Newish to the period(s), need some help deciding.

[jetengine]

When it comes to historicals (a rarer genre for me) I tend to focus on Dark Ages (Vikings yeah!) Or WW2 (Tanks and Infantry yeah!) but I'm getting a bit tired of scruffy dudes in furs and industrial designed uniforms. I want something a tad fancier, from a time when the military was full of gentleman (and oiks). The only problem is which era to choose.

So  first of all, Napoleon is out. Loved Sharpe, really great. Can't stand the uniforms, too bloody complicated to paint and I'm not a fan of the Shako. Maybe one day, but not now.

Scale is irrelevant but if 28mm I'd prefer to be able to play without a million models.  I tend to go Large Warband scale in 28mm (80-100 models) and more in smaller.

So my choices currently are....

Seven Years War - Some of the Napoleonic Eras fanciness, but a tad toned down. The Tricorne is awesome. Multiple nations and battles including my own. Several rulesets, no plastics, but a fair amount of metals.

F&I War - Pretty much the same as the above, albeit smaller and nastier. George Washington started it. Very few plastics, lots of metals, several rulesets.

ACW - Great music, great uniforms, tons of plastics. Only two factions, not a massive interest amongst my groups as its a very foreign war. Also a tad difficult to get into do to its overwhelming amouunt of info.

Franco Prussian War - I know little beyond two things, the Prussians had better guns and the French Uniforrms look AMAZING.  Plastics are slowly coming, only two factions.

Any suggestions or advice for a guy with a plethora of choice ?

[Will Bailie]

If having your nation involved is a bonus, could you tell us which nation that is?  Might help with the suggestions.

One other era to consider is War of the Spanish Succession or Great Northern War.  Two different wars but they overlap, and between them included almost every nation in Europe.  Uniforms tended to be simpler than the later 18th Century, so easier to paint.  Uniforms were not as standardised as later, so you can fit a bit more variety into a single army, so you can have some fun without having to paint all the figures with identical uniforms (or nearly identical!). There are plastic figures available from Warlord Games.  Lots of tricornes, but also a few different types of mitre, as well as various floppy hats, caps and other options.

As for rulesets, Dan Mersey's Rebels and Patriots provides a pretty flexible toolbox to create armies for the black power era.  A little fine-tuning can provide good fun and should be around your preferred army size (30 to 50 models on each side).

[vtsaogames]

Franco Prussian War - I know little beyond two things, the Prussians had better guns and the French Uniforrms look AMAZING.  Plastics are slowly coming, only two factions.

Prussians had better artillery and leaders, French had better rifles. And uniforms, which is why I did them. In 15mm Old Glory 15s (different from main Old Glory company) have very nice figures. For grand tactical games, with whole armies on the table we chose Bloody Big Battles. I hear They Died for Glory is used much for tactical games, maybe a division per side. Other rules too, I'm sure.

As said above, War of the Spanish Succession has simpler uniforms, lots of 28mm plastics, and simpler tactics. Very few skirmishers to confuse things, all smoothbore weapons.

[Rochejaquelein]

I would concur that War of Spanish Succession would be a good fit. Many different armies with relatively simple designs. Multiple theaters on several continents.

As an alternative, you could do the Nine Years War (1688-1697), which has all the same cool features as WSS, but you also get greater widespread use of more archaic forms of warfare to make more interesting armies, like pikemen and armored soldiers. For that, I would look into Front Rank Miniatures when they start doing orders again.

[vtsaogames]

Scale is irrelevant but if 28mm I'd prefer to be able to play without a million models.  I tend to go Large Warband scale in 28mm (80-100 models) and more in smaller.

Just noticed this. Perhaps a skirmish rule set like Rebels & Patriots would be more what you are looking for. 50, 60 figures per side or so. Sharp Practice if you can go a little higher.

Our Franco-Prussian BBB 15mm setup has a max of 300 figures or so per side, usually not all on the table at once.

[FierceKitty]

I rapidly fell in love with SYW a long, long time ago, and they've been my most consistently played period for nearly four decades. Why?
1)  Appearance: less flamboyant and in much better taste than other H. and M. armies. A slightly militarised civilian dress, and a few hussars etc. for pepper on top.
2) Balance: Of the big five, only France is really not in with a good chance. With Prussians, Austrians, English (as they were universally called), and Russians, you've always got a few local specialities that can give you the edge, but nothing too decisive. And within each army, you've got everything you want, 'cept'n' Alice.
3) Cultural: irrelevant, but it's the era I feel most at home in. With music like that, it set standards our times don't come near.
4) Figures available: Pendraken's range is really comprehensive.

[has.been]

Tricorns are brilliant.
How about Jacobite rebellions. Nice figures in 28mm.
Vodkafan & I are tweaking Rebels & Patriots.

OR

English Civil Wars.  Again some very nice 28mm Figures,
plus if you make the units generic & raise 100 figures,
you can fight 50 V 50 or take on someone else with
your 100.

[fastolfrus]

If you go for Jacobites don't forget it's not just 1745 and look towards 1689 or 1715.

I would also suggest looking at Spanish Succession/Great Northern War/9 Years War

Plastics from Warlord are not brilliant, but there are some good looking metals from League of Augsberg, Ebor, Dixon, and North Star. Foundry too (but they are a bit smaller, fine if you keep them in separate units)

For skirmish type rules there's a set called Donnybrook, aimed at units of 4-12 figures (small units = tough veterans, large ones = raw recruits) with a few units per side. There's also a PDF supplement "Donnybrook at Sea" where you can use small sloops etc and turn to naval actions, or piracy.

Otherwise, have a look at Sharp Practice.

[SJWi]

Jet engine, all great periods but a few things to consider. Can you game it using the figures for both “large skirmish” and bigger battles? Does the period cover both historic small and big battles ? Are their good sources in your native language.

 With these thoughts I would look at French-Indian wars. American War of Independance, American Civil War. Rules such as Muskets and Tomahawks, Sharpe Practice 2 and Rebels and Patriots cover the skirmish end and there are a plethora of larger-scale rules.

 What about Renaissance or English Civil War? The latter is always popular.

[ChrisBBB]

A couple of questions before I air my own prejudices.
Which is more important to you: gameplay, or spectacle?
Which excites you more: skirmishes, or big battles?

Myself, I favour gameplay and big battles, which colours my answers below.

SYW: don't do it. The battles are linear, the tactical options limited, as argued here:
http://bloodybigbattles.blogspot.com/2016/04/airing-some-prejudices-on-one.html
(No offence to those who do enjoy it, it's a matter of taste, and I have played some fun SYW games myself. I just think there is better fun to be had elsewhere.)

F&IW: if skirmish games are your thing, at least this offers enough variety of troop types to make it interesting.

ACW: some super-interesting battles to refight (I particularly love The Wilderness and Chickamauga), but relatively symmetrical armies. Therefore:

FPW (etc): go for it! Especially if you get Austrians as well, then you can fight a triangle of 1859, 1866 and 1870. Each of these makes for really interesting tactical challenges because of the asymmetry of weapons and tactics and doctrine. DON'T do it in 28mm; DON'T do it as a skirmish game (too little variety of weaponry); these wars were all about the big battles, and there is so much good gaming to be had from them at that level. The whole second half of the 19th century is fascinating because of the evolution of technologies and tactics in that period. Lots of different conflicts to explore.

That's just my advice and, as I said, it does depend what you like. Others may have better advice for your tastes. Good luck with finding what's right for you.

Chris

Bloody Big BATTLES!
https://groups.io/g/bloodybigbattles
BBB on FB:
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[SJWi]

Chris, I’m intrigued by your FPW recommendation? Are there many sources available in English? I last looked at it “pre-Internet” back in the ‘80s, plus 19th century isn’t something I read about much.

 Thanks

[ChrisBBB]

Glad you like the idea of FPW. There's no shortage of FPW info in English. Covered well by Osprey for the necessary uniform info and I guess basic overview:
https://ospreypublishing.com/the-franco-prussian-war-1870-1871-ebook?___store=osprey_rst
My excellent publisher Helion has plenty for you, especially from the estimable Quintin Barry:
https://www.helion.co.uk/conflicts/franco-prussian-war.php
and lots more good books around, I'm sure.

Worth adding that the FPW falls into two distinct phases, the Imperial phase (up to the battle of Sedan - which makes a surprisingly good game considering the French are trapped and doomed) and then the Republican phase. The former sees high quality French troops dismally led. The latter sees masses of hastily raised raw levies, with a smattering of elites (Foreign Legion, Papal Zouaves, spahis), but better commanded, notably by Chanzy. Garibaldi shows up too, though he doesn't do a lot. Action around the siege of Paris involving forts and gunboats and railway guns ... plenty of colour to be found, as well as the grand tactical challenges.

[FierceKitty]

If SYW interests you at all, read a few real histories before you believe those who say it's all line-'em-up-and-shoot-'em-down.

[ChrisBBB]

Hi FK, having recently translated Clausewitz's history of the SYW, I can report that "it's all line-'em-up-and-shoot-'em-down" is pretty much what he says too, so I'm in good company. There are some really interesting battles, to be sure, but the truly interesting decisions are mostly in the pre-battle manoeuvring, rather than once battle is joined on the tabletop, so to speak.

Still I will happily grant that there are good games to be had from Zorndorf, Torgau, Rossbach etc. I'm sure there are good reasons why it has sustained your interest for so long. No disparagement intended.

Chris

[Melnibonean]

The English Civil War (ECW) is a fun period. There's really only two main sides to worry: The King and the Parliament. But there's also the Scots and Irish if you want something different. Warlord Games provide an easy gateway with plenty of plastics and metal figures. They do a starter set that comes with a with a bunch of troops and a set of rules (Pike and Shotte). The uniforms are very easy and because there's limited info on them you can't really make mistakes with the uniforms. Lots of interesting personalities involved too.