"yet another rules recommendation request" Topic

I'm looking for rules that contain the following:

1. command and control beyond initiative/morale
2. battalion/regiment is the basic unit
3. units of the same type can have varying amounts of stands/figures
4. figure to man ratio around 1:25
5. figure removal
6. can be used for varying sizes of battle (i.e. skirmish to big battle)
7. I want to avoid strict/unusual basing/mounting
8. I'd like to have reloading as a necessary action if possible

Thanks in advance. Do The British Are Coming and British Grenadier hit a lot of these marks?

BG hits about 7 our of 8. No reloading as that is a skirmish game thing.

You might consider "Washington's army" by Peter Pig .
Covers 1-7 very well. No 8 not included although there are rules for "low on ammunition" etc.

here is a link to a description of the rules.

link

Good luck with your quest!

I agree with the above. The scale of game you want precludes individual volleys and time to reload.

A set of rules that is suitable for skirmish gaming is, in all probability, going to be rubbish for big battles and vice versa. There is going to have to be compromises along the way. A strict 1:25 ratio is also likely to be too high for skirmish gaming and in fact might be too high for some small battles.

I think you need to resolve 6 either way. Currently I don't think any single set of rules will meet all those differing requirements really well. The best case would be finding two sets of rules, one for skirmish and one for big battle. You then have to use some sort of movement tray for the bigger actions.

Even skirmish rules vary in scope, are you taking a dozen figures a side or a few dozen?

The British Are Coming hits nearly all your marks.

Going from memory:

1. can't remember, but there is a unit zone of control
2. yep
3. yep
4. that is the exact figure scale
5. yes
6. kinda, they are not really skirmish rules, more suited to small upwards to medium-sized battles
7. 2 figures on a stand are 3/4" wide by an 1/2" deep
8. yes, for rifles IIRC

And a dedicated Yahoo group:
link

Light Bobs doesn't hit all of your requirements but it comes close. It is a good game that really reflects the period. I would highly recommend them based upon what you are looking for. Here is a description copied from their website:

"Light Bobs provide a wargame based on small companies led by individual officers during the American Revolution. The rules are named after the nickname given to the British Light Infantry in the period.
The rules are written to simulate battalion level combat where hundreds, rather than thousands, of soldiers are deployed. This is larger than an individual skirmish, but below a brigade or multiple battalion action.
The game is for two players using 25 or 40 mm figures. Each player commands 4 to 6 companies of 4 to 12 figures and is represented on the table by a special leader figure. This means games can be played with as few as 17 figures a side while an average game will involve some 33 figures a side. Action is fast and sharp with companies of mixed arms and varying morale types.
There are detailed army lists covering the four theaters of the American Revolution: Boston, Saratoga, the Mid­-Atlantic States and the South. The lists, used in combination with the army creation rules, allow players to move from one theater to another, fighting actions with different types of armies. For example, an army in the Saratoga campaign looks entirely different from one in the South: the former has Indians but no mounted troops while the latter has mounted troops but no Indians.
To bring out the individuality of the scale and period further I have used the personality rules from one of my previous rule sets: Day of Battle. This allows players to learn, or not as the case may be, from battle to battle rising from the rank of Captain to the dizzying heights of General. This allows you to run a simple paperless campaign. I have also reused the command and battle line morale rules from Day of Battle so if you have used my rules before these sections will be more than familiar."

And here is a link to their page: link

Okay never mind about the skirmishes. I guess I want to use maybe 30-100 figures per side. What does a "unit zone of control" mean exactly?

There is a series of videos on youtube showing a game of Light Bobs playing out.
There is also a video on youtube showing Martin from Peter Pig playing a demo game of Washington's Army.

At 30 – 100 figures a side then I'd take a look at Sharp Practice and the AWI supplement by TooFatLardies. It does have 'loading' and you can use single figure basing. Great C&C rules (YMMV depending on if you like card activation or not).

I personally don't think any commercial rules meet your objective of covering skirmish through big battles. I think you need three rules sets to achieve that goal: a skirmish set, a small-battle set (i.e. up to no more than 5,000 men per side), and, if you want, a "big battle" set. Good luck.

Give us an example of some battles you'd like to recreate.

Anything from Great Bridge up through to Bunker Hill size-wise. But i'd be playing mostly fictional scenarios. 28mm

Great Bridge was small, so skirmish would be about right. Bunker Hill was fairly big and if doing the overall battle, exceeds most skirmish level games – and you'd have to have a lot of figures too.

BG rules are good for refighting Bunker Hill, Long Island, Monmouth type games.

CF: I believe this set would fit your requirements: skirmish to large battles.

Easily adaptable to the AWI.

link

American War of independence fits what you are requesting in a set of rules. Two miniatures represent a company of approx. 20 – 30 men. So a battalion is made up of 20 figs, (16 infantry and 4 on the command stand). A Leader stands have a leadership rating. Which can influence morale, melee, rallying units, and can have riflemen pick out enemy targets. Each unit has a Troop Quality assigned to them. Untrained, Trained, Green, Regulars & Veterans. This troop quality effects their morale and melee/shooting ability. So untrained troops are not going to perform very well compared to Veteran troops. Actually untrained troops have to make a morale check to even stay on the table once the battle starts. lol But units with different Troop Quality can make for an interesting battle.

YouTube: YouTube link

Rules:
link