By Fire and Sword

Realistic, playable and dynamic wargame which recreates the 17th century wars fought by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth against Turkey, Muscovy, Sweden, Crimean Khanate and Cossacks. The period between 1640 and 1676, on which the game focuses, is a time of almost constant warfare waged by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth on all fronts, in many cases with several enemies at the same time.

The By Fire and Sword wargame is a comprehensive system including game rules, historical background for the forces of all the combatants, battle group creation rules and scenarios, but most of all a huge number of wargaming figures representing all the military formations of the warring parties.

Game rules allow to recreate the behavior various military formations on a battlefield in a dynamic and realistic way – be it the thundering charges of Polish winged hussars, the fire-breathing squares of Swedish infantry, the flying units of Tatars or the stubborn monoliths of Muscovite streltsy. The rules system allows for the use of a variety of tactics, formations and ways of warfare used during the 17th century and takes into account the differences in training, arms, armor and morale of the various types of units. We have placed particular emphasis on the issue of command on the battlefield and its effectiveness in various armies.

Depending on the experience of gamers and number of available figures, as well as time and space for the game, By Fire and Sword battles can be played on 4 different levels. The choice of the game level influences the available units for the gamer’s force. The basic level of the game – called “The Foray” – is a short skirmish, completed in less than an hour. The highest level – called “The Field Army” enables recreating huge and truly epic battles.

– publisher's listing

Designers: Konrad Sosiński, Rafał Szwelicki
Publisher: Wargamer
Year Published: 2009
Status: In Print
Contents: 400-page book