ECW Rulesets

[Alfrik]

Looking for a ruleset for large scale 15mm figs.  15 to 20 based units per side size? Any recommendations welcome.

[WFGamers]

We have been playtesting a set for doing large scale battles - refighting the major battles. It will be out soon and is called 'Twilight of Divine Right' and will be published by the Pike and Shot Society. There will also be an ECW scenario book (and a TYW one) with 10 battles. Most of the large battles of the war should be doable with 15 to 20 units per side but unit sizes are flexible so you can alter what counts as a unit if needed.

[has.been]

Vodkafan played in an ECW demo game at Salute. It was 'For King and Parliament' His observations were that
units (especially Cavalry) do not last long, so your idea would work quite well. By the way we both now have a copy
of the rules. We have not played it yet, need more units don't you know.

[SteveBurt]

For King & Parliament is excellent. You can play a really big battle in a couple of hours. Great set of rules.
We also quite like 'To Defy a King' (slower, but you have to provide orders to each brigade).
Field of Glory:Renaissance is also pretty good.

[bigredbat]

Hi I'm the co-author of the "For King and Parliament" rules. https://bigredbatshop.co.uk/collections/all/products/tts-for-king-and-parliament-rules-physical-and-digital-editions

I can confirm that cavalry units often don't last long; the rules are designed for fast play and are consequently quite brutal. :-)

15 units a side is a good number for the rules- would suit 2-4 players, and with 15mm units you could probably play on a 6' x 4' cloth, resolving a battle in 90 minutes or so.

You are welcome to PM me with any questions!

Best, Simon

[Sparrow]

I grew up on the WRG Renaissance Rules (the George Gush) and still love them. Well worth a look. For  historical accuracy Forlorn Hope are also well worth trying.

Whatever you decide enjoy your ECW gaming - my favourite period!!

[Cat]

I've enjoyed playing a number of games of DBA-RRR with 18, 24 or 36 stands per side.

[Codsticker]

I've enjoyed playing a number of games of DBA-RRR with 18, 24 or 36 stands per side.

Are DBA-RRR stands the same as the "regular" DBA bases?

[Lowtardog]

Our gaming group are working towards building all armies for ECW using Baroque having looked around at rules out currently, not necessarily the best set as that can be very much perception but having played and enjoyed Sword and Spear we wanted element based army rather than moving lots of figures and taking individual casualties off units in games

[SteveBurt]

Another possibility is DBR - but use the 'condensed' scale, which works better for large battles and we found just works better full stop.

[mellis1644]

Pike and Shotte work well - especially if you do the combined units for bigger battles. "For King and Parliament" is another good set. Both do similar things but in different ways IMO, so I like them both for different reasons.

Peter Pig's regiment of foot works as well - I think it typically has a slightly smaller number of units - 12 to 15, but the pre-game scenario set up is interesting.

Forlorn Hope is the classic for the period but like the Gush rules show their age a little in the mechanics, but still work.

Lots of options to choose from.

[fastolfrus]

I would go with George Gush WRG or Peter Pig Regiment of Foote.
There are two versions of Regiment of Foote (it was updated about 4 years ago?), the old one has a better pre-game scenario (some people bought the rules just to use the pre-game with other settings)

[jazbo]

Warlords pike and shotte.

Simple, flexible, they just work.

[Hu Rhu]

Warlords pike and shotte.

Simple, flexible, they just work.

That! 

Except we reverse the move and fire to be fire first followed by moves for units that have not fired. 

[bigredbat]

If anyone is at Partizan in Newark on Sunday 20th, Andrew Brentnall and I will be running the "For King and Parliament" participation game "Battle of Soggy Bottom, 1643" we recently ran at Salute- you see how the mechanics work or play for a few turns. As well as the 28mm game, we will have a 10mm version.