"Is French and Indian War in 15mm popular?" Topic

I haven't done it yet but I feel the need to do a new period in 15mm/18mm.

Was thinking more multi-figure based units rather than single skirmishers. Do people game that here and what do you consider appropriate ratios for the different troop types from regulars to Indians?

To answer your principle question, French and Indian War is not particularly popular. Not when compared to WWII, Napoleonics or American Civil War.

That said, there is a motivated group of gamers who are devotees of the FIW and the wider 7 Year's War, of which it was a part. They host a period specific convention every year in the spring in the Illinois-Indiana area.

sevenyearswarassn.org

link

I'd reach out to them as the go to contacts for all things FIW. I'm sure that there are 7YWA members who TMP who can/will further illuminate the question.

Renfield,

Agree Indians shouldn't be on a base lined up like regulars. But I could see them on a irregular shaped skirmish base. Maybe one of the sabot bases so you could vary the number of figures.

Not to be flippant, but troop types and ratios will depend on what battle (real or hypothetical) that you are gaming.

I've never seen it gamed in 15mm that I can recall. The F&IW has battles that other time periods wouldn't even consider a serious skirmish, so it is well suited for larger figures.

If I was to collect a 15mm force, I would probably put 4 regulars, or a few militia or Indians, on a stand, and take casualties by the stand. So, a rule set like Rebels and Patriots has line infantry units that are composed of 12 figures. My unit would be 12 stands of 4, and I would do figure removal by stand.

I am going to start doing FIW in 6mm skirmish. Not quite 15mm but just the same.

I have my French and Indian War figures in 40mm which I think is more suitable for raids on farms and settlements or an Indian village, small skirmishes, and woods type battles. Occasionally an attack on a fort or and open battle by regulars. All my figures are individually based.

I feel it is acceptable to multi-base any force that one might employ in larger encounters. If you require 145 rangers for the raid on St. Francis you would probably not want to deploy 145 miniatures on the table for the sake of play-ability.

I think I just heard Charles Grant roll over in his grave.

Odd, I thought the period was more popular due to the large number of FIW ranges. Can all the 15mm FIW gamers also use these figures individually? Moving Individually mounted 15mm miniatures on a tabletop sounds like a good way to manifest a migraine.

It does seem like larger scale miniatures are most often used to skirmish game this period. Part of the original post's motivation was because i couldn't find many examples of formal, multifigure based unit FIW wargames on the Web and the few I did find really, on closer examination, had singly mounted figures on unit trays.

I was coming at the period more like I wanted a SYW collection in 15mm with a smattering of Prussians, Austrians, Russians, British and French to fight European games; and while, I was at it, just add a couple of units of Indians, Rangers, Militia etc for variety of landscape and scenario.

There are some medium sized battles like Quebec, St. Foy or Ticonderoga that could justify the use of battalion level multi figure stands. They can make for a small but satisfying game that can be completed in a reasonable amount of time. Like Au pas de Charge I just added some figures to my 15mm SYW collection.

I can only add this:
We consistently sell very good amounts of The Blue Moon FIW ranges along with all the forts,cabins,Indian villages,etc
For many years now
For what is is worth.
Oldglory25s.com

Russ Dunaway

The Old Glory Blue Moon range does look to be a very nice range.

Before Blue Moon, Essex put out a lovely range – many of which you can see here (Minifigs too):

link

Of course OG also produce several FIW ranges in 28mm as well as have Sash and Saber 28mm and 40 mm ranges available.
I have never done the FIW but have had a pretty grandiose scheme going on in my head which would involve in the game:

1.Attack on a stockade
2.British relief column marching through forest in an attempt to relieve stockade
3. French and Indians attempting to intercept the British column
4. Indian attack on a Britsh frontier settlement
5. Ranger attack on a indian village

ALL GOING ON AT THE SAME TIME!!

Although I see why people like the larger scales I would personally go 15/18MM so as to be able to show the vast lands, forests,forts,settlements,rivers, villages involved.

Regards
Russ Dunaway

There is enough good stuff out there in 15mm to make it a viable project. Someone must be buying it. As Russ notes, you can easily have houses, a fort, civilians, etc., etc. all in a reasonable space at a comparatively reasonable cost. I would be sorely tempted to do 48 or 96 figure battalions. Crap, I need to stop thinking about this.

@Flashman, a nice collection.

I have considered 60 figure regular battalions in 15mm. The look would be very majestic. And, like Russ, the idea of having diverse and plush scenery on the table dwarfing the minis would be likewise appealing.

That would look great.

I would put all my Indians scattered on various size oval bases with the amount of figures meaning nothing. Each base would have the same stats regardless of size for the game. They are just "bands of warriors.
I would then have some single or double mounted Indians on small round bases for "looks" and they would have virtually no effect on the game.
Mind you, this has all been just turning in my mind for some years --- however…
I have played this out a couple times with proxie empty bases using a simple set of rules I made up and wrote down on a single piece of paper in about an hour-- and it all worked pretty well.

Russ Dunaway

This man doesn't wargame but loves doing setups of different periods, mostly in 15mm. If his work doesn't put you in the mood nothing will. warin15mm.com/#/warten
Mark

@Marco56

That's a terrific site. Great deer and canoes. I think when I do my collection, canoes are mandatory. Also some deer.

He is a goof friend of mine and most of his product is OG or Blue Moon.

Russ Dunaway

It's a nice site and a very good range.

Russ from Old Glory nailed it… as far as from I've seen gaming wise, most in this era are into the skirmish, individual type rule sets for this… but I like playing regimental games and use Guns of Liberty rules, Warfare in the Age of Reason, along with Rebels and Patriots. Enjoyed putting on battle of Quebec. Blue Moon are great figures, if you go bigger, Sash and Saber have the best line of FIW 28mm, even Rogers Rangers and Indians in snowshoes

I have a large collection from Blue Moon, including their Fort Wilderness that is my favorite terrain piece.

If I were doing this I would definitely use Blue Moon,great options and accessories. All my ECW,TYW, Vendee and colonials are all from OG.

Terrific thread discussion!

My wife and me just visited St. Genevieve, Missouri, which has some terrific, original post-in-hole French buildings to tour, along with 2 excellent (small) museums in their historic district.

The town's militia travelled to St. Louis to reinforce the garrison there in 1780 during the AWI, and fought in the Battle of St. Louis.

This travel visit of ours has me considering diving into the frontier fighting "In the West", so I'm enjoying reading this thread exploring 15-18mm figs for the FIW (though likely looking more at 28s if I move further along on a project).

Just some juice (well, got me thinkin' about the gamin' possibilities) -

French Colonial Life org website for St. Genevieve:

link

link

The National Park Center website for St. Gen:

link

Thanks Dapper Dave! I've done a couple of AWI games over the last several months using Live Free or Die rules & also have been thinking of looking into frontier conflicts at the skirmish level, possibly using a variant of This Very Ground, tailored to the AWI. Hope to see you at Command Con.
Jerry

Hi Jerry, be seeing you soon!

Jerry has done some excellent FIW games with 15s too (largely using Blue Moon 18s I believe), which look great on-table and in-game.