Contents
The Battle of Mohacs, 1526 - a scenario for Art de la Guerre
The Last Yankee on the Yangtzee: An adventure in warlord China.
A full description of how we run remote games
A report on our first attempt at remote gaming
Landsknechts: The Economy Alternative?
The Battle of Madre della Vittorio, a 6-player Lion Rampant scenario for Condotierri Italy, full of treachery and back-stabbing.
Using Prince August molds for Napoleonics wargaming.
An Art de la Guerre scenario for the 1260 Battle of Kressenbrunn between the Bohemian King Ottokar II and the Hungarian King Bela IV (also available as a PFD).
A siege extension to Lion Rampant named Lion Caged. Rules are here and cards are here. Both are required for play.
A review of Lion Rampant, fast-play medieval rules.
A Lion Rampant quick reference sheet for Italian conflicts of the late 15th Century.
Updated 25mm/28mm Figures for Post-war and Modern Conflicts
Wargaming Aesthetics: Why You Should Care About Your Terrain
Miniatures Rules for the Hyphenated Wars
25mm/28mm Miniatures for 19th Century European Wars
A listing of sources for Toy Soldier Moulds
Toy soldier wargaming rules, Edwardian Splendour
A Primer for Sculpting and Casting Wargaming Miniatures At Home
Updated: 15mm Figures for 19th Century European Wars
The Hyphenated Wars page.
A site dedicated to computer-assisted historical miniatures: Wargaming Machines.
Rules/guidelines for conducting Kriegspiel-type Napoleonic campaigns, to generate tabletop battles: Clauswitz' War.
A set of one-page rules for 25mm American Revolution games: Empire of Liberty.
A miniatures wargame version of the "chess problem" - The Sound of the Guns. These are an experimental, ultra-fast-play rules set for the mid-19th century (2nd update).
A set of one-page, fast-play rules for WWII, post-war and modern combat at the operational level.
The Tucson Club's wargames from my photo albums...
Some suggestions, modifications, and clarifications for Cold War: 1983.
Into the Breach, a set of 1-to-1 skirmish rules for the tricorne period.
A listing of 25mm figures for the Franco-Austrian War of 1859 and other Risorgimento conflicts.
A beta release of an "environment" game - grand-tactical WWI combat on the Western Front. Download and unzip into a single directory.
Updated beta release of computer-assisted rules, for post-WWI and WWII tactical actions: Counterstrike! Unzip into a single directory.
My old Republic & Empire Rules for 19th-Century Wargames, in a two-part Word-format download: Part 1 (1.5 Meg), Part 2 (3.5 Meg).
Some (very) fast-play rules for 1:300 scale WWII air combat games, in an early version.
Sources for 25mm/28mm figures and vehicles for the Modern eraNotes on wargames rules design: the "environment" approach
The Battle of Calatafimi on May 15, 1860, between the Garibaldini and Neapolitan forces
The Battle of Mentana on November 3, 1867, between the Garibaldini and Franco-Papal forces
The Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862
Report on Fall
In 2001 convention
An essay on recent experiments with computer-assisted
wargaming A discussion of differences between the Seven
Years' War and the Marlburian period Review of The
Devil Soldier by Caleb Carr, about the Taiping Rebellion. "Tierra
y Libertad": A set of fast-play rules for the Mexican Revolution
Timeline
for the Mexican Revolution: 1910-1920
Uniforms,
Tactics, and Equipment of the Mexican Revolution: Some notes for
wargamers The
"Splendid Little War": Fast-play rules for the Spanish-American War
Uniforms
of the Spanish-American War: A Guide for Painting 15mm (and Smaller)
Figures
French
Wars of Religion Page (scenarios for Dreux and St. Denis)
Baron
von Steuben's Revolutionary War Drill Manual (work in progress)
A review of Rank & File Figures
for anyone interested in the lesser-gamed conflicts of the 19th Century in 15mm.
Welcome to the Resource Site!
NOTE: Site Under Gradual RenovationAfter a hiatus of many years, I am rennovating this site. For the time being, I will be busy restoring existing content and removing/replacing dead links. Any links below the line are older ones - new material appears above it. |
As an avid historical miniatures wargamer, and computer professional, I felt I should create this site to publish occasional rulesets, scenarios, and other information as I have time and motivation. I do not promise regular updates, but I wanted to share the things I spend my time researching and writing. This is where they can be found.
Here is an historical scenario for the Battle of Mohacs, 1526 using Art de la Guerre. This is at the very edge of what the rules cover, but we play them a lot at my local club. ADLG is primarily a tournament Ancients set, but we often use it for historical battles such as this.
I have finally found a set of Three Musketeers sword-fighting rules which I like, and we have been playing a lot of them. They are called Plume & Blade - read the review, and maybe try them out: you'll be glad you did!
We have been doing some old-school gaming, and generally messing around with the larger figures, so I added a Toy Soldier Wargaming page, listing out resources, old and new.
After several dozen experiences, I have posted a full description of how we are running remote games with actual miniatures, and not just virtual ones. (This builds on the initial approach described in the next link down.)
I like to game some obscure periods, and sometimes I have to wonder: What Makes a Period Worth Gaming? Comparing the 1st Schleswig-Holstein War with the Mexican-American War. (Really, this is just a pitch for my latest obscure period!)
The Last Yankee on the Yangtzee is an after-action report of a game I am currently working on, called Banana Wars. I have always liked American colonials games, but this one is a new one for me: an adventure in warlord China. This was a remote game, played over Skype.
The pandemic has everybody staying home, but it doesn't mean you can't push lead! Here's a report on our first attempt at remote gaming.
I have been involved over the past year in a new venture involving the creation of historical miniatures games played using devices (tablets, smart phones, etc.). We just launched our site, Application of Force. There's a Napoleonic skirmish game, a Victorian sci-fi/early WWI game, and a game for glossy toy soldiers, but we have plans for a lot of other games in the near future. These can be very good for solo and remote play, so check them out!
Some recent research into late-medieval ADLG armies got me wondering, specifically about the Bohemian mercenaries of the era, leading naturally to the question: Landsknechts: The Economy Alternative?.
Over the holidays we had an impromptu game-day featuring the Battle of Madre della Vittorio, a 6-player Lion Rampant scenario for Condotierri Italy, full of treachery and back-stabbing. (There is a PDF version here.)
I have written a piece on using Prince August molds for Napoleonics wargaming. This can be a way to bulk out your 25mm/28mm armies, and they can be less expensive than plastics.
We've been playing a lot of ADLG, and the latest game was a feudal battle - here is an Art de la Guerre scenario for the 1260 Battle of Kressenbrunn between the Bohemian King Ottokar II and the Hungarian King Bela IV (also available as a PDF).
I have updated the 25mm/28mm Figures for Post-war and Modern Conflicts page again - among others, Gringo 40s, a favorite figure manufacturer, has just released their Vietnam Hue 1968 Marines. These are beautiful figures - I can recommend these guys! They have always had excellent service, and the sculpting is first-rate. Warlord Games has also started a line for the Korean War. I also broke down and added Bob Murch's Black Sun line, even though it is not strictly historical (actually. not even slightly!) but has some useful figures anyway.
We have developed a siege extension to Lion Rampant named Lion Caged. An entire siege can be run as a single tabletop battle over the course of one gaming session. Rules are here and cards are here. Both are required for play.
I am always looking for historical games to get my teenage nephew into. We recently started playing Daniel Mersey's Lion Rampant, a fun, fast game of medieval warfare. After a couple of games, I created a quick reference sheet for the Italian conflicts of the late 15th Century, since those are the figures we are using. I have posted a review of the rules here. Not overly historical, but a lot of fun!
There are a lot of good WWII wargames out there these days, and I have played a few. This got me thinking about how realistic they are, and why or why not: Realism in WWII Rules.
After seeing games at a couple of recent conventions, I had some thoughts about terrain, good and bad: Wargaming Aesthetics: Why You Should Care About (and Put Effort Into) Your Terrain.
As part of the Hyphenated Wars page, there is a listing of 25mm/28mm Miniatures for 19th Century European Wars.
Along the same lines, I have added Miniatures Rules for the Hyphenated Wars, summarizing those rules sets most often used for the period.
I have been getting back into toy soldier gaming recently (you may have seen With the Colours at my computer-assisted site) so I am posting the rules I wrote some years ago, Edwardian Splendour. Also, I have added a listing of Sources for Toy Soldier Moulds, since casting your armies yourself can be a lot cheaper than buying them.
If you want to give it a try, I've added A Primer for Sculpting and Casting Wargaming Miniatures At Home.
I have added the Hyphenated Wars page, providing a range of material for the central conflicts of Europe in the 19th Century. There is an historical overview, a list of uniform plates and painting guides, and various other material there. This will be an expanding set of resources over time.
Computer-assisted historical miniatures wargaming is an on-going passion for me, but rather than overwhelm this site with material about it, I have a new site dedicated to the topic: Wargaming Machines. If you are interested in this topic, please check it out.
I know it has been a long time since this site was updated - having a child can do that to you! Most recent addition: a set of rules/guidelines for conducting Kriegspiel-type Napoleonic campaigns, to generate tabletop battles: Clauswitz' War. I've been reading Clauswitz and doing a lot of Napoleonic gaming in 25mm, and here's the result.
Here's a set of one-page rules for 25mm American Revolution games, called Empire of Liberty. Print two-sided on 8.5 x 11 paper and fold. Recently I have been thinking about traditional "free" kriegspiel, and tinkering with the typical turn-based style of most miniature wargames. My latest offering is another print-and-fold rules set which does away with multiple repetitive turns and movement distances altogether, creating fast, grand-tactical games which are a corollary to chess problems. They depict the battles of the mid-19th century in an experimental fashion: The Sound of the Guns (Updated 2/20/2007). Let me know what you think.
I have been getting more into collecting traditional toy soldiers, and running wargames with them, too. I have put out some rules for the Edwardian period, for use with toy soldiers, which are available on the website of my latest venture, Legions of Empire. It's a company making traditonal 54mm toy soldiers, of course!
Recent stuff: Incoming! - A set of one-page, fast-play rules for operational-level WWII, post-war and modern combat, reminiscent in effect (although not in mechanics) of DBA. Just print two-sided and fold. A listing of 15mm figures for 19th-Century European conflicts. The Tucson Club's wargames from my photo albums... Some suggestions, modifications, and clarifications for Cold War: 1983, a fun modern skirmish game. Into the Breach, a set of 1-to-1 skirmish rules for the tricorne period. These are meant for 25mm and larger figures - print the PDF double-sided, and fold in half. A listing of sources for 25mm figures for Risorgimento and Franco-Austrian War (1859) miniatures. Also, a set of WWI computer-assisted rules for the Western Front, In Flander's Fields. (This is an example of an "environment" game, for those who have read that essay, elsewhere on this site.)Just unzip into a single directory, and open up the ".htm" files. Also, Counterstrike!, an updated beta (beta 2) of a new computer-assisted game for tactical combat post-WWI through WWII. This is a game with a battalion on a side, and is a fast-play game similar to Rapid Fire in detail, if not in scale. You can download the zip file, or see the game itself. The rules (such as they are) are here. If you get the zip, unzip everything into a single folder, and open up "Counterstrike.htm". The game is a simple web-page, which will run on PDAs and similar devices, as well as on a computer. Please let me know what you think - this is a very early version.
Also, a posting of my old Republic & Empire Rules for 19th-Century Wargames, in a two-part Word-format download: Part 1 (1.9 Meg), Part 2 (3.5 Meg). These are large files - print them out 2-sided and put them in a binder. (And don't try this over a dail-up connection!) Outland games has a new website up. Also, I have put a couple of updates on the 28mm Moderns page - more vehicles - but otherwise not much has changed.
We've finally decided to try and release Active Armor as a commercial product. We've done a preview at Historicon (a monster Sword Beach game, for which we won an award), and you can visit the site of our new venture, Computer-Assisted Wargames Enterprises. (There was be a Patton-versus-the-Russians scenario for Fall In, and no doubt more games at other HMGS conventions in future.) The new version of the game - first in a series, we hope - is completely recoded, and includes a bunch of new features. (I'll leave the old beta up for now, but if you're interested in the new one, let me know.)
Recent additions to this site include some fast-play rules for 1:300 scale WWII air combat, and a description of a rules-writing approach, for those who like to write or tinker with their rules sets. I have also added a list of sources for modern 25mm/28mm figures and vehicles. (I had quite a hard time locating these myself, so I thought I would write up a brief overview...)
I recently added an account researched many years ago, describing the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, between the Republican Mexicans and the French - the event celebrated as "Cinco de Mayo". It is amazing how little detailed information there is on the battles of the Maxmillian Adventure, so I have decided to attempt to post some information about that conflict here. This is a division-sized action, and it makes a good subject for recreation on the tabletop.
Another, similar effort is a description of one of the lesser-known battles of the Risorgimento (in which Madame Blavatsky, volunteering for Garibaldi, was wounded and left on the field, no less!): The Battle of Mentana on November 3, 1867, between the Garibaldini and Franco-Papal forces. Another new offering is one of Garibaldi's smaller battles, Calatafimi, against the decaying Bourbon rulers of Sicily.
Computer-assisted wargaming is the thing I do most often these days, and I am releasing the first beta-level game now. It is called Active Armor, and is used for divisional- and corps-level WWII games. (Note that this is for Windows only!) If you are interested in play-testing, please download and send me e-mail so I know who you are. This is the game featured in the article found elsewhere on this site. The other games I have in the works include a skirmish-level set that covers ancients through the renaissance, a grand-tactical WWI late-war Western Front set, and a generic 19th-Century game.
I am now in Tucson, where there is a fairly active gaming group - if you are in the area, and interested in historical miniatures games, send me an e-mail and I will connect you with them (we no longer meet at "Things for Thinkers," since it's closed).
There is an excellent source of drill manuals on the web at DrillNet, with a clear focus on the American Civil War. Not one, but two versions of Hardee's manuals, Scott's Infantry Tactics, and lots more besides. How can you beat that?
If you are interested in the European wars of the 19th Century, you will want to check out the Wyre Forest Wargames Club site. They have an adaptation of Fire & Fury and many excellent scenarios, along with a lot of other information. Great site!
Here's a link on the Spanish-American War, for those who read Spanish...
I still like Major General Tremorden Rederring's Colonial Wargames Page, no longer active but available in archived form.
I can be contacted with suggestions and comments at: ilg21@yahoo.com