"Recommendations for skirmish (4-8 figures each) rules???" Topic

Looking to play a small skirmish game with 4 to 8 figures each side and individual skill ratings for sabre, pistol, carbine, horsemanship, etc. for each figure.

Also possibly personality types for the figures that influence dice rolls and initiative.

Something I could use for an ACW cavalry patrol game, or an early Old West gang fight.

Any recommendations for rules that could be used / adapted, etc?

"Ruthless" by Mark Fastoso (author of "Fireball Forward") is a lot of fun, written expressly for the Wild West but could easily be adapted for ACW, and its free! Here's a YouTube video, with a link to the website where you can download it.

Doesn't exactly have the skill ratings you're describing, but giving characters the necessary "traits" would go a long way towards the same goal.

YouTube link

Many Ganesha Games work at that level. Maybe take a look at Flying Lead, but I think there may be other suitable variants.

A Fistful of Lead.

Past threads on this forum indicate these rules have many fans.

I think their card activation system is one of the better, more exciting, systems I have tried.

Rick

+1 Florida Tory

+1 Florida Tory and Fistful of Lead

I have only played 1 ruleset, dead mans hand but have really enjoyed it. On their website there are rules for civil war muskets. Their card activation system is flavorful.

Cheers

Joe

WRG Fire and Steel.

Legends of the Old West

ditto to advocate. We have used Flying Lead for skirmish games in many eras. Did a fun one for Gunga Din, the first battle.

I took a look at the reviews of the above rules and they seemed too "beer & pretzels" for what I am going for.

I'm about 65 pages in to my own set. Is there any interest in play-testing it, when it's done?

It's pretty micro-detailed with a lot of dice-rolling. I get into the differences between Colts and Adams. That sort of thing…..

There is probably a reason that you can't find what you are looking for.

There is probably a reason that you can't find what you are looking for.

Each to his own.

Long long ago (1999), Rob Lusk did a survey of Wild West rules available at that time for MWAN (issue #98). He rated "Once Upon A Time it the West" by Ian Beck and John Spencer as the most complex and detailed Old West rules he evaluated. Figures have Weapon, mental, and Physical abilities; lots of information on particular weapons; four types of shots (snap, deliberate, aimed, panic); favored vs unfavored hand, etc etc.

The rules were published in 1978 and might be hard to track down, though.

Long long ago (1999), Rob Lusk did a survey of Wild West rules available at that time for MWAN (issue #98). He rated "Once Upon A Time it the West" by Ian Beck and John Spencer as the most complex and detailed Old West rules he evaluated. Figures have Weapon, mental, and Physical abilities; lots of information on particular weapons; four types of shots (snap, deliberate, aimed, panic); favored vs unfavored hand, etc etc.

That sounds like the sort of thing that I'm going for and even more complicated than my own. I have a bonus for carefully aimed shots, but everything else is weapon and range-based with modifiers for what the target is doing.

I have bonuses for particularly talented individuals.

If anyone has an e-copy of the rules, I would be eternally grateful, etc.

Nothing more fun that writing your own rules! Enjoy the process.

Have you looked at the old Boot Hill rules? They had things like individual speed, which was modified by weapons speed, snapshots, etc. I played lots of games decades ago, but it was something like this(IIRC): character speed is 50 (or whatever your character has), SAA adds +5 to speed, snapshot adds +5 to speed (and a minus to accuracy), so my speed now is 60. Everyone firing has a speed, and you go from highest to the lowest for however many actions as you want. I think your speed dropped by 5 for every successive shot so, speed 60 on the 1st shot, 55 on the 2nd, etc., and accuracy dropped by a set amount for each successive shot as well.

So, my character has a speed of 60 and my opponent has a speed of 58, so I will fire the first shot, then my opponent will fire a shot. My speed has dropped to 55, so I can fire a second shot before my opponent can because his modified speed is now a 53.

"Each to his own." You are 100% correct. I guess my point is that rules like this have fallen out of style, so I think it may be hard to find a current commercial set that you are looking for.

Have you looked at the old Boot Hill rules? They had things like individual speed, which was modified by weapons speed, snapshots, etc. I played lots of games decades ago, but it was something like this(IIRC): character speed is 50 (or whatever your character has), SAA adds +5 to speed, snapshot adds +5 to speed (and a minus to accuracy), so my speed now is 60. Everyone firing has a speed, and you go from highest to the lowest for however many actions as you want. I think your speed dropped by 5 for every successive shot so, speed 60 on the 1st shot, 55 on the 2nd, etc., and accuracy dropped by a set amount for each successive shot as well.

So, my character has a speed of 60 and my opponent has a speed of 58, so I will fire the first shot, then my opponent will fire a shot. My speed has dropped to 55, so I can fire a second shot before my opponent can because his modified speed is now a 53.

I should check them out. I have the same issue. Who fires first is important.

I give my figures individual values for "agility" – which is sort of a general reflex / athletic ability score. The 2 figures firing at each other each roll a 10-sided die, add their respective "agility values" and then add / deduct for type of weapon. (A revolver is easier to raise and aim than an infantry rifle for instance).

I also have jam values and misfire values. 1860's weapons were pretty primitive and misfired / jammed a fair bit.

"1860's weapons were pretty primitive and misfired / jammed a fair bit"

I believe this to be the exception rather than the rule. Percussion cap weapons are pretty reliable and even flintlocks are when the user does his part and performs the proper loading procedures and maintenance. Honestly, I think that the chances of jams/misfires should be fairly slim depending on the circumstance and as a result of some sort of "fumble" rather than a failure of the weapon.

I second original boot hill rules. You also might want to find a copy of the old avalon hill game gunslinger. Really a miniatures game where each turn is ten seconds.
Good luck.

I second original boot hill rules. You also might want to find a copy of the old avalon hill game gunslinger. Really a miniatures game where each turn is ten seconds.
Good luck.

I've moved past the firefight rules and I'm into turn sequence, command ability factors and C&C radius.

I believe this to be the exception rather than the rule. Percussion cap weapons are pretty reliable and even flintlocks are when the user does his part and performs the proper loading procedures and maintenance. Honestly, I think that the chances of jams/misfires should be fairly slim depending on the circumstance and as a result of some sort of "fumble" rather than a failure of the weapon.

Schola Gladiatoria has some interesting YT videos about using revolvers in close melees with a lot of examples from British colonial India.

YouTube link

YouTube link

YouTube link

No more recommendations, sorry

Joe

a rule set called Brink of Battle might be to your tastes.

What about Gutshot? Pretty detail oriented, individual skill is important.

hawgleg.com

What about Gutshot? Pretty detail oriented, individual skill is important.

hawgleg.com

That looks interesting. I have actually written the rules, but am mustering the energy to play test them a few times.

I haven't figured out whether / how I want to include RPG elements. The rules currently have mechanisms to "personalize" the figures and create backgrounds for them. But I haven't figured out a way to make these impact the game.

The rules so far pretty much concentrate on the nitty-gritty of various types and combinations of combat and attempt to make it historically very accurate.