"F&I/AWI rules suggestions wanted" Topic

I'm just getting into these periods seriously after dabbling for many years. I want to play 15mm , and be able to do skirmish to larger battles for both conflicts. Most of my gaming will be solo, but some will be 1-1 or 2-2. Any advice welcome. Thanks in advance.

AWI version of the Gettysburg Soldiers ACW Rules
TMP Rules Review: TMP link

Regimental Fire and Fury, the AWI variants

link

Second on the Regimental Fire and Fury variant

link

For French & Indian wars, Muskets and Tomahawks is great

British Grenadier.

TFL Sharpe Practice is excellent for skirmish level F&I and AWI. I definitely prefer it to Muskets and Tomahawks for giving a good representation of the tactics and command and control for the period.

GKeeneR,
For FIW, I have played Song of Drums and Tomahawks, both editions of Muskets & Tomahawks, Rebels and Patriots and Fistful of Lead Horse and Musket. If you're just starting out and don't have a lot of figures, the first and last are nice because only a very few figures (e.g. 4-6/player) are needed. For M&T and R&P, more figures are needed, since these rules have units of 6-12 figures. M&T is card driven, and while both editions have some unique mechanics to try to alleviate it, like all card-driven games the pace of play bogs down if the game is too big. My group has migrated to R&P almost exclusively for FIW.

AWI is another story. I was never looking to play AWI skirmish, but to play battles with units (battalions/regiments and occasionally companies), and I have been searching for THE AWI rules for some time. IMO, the tough thing about the AWI is the disparity of unit sizes – e.g. small companies of skirmishers to large "Hessian" battalions. Anyway, I have played British Grenadier, a few Fire & Fury variants including published Regimental F&F, Rank and File, Loose Files and American Scramble, Live Free or Die, Black Powder and most recently a variant of Valour and Fortitude. I could go into more detail, and the search continues. But surprisingly even to myself, I think modified BP and V&F actually show the most promise for hitting the right balance I'm looking for.

Dave

I sometimes wonder why we claim to be engaged in historical wargaming; companies form battalions and troops form squadrons. Different armies have such different compositions for regiments that as in history using them on the battlefield as a components is lets say problematic.

Your specs are pretty broad, skirmish and larger battles are very different rule sets. How long of a playing time? Lot's of figures or just a few? What type of basing? Skirmish basing is different than unit basing for bigger battles. Simple rules or complex?

Your question will result in as many rule sets as there are postings. You may want to narrow down your specs.

Ask 10 people, and you will get 12 answers.

This Very Ground is a good skirmish set, as is the "Songs" series.

For large battles, I would tend towards Rebels and Patriots or Saratoga Soldiers for fast and simple games. If you want more granularity, the AWI variant of F&F might be the way to go.

It is often a case of playing multiple sets until you find something that you like.

Thanks to all who responded with helpful experiences and suggestions. A wide range of ideas, which was what I was after since I'm starting from scratch.

The Patriots! rules available free from The Perfect Captain give an enjoyable game for small battles or large skirmishes.