17th Century Warfare

This article will look at several sets of rules for use in gaming the ECW. It will evaluate them both in theory by discussing the mechanisms employed and in practice by play-testing them over the tabletop. Finally it will propose the rules to use as the basis for my continued gaming in this period

There is no such thing as a perfect set of rules. A set that is suitable for a quiet Sunday afternoon gaming with a friend or two while partaking of the odd beverage may not be of any use for a day-long demonstration game or a competition game at the world championships. So in reviewing rules and trying to produce a set for my own use I will be judging them against my own peculiar needs.

So I will be looking for:

1. No book-keeping
2. No writing of orders
3. No myriad of tables
4. No need for dozens of dice
5. Use of standard dice
6. Historical accuracy
7. General mechanisms that can be modified for specific conflicts
8. Can be used with different scales
9. Can be played Solo
10. Can be summarized on a sheet of A4 (using both sides)
11. Fun

As you can probably tell, I am aiming for Sunday afternoon rules; though with a nod in the direction of demo-games. I want to avoid any hint of competition, and place the emphasis firmly on the game part of wargame. In the reviews the above criteria will be condensed into 3 categories each scored on a scale of 1-to-10.

The categories are:

• Simplicity - criteria 1, 2, 3, 4
• Playability - criteria 5, 9, 10, 11
• Accuracy - criteria 6, 7, 8

I shall be reviewing the following:

1. Commercial Sets
   • A.G.S. Blackpowder Wargaming
   • WRG 1420-1700
   • DBR
   • PoW Renaissance
   • Forlorn Hope
   • 1644
2. Free Sets
   • Don't tell them Pike
   • Jackson Gamers ECW
   • For King or For Parliament
   • For Parliament or King
   • Pike and Shot

to be continued...