Lead Adventure Forum
Miniatures Adventure => Colonial Adventures => Topic started by: Tim Haslam on November 15, 2015, 06:31:34 PM
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I'm just dipping my toe in the water here,
Looking for ideas for a new period to game.
The Anglo Zulu war appeals?
However I'd only want to be playing a large skirmish scale type of game.
Black Powder sounds good but seems better suited to large Napoleonic style games?
I appreciate I'll still need a fair few Zulu warriors in even a small skirmish.
I'm thinking roughly two units of British infantry, a unit of cavalry perhaps and a single gun?
Plus the associated Zulu enemy, 80 figures perhaps?
Ideas?
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Argonor asked the same question a couple of weeks back and got some good responses:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=83948.0 (http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=83948.0)
I have been on a similar hunt but for the 1st and 2nd Afghan Wars and chose to pick up the "Victorian Steel" rules to adapt for big skirmish and "Triumph and Tragedy" to use the same figures in a more personal smaller skirmish games.
Men Who Would be King looks pretty good but not due out until middle next year and "beta"/test copies are not available (at least to me).
But knowing my habit of impulse buying figures for my collections it is highly likely that I will be at Black Powder level games in a few years.
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Victorian Steel:
http://www.victorian-steel.com/ (http://www.victorian-steel.com/)
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Thanks for that!
£15 looks a fair price.
I'll give them a read.
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Tim, panzer eight do some simple rules for games. Their very easy to learn and would be ideal for the size of game you have in mind.
http://panzer8.weebly.com/rules.html
Jeff
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Triumph and Tragedy. It has it's own board here and the authors are on hand to answer questions. :)
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?board=25.0
Perfect for a large skirmish game with the numbers of figures you have mentioned.
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The Sword and the Flame would handle those numbers of British perfectly, though you would need a higher number of Zulus (or recycle units). Well worth a look.
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The Sword and the Flame would handle those numbers of British perfectly, though you would need a higher number of Zulus (or recycle units). Well worth a look.
i agree ...TSATF was created with Anglo Zulu War in mind...i game with it since Eighties...always lot of fun...speed of play..feeling of the period..characterisation of your castings.easy to play also at firts approach to the rule and easy to game also refering almost uniquly to the reminder sheet....the only commercial set of wargame/tabletop rules that did'nt require an attorney to play ....
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Do 'sword and the flame' base figures individually?
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I've played a bunch of colonial rules, but always come back to TSATF. If you are worried about fielding the number of figures, use half size units.
I have enough Brits and Zulus to do Rorke's Drift at 1 to 1 Brits (actually a whole lot more!) and 1 to 4 Zulu. Speaking of which, for a Rorke's Drift scenario, I highly recommend Hal Thinglum's rules From MWAN. I believe they are still available for download on the Yahoo "Colonial Wars" group.
I used to run Hal's Rorke's Drift rules for Rorke's Drift and TSATF for refights of other battles or made up scenarios at conventions.
Although I based my figures individually (it is a skirmish type game) I used movement trays to ease moving 1000 Zulus.
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Great information thanks!
Any idea where I may get my hands on TSatF in the UK?
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Do 'sword and the flame' base figures individually?
yes i suggest you to base them individually...as the other friend from TMP suggested you can begin whith whatever neumber of minis you have...half unit of 10 castings...you can even use some of them individually as scouts or temporary detached small patrols..of course they cannot charge or get very close a formed ennemy full unit..there are many "house rules" to create your self and fit the situations....one nice thing that i've recently experimented with fun was a unit roster whith every figure numbered and named..and every battle on which the figure survive you gain experience points ecc...
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Great information thanks!
Any idea where I may get my hands on TSatF in the UK?
i think there are no distributor in Europe..only one in Australia...but no problems in gettint it directly from USA...very honest postage fee..good service..and you better help the small family company to develop more rules..
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I'm getting good feedback thanks.
So I appear to be having difficulty finding the official U.S. Site to buy the rules?
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I'm getting good feedback thanks.
So I appear to be having difficulty finding the official U.S. Site to buy the rules?
voilą:
http://www.sergeants3.com/
and contact also the yahoo group plus The Miniature Page Forum (TMP) dedicated board..they/we 'll be helpful for every question and it'll be very useful to scroll all the postings...unfortunatly the author, a very good person, of this set of rule..have just passed away..so to spread TSATF in Europe and talk about it could be, maybe, a little way to remenber him
http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/topics.mv?id=267
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http://www.sergeants3.com
Sergeants three sell them.
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Tim i don't want, as you are a potential beginner with the rules, to overwelm you with feedback..but there is also another US firm..connected with the TSATF..that sell, among other interesting things, some sets of event cards..you can of course play without those purposly designed event/action cards to be used in conjunction with TSATF but they add a lot of fun......the specific card desk for Zulu Wars is very nice..it adds some spice to the game..and a sort of hollywood type adventure flavour...which is one of the characteristic of the game and one of the main reasons for his success since the Seventies...that's the site...
http://www.thevirtualarmchairgeneral.com/345-Card%20Decks.html
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Despite being virtually unknown in the UK, TSATF have probably done more to promote colonial gaming than any other ruleset in the last 30 years. Supply from the US publisher is usually fast and reliable, though there may be some short-term disruption following the sad death of the author, Larry Brom.
BUT they are very much a product of their time and many of the mechanisms used are now very dated - I played them a couple of times and felt they lacked true period feel and the interminable matched melee dice rolls put me off after the first few games, as I recall, and there are now better alternatives available IMHO.
Can heartily recommend Patrick and his service at TVAG - well worth a look if you decide to go down the TSATF route.
With the number of figures you want to start with, take a look at 'Death in the Dark Continent' by Chris Peers for starters, which is a great game that has suitable force lists for the AZW. When it's released in Autumn 2016, Osprey's "The Men who would be Kings" would be a great choice (playtest force lists require around 90-100 Zulus and 36-48 British/Imperials).
I currently use an adaptation of the TFL "Sharp Practice" rules, mainly using the amendments to be found on the 'Wyvern Wargamers' website, though I'm hoping a proper colonial supplement will be released once the second edition SP rules are released in Spring 2016.
Where in the UK are you based? Always looking for more colonial buffs in the wilds of South Yorkshire!
Hope this helps
Simon
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Ha!
Oldham...
Maybe I'll only need to collect one single side to this conflict?
The Osprey rules sound promising?
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Wrong side of the border but we'll let you off :-)
Call yourself a proper wargamer? Of course you NEED both sides, and while you're at it, you should get the unpainted lead needed for the Sudan, the Boer Wars, North West Frontier AND probably German South West Africa, just for good measure.
I go to the Barnsley club (meets on a Saturday afternoon) where there's several of us getting back into colonial gaming. I'm looking forward to the release of the Osprey rules (there's a thread here about a demo game at the recent Hereward show) which seem to give a fun and fast-moving game with quite a lot of period-feel, but with plenty of scope for tweaking with house-rules for specific campaigns, but I've only participated in a couple of play-test games so far. It's similar to their Lion Rampant medieval rules, if that gives you any clues.
We're running a Sudan game this Saturday, seeing how the rules look and play with 15mm figures, substituting 1 4-man base per single 28mm figure: so a company will have 32-48 figures and a Mahdist 'rub will be 48-64 figures strong: should look suitably dramatic!
Till they are released I'd get painting, individually base the figures for maximum flexibility and use Warbases movement trays as sabot bases to try out 'DITDC' in the meantime.
I
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I am also aiming for TMWWBK to be released, but in the meantime I have got In Her Majesty's Name, and the supplement Heroes, Villains and Fiends which conntains rules for Brits, Boers and Zulus, so I can get some gaming going after painting just a couple of handfuls of minis.
I may also get Triumph and Tragedy and/or In the Heart of Africa (Death in the Dark Continent seems under update) for when my forces outgrow IHMN.
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The best Zulu gaming system I've played is Zulu Skirmish 2e. I have tried the Men Who Would Be Kings, Black Powder, and the Sword and the Flame. All had some good points, but none appealed to me 100%. In Zulu Skirmish 2e (second edition) the number of figures in a unit is perfect and the rule set has everything you need to play a small or grand scale game. The addition of cards for Commanders & Units as well as Command Action events is fantastic! I strongly recommend Zulu Skirmish 2e!
Author's description:
Zulu, Skirmish 2e is our totally updated second edition rule set for miniature gaming which is all about you as a Zulu impi commander or British battalion commander directing your table top forces in small or grand scale unit actions. Designed for 28mm figures or smaller, the Zulu play area consists of on-board and off-board play. On-board play is for the majority of game play, while we have ensured there is just enough off-board play to capture the unique historical flavor of the Zulu wars.
Army choices include British, Zulu and Boers! If you are interested in Zulu Skirmish 2e, ask for the Lead Adventure Forum, "LAF" discount when you order on https://texasgames.com/
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Wot is a card desk? o_o
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The Sword and The Flame
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Thanks for the tip, Woahorse, but please note that this topic is from 2015. I really hope that Tim isn't still looking for a rules set after all these years.
Still, if he somehow is, those do look interesting.
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I wrote some last year: Laundry Day
https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=133163.msg1716368#msg1716368