What are the merits of Wargaming TYW and ECW?

[FierceKitty]

If you only want to play what's the most tactically challenging, I think chess works the best.

Do yourself a favour if you're a chess fan - try shogi, the Japanese variant. I've never known a wargamer fail to fall in love with the game.

[Unlucky General]

MiniPigs,

I've been haphazardly assembling elements of an ECW army over the years with no real direction knowing that one day I WILL build and play this period. I suppose what you ask comes down to rule sets but it does seem that most sides through the early 17th century (and the latter half for that matter) shared similar technologies and tactics. Now that I typed that this is historically typical of most periods I suspect.

I find the emotional buy-in to the period infectious. The ECW involves fierce political/ideological conflict and larger-than-life historical characters which polarize British people to this day. Notwithstanding the ever present power politics the TYW has the religious divide. Then you have the colourful costume and personally I am drawn to armoured cavalry with pistols and musketoons - crazy!

I imagine building these armies to be a joy and the research it directs is fascinating.

[Leman]

To gert the most out of an ECW game the rules need to deal well with differing tactics, especially pistol armed cavalry, commanded shot and dragoons. Rules such as Forlorn Hope (quite complex) and For King and Parliament (square based) handle this reasonably well. There is also a set called This War Without an Enemy which has had a go at reducing the complexity of Forlorn Hope.

[Arthur]

I imagine building these armies to be a joy and the research it directs is fascinating.

In a nutshell, yes. I'm a big TYW buff and the research alone is 50% of the fun.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

In a nutshell, yes. I'm a big TYW buff and the research alone is 50% of the fun.

Given the sources situation about the TYW often frustrating too. But yeah, reasearch of the period is always not only 50% of the fun, but also 50% of what you'll do typically. Many people said it before - 'why historical wargaming? Because it's got the best fluff.'.

[Arthur]

Given the sources situation about the TYW often frustrating too.

True enough, although you could argue that the frustration is an incentive as well : the results are infinitely more pleasing when the process is an arduous one.

[Battle Brush Sigur]

True enough, although you could argue that the frustration is an incentive as well : the results are infinitely more pleasing when the process is an arduous one.

Absolutely. Friend of mine's really, really into the ACW, and I envy him because there's first hand sources out the wazoo. With the TYW we have to be happy to get a good book every now and then. Unfortunately there are so few wargaming-relevant publications about the period in German, which is a real shame. So I have to take the detour via English-language literature, which up to a while ago was also heavily leaning on dodgy sources. However, I recently got Laurence Spring's book on the Bavarian army (and pretty much everything else), and that is one smashing book. I ordered the one about Wallenstein's army the other day.