pfmodel | 24 Sep 2020 2:37 a.m. PST |
I am looking at rebasing my 15mm Prussians after a long gap, what are the current most popular set of Napoleonic's rules and what would be the state of the art in current Napoleonic rules. Main objective is 2-4 hour games which provide a result and offer a reasonable simulation of a small or medium sized battle, perhaps Marengo. I am beginning to see a bit of 6mm Napoleonic's around, while I am use to this with BBB, I have minimal experience with this scale in the Napoleonic's era. Is this becoming the new scale, replacing 15mm, or is it a sub-genre of the hobby. Any advice would be appreciated. |
JimDuncanUK | 24 Sep 2020 3:30 a.m. PST |
6mm figures have been around for years. I have some Baccus figures which are more than 10 years old. |
Durban Gamer | 24 Sep 2020 3:34 a.m. PST |
I recommend DBN. Check out the author's recent excellent videos on Youtube to see exactly how they work. |
Artilleryman | 24 Sep 2020 3:36 a.m. PST |
I do not think 6 mm is a 'sub-genre' in Napoleonics. It all depends on the size of battle you want to represent. I game at the divisional/small corps level so I use 28mm. However, even for 15mm I would recommend you look at the following: Black Powder – fun and generic with Napoleonic supplements. General de Brigade – lots of supporting scenarios. General d'Armee – step up from the previous set. Republic to Empire – serious rules with serious command aspects. Hope that helps. I am sure there will be lots more advice to come. |
robert piepenbrink | 24 Sep 2020 3:38 a.m. PST |
I am painting this week H&R British Napoleonics--marketed now as 6mm, but initially sold as 5mm about 50 years ago, and no taller now than they were then--though better detailed and proportioned these days. If you go to microscale, be very careful about just shrinking the bases. Eventually, you'll wind up playing with tweezers. Stay with a size base you're comfortable handling, and just put more castings on it for a mass effect. |
Allan F Mountford | 24 Sep 2020 4:23 a.m. PST |
Two to four hours for a complete game is quite short and means you will be playing quicker than real time. We played Elchingen using Age of Eagles and that was playing in less than three hours with total forces engaged approximately 35,000. Anything much larger and you will be pushed to complete in four hours. |
Saber6 | 24 Sep 2020 5:53 a.m. PST |
If the question is what size bases, I'd go with Age of Eagles/Shako/Napoleon's Battle sizes and Sabot bases for Volley and Bayonet or other rules. |
LofArabia | 24 Sep 2020 6:01 a.m. PST |
Shako II in 15mm. 6mm is too small for me to paint |
Dexter Ward | 24 Sep 2020 6:43 a.m. PST |
If you want rules to fight whole battles, Blucher, Volley & Bayonet, and DBN are all good |
79thPA | 24 Sep 2020 7:19 a.m. PST |
If you are looking to fight large battles in a short period of time, I'd say Dexter has it right. |
Steamingdave2 | 24 Sep 2020 12:24 p.m. PST |
I have been rebasing my Napoleonics over the past couple of years to metric equivalent of the Napoleon's Battles bases – 4 infantry to a 20mm x 25 mm base (25 mm square for British and later Portuguese). I have done the cavalry as 2 figures on 25mm square as well, although NB standard is 4 on 1 inch x 2 inch bases. These bases are good for most rules I am interested in, such as General de Brigade, Over the Hills and Naps Battles and could be used on sabots for other rules as well, such as Blucher, FoG(N) A clubmate has based his 6mm on these bases as well, obviously more figures can be fitted on. I also have 10 mm figures on similar sized bases. |
Captain Bob | 24 Sep 2020 12:58 p.m. PST |
I do both 6mm and 15mm Napoleonics. 6mm using Grande Armee (or Blucher) and General de Brigade with the 15mm figures. |
pfmodel | 24 Sep 2020 2:49 p.m. PST |
Thanks, i will start my research based on these suggestions. |
pfmodel | 25 Sep 2020 1:26 a.m. PST |
Based on my initial research DBN seems the most promising. Blucher and Volley & Bayonet look like they use the big-base system, similar to BBB, which may not suite 15mm. DBN is based on DBA, which I use to play a lot back in the old days, so it should suite 15mm. I always liked DBA, although I am wondering if it still uses the basic unit as an element with 4 inf, 3 cav, 1 art figure, or if it has larger fixed, multi element/base, units. I will find out once I get into the rules. I am also assuming the element sizes are similar to DBA, 4 cm wide. One question, while at this scale its not as important, but are there any army lists for DBN. I have found the scenarios, but cannot see any army lists – although I see a Scenario Booklet. |
pfmodel | 25 Sep 2020 2:05 a.m. PST |
Opps, it seems I have made an error. After studying the rules i realised I got DBM mixed up with DBA. I thought in my mind this was based on DBM, rather than DBA. I think there is a place for a small playing area set of rules, which is something I am looking at for micro-armour, but for 15mm napoleonics I am not so sure. At 15mm I would expect a playing area at least 4 x 3 feet, if not larger. I will continue my investigations. |
bgbboogie | 25 Sep 2020 2:58 a.m. PST |
Sooooo many rules out there, I base my 6mm figures historically and make rules to fit the level i'm playing, i.e. 18 figures in three ranks (French and Russians) (British in 2 ranks. Best rules some not all. do your own rules to be honest each rule and morale level needs to reflect that battle if you are doing historical gaming. my 15mm are in two ranks 8 to a stand. |
pfmodel | 25 Sep 2020 3:26 p.m. PST |
I agree, there are too many sets of rules out their which means its hard to find opponents. Looking around my area the rules which seem to get some traction are the old WRG Napoleonics, which I am a bit tired of and the scale used is 25mm, which is not my thing, Napoleon at war and Blucher. If I go 6mm I will probably go Blucher, but I would like a set for 15mm as well, as I have a massive Prussian army. I use to use a home grown set of rules, but the problem is lack of supporting material and lack of players, especially if you move countries. I may end up going for napoleon at War, but I really dislike the rules layout, even if the rules are well produced. I do like Elan Delux, but I am not so keen on the scale. Once you have more than 24 "units" a side, the game is too large and takes too long to play, thus the ideal scale is each unit represents a regiment. Elan looks like a battalion scale set of rules. I may look to see if I can use DBN on a larger table, but it looks like I will need to expend some time doing research before I rebase my figures. I do like your basing strategy and would like to move in the direction, but i need to lock down the rules first. |
The Black Wash | 25 Sep 2020 7:15 p.m. PST |
Industry seems to have settled on Napoleon's battles basing. Chances are you won't stick with the same rules but a standard basing won't go wrong. |
pfmodel | 26 Sep 2020 3:08 a.m. PST |
That's interesting, i would of thought DBN may have been a standard base size. 4 cm wide for 4 figures, depth enough to allow for 2 figures for infantry. I suppose Napoleons Battle is a half DBN base, perhaps 2 cm wide, 2 figures wide, with 2 figures depth. I will check some of the videos to see what players typically use. |
kevin smoot | 26 Sep 2020 8:14 a.m. PST |
You can also give Snappy Nappy at On Military Matters and Balance of Power by Crusader Games a look BoP can be found on Wargames Vault as a downloadable PDF |
Fenman | 28 Sep 2020 9:59 a.m. PST |
I play Napoleonics with 2mm Irregular figures. I have used the"2x2" rules which are specifically designed for 2mm but work with larger figures if all based the same. However I have I also love DBN, I had the digital rules and just purchased the hardcopy. |