Well we ran our first game of Black Powder (BP) last Thursday. Black Powder is a generic set of rules to cover the period of 1700-1900 (even the English Civil War with some modifications). Now I have chosen the Zulu War as it is a contest between radically different armies, hordes of spear armed Zulus against a small professional army of British with effective rifles, artillery and cavalry. It should have been a walk-over for the British but every now and then the Zulus emerged triumphant.
So Mark and I divided up my small Zulu War forces as follows.
Mark (Zulus)
2 brigades of 2 units of Zulus
1 brigade of 1 unit of Zulus and 2 units of Zulu skirmishers
As the game was later to prove 2 units in a brigade is suicidal - more on that later.
Justin (British)
1 brigade of 2 units of infantry with 1 gun
1 brigade of 2 units of cavalry
We played to a scenario devised by John Holroyd (who also did the map). A disabled gun with the infantry is crossing the board and the cavalry are off doing something else, when they hear the sound of gunfire and return to aid the column. The gun needs a 5,6 to be brought into action and likewise the cavalry (although they can only start rolling on the second turn).
The British rolled first turn and deployed from column of march into firing line, ready for the Zulus. Now in BP, you roll for each brigade (or unit in a brigade) to be able to move, if you roll really well, then you can make up to 3 moves and the Zulus rolled well. At the end of the first turn, the Zulus were in range to charge the British in the next turn, with more forces swinging round the flanks. British rifle fire was largely ineffective.
The Zulus charge and the battle hots up (we used Gale Force 9 blue wound markers to record the damage on units). 3 wounds means that a unit is shaken, fights at reduced effectiveness and cannot be given any orders, it is really useless until rallied. The British rolled well, getting the (imaginary) gun into action and the cavalry arrived on table, moving the 3 move maximum allowed. The Border horse had a special rule allowing them to operate well away from their brigade commander. So a unit of cavalry was sent against each flanking force of Zulus.
The British infantry fought hand-to-hand vs the Zulus and although hard hit managed to win one of the combats and drive the Zulus off (and destroy them).
With incredible dice rolls the British cavalry suffered no damage from the Zulu skirmishers but neither could they pass a roll to charge (our fault not the rules, the rules actually allow an Initiative move if the enemy is close enough).
Freed of their enemy to the front, a unit of British infantry, wheels round to add their firepower to the Border Horse. The Zulus are held (shaken) but not broken.
On the other flank, with an insanely good dice roll, one of the Zulu units hits a unit of British infantry who were rallying after their last combat. Hit in the flank is bad news and the British have no chance to fire as the Zulus sweep in.
On the right flank, the Zulus also charge, into the Border horse and against the British infantry. The infantry are too far away and the Zulus fail to charge in. Although the Zulus contact the Border horse, they are shaken by the shooting as they go in and their fighting ability is greatly reduced.
Short range fire from the British infantry.
The Zulu skirmishers take on the 'easy meat' of the artillery crew, get a few hits with close range fire but the artillery roll well and no serious harm is done.
And on the right an advance by the Border horse and a unit of British infantry finished off the Zulus.
Conclusions
Certainly it was a fun game. It was also very fast once we had learnt the basics of the game. Finding the rule you wanted was not easy. I had forgotten my copy of the rules, so I have not yet marked it as I am wont to do with a set of rules.
It is a game of luck, no doubt about it. Loads of dice and if you roll well you are going to do well - so not a game for someone who wants to plan the game ahead.
The Zulus might have won in the centre if the attack line had been supported (with more units behind), so a lesson for the next game?
Also brigades of 2 units are crazy. Lose one of the two units and the other will withdraw. So bigger tougher brigades are needed.
Now the big problem seems to be with the stats of the British infantry - don't get me wrong they are as hard as nails - but in this game, their shooting merely tickled the Zulus and they out-fought the Zulus in combat. So for the next game we plan to reverse the stats for the British infantry, they will get 6 attacks for shooting and 3 for combat. Lets see how that works.
- Ancient Wargame Rules
- Zulu War Wargames Rules Free
- Best Free Wargame Rules
- Solo Wargame Rules Pdf
- Zulu War Wargames Rules List
- The Rules of Engagement is a battle-system for use with Victorian Role-Playing Games. Is an 'interactive ruleset' to which readers are invited to make additions. Fire & Sword in the Sudan is a campaign game of the Mahdist rebellion, including simple battle rules. A Fistful of Tripods is an adaptation of the Fistful of TOWs rules to H.G.
- Mar 04, 2012 'best free rules for wargaming Zulu War' Topic. All members in good standing are free to post here. Opinions expressed here are solely those of the posters, and have not been cleared with nor are they endorsed by The Miniatures Page. For more information, see the TMP FAQ.
- In Zulu Response play either as a British soldier or Zulu warrior in first person in a simulated tactical game for singleplayer, 4 person co-op or 8 person mulitplayer. The game is based off true stories from the African Anglo Zulu wars of 1879 where each player has a.
So Mark and I divided up my small Zulu War forces as follows.
Mark (Zulus)
Brigade level miniatures rules between 1870 to 1910. It is also known as Remember Gordon and it was originally published by Hoplite Games. They cover the Sudan, Zulu Wars, Ashanti Wars, Northwest Frontier, and the Boer War. The Gatling's Jammed by Stephen Danes. Designed for huge battles this set is based on the General de Brigade Napoleonic system.
2 brigades of 2 units of Zulus
1 brigade of 1 unit of Zulus and 2 units of Zulu skirmishers
As the game was later to prove 2 units in a brigade is suicidal - more on that later.
Justin (British)
1 brigade of 2 units of infantry with 1 gun
1 brigade of 2 units of cavalry
We played to a scenario devised by John Holroyd (who also did the map). A disabled gun with the infantry is crossing the board and the cavalry are off doing something else, when they hear the sound of gunfire and return to aid the column. The gun needs a 5,6 to be brought into action and likewise the cavalry (although they can only start rolling on the second turn).
The British rolled first turn and deployed from column of march into firing line, ready for the Zulus. Now in BP, you roll for each brigade (or unit in a brigade) to be able to move, if you roll really well, then you can make up to 3 moves and the Zulus rolled well. At the end of the first turn, the Zulus were in range to charge the British in the next turn, with more forces swinging round the flanks. British rifle fire was largely ineffective.
The Zulus charge and the battle hots up (we used Gale Force 9 blue wound markers to record the damage on units). 3 wounds means that a unit is shaken, fights at reduced effectiveness and cannot be given any orders, it is really useless until rallied. The British rolled well, getting the (imaginary) gun into action and the cavalry arrived on table, moving the 3 move maximum allowed. The Border horse had a special rule allowing them to operate well away from their brigade commander. So a unit of cavalry was sent against each flanking force of Zulus.
The British infantry fought hand-to-hand vs the Zulus and although hard hit managed to win one of the combats and drive the Zulus off (and destroy them).
With incredible dice rolls the British cavalry suffered no damage from the Zulu skirmishers but neither could they pass a roll to charge (our fault not the rules, the rules actually allow an Initiative move if the enemy is close enough).
Freed of their enemy to the front, a unit of British infantry, wheels round to add their firepower to the Border Horse. The Zulus are held (shaken) but not broken.
On the other flank, with an insanely good dice roll, one of the Zulu units hits a unit of British infantry who were rallying after their last combat. Hit in the flank is bad news and the British have no chance to fire as the Zulus sweep in.
On the right flank, the Zulus also charge, into the Border horse and against the British infantry. The infantry are too far away and the Zulus fail to charge in. Although the Zulus contact the Border horse, they are shaken by the shooting as they go in and their fighting ability is greatly reduced.
Ancient Wargame Rules
Short range fire from the British infantry.
Zulu War Wargames Rules Free
The lancers finally charge into the flank of the Zulus. This is lethal but helped by the British infantry (needing 5 or more to get hits) rolling 6 out of 6 hits. Nothing the Zulus can do will match that and the last Zulu impi on the left is destroyed.The Zulu skirmishers take on the 'easy meat' of the artillery crew, get a few hits with close range fire but the artillery roll well and no serious harm is done.
And on the right an advance by the Border horse and a unit of British infantry finished off the Zulus.
Conclusions
Certainly it was a fun game. It was also very fast once we had learnt the basics of the game. Finding the rule you wanted was not easy. I had forgotten my copy of the rules, so I have not yet marked it as I am wont to do with a set of rules.
The Zulus might have won in the centre if the attack line had been supported (with more units behind), so a lesson for the next game?
Also brigades of 2 units are crazy. Lose one of the two units and the other will withdraw. So bigger tougher brigades are needed.
Best Free Wargame Rules
Now the big problem seems to be with the stats of the British infantry - don't get me wrong they are as hard as nails - but in this game, their shooting merely tickled the Zulus and they out-fought the Zulus in combat. So for the next game we plan to reverse the stats for the British infantry, they will get 6 attacks for shooting and 3 for combat. Lets see how that works.
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Solo Wargame Rules Pdf
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Zulu War Wargames Rules List
- I made some modifications to Neil Thomas’s One Hour Wargames in order to play an Anglo-Zulu War game last week. The results were fast moving and fun, and felt, to me, historically appropriate. The scenario saw a British force split over a river, with their light cavalry—Frontier Horse and Natal Native Horse—struggling on their own while the British infantry and an Gatling (or a Gardner…which is what I had painted) had their own problems. The Zulus surged out of a couple of gullies, and repeated charges battered, but did not break, the British lines. The battle ended with a Zulu withdrawal in good order, and the British relieved to be alive.My troops are 1/72 plastics, mostly the old Esci stuff, but the mounted troops are newer HaT plastics. Sadly the Esci plastics are succumbing to plastic fatigue, and just handling them for this game resulted in about a dozen ankle snaps. I will be replacing them with new HaT plastics and Newline Designs 20mm metal.Here are a few pictures, thanks for looking.A great looking game. Your figures and layout are very nice, though it’s a shame about the plastic degradation. It’s surprising how flexible Thomas’s rules are – a short time ago I did a similar thing to yourself and used them for a conquistadores/Mayan clash in 16th century Yucatan, and with minor tweaks they worked very well indeed!NathanielGood looking setup! I would love to see the mods you made. I’ve noticed many gamers making local mods to OHW recently: good news for us NT Fanboys. ðŸ‘x8DðŸ˜x81More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/I have a lot of US Cavalry and Plains Indians in 15mm, and Thomas’ book landed on my doorstep two days ago.  I’d like to know what mods you made too please?  And which section of the book did you play to, Rifle and Sabre?The internet, the apex of human technical and intellectual achievement, means that no matter how dim-witted you are, no matter how fundamentally stupid your ideas are, you can always find someone who thinks the same way and can tell you that you’re right.Nathaniel,Fantastic table set up. Sorry to hear about the figures nearing their end of life.Canon service mode tool version 1050 for mac. The NewLine Design ones are nice but you will need to drill each one.I managed 32 before giving up and moving to 10mm for my TMWWBK project.be interesting to see your rules mods for OHW.CheersIanThanks for putting your mods on here.  From my reading Plains Indians, and maybe other Native Americans too, had a very unique way of fighting (or not fighting).  They probably require a set of rules all of their own. I have such a set in Yellow Ribbon, but the space I currently have to play on prevents their use.  So I’m looking at other rules to see if they are suitable for modifying.The internet, the apex of human technical and intellectual achievement, means that no matter how dim-witted you are, no matter how fundamentally stupid your ideas are, you can always find someone who thinks the same way and can tell you that you’re right.Nathaniel,Thanks for sharing those ideas. They are great. One of the main reasons I like OHW rules.Are you part of the  AMW groups.io? If not you should join and share your rules plus there are loads of great ideas for all of NT rules.Group Email Addresses if you want to check it out:
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Help: [email protected] Hdminicam app for mac.Cheers.IanCheers, Nathaniel. I recommend browsing AMW as Ian suggests. You might even find some of my junk in there.More nonsense on my blog: http://battle77.blogspot.com/Love the set-up, especially how you layed out the river and the dry donga/culvert.  Very effective.  Your variation on Neil Thomas’ rules are inspired.  I’ll have to get my copy out again.  Thanks very much for sharing!Ah, this makes me gush all nostalgic. Thanks for posting it.Self taught, persistently behind the times, never up to date. AKA ~ jeff
More verbosity: http://petiteguerre.blogspot.com/Great Mods, for some bizarre reason to had never occurred to me to use OHW for colonials. I like the retreat rule, I’ve been fiddling around with more subtle distinctions for the WW2 set and that is a nice idea.Right time to grab those Mahdists who have been languishing in their box for too long…I do like OHW, endlessly modifiable.'Mistakes in the initial deployment cannot be rectified' - Helmuth von Moltke