INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the section of my web site that is dedicated to all things pertaining to re-fighting small historical actions that took place during the American civil war with 28mm figures. If you are new to the period or war gaming in general, hopefully you will find something here that will give you cause to consider collecting and gaming armies based around this monumental chapter in American history. The various banners listed below contain figure galleries and some basic information on both the Rebel and Union field armies which took part in this conflict.

My interest in this period only began when introduced to the brigade level Fire & Fury rule set at my local club. I can’t remember the scenario we played, but as the battle progressed I do recall shifting the conversation slowly away from rule mechanics and moving it towards miniature manufacturers as the first signs of New Period Figure Fever infected my feeble mind. After just one game, I was fully hooked and quickly collected two rather large 15mm armies. The later release of Fire & Fury’s regimental version coupled with the Perry brothers new 28mm figure range also proving too much for any resistance rolls and before I knew it the poor old credit card took another hammering, the results of which appear before you in this section of my web site.

Thoughts on rule Systems

Like most other popular war game periods there is a plethora of rule systems to choose from when it comes to the American civil war. As stated above I started out playing the original Brigade Level Fire & Fury rules with 15mm figures before graduating to the regimental version and 28mm armies. Both of these systems were designed more for re-fighting historically based scenarios rather than the quick pick up games used in competition play.  As such, neither rule set contains any army lists or point systems for building opposing forces. I believe this has changed somewhat with the release of a second edition F&F brigade level game which now contains a point system for constructing balanced pick up games. More recently I have tried Sam Mustafa’s Longstreet which is a card based system and Dave Brown’s Pickett’s Charge with its very cool staff officer command and control rules. In the end it all comes down to personal taste and what I may find interesting and enjoyable you may not. So in an effort to at least give new players a starting point when considering a rule system for this period I have listed some of the basic features from each of the rule systems I have had some experience with.

Brigade and regimental Fire and Fury.

• Games played–  Twenty plus games of each system but I’ve yet to try Brigade level second edition.
• Scale– Big scenario based battles that can last quite some time best played with 15mm figures
• Basing– 3-5 figures per infantry stand, 2 figures per cavalry stand, 1-3 figures for command stands while artillery pieces are based individually.
• Markers– Some markers are required to show unit disorder, low ammo and damaged battery’s.
• Turn Sequence–  Union units move- Confederate units shoot- Union units return fire- Combat: Confederate units move- Union troops followed by Confederate forces resolve shooting- Combat
• Mechanics– D10 based with figure removal. All units have 1-3 levels of disorder becoming less likely to follow orders as losses mount.
• Support– Main web site: Yahoo group: Two scenario books published for each system.

Sixty-One Sixty-Five.

• Games played–  Five or six games all using Napoleonic figures.
• Scale– Each side commands a single company made up of four to eight squads (each containing 4-8 figures with two Skirmishers)
• Basing– All figures are based individually.
• Markers– Smoke markers are needed to show where reloads are required.
• Turn Sequence– Players roll 1-3 Quality dice per unit to gain actions, however if a unit rolls 2 fails in any single activation the initiative swaps to the opponent.
• Mechanics– D6 based with figure removal. Units roll to gain action points which are needed to move, fire, reload, rally etc etc.
• Support– Main web site:  You may find some help on this Yahoo group:

Pickett’s Charge.

• Games played– Only one game so far
• Scale– Keef and I gave this a whirl using my 28mm figures. We both fielded five brigades each containing three to five regiments
• Basing– No hard and fast rules here just that it is consistent over both armies.
• Markers– These rules require a substantial amount of makers (marker sheet supply in rule book)
• Turn Sequence– Command rolls and initiative, Charges (alternate), Movement (alternate) and Fire combat (alternate)
• Mechanics– D6 based with no figure removal. Great command and control rules (IMO). Fog of war deployment card rules. Basic points system.
• Support– Main forum page here

Other rule systems

I don’t own but, have played several games of Longstreet which utilises a clever card based system to activate your units while trying to counter your opponents plans These rules also contain a complete campaign system called on to Richmond.. From memory Longstreet games were much smaller and therefore faster to play than  F&F or Pickett’s Charge games There are many, many more popular rule systems out there (Black powder, Johnny Reb, etc) that for lack of space and experience I won’t mention here.

Click the banners below to enter picture galleries detailing my 28mm ACW collection.