"Why you should try gaming the American Revolution" Topic

In this article I lay out my case on why AWI is one of the best periods to wargame, hope you enjoy and please subscribe!
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Interesting basic essay. Should offer a good start for a newbie.

If you dont want to paint cavalry, a good period.

I'd agree. Good period for a beginner, well-documented in English, plenty of battlefields anyone living on the Atlantic seaboard can visit, and battles usually small enough to permit a wargamer to command the entire army and still pay attention to tactics.

I'd even agree with mildbill to a degree. You CAN build credible AWI armies and fight historical battles without cavalry. But then who would lend tone to the vulgar brawl?

The Foot Guards, of course.

A point, citizen--but notice how often they show up in the same battles as the cavalry?

Thanks for shining a light on a sometimes neglected period

There are multiple small forces one can build – from the French, Hessian, Spanish, British, Continentals, loyalists, minutemen and a variety of militia – that can be as small or as large as you like.

Lots of variety of uniforms and types of units. Putting a combined arms legion on the table can be fun and doable for example.

Also lots of unique units and colorful figures ranging from Tarleton to a Francis Marion.

It can be localized to the area of the war you want to focus on.

Would add to fighting larger battles – Fire and Fury has a free variant and 6 scenarios on their website link

You can play Yankee Doodle and British Grenadiers for period ambiance.

a sometimes neglected period

Really? Not on TMP, surely. Or am I biased?

This is my favorite period to play. Visually it is outstanding with all the different uniform colors and armies and battles are small enough that they are not overwhelming when trying to play or simulate. And I like the fact that it is an infantry mans battle- Artillery is not overpowering, there are maneuver opportunities, and there are a wide range of troop qualities that can be used by both sides.

I had been using a home grown set of rules for a number of years and switched about 2 years ago to Regimental Fire and Fury, using the AWI supplement. I have made a few tweaks to the rules but love the games that it produces. A typical game is anywhere from 4-6 brigades per side with a brigade containing 4-5 battalions.

I have approximately 50 battalions per side and have been working on this project for the last 25 years. Each battalion is 3 stands of 18 figures (28mm)- I have a few 25mm units that I am slowly replacing with 28's. Just when I think I am finished I decide there is something else that needs painted or replaced, I just can't help it. I've also been working on putting the finishing touches on terrain and recently finished up some outhouses, as I seem to have the same problem with terrain as I do figures- I keep deciding I need something more.

Almost as good as the French Revolutionary period.

+1 Steve 9r

My favorite period. Although, I am replacing my 28's with 40's. Nah, who am I kidding, I'm not replacing them I am adding another AWI scale.
John

I replaced my 25s with 54s.

It's a good period to game in 28mm. So many good figure ranges to choose from. My favorites are Foundry, Perry's, and Eureka. You don't need a lot of them to have enjoyable games. If you are on a budget and you want to do one period in 28mm, then this is the one.

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I did AWI in 6mm, 15mm, and 40mm! Everything from man to man skirmish to big battles. I found I really enjoyed the smaller unit or large skirmish actions of the war.

Enjoyable figures to paint, with lots of variety. Easy to research and model a particular battle or campaign if desired, or use the same figures as generic types across the war depending on your propensity for button counting.

Research is easy! Just watch Mel Gibson's The Patriot and Bob's your uncle. No, please don't do that. Lots of better sources out there. Popular works, history by historians, and lots of primary sources. Much of the material is in English. Handy for those of us living in His Majesty's Late Colonies.

I switch back and forth between this and F&IW. In bad lighting you can even use the same figures, and stretch them to the '45 and European SYW as well.

I've come off a year of painting and basing 10mm ACW for use with Brigade and Regimental F&F.

I caught Bill with Bill's Wargaming YouTube channel doing a 54 mm AWI Battle of Trenton around Christmastime. What a treat!

So, I've begun a new project: AWI in 54mm! Going from 10mm to 54mm is such a joy. The bulk of my forces will be Armies in Plastic, but – as Bill points out – there's some really nice detail on these figures! I'm pleased and using a zenithal highlight over black primer and then painting with contrast paints makes the painting almost effortless.

Still, I do want to do either 10mm or 15mm AWI and use the AWI Regimental F&F ruleset.

Oh, and then there's F&IW somewhere in there… what a great period to game!

Excellent article. And the timing is interesting as well, as I have just recently completed two armies plus terrain for AWI in 28mm!