Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Age of the Big Battalions => Topic started by: Diablo Jon on April 01, 2021, 07:25:55 AM
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So I'm a 28mm man, most likely to game solo, and would have to paint up two armies to game. It seems to me that if I wanted to dabble in Napoleonic gamming I'd be best served by concentrating on the smaller battles of the era.
I'm thinking battles no bigger than say Gefrees, Halberstadt or Olper in 1809. So forces only a few thousand strong maybe 6 or so infantry battalions, a cavalry regiment and a couple of guns per side nothing bigger possibly smaller.
What rules out there might suit my purposes of this level of command as well as ideally being quick play, usable solo, with battalions as the basic unit and fought on a modest 6 ft wargames table with 28mm miniatures.
Any help gratefully received.
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For that figure count range and table size, you might consider going to DBN. It is a much higher level of command — 1 stand generally = 1 brigade. There are some very nice game videos that should give you an idea if you would like it or not. The author has been whiling away lockdowns making vids of solo games: https://www.youtube.com/user/DBNwargaming/videos
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If playing solo recommend one hour wargames all you need in a single volume, get kite or less the same results without all the detail sonideal for solo play and 30 scenarios included. Basic armies need 4 infantry, 2 LT Infantry, 2 Cavalry and 2 artillery as many figures as you want over a 6” frontage. We have doubled the forces and played on a 6x3’ table. HEALTH WARNING not universally loved but will get you playing scenario driven games that will allow you to dabble and expand perhaps into a more dedicated set of rules should the wargames butterfly land for a while.
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Lasalle would certainly work
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In other periods, do you like simple fast rules or something more complex? Can you leave the games set up overnight?
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Thanks for the suggestions guys
In other periods, do you like simple fast rules or something more complex? Can you leave the games set up overnight?
I was brought up on Warhammer and Wargames Research group Rules I'd happily avoid anything as painful as the latter still love old school Warhammer. These days I enjoy the Daniel Mersey stable of rules ( lion rampant, TMWWBKs etc) so something at that level would work for me. I have my wargames room so the table can be left set up for days if I like.
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Shadow of the Eagles (just out) might be worth a look - https://www.shadowoftheeagles.com/
I solo playtested it a little when the in progress rules were still in development and it gave a good game. I'm a complete newbie when it comes to Napoleonics and don't own any forces myself (I proxied in 2mm Crimean War bases) but think you could run reasonably small games with it easily enough. My test game was only 4 or 5 units a side I think (4 bases per unit) which gave a small quick game (though can be scaled up).
I plan to get them out on the bigger table at some point when I get the book through with the final rules.
I've also recently picked up a copy of Sharpe Practice which looks good fun, though haven't tried them out yet.
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Osprey has the game Chosen Men that I have not played. In a pinch you could also use Rebels and Patriots
Here are my thoughts on both....
Chosen Men
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2017/02/review-chosen-men-osprey-games.html
Rebels and Patriots
https://bloodandspectacles.blogspot.com/2019/04/review-rebels-and-patriots-osprey.html
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Is Chosen Men a low model count game? For some reason I thought it was still decently sized.
I think low model Napoleonics is one of the driving factors behind the upcoming Silver Bayonet. It's got horror elements though and I'm not sure if they can be split out the way Dracula's America smartly can.
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I second Shadow of the Eagles, game tested that too. It will give a brisk short game if you've got ~ 6 battalions a side. Results make sense, nothing that leaves you wondering "how the hell that happened?" Last version I played all units were the same size. Ideally 4 stands per infantry/cavalry unit though this isn't a must. You could play it with a single stand per unit and use markers to show the formation. Number of figures isn't a big deal either. The frontage of a battalion in line determines what measurements and ranges to use. I play with 15mm figures and a 4" unit frontage. There is another set for 28mm figures, I forget the unit frontage, perhaps 8 - 10 inches or so.
Glad to know it got published. I knew it was coming soon.
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Shadow of the Eagles is at the printer’s, according to the website, and likely to be available next week. A PDF of the rules but not the full book has been available from Wargames Vault for a while.
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I'll second Rebels & Patriots.
Quite possible to tinker with the scale, eg make
the units bigger. It provides a fun simple & quick game.
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If you want skirmish-type games, then the new Shakos & Bayonets supplement for Muskets & Tomahawks looks good. Roof course Sharp Practice is excellent.
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Thanks again guys plenty of options for me to look into.
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While it has some technicalities I don't like, watching the DBN videos on youtube, I really do get a sense that I'm watching a battle unfold in a way that could be described in the same narrative of actual battles. I think I might give it a go for a similar project, alongside Bob Cordery's Portable Napoleonic Wargame and Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames. The last volume is great just for the simple army creation system and the scenarios.
edit: didn't realize this was an old thread. Sorry about that, my brain just didn't register April as long ago. o_o
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WARNING - the following may be considered heresy by some! :o Having said that...
I would try Black Powder. The heresy part is a single rank of figures per unit. 5 stands of 3 figures each. 15 figs per infantry unit. The game itself works well for a fight of that size, and would fit on a 6x4 table easily enough. Just my 2 cents...
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I would mention Fiftful of Lead:Big Battles with Fistful of Lead: Horse and Muskets 2.0
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To suggest something that takes the scale up a little bit, I would suggest looking at General d'Brigade or even British Grenadier (the AWI version) by Dave Brown. Both work with the battalion as the main unit, and while people have suffer from a lot of size creep, the rules work very nicely on a small division vs small division size scenario.
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I think this chap uses home made rules, but thought you might like browsing through his blog as he uses a 6x4 with low unit count and has some excellent games. Link
http://hintonhunt.blogspot.com/2021/05/the-battle-of-bournemouth-game.html
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Norm has a very good point, if you are happy to use home written rules then I can recommend looking into the following:
- https://chasseuracheval.blogspot.com/p/321-fast-play-napoleonic-rules.html
- http://landofthelead.blogspot.com/2013/12/28mm-napoleonics-2nd-game-with1-page.html
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I prefer the classics. So its Charge for me.
(https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HbkhOFUDhnw/XUwcQbiyCwI/AAAAAAAAHdI/_Nhpu1B3Eh0DtugFMoiP1vkRGQl4mqcggCLcBGAs/s1600/20190808_133344.jpg)
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Charge is brilliant - but the rules are for 18th Century battles, not Napoleonics
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DJ
Mate for solo gaming try General De Brigade .
They are a more Historical set than most , and most importantly they have .. these crazy things called orders, AND fog of war ...lol
This makes them perfectly suited for Solo gaming .
You can perhaps even use General De Armee ( add on GDE Brigade command orders )
For a smaller level a scaled up Sharpes Practise will look awesome , again make up a card deck , 10 cards say , and pick up a card at the start of the battle that gives the relevent orders , ( skirmish / assult / scout .. etc ) that the Non Playing side Must Follow .. and you are away .
The Sharpes Practise line units can still be used based up in multifigure bases , just paint some separate skirmishers...
As an added advantage small scale games let the terrain come back in to better scale , and often a smaller game looks miles better than a big game .
Cheers
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I would second the General Brigade rules option for what you have in mind. I would also suggest you have a look at the Peninsular theatre. There are many small actions between Spanish forces operating away from the main fronts and the French columns sent to deal with them. Good look with it. :D
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We play "Over the hills" 2nd ed on a 6*4 table with some 8 units per side in 28mm.
Scale is appr 1:25
But as other mentioned, there are a lot of rulessets and BP in one row is a great possibility to start.
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DBN 2.1 is my favourite solo game at the moment. Like other DB games, a six sided dice, rolled at the start of each turn, determines how much you can do in that turn. This adds the unexpected aspect to the game. I play on a 60cm x 60cm board with 2mm figs! A different scale to you, but could be adapted? There are added optional rules to add more variation to the armies. There are some good videos available on you tube!
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If you simply want 28mm Napoleonic with a low figure count you could always look at 2FLs "Sharpe Practice2". Not a classic Napoleonic battalion level game but a lot of fun.