"Knights & Pikes - late-Medieval battle w/15s" Topic

Hi Guys,

Probably my first posting over here on the Medievals forum, but I got a late-period Medieval game up and running today at our local shop, using a slightly modified version of Neil Thomas' A&M rules, adapted for my basing, unit sizes, and for inches (calling it Knights & Pikes). I had made a new fur mat for some WW2 gaming, and thought it could work well for my dormant Medieval collection sitting away forever in the shelves here. Now the game itself went down to the wire (roughly based on a French army vs. Imperial forces fighting in the Low Countries late in the 15th century). Here's some pics taken until the action got hot, and it was all "arms & elbows" after that, so had to put the camera down and do some real judging for the game's remainder (the battle was decided in 3hrs. of play – Imperials barely winning a victory as the remnants remaining of the French army limped off the battlefield).

How big are your bases in the photos?

I used the rules' 25mm stand recommendation, but mounted my 15s on them instead (at 60mm X 40mm size per base). In addition to that, I reduced all units to two bases each, instead of the game's recommended four stands per unit. The Pike blocks and armored cavalry form up their stands in depth, rather than in line like the majority of the other infantry types, but I allowed the players to decide pre-game if they wanted to amalgamate any of their [two] Pike or Knight units into a single group of four bases each, as "Battle" units – the downside would be a reduction of their army's maneuver elements vs. stronger fighting and longer-lasting, larger Pike or Knights units.

Thank you. I like the look of the 60x40 mm bases. I have a bunch of ren figures and had decided on using a Fantasy! or Days of Knights set of rules. They use one base 40x40 mm for units. I think the 60x 40 would look better.

Well thank you!

It took awhile for me to arrive at a basing that I liked – to get some "mass" look, while still having a "linear" appearance also. The "block"/depth arrangement for Knights & Pike units has done double-duty for both their looks and to reflect deeper formations.

Btw, since this play-test went so well, I'm motivated to get some of my beleaguered Landsknechts and additional Swiss mounted onto stands – so more furry-side, 15mm push-of-pike will be coming. :)

Nicely done sir