Morris' Wargaming Escapades

 * Get my Napoleon in Egypt Campaign going. I've got the campaign map hanged on the wall (see below) plus enough Wofun miniatures for the French, British, Mamelukes and the two Ottoman factions. What am I waiting for? The Directory is not happy with this delay in launching the expedition. Stop studying the map at the Topographical Bureau and get to sea!! * Paint enough  Black Powder Epic Battles  strips to have at least 9 units for the French and 9 for the British. * Consolidate all my house-rules for Simplicity in Practice in a document (I love this ruleset! Pure alchemy achieved by distillation by Neil Thomas). * Maybe? get into naval wargaming in the Napoleonic Era. I have been looking at old rulesets that appeared in MWAN such as As per Margin  by Aelred Glidden (MWAN 109), and the simple rules in Donald Featherstone's Naval War Games by the likes of Tony Bath. Also very tempted by the idea of converting the SPI boardgame Fighting Sail (1981) to t...

 My Christmas game used Simplicity in practice by Neil Thomas on a 2'x2' mat. Rules mostly as written and two Wofun bases per unit (6 cm wide). A new houserule I used is that if a unit is firing uphill, the target gets to save as if in cover. I got this modifier from an old ACW ruleset called Whipping Bobby Lee (1990), and I think it makes sense given the ballistics of musket and cannon fire. It also encourages taking positions on heights. Nevertheless, it is uncommon to find this modifier in rulesets.

In my opinion, these are the best Horse & Musket rules (of those that I've read!) that appeared originally as magazine articles. I rate them mainly for the originality of the ideas presented and playability.  If you have any another favorite, please tell me in the comments. Simplicity in practice by Neil Thomas (Generic Horse and Musket) — Battlegames #23 See Battlereps HERE Showdown  by Samuel D. Campbell (Skirmish ACW, Old West) — The Courier #71. See Battlerep HERE Rules for the mid-eigtheenth century by Stephen Simpson (Jacobite Rebellion, French and Indian war, 7YW) — Wargames Illustrated #75, with scenarios in #134 The rules with no name by Brian Ansell (Skirmish ACW, Old West) — Wargames Illustrated #105, with optional rules in #106, #114. Also published in MWAN #82 Aelred Glidden's Napoleonic Rules (Napoleonic) — MWAN #87 with clarifications in MWAN #106 Victoria Cross by Gerard W. Quinn (Colonial) — MWAN #105 Our Brutal Rules by Chris ...

 Reading one of the wargaming pioneers always gets one thinking. This time the book was Terence Wise's  American Civil War Wargaming  (Airfix, 1977). In the rules in this book smoke is simulated and has effects on line of sight and charges. Wise has quite a convoluted system that links smoke movement to a unit's rate of fire (in a way, smoke has a proprietary unit!). What I found really thought provoking is his "Charging through smoke" section that forces a unit to use this fabulous  charge deviation template: Therefore, the unit can get completely lost, charge the wrong unit, expose a flank, etc. How cool! Is simulating smoke worth the time and hassle? Wouldn't it force the players to establish wind direction, strength and changes like in a naval wargame? However, by not doing it, are we not ignoring an important factor that was often decisive? These are the questions that crowded my head. To see if something (relatively) simple could be done, I drafted this quic...

A variant for Simplicity in Practice (Battlegames issue 23) for the American Civil War FIRING RANGES   Infantry 15 cm Cavalry 10 cm (mounted or dismounted) Artillery 40 cm     RELUCTANCE TO CLOSE-IN All infantry and cavalry units that wish to charge must take a test (Elites +1). Roll a d6: 1. Unit advances half way to the target of the charge, stops and fires with 2 dice. There is no melee. 2. Unit advances half way to the target of the charge, stops and the target tests to see if they retreat 10cm (50% chance, 16.66% for elites and units in cover). There is no melee regardless of the result. 3-6 Charge normally CAVALRY DUAL ROLE Mounted: They act for all purposes as LC in SiP Dismounted: They act for all purposes as LI in SiP, except they cannot interpenetrate. Movement deduction for mounting/dismounting 5cm. Only one change of status is allowed per turn. They may fire in the turn they dismount but with 2 dice (in successive turns 4 dice). LIGHT COVER (rail fe...

In this variant I wanted to capture three things that in my opinion represent ACW fighting well. There are of course other views, but these are fairly standard: At the onset there was a mish-mash of different weapons that evolved during the war. Later on the rifled musket became dominant. The Union tended to have better muskets. Cavalry could fight dismounted. Charges were less frequent.  Confederate cavalry was better until the balance changed later in the war. Lurkers should be given a more skirmishing role (they can shoot).  I use some deployment rules that avoid the effect of skirmishers “teleporting” behind enemy lines and popping up in a forest or BUA. Ambushes are still possible but risky.  DOWNLOAD HERE