Rules Archive

Following Trebian's post from last Friday, and Dave Knight's as well, I thought I would do a similar compilation list of owned rules.

The trick is that they must be a hard copy and purchased by me, but I'm also going to include gifts.

I actually thought I had more rules than this, but I suppose that's because I buy too many boardgames as well!

Ancient and Medieval Wargaming - Neil Thomas rules. Simple set with lots of army lists. Open to interpretation so house rules need to be sorted out. Makes for a fun game. Jumbos are overpowered, but that's good if you're playing with your kids because you just give them the elephant army!

Ancient Warfare - A gift from a friend. Uses exotic basing, so probably won't play these.

Armati and Advanced Armati - Ancients rules from Arty Conliffe. Have no local opponent so have only played once and then solo. Would like to try them some more.

Broadsword - Ebay buy. Diceless medieval miniatures.

Classical Hack - Ancients rules from Phil Viverito. First set of rules I bought, but there are some things about them I didn't much like, so eventually moved on.

Command Decision 2nd Edition - WWII set from GDW. Not yet played.

Commands and Colors: Ancients - Very popular game from Richard Borg that uses hexes to regulate movement and cards to activate units. Produced as a board game but designed with miniatures in mind.

Corvus - Ancient naval miniatures rules from the Society of Ancients. Not played yet.

Crossfire - Remarkable set of WW2 rules. I'm not yet experienced enough to rate them properly from play, but I love the ideas behind them.

DBA - The classic 12-element set. I don't mind it the big battle version, but doesn't really appeal to me enough to learn all the ins and outs of the rules.

DBM - Wanted to like these, but the gaminess of some of the tactics put me off a bit.  Might get back into it for some solo games at some stage.  The army lists are a fantastic resource.

Field of Glory - Played one game but didn't really grab us and haven't played again since.

Hail Caesar - Development of Warmaster Ancients. Rules that seem to suit a casual club scene with big battles involving beer and lots of players. Not very appealing to me for solo play for some reason, even though they should work OK.

Johnny Reb II - Classic American Civil War rules. Order chits, strict sequence of play, really enjoyable. Sad to say I've still only had one game.

Kampfgruppe Commander II - WW2 rules. Not yet played, but there are things about them I like.

Legion - Early set from Phil Sabin.  Detailed look at ancient warfare. I need to get an appropriate hex mat sorted out to give these a try.

Might of Arms - A recent purchase. Keen to look at these a bit more.

Modern Spearhead - Modern adaption of the Spearhead rules. Gripping games at the outset, but they can become a bit of a grind as you end up rolling, rolling, rolling and rolling again for rockets, artillery, mortars and air strikes. Games are often decided by who can get their flank march to arrive at the right moment. My opponent generally outplays me tactically and yet we end up at around 50/50 in results, which goes to show that luck and playing the Americans is important!

Napoleon's Battles - Classic Napoleonics set. Probably too long in the tooth to make the time investment needed to learn these now. If I'd got them when I was a teenager I'd have been all over them.

Shako - More Arty Conliffe rules.This time Napoleonic.

Shattered Lances - Interesting Crusades set. Not sure why we haven't played these yet. Have been meaning to for years!

Shipwreck - Modern naval. Looking forward to trying these out.

Spearhead - Good rules for WW2 with 1/300 scale miniatures. Less arty-reliant than the Modern version, but I've only played twice, so it may depend on the scenario.

Strategos II / Lost Battles - Innovative rules from Phil Sabin. Best ancients rules I've played. Makes for great stories and historical outcomes.  Hard to beat.

Warhammer Ancients Battles - Well known GW set for 28mm figures. Not really suited for 15mm figures, but you can play it.

Warhammer English Civil War - A gift from a friend. Familiar Warhammer mechanics.

Warhammer Fantasy Battle, battle for Skull Pass set - 3rd edition was my introduction to miniatures gaming, and bought this out of nostalgia. Not the same game however, and not yet played in this form.

Warmaster Ancients - Designed for 10mm figures. Idiosyncratic basing for pike and shock cavalry, but an interesting set of rules. Played one game solo.