It's been a while since we've been able to get a brand-new addition to our Polemos series of wargames rules, which is why I am doubly pleased to be able to announce the release of the latest addition to our range – Polemos: Ruse de Guerre – Warfare in the Americas.
Written by Glenn Pearce, Polemos: RDG covers three separate wars in the New World; The French and Indian War 1754-1763, the American War of Independence 1775-1783, and the War of 1812. Ruse de Guerre is defined as, a deliberate attempt to fool the enemy in wartime. Although this has been in the hearts and minds of military men since the beginning of warfare, it became a major strategy in North America. At the battle of Quebec, Wolfe used it to draw Moncalm's attention in one direction while his main force approached from another.
The rules are designed to create a game that reflects the new strategies, tactics and army compositions that evolved during this period, in a Polemos format. They are not intended to labor players with low-level tactics that would be the domain of junior commanders. Players are encouraged to adopt the roles of the senior commanders. Your abilities to plan in depth and execute your own Ruse de Guerre will be rewarded.
Now for the nitty gritty. Yes, I know that the name Baccus is synonymous with 6mm figures, but as with all of the Polemos series, RDG can be happily used with any size, scale, make or quality of figure. They are also very tolerant of differing basing schemes. The mechanics are element based using two levels of Shaken to determine loss of cohesion and effectiveness, so there is no need for figure removal. The rules themselves are short, to the point, and simple.
The rules themselves are available as black-and-white hardcopy for £15.00 GBP or in our popular Rules Onna Stick format for £8.33 GBP plus VAT. The latter format includes a full-color version of the rules enhanced for use on a tablet or smartphone, along with a printer-friendly mono version. You can also download both sets from Wargame Vault.
We've made several changes and additions to our figure ranges to accommodate RDG. Recent additions to the British and French SYW ranges have included items such as French Militia and British Rangers. We've put all of this together, and you can now get army packs for both sides.
You can get more details of these in the relevant SYW section here.
The AWI army packs have been completely overhauled to reflect the composition and organization required by RDG. As with the FIW army packs, you will be able to use them play any of the relevant scenarios in the booklet.
For the very first time, we've added a couple of army packs for both sides in the War of 1812. Glenn has very kindly provided a long list of proxy codes from existing Baccus ranges that can be easily used for both sides with a little conversion by paintbrush.
You can find details of the army packs and the proxy codes here.
We've been working long and hard on these rules and army packs, and I think you'll find that they complement each other very nicely, forming a perfect introduction to new periods.
