best with several players on each side, each with 7-8 figures.

The Two Hour Wargames series of games are excellent. I have a copy of their now OOP "Muskets & Mohawks" in stock:

link

Just right for the size game you want, and a very intriguing game system. You can download a free "sampler" game here:

twohourwargames.com/free.html

Muskets & Tomahawks by Studio Tomahawk were written for playing the FIW & AWI, and also work into the 19th-cen. for skirmish encounters.
Personally, I think M&T was the best black powder era [skirmish] rules to be published in the last ten years, and can be adapted to play as a grand tactical ruleset too.

I like Fistful of Lead: Horse & Musket:

link

It is the same playscale as Fire & Steel, though you can always group individuals together into small teams if you want.

It uses poker-deck activation, with some cards also giving bonuses for certain actions. The rules have each unit being dealt one card, which gives two actions. I give each unit two cards, one for each action. Given the playscale, it really doesn't drag things out.

Well, 20 figures, or ~10 per side sounds like the right scale for Song of Drums and Tomahawks. Musket &Tomahawks is indeed a great game, but you will need more than 10 figures a side for the strengths of the ruleset (card activation) to become apparent.

Think of Song of Drums & Tomahawks as an appetizer, while you collect more figures for the larger, unit-based skirmish games:
Musket & Tomahawks,
Musket and Mohawks
Sharp Practice 2
This Very Ground

I should also mention that "Long Rifle" by Two Hour Wargames should also be suitable for you small collection while you collect additional figures.

As said above, Muskets & Tomahawks can work well with around 30 figs a side (units can hover around 8-12 per, and some less in numbers if you want them to exhibit their brittleness early in the action).
Besides a maximum figure count, the maneuver elements wanted for encounters should be considered also (and a ruleset's suitability for creating game [unit] groupings). If one is only planning on playing 2-player scenarios, having more units per side is less important against having enough unit elements for more players to push on the table in multiplayer games.

While written for the ACW, with a little weapon tweaking it would work for the any linear combat period.

BK400 – Advance the Colors

link

Dave
wargamingminiatures.com

Sk rules written by Sartori, look at Dadi e piombino/ impetus site.

Thanks everyone. I really am overwhelmed by the help offered on TMP. I will certainly follow up on these and already feel inspired to get the paints out…as soon as the C-in-C is distracted!

Thanks again everyone, truly appreciated.

I second Muskets& Tomahawks. I agree with the figure count statments, But just get more lead. Worth it for this game.

I have most all of these games and can say they all bring different views of skirmish to the table. Some I like more, more play time, some I like less.

Shout out for Advance the Colors. I thought I was the only person to have this ruleset. Very fine set of rules but somewhat predictable in regard to casualties.

Favorites are Muskets & Tomahawks and This Very Ground (TVG). With TVG you varying use of volley or free at will type rules. Very interesting as the game goes on and you start accumulating casualties on what you should do. Hold fire and reload to send 1 solid volley or continue to fire at will at a very much reduced rate. Good stuff.

Tried this game at SYW con: Song of Drums & Tomahawks – very very enjoyable experience. I don't think I have ever had as much fun losing a game.

Fly wire

How do you make M&T grand tactical? Artilley I think would be a problem.

Well a gun becomes a battery. What makes M&T work fine for rendering larger encounters, is to still maintain similar terrain density to what one would be creating for that skirmish tabletop too. This is a similar concept to how the WW2 rules Crossfire works – there must be enough terrain density to duplicate "compartments" that break up LOS and serves to localize the combat encounters. Many AWI battlefields (and into the ACW too) exhibited these natural LOS/Fire limitations. Often, in the effort to render ever larger battlefield layouts, significant effects like rolling terrain, local vegetation and cover become "generalized" [out]. Taken from the point of view of the tactical fighting units, this terrain hasn't disappeared if they're fighting at a different game scale, but it does often become the 1st casualty for playability sake.