Saturday 23 May 2020

Rules etc

This is my dice tin.I have had it for a number of years and it holds my older wooden dice and a few others I use regularly. Other tins hold the vast number of coloured D sixes and twenties some gaming requires. When I left teaching I gave a colleague my seaside tin of of dice as it is so useful in a classroom for maths games etc. I am glad to say she continues to use them most creatively.
At the bottom of the tin above is a folded piece of paper which always goes back in when I have finished using it. It contains rules Of a very basic but fun kind. I think I may have scribbled them down from something Fitzbadger wrote on his blog. Anyway here they are ready for another game-
I decided upon an 18th century game and here is the table ( probably over stuffed with figures but we will see...
By the way I use  these rules with 28mm , 40mm and 54mm. Any extra period flavour ( kept to an absolute minimum) I keep in my head.

Do you have a back of a post it/postcard set that you use?



17 comments:

  1. Hi Alan- Very brief and concise Rules- ideal for many different eras.
    You may like to have a look at my latest Blog Posting - I give you a mention- many thanks for the inspiration. Enjoy your game. Cheers. KEV.

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  2. The simpler the rules the better the game I think .

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  3. Fascinating. These notepaper rules have a whiff of simple 60s Featherstone about them, including the Close Wars appendix - savings throws etc,. Inches etc
    If anyone has not come across them, https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/close-little-wars-featherstones-simplest-rules/
    There was a fascinating series of "back of the postcard" rules in the first few years of Miniature Wargames in the 1980s - I remember a colonial set of back of PC rules called Drums along the Watusi. However I found them difficult to play, as like you say, the vital extras or the working mechanisms are often in your / people's heads and not on the PC. Even Close Wars does not make full Wide sense without the rest of War Games.

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    1. I remember those “Drums...” rules but never played them

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  4. Long story coming up.

    I (we) wrote a set of ground-breaking wargame rules on the back of a beer mat on one of our boozy trips to the Derby Wargames Show.

    Fantastic set of rules they were so our sophisticated wargames chum (schoolteacher I may add) just had to read them to see what all the buzz in the bar was about.

    Aha he said. You've spelt rifle with a 'w'.

    That's for shooting 'wabbits' we all cried.

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  5. The 'rules on the back of a postcard' idea has tormented me for years. I'm still trying to do it! Just about got a very basic, fun set committed to memory though.

    Best Regards,

    Stokes

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    1. I look forward to hearing more of your rules.

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  6. I like the scenario: by chance I was reading about 'Blasthof Bridge' today. Not dissimilar? With rules, I'm sure simplicity is always the answer!

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  7. Thanks for the mention! I don't remember if it was from me. If it was I very likely was influenced to some extent by Featherstone. As many gamers I know were influenced by Grant or others back in the day my local library mostly had Featherstone books when it came to miniatures/wargames.

    I do find I often get bogged down the more complex the rules are, and find for me at least the play's the thing. Not into nuances so much.

    Simple rules for a simple mind (that's me) :D ha ha

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  8. p.s. and never let rules get in the way of having fun. :D

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  9. So true, I was pretty sure they came from you. I wonder if I might ask a favour of you. I recall you, many years ago made some lovely waterfalls and rivers for your gaming? I am keen to try such a thing, could you remind me how you did it? Thanks.

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    1. The waterfall and rivers (and hills) I did were made from mdf board cut to shape and painted. The river pieces are just flat sections. The waterfall and hills are flat pieces stuck together at right angles with blocks of wood between sections so there are spots for minis to stand up in the hills. Think of things like theater flats. 2 dimensional, or at most 2 1/2 D, flat shapes and craft paint. I hope that helps. :)

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  10. One of my favourite back of a postcard rules are the Pz8 ultra simple 20th century skirmish rules. Very simple, but clever activation. Certainly my go-to 'modern' skirmish set.

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