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Author Topic: New to ECW  (Read 2239 times)

Offline Marshall

  • Student
  • Posts: 14
New to ECW
« on: July 10, 2020, 11:49:20 AM »
I've always had an interest in ECW and always had my eye on a new model army force. I've jumped in an d bought warlords for king and country starter and a unit of infanrty and a unit of firelocks.

What i'm after knowing is what rules sets should i be after as there seem to be a lot. I'd like to play medium to skirmish level games early on then build up to the larger games.

out of tge rules sets i've seen pike & shotte, forlorn hope, 1644, pikemans lament and warhammer ECW which works well and what is manageble early on?

On the subject of rules sets how best to base my models? i'm an old fantsy palyer at heart so i've always prefered single 20mm bases. does this work for the above

Also i'm based in Manchester, are there are there any clubs/players in the north west?

Many thanks
marsh

Offline Atheling

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Re: New to ECW
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2020, 12:04:52 PM »
The best 28mm ECW rules that I have ever played were from The Perfect Captain and called Very Civil Actions.

They are geared towards smaller actions though definitely not skirmish level.

The great thing about these rules is that they are free, though if you are a man/woman of conscience you would make a donation to a charity.

Available here:
http://perfectcaptain.50megs.com/vcactions.html

I've played 1644, WAB ECW, Pike and Shotte and some of the older rule sets though I have yet to try out The Kingdom is Ours available from Helion Books) which I have heard some very good things about.

Offline SJWi

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Re: New to ECW
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2020, 01:23:02 PM »
I started ECW about 2 years ago, not having played it for 30 years. I bought Simon Miller’s “For King and Parliament”  as I already play his “To the Strongest” ancients set. These work well for me but they might not be everybody’s cup of tea. You can buy a digital copy from the BigRedBat website for £9.99.

Offline Sparrow

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1302
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #3 on: July 11, 2020, 06:55:21 AM »
Forlorn Hope are very good, in my opinion ( my favourite set), and I’d highly recommend them. Even if you don’t like the rules the appendices and notes will be really useful to you as you get started.

As for other sets, each to their own but, personally,  I found “The Kingdom is Ours” (mentioned above) to be one of the most woeful and disappointing ECW rule sets released in years. But that’s my opinion and it doesn’t mean I’m right... they may work for you so don’t be afraid to try them (and as I keep saying... “it’d be boring if we were all the same”!).  One of the joys of our hobby is we can all do things differently.

Above all, have fun and welcome to what, I think, is the best wargames period out there!
Put your trust in God and keep your powder dry!

Offline fred

  • Galactic Brain
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    • Miniature Gaming
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #4 on: July 11, 2020, 07:37:32 AM »
Our group really likes For King and Parliament.

For most of the rulesets basing is by element, so if you want to base singular you will probably want to get some movement trays to make moving units much easier. But I would suggest looking at multi-basing figures it gives you a lot more options around how a unit looks - and you tend to need slightly fewer figures for a unit.

Pikemans Lament is aimed at a smaller scale game than the others - and will give a fun quick small game. It is built on the Lion Rampant rules - but with some improvements in activation (IIRC there are now so many sets based on LR that I’m struggling to recall the details).

I’ve read through The Kingdom is Ours and it did nothing much for me. Likewise Pike and Shotte while a lovely book with lots of inspiration (not just for ECW) I’m not that sure about the rules - despite being a big fan of Hail Caesar back in the day.

« Last Edit: July 11, 2020, 07:42:13 AM by fred »

Offline Norm

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Re: New to ECW
« Reply #5 on: July 11, 2020, 04:39:20 PM »
I am sure there are nearer clubs to you, but St. Helens Spartans is worth a mention, they put on the Phalanx wargame show.

Link

https://spartans.org.uk/

Offline fastolfrus

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 5247
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #6 on: July 12, 2020, 08:32:51 PM »
There are a lot of rules about. Many use multiple based figures, but not all use the same sized stands. If you want singly based figures (which also means you could use them for skirmish games) I would suggest single basing and carry on painting until you find a rules set that suits you. Firms like Warbases make movement trays and sabot bases in a variety of sizes.

That just leaves the difficult question of rules sets. Do you have an opponent in mind? If so, what do they use? If not, check out local clubs.

There is a set of rules from Peter Pig, "Regiment of Foote", that are quite good. Aimed at 15mm players, but can be used in other scales.
Also there is an East European set called "By Fire and Sword", aimed at the late 17th century, but they plan to  bring out an ECW version in the autumn.
Gary, Glynis, and Alasdair (there are three of us, but we are too mean to have more than one login)

Offline fastolfrus

  • Galactic Brain
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Re: New to ECW
« Reply #7 on: July 12, 2020, 08:37:06 PM »
Also, if you don't have a planned opponent you may have to recruit both forces

Offline fastolfrus

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Re: New to ECW
« Reply #8 on: July 12, 2020, 08:57:27 PM »
If you are on Facebook, there is a group there called "17th century Wargaming". Could be worth joining and asking the same question.

Offline Captain Blood

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Re: New to ECW
« Reply #9 on: July 12, 2020, 09:05:32 PM »
I’m enjoying The Pikeman’s Lament. They’re easy to understand and master, provide a good game, can be scaled up or down to accommodate just a handful of units or quite sizeable forces, don’t involve loads of tables, stats, and mathematical calculations when it comes to inflicting casualties, and they give a good flavour of the period. Purists seem to regard the rules as too abstract, which is probably why I like them. They provide a very enjoyable game of soldiers, without getting bogged down in a lot of worthy but tedious ‘correct’ period detail. Depends whether you’re after a game that’s fast and fun to play with all the superficial trappings of the ECW, or a painstakingly accurate historical simulation of mid C17th warfare. Which is possibly less fun. I can’t say to be honest, because I haven’t tried any of the other sets mentioned in this thread so far. But donkeys years ago, I used to regularly play ECW in both 25mm (as it then was) and 15mm, with George Gush’s WRG renaissance rules. I greatly prefer the simple joie de vivre of The Pikeman’s Lament.

Online vodkafan

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  • Posts: 3510
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #10 on: July 13, 2020, 12:04:20 AM »
I endorse Captain Blood's post. Pikeman's Lament gives a good game and you can start off with a few dozen figures.
I am going to build a wargames army, a big beautiful wargames army, and Mexico is going to pay for it.

2019 Painting Challenge :
figures bought: 500+
figures painted: 57
9 vehicles painted
4 terrain pieces scratchbuilt

Offline Marshall

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  • Posts: 14
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #11 on: July 13, 2020, 01:31:53 AM »
Many thanks for the helpful posts.

I've now got what I fear could be a lengthy question about uniform but I fear that could be for another post...

Ta
Marsh

Offline Atheling

  • Elder God
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    • Just Add Water Wargaming Blog
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #12 on: July 13, 2020, 08:43:36 AM »
Many thanks for the helpful posts.

I've now got what I fear could be a lengthy question about uniform but I fear that could be for another post...

Ta
Marsh

There's a couple of nice little reference pdf's available for free on the Baccus site which might help you get started:
https://www.baccus6mm.com/PaintingGuides/ECW/

Offline v_lazy_dragon

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  • Posts: 1830
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #13 on: July 13, 2020, 09:20:25 AM »
A bit late to the party, but my (17th C) re-enactment group mates & I enjoy Donnybrook - although that's more skirmish to small game size (say 4-8 units, of 3/6/9 cavalry or 4/8/12 infantry depending on troop quality). It has scope for characters too, so if you want a preacher present, he comes with a bonus etc
Xander
Army painters thread: leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=56540.msg671536#new
WinterApoc thread: leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=50815.0

Offline Radar

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    • KeepYourPowderDry
Re: New to ECW
« Reply #14 on: July 13, 2020, 05:28:29 PM »
Be wary of a number of coat colours lists - many replicate the same errors. The Baccus pdfs aren't too bad.

Might I suggest my own coat colours articles (which have references)? There's five posts looking at:-

Parliamentarian coat colours

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2020/05/coat-colours-part-1-parliamentarian.html

Royalist

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2020/05/coat-colours-part-2-royalist-regiments.html

Scots

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2020/05/coat-colours-part-3-scots.html

New Model Army, Parliamentarian and Royalist cavalry and dragoons

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2020/05/coat-colours-part-4-others-nma-dragoons.html

The Trained Bands

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2020/05/the-trained-bands.html

As for possible colour palette

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2018/06/what-colours-to-use.html

and translated into Cd'A and Foundry

https://www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk/2019/11/what-colours-to-use-part-2-paint.html

Hopefully that'll give you a start
« Last Edit: July 13, 2020, 05:56:25 PM by Radar »
www.keepyourpowderdry.co.uk gaming the British Civil Wars in 15mm, and home of the ECW travelogue - dreadful painting, mediocre prose