"Kings of War and Medieval rules question " Topic

Medieval rules question.
I got back in to wargamming a couple of years ago with KoW, had a few fantasy games and did WotR. I thought the rules were good, but frankly didnt know any better. I've spent the last year doing napolionics and looking at lots of rules, and sticking with the simple ones at least, theres a lot of common themes. I'm now planning on coming back to Medieval period and doing HYW and looking for a simple, fun but accurate rule set, But it strikes me that KoW actually arent bad at all.

So my question is, what do people think to KoW rules for historical games, is it worth getting KoW Historical – or does it not really add much ? Is there a significantly better rule set ? I usually play with my 10yr old son, so the rules have to be simple and fast – be he wants them to be historically accurate(maybe those 2 are incompatable?) . KoW with wotR did tend to be a rush into the middle and bash everyone affair, but i think that actually might be fairly accurate ? I guess I'd like a rule set that encourages (rewards) you for fighting in a true medieval style, what ever that is.

Have you looked at The Perfect Captain ( link ) ? They have a wide range of rules of which 6 are Medievals. All are free and many include campaigns.

I think they are a great set of rules. There is a master list of troops that everyone builds from and then each army has some unique troop types and abilities it can apply (for instance: Shield wall for vikings, re-curved bows for Persians, etc). KOW Historical could be viewed by some as a little too generic but they cover a lot of armies and eras. Is it specific to Medieval? I think it will work just fine.

I taught my son a version of A Game of Knights and Knaves when he was about 8 – he's 20 now and still playing.

A simply version of DBX (you go grow into any of the other DBX systems or just stick with Knights and Knaves Advanced Expansions for Fire and Ice – War of the Roses (in both fantistorical and historical settings or Olde World which covers the Hundred Years War.

I'm not a big fan of KOW for historicals.

Thomas J. Thomas
Fame and Glory Games

I've played KoW and KoW historical. I am not a big fan of the turn system, but found the historical version was more enjoyable since it takes out huge monsters and fast attack cavalry with seemingly a million attacks once on your flank! if your son already knows the rules, I think they will give a fine game.

There are some really good things about KOW. The games are quick and you can put a lot of toys on the table. I did not like the fact the defender could not fight back. We changed that. Pass your nerve check and you can fight back. It's not my 1st stop for historicals. but we do use them. Watch some videos on YouTube. there are many.

Thanks.

John

I like KOW both historical and fantasy. Plays quick and easy.
You can always add more tweaks to make it as historical as you like.
These days I like to stick with rules that are easily available for new players. Otherwise I'd still be playing Tactica or Armati.

I have a bunch of 15mm Hundred Years War that I'm currently basing for Kings of War Historical. I think what I like about them is that there is a core set of simple rules with basic troop types and you add certain plug in characteristics to make them unique. It really allows you the ability to add and customize to create that army. I plan to use them for my unpainted 15mm condottiere armies as well.

Thanks for the replies.
The Perfect Captain looks interesting, but campaigns are a bit ambitious at this point.
I'll check out Knights and Knaves as DBX is probably a good thing to learn anyway.
Thanks for the positive feedback on KOWH, I think we'll stick with it for now. I'm not a big fan of the IGOUGO as it means my son is 'hanging around' for minutes at a time – which from his viewpoint is forever, but we have tried it move-move, fight-fight and its still seems to work well.

Do you think its worth me buying the historical version if I already have the fantasy one with kingdoms of men lists in ? I checked out the easyarmy list and it doesnt actually have foot knights in under english – which seems remiss. Previously we've played them as heavy pike/poleaxe. Happy to get it if it really adds more flavour?

I like KoW a lot, and would happily play the historical version. But if you find it's not for you, check out To the Stongest for a quick alternative for ancients and medievals

Happy Hiker:

Hope you get some great gaming out of all this. My games v. my son over the years have been great fun and his grown into DBX games and now wins tournaments.

Please give A Game of Knights and Knaves a try. Its available on WargamesVault and like all electronic games is cheap (but good). Updates always free. And feedback welcome. (By the way we are doing demo games at NashCon & Historicon if your US based.)

Thomas J. Thomas
Fame & Glory Games