Now it may be an age thing, maybe even a nostalgia thing but whilst tidying up and sorting out i began to read through some of the older sets of rules I possessed, most are reprints in order to stop the originals falling to pieces but whilst doing so I began to realise how much I enjoyed playing them and that in many ways they were still good rules.
Ok a little more work in scenario setting etc than you get in some of the modern stuff but overall still good fun.
SO here's a teaser of some of the rules I'm going to give a run out again, 1685-1845 is for my 20mm Napoleonic, as in terms of the War of the Austrian Succession/Seven Years War there's still none better than Charles Grant's The Wargame.
I still think Charlie Wessencraft was missed and under rated. The Seven Steps to Freedom is a great read and loaded (27 I think) with scenarios. The rules are for the AWI/French Indian Wars and are updated from the original set.
So there we have it retro mode. But not in terms of figures I haven't quite succumbed to finding the original Hinton Hunt and Bill Lamming figures, that's one thing the modern day hobby has got right.
8 comments:
How much of a push will be needed to become a Hinton Hunter ?
I wholeheartedly agree that the War Game is still a great set of rules for the WAS/SYW.
Mark,
Too many New Line figures unless I find a lot of well painted Hinton Hunt figures at a give away price😀😀😀😀
Can't argue with you opinion of Charlie's work. I included him in my article "Roots" a few months back in Miniature Wargames. Also see all my "Retro-wargaming" posts on my blog. I'm currently starting to look at retro WW2 but in 15mm using Lionel Tarr or possibly Gavin Lyall.
Some retro rules have to be better than some of the guff that is currently out there.
Retro is cool!
Its good to see you are retracing your wargaming roots. I have been lucky enough to obtain as many of the wargaming books that I came across in my formative years.Naturally I still find The Wargame the most inspirational, but for actual wargaming ideas Charlie cannot be beaten. His original two books were practical and extremely informative and he still cannot believe how his writings are respected by knowing wargamers. What I have found is that the books contain ideas that in the main have not been bettered. Yes newer rule books are obviously wonderfully presented but most of them plagarise the authors of these fine books. To be honest Graham picking up these books and reading them is very good for the soul, especially with a drink.
Andy,
I've been following your blog with interest. And I agree a lot of the modern publications are lots of fluff and very little substance.
I haven't given any thought to WWII - I still like Rapid Fire!
I seem to remember that I quite liked the WRG rules you mention. Once you took out all the stuff that was irrelevant to what you needed (not much call for elephants and the like in western Europe) it was a set with some nice ideas. The "flinch" rule i seem to recall was one of the elements that I found attractive. Hmmm...might dig those out again myself.
But the question is ..why did we stop playing them in the first place?
Paul,
I think we just get caught up in that quest for the Holy Grail, that new is better and then we realise that isn't always the case. Yes production values are way better but there is very little new and original in most rule sets that you can't find from the 60's and 70's and you're right I often sit there and wonder what the hell have I done for the last 40 years!!!!!!!
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