Basic,
and I Mean Basic, Wargame Rules. These Rules were written especially for a Game put on by Movilla School in Newtownards. The Battle was a recreation of the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Bear in mind that most of the pupils had never played a Wargame before and those that had were WH40K Gamers. If you want a more advanced, yet simple to use, set of Rules; then go straight to Pages 2 and 3 of this Article. The Rules had to be simple enough to understand and to use. The Umpire has complete control of the Game so he must be experienced not only in Wargaming in general, but he must be an expert(?) in that particular period. One word of advice, lay down the law before the Game begins, the Umpires decision is final. These Rules will provide a quick and bloody Game without too many complications.
The main problem will arise from Morale situations. Morale is called
when the Umpire decides that there is a chance that the troops may not
respond as expected. I looked at Charging/Defending, friendly Routing
Troops; you know, the usual things. This gives the Umpire a lot of leeway,
but he must be consistent. I decided these on the roll of a D6. The
Roll being influenced by –1 for every element lost through being
killed or currently routing, not retreating and other factors; see Morale
below. A unit needs a 2 or more to obey its Commander. See the Rules
for when a Unit is reduced to one Element. The size of the Units were: a single Gun = 1 battery. Infantry were between 4 and 6 Elements, each Element has 6 figures in two Ranks on a single base. Cavalry were either 3 or 4 Elements strong. Each Element was the same width as an Infantry base but figures were only 1 Rank deep. I suggest three Heavy/Medium Cavalry per base and two Light Cavalry per Base. All the figures used were Airfix 20mm. Units can be larger, but I recommend by no more than two extra Elements. These Rules are just for fun. They are not a Historical set of Rules. I found that they worked in a large Game where most of the Players had never seen a Wargame before. Although they were written for the 1690 Period, they could of course be adapted for almost any other Period. WARGAME RULES FOR THE EARLY HORSE & MUSKET PERIOD. Sequence of Each Turn. Each side Moves Alternatively. Roll a D6, highest Moves first unless who Moves first was decided before the start of the Game as part of a Scenario. Movement:
Crossing all obstacles = 1/2 Movement Rate (MR). All such deductions make Troops disordered. All Turns (left, right or about) 1/2 MR. Troops are not disordered. Units may only charge once in a Game and only if not disordered. Units may Advance to Contact whilst not disordered (normal MR) for the rest of the Game. After a Melee, Units are disordered. No Unit may Fire if it has Moved or Turned during any part of its' Turn Phase. It takes a complete Turn Phase doing nothing to make a Disordered Unit Ordered again. Firing:
Each Element/Gun & Target Rolls a D6. To hit, The Firer must beat the Targets score. +1 if the Target is under 1/2 distance, -1 if the Firer is disordered, -1 if firing at Chargers, -1 for Supporting Fire, -1 if Target is in cover, -2 for Anti Battery Fire. Front Element only fires. All firing at Chargers is taken at Long Range. For firing at other Attacking Units, take the Range as under Half Distance. Only those attacked may fire but one Element on either/both sides of the Firers may give supporting fire on Attackers if all normal firing conditions apply. The Target will Roll a D6 against every Element firing against it. After all firing on a Unit is finished you only count the worst result against that Element. Melee: As for firing, with the following + or -: Charging +1, Cavalry +1,
+1 Infantry/Gunners are Defending and in cover, Flank/Rear Attack +1,
Disordered -1, +1 for Ordered Element in Rear Support (must be in Base
Contact, facing the same way and of the same type e.g. Infantry/Cavalry).
Result of Firing/Melee: Difference is 1: Affected Element Retires one full Normal Move
facing enemy. Unit is Disordered. Morale: -1 for every Element Dead or currently Routing, +1 if in/behind cover, +1 if a Brigade/Divisional commander is within 12", +2 if CinC is within 18". These last two must be within LOS (360 degrees). Any Unit, Infantry or Cavalry, that is reduced to only one Element, will Rout off the Table. The missing Elements must have been destroyed, not merely Routing or Retreating. Unit/Element needs a 2 to obey Orders. For convenience, place one piece of white cotton wool on a Unit that is Disordered, one coloured piece if it is Retreating and two coloured pieces if it is Routing. I find the best thing to use is the material sold as Hamster Nesting from most Pet Shops. What should happen is that Elements within the same Unit will do different things. Once, when attacking, we had 2 Elements Charging home, one Retreating and another Routing. Now how many "Complicated Rules" allow this to happen? Remember keep it simple, these Rules do work if you play it for fun. Let me know what you think of them. |