"6mm ECW big(ish) battles" Topic

Hi, I am going to start ECW in 6 mm. I am interested in medium sized to large engagements, definitely not skirmish. I am wavering between Polemos and Forlorn Hope. The only thing that concerns me about Forlorn Hope is it's viability for smooth play for large set pieces. This is because the one criticism I read is that it is clunky, albeit realistic, and so combat takes a while to resolve. Am I worrying about nothing or should I go with FH?

if I plump for Polemos, does anyone know if the Partizan Press ECW scenario books are easy to adapt to 6 mm and the Polemos rule set?

Thank you

Why not visit Grymauch's blog (https://grymauch.blogspot.com/) to see how his 6mm ECW games play out to see if that's your thing. If it is, he's very helpful and I'm sure will answer any question you have.

Some mouthwatering painting at 6 mm on that blog. I've never read the FH rules so don't know much about the basing sizes.

As I said, Grymauch is very good at responding to comments on his blog so if you have any questions just ask him.

Hi AB,

Could I ask why you have come down to such a small short list – there are a lot of ECW rules out there to choose from?

Yes, of course. I started by reading all the threads on TMP and selected the rules where there seemed to be an (approximate) consensus on rules that recreate the feel of ECW. I eliminated rule sets with mechanics that don't work for me (zones, cards). I have DBR but elected against using those for ECW as too generic. I admit that I have never seen Gush. I am happy to be convinced otherwise from these two choices.

I'm not in any particular hurry as I am still working through 400 odd French for Borodino et al so plenty of time to mull it over.

Thanks for that, Martin. I was wondering why (you will have guessed!) that For King &Parliament didn't make your short list. I suppose it fails both the cards and zone criteria, although chits or even D10 can be substituted for the playing cards. The grid is an integral part of the system which we took from the To the Strongest ancients rules. I know many dislike it, but it has a number of advantages, I feel. One is that it will suit any scale of figures, simply by changing the grid size. Two, it speeds up the game enormously by cutting out all the time consuming measuring and angle calculating involved in so many rule sets. Still, I hope you find the system which suits you, and enjoy gaming this fascinating period!

Ha yes, I saw that FK&P was definitely a well recommended rule set but, unfortunately, didn't seem to match my own preferences. Still, maybe I should give them a punt!

Maybe! If I can be of any help, let me know.

Andrew

Well, if you can find a set:
Liber Militum: Tercio – 30 Year Wars rules.
link

Scroll down to the Kingdoms expansion which has rules for ECW.

One base is a unit, so lends itself to diorama style bases. Put as many or as few minis as you want on them. It uses cards as a order system, but you could replace with chits if you want.

I've struggled to find rulesets for this period. Three sets that I enjoy the mechanics of are:

For King & Parliament: I don't mind cards but I'm not a fan of grids. I played TTS and loved it. I do both cards and dice. FK&P has some very nice period flavor.

Liber Militum Tercio: Haven't played it but I've read it and intend on playing. I like how they capture the different philosophies of the period.

In Deo Veritas: Simple set but with some subtle elegant mechanics. No cards and no zones.

We use the Twilight of Divine Right rules from the Pike and Shot Society for large ECW (and TYW) battles.

link

link

These are some excellent suggestions, thank you all. I'll take a look at the rules and links suggested