New to Interwar period

[morrisbh]

Hi All,
I've suddenly discovered, I know late to the show, the shear numbers of conflicts in this period. It looks like it could be a very interesting period to play.

What are the popular sets of rules being used and are any designed to play from Africa to the Balkans to Asia? I'm thinking of 28mm skirmish size games.

Cheers

[Inkpaduta]

The only one I know that are specifically written for the various wars in the interwars period are World in Flames by Osprey.
Not sure how widely they are used.

[Will Bailie]

It's a big and diverse period to consider! 

For 28mm skirmish games, a very popular ruleset here at LAF is 'Triumph and Tragedy', which has its own child board:  https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?board=25.0 I'm not sure if it's still in print or where you can find a copy.

Another popular set here at LAF is 'Setting the East Ablaze'.  It is available from Caliver Books:  https://www.caliverbooks.com/bookview.php?9fuot90v5mubirlh80i69m9m60&id=25635&subcatcode=M&subcatno=125

You can also look at 'Brigadier '38', which was written with the Very British Civil War in mind:  https://solwaycraftsandminiatures.webs.com/books.htm

I got my own start into the Back of Beyond with the Back of Beyond supplement to Chris Peers' Contemptible Little Armies:  https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=650  and   https://www.northstarfigures.com/prod.php?prod=5740

Many WWI and WWII rules have been tweaked for interwar gaming.  There are versions of (for example) Chain of Command and Bolt Action that focus on conflicts like the Spanish Civil War, the Italian Invasion of Abyssinia and more.  There are also variants of The Men Who Would Be Kings, The Sword and the Flame (look for 'The Sword to Adventure') as well as rules more closely focussed on specific conflicts such as the Russian Civil War, the Spanish Civil War and more.  If you're already familiar with one of these rulesets, it might be an easy start point.

[morrisbh]

Thanks for your replies. I shall start looking into the listed rule sets and see what attracts my attention.
Cheers

[has.been]

To add to the above, look at 'Fist Full of Lead, reloaded'
They are quick to learn, easy to tweak (if you want to
add in something for your particular 'war') and, to me
the most important thing, they are FUN. Definitely
more Hollywood than History.  You pays yer money &
you makes yer choice.
If you do go for FFofL and, like most of us, end up with
more than 'skirmish' numbers, you can move on to
FFofL Big Battles. We have, take a peek at Flatpack's games,

 https://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=131435.msg1667845#msg1667845

[SJWi]

Morrisbh, I've tried a few of the rulesets mentioned. Triumph an Tragedy are a good set if a tad "Pulp". They also produce a Spanish Civil War supplement. I bought the Osprey "A World Aflame" but as with many Osprey sets, I didn't like them. They might work for you?  I have also used the Two Fat Lardies Chain of Command for Spanish Civil War but found the Foreign Legion "supermen". Being an infantry-based game they are good for the period, and you can download a variety of "army" lists from their website.   I would avoid the Chris Peers rules like the plague! One of my next projects is to dust-off my Red Army, Warlord Chinese and "Jazz Age Imperialism" British and give "FFol;Bigger Battles" a run-out.   

[flatpack]

FFOL Bigger  Battles are great for this.
We’ve used them recently for games using our Brits, Germans, Russians, and Chinese.
It’s great for mid war games, that you want to play.
We’ve had some great fun playing them, as has.been has mentioned.
Lots of toy soldiers on the table, lots of nice scenery, lots of fun for the period.
Give it a go. Well worth it.

[SJWi]

flatpack, a gaming friend has just bought them so definitely looking forward to some interwar games. I may even be tempted to expand my armies.

[morrisbh]

Thank you for all the above information, much appreciated. Think I will start with 'Fist Full of Lead, reloaded' and see how I go from there.
Cheers,
Brett

[swiftnick]

We have played many an interwar game using the Legends of the old west rules. There was a 1938 version available for free on the internet.

[Hang Tuah]

I would avoid the Chris Peers rules like the plague!

Pray tell more! I nearly bought some last night but got distracted by spilled wine.

[SJWi]

Hang Tuah, It may be a personal thing as I know some of his rules appeared quite popular. I bought "Contemptible Little Armies v2" and the "Back of Beyond" army lists when we first started gaming the period. I found them poorly laid out and difficult follow. That's when I tried "Triumph and Tragedy". might be best to get a  2nd opinion .

I still have both books lurking in my stash somewhere....

[Will Bailie]

My thoughts on CLA are not as extreme as SJWi's.  The rules are simple, allowing for quick play, beer and pretzels style gaming.  They don't have much depth, not much in the lines of Command and Control mechanisms.  But they let you get your toys on the table and get a game on with little fuss.  And the Back of Beyond lists inspired me to do some research on the various armies - they get very brief introductions in the BoB lists, not much more than a paragraph along with very basic descriptions of troop types, but what was provided was enough to get me digging into the reference books for more information.

[SJWi]

Will, thanks for a "measured" 2nd opinion.  I would agree that the "Back of Beyond" lists are quite useful as a primer on the period, and would complement any other set if rules. I think what we found frustrating was the lack of depth....plus the lay out, lack of a QRF etc etc. We found that when we thought about certain mechanisms, or follow-on effects of actions there just wasn't anything there. Some people would say "just add your own house rules" but we moved on to look for something else.

[Will Bailie]

No worries, SWJi!  CLA is pretty limited, and I haven't played it in something like 15 years.  We noted the same things you did - no QRS, no depth, so we also moved on to different rules.  There's a better selection of games out there now, but the BoB supplement was good for inspiration.

Morris, if you are still looking for historical inspiration for your games, I recommend the books by Peter Hopkirk - 'Setting the East Ablaze', 'the Great Game - On Secret Service East of Constantinople', and 'Foreign Devils on the Silk Road'.