Beginner rules?

[M Blakey]

Hi there everyone im mike new to the forum and rather new to historical war gaming.

i was just wondering what rules could i use fo a small skirmish scenario in 28mm for zulu land which is ideal for a begginer and his mates any help would be great.   

thanks alot

[Malamute]

"The sword and the flame" seems to be very popular for skirmish actions.

[Mosstrooper]

I would second 'The Sword and the Flame' , there is also a free downloadable set on Empress figures site that look interesting !.

[former user]

try T&T, the rules are very easy and provide a fast game, plus they'll release a new colonial supplement soon - check the appropriate board

[Svennn]

If you are familiar with Gw games why not use those mechanics and play some small set ups. You will soon get a feel for what stats work for which forces and can tweek them accordingly. Warhammer is a pretty basic system and whether ancients or fantasy plays just the same.

[M Blakey]

Thanks alot guys defo look into the "T&T" and "sword and the flame" i'll give anything a go.

and thanks svennn actually makes sense nice on mate

cheers everyone.

[Lowtardog]

A darkest Africa 40k link here

http://www.cops.nu/Figurspel/WARHAMMER%20Darkest%20Africa.doc

And another (WAB/WFB)

http://www.youandwhosearmy.co.uk/youandwhosearmy/games/warhammer/lists/africa.htm

[Mike D. Mc Brice]

I thought "The Sword and the Flame" features 20 figure strong units? Can somebody post some more details on the rules? When I've seen pictures or read battlereports it usually was about very big skirmish games.

T&T is quite easy to get into and works well, Chris Peers "In the heart of africa" is a bit more difficult and needs more figures (around 80-120 natives) but is a better representation of the period. There will be a colonial T&T supplement soon though.

[Gluteus Maximus]

I thought "The Sword and the Flame" features 20 figure strong units? Can somebody post some more details on the rules? When I've seen pictures or read battlereports it usually was about very big skirmish games.

There is a "skirmish" version - "The Sword In Africa" - which deals with lower level games, using much smaller numbers of figures at the rear of the main rule book. Great fun and you can learn the system with these rules and then progress to the full version when your figure collection expands 

There are some free rules available. One such set is Two Page Skirmish:

http://home.comcast.net/~tsrstevew/TwoPage/twopage.htm

which gives a fun game using small numbers of figures.

There are other free sets here:

http://www.freewargamesrules.co.uk/index.php?page=19th-century

Which may suit your needs.

[Lowtardog]

I thought "The Sword and the Flame" features 20 figure strong units? Can somebody post some more details on the rules? When I've seen pictures or read battlereports it usually was about very big skirmish games.

T&T is quite easy to get into and works well, Chris Peers "In the heart of africa" is a bit more difficult and needs more figures (around 80-120 natives) but is a better representation of the period. There will be a colonial T&T supplement soon though.

Yep you are right 20 figure units

[GregX999]

The skirmish rules that G.Maximus mentions from the back of the 20th Anniversary Ed. The Sword and The Flame rule book (Sword in Africa) are excellent!! I think TSATF is one of the most fun sets of rules I've played (next to Song of Blades and Heros - but that's fantasy). I've introduced 2 people to miniature gaming using Sword in Africa rules with less than 20 figs per side (2 or 3 units per side) and they caught on super-quick and had a blast.

This page hasn't been updated in forever, but there are some excellent battle reports from TSATF games:
http://www.zeitcom.com/majgen/

[warrenpeace]

"The Sword and the Flame" (TSATF for short) is probably the single most popular set of colonial era rules.  I definately enjoy playing those rules.  They are very easilly adapted for different periods, and there are many variants available.  A friend of mine has been playing TSATF for about 30 years, and he has used 20 man units, 10 man units, and 5 man units.  There are variants using d10 and d20 for firing, with the d20 allowing finer grades of difference between firing units' rifles and training.

One of the best places to look for info on TSATF, with game reports, is the place where Larry Brom developed the game, in Jackson, Mississippi, with the Jackson Gamers:

http://www.angelfire.com/games3/jacksongamer/

There's a colonial section there, and a section specifically on TSATF.  The guys in that club have been playing TSATF since before it was published.

Another spot for some interesting TSATF game reports is www.warflag.com for a French Foreign Legion variant.  Just click on the link to "The Red Shadow" to see pics and reports.

[M Blakey]

cheers everyone for that

just the guys to ask 

[Boggler]

There's also Fire and Steel from WRG, which are a bit of a classic (if overlooked) small skirmish set for colonial actions:

http://theminiaturespage.com/rules/18c/firesteel.html

http://www.stapells.com/wargames/rules/f&s.php

...and the Skirmish rules by Steve Barber, which are excellent for a few figures a side:

http://www.sbarber-models.clara.net/main.html