CAPTAIN'S PHLOG Ye Day of the Foole, 2020
____________________________________________________________
NOW:
Greening in "Zone 3". The Chives are up. If I had Ramps
(wild scallions) nearby I could pick them too. Tiger Lilly
shoots are ~4" tall and large enough to harvest. Dandelions
greens are well on their way and I'm about a week away from
wild violets. Three weeks from my first radishes and wild
parsnips. I've been a week without "fresh" (via grocers)
greens at this point but NOT FOR LONG!.
Thus Commences the Post:
A year ago I wrote these rules. They are based on the 'Horse
& Musket' chapter from Neil Thomas' book "One Hour
Wargames"[1]. H.G. Wells' created the first set of miniature
wargame rules, called "Little Wars"[2]. It was of course
primitive. It was also DICE-LESS... HELLO? WHAT? You're
reading that correctly. There was no imposed randomization.
Player choices created the variation.
He felt, quite rightly, that it was pretty much evident what
would happen in different engagements. I give an example: If
a cat encounters a mouse we have a good idea of the
potential outcomes - escape or a meal for the cat. Whereas
in a fight between two similar cats the result is mostly up
to their individual tenacities.
Look at these and look at my inspirations. You can play them
solo EASILY and you can use anything from fancy painted and
based 6mm units to cardboard rectangles for your forces.
Enjoy!
[ I fear some of my formatting is Wonky but I am too
lazy to adjust it :-) ]
"6+ Rules"
Revised 29 April 2018
6mm Horse and Musket Wargames Rules
La Variante Sans Chance
SPECIAL NOTES
No Dice. This OHW variant dispenses with randomization.
Vest Pocket. Basic games may be played on a 36cm square map.
UNIT TYPES & BASING
This game features the unit types of Infantry, Cavalry,
Skirmishers, and Artillery. Base dimensions and number of
models per base are irrelevant and left to the players
discretion though both forces should use identical basing.
SEQUENCE OF PLAY
Turns are conducted in Igo-Ugo format. Each player follows
the sequence listed below in their player turn:
Movement or Loading
Shooting
Hand-to-Hand Combat
Eliminating Units
1. MOVEMENT or LOADING
Loading. Infantry, Skirmishers, and Artillery may choose to
reload instead of moving. All weapons are considered loaded
at the beginning of the game.
Movement Allowances. Units may move up to the distances
listed below during their turn:
Unit Type Movement Distance
Infantry and Artillery 6cm
Skirmishers 8cm
Cavalry 12cm
Turning. Units turn by pivoting on their central point. They
may do so at the start and/or the end of their move.
Formation changes. Units may change formation instead of
moving.
Terrain. Units are affected by terrain as follows:
Woods. Only Skirmishers may enter.
Towns. Only Infantry and Skirmishers may end their move in a
town.
Marshland and Lakes. These are impassable to all units.
Rivers. These may only be crossed via bridges and fords.
Roads. Units moving by road increase their movement distance
by one half if their entire move is spent on the road. This
bonus may not be received if charging.
Moving and Shooting. Only skirmishers may shoot if they have
moved during the same turn.
Interpenetration. Only Skirmishers may pass through other
units (and vice versa).
Charge Moves. Cavalry are the only unit type that may enter
Hand-to-Hand Combat. Charges are resolved by moving the
attacking unit into contact with their victim. They are
subject to the following restrictions:
Half Way. Charging Cavalry units only move a maximum of 6cm
before engagement. They conclude their movement after
Hand-to-hand combat. (see Retreat)
Turning. A charging Cavalry unit may turn once, at the start
of its move. This evolution may not exceed 45º.
Limited Engagement. Only one charging unit may engage any
given defending unit.
Fighting. Combat is resolved during the Hand-to-Hand Combat
phase.
Poor target. Units involved in Hand-to-Hand combat may not
be the target of Shooting due to the equal risk of causing
friendly casualties.
2. SHOOTING
The procedure for Shooting is as follows (note that cavalry
units do not shoot; all other units can).
Adjudge Field of Fire. Infantry and Artillery may only shoot
at a single target within 45º of their frontal facing.
Skirmishers have a field of fire of 360º.
Units in Towns. These have a field of fire of 360º, and may
therefore engage any single target in any direction.
Measure Range. Infantry and Skirmishers have a range of 6cm;
Artillery has a range of 24cm.
Line of Sight. A unit may only shoot at a target they can
see. Intervening woods, hills, and towns block Line of
Sight.
Overhead. Artillery may target units behind other friendly
or enemy units. Infantry and Skirmishers may not.
Assess Casualties. A unit declares its target. Infantry
inflict four potential hits; Skirmishers and Artillery
inflict two potential hits. Potential hits are modified by
the following:
Cover. Units in woods or towns only suffer half the
potential number of hits.
3. HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT
The procedure for Hand-to-Hand Combat is as follows:
One Sided Combat. Only the attacking unit inflicts
casualties.
Assess Casualties. The attacking cavalry unit inflicts six
potential hits which is modified by the following:
Terrain. If the defending unit occupies a hilltop, it only
suffers half the indicated number of hits.
Cavalry Targets. Defending Cavalry units only acquire half
the registered number of hits (rounding fractions in favor
of the attacker).
Flank or Rear Attacks. Units engaged in their flank or rear
suffer double the normal amount of hits.
Retreat. If failing to destroy the enemy, attacking Cavalry
units retreat 6cm along any clear path after the combat is
resolved, ending the move facing their erstwhile target.
4. ELIMINATING UNITS
Units are eliminated upon the acquisition of 12 hits.
5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
OHW6+ is a variant of Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames Horse &
Musket Rules - a stellar set of rules and a wonderful book.
My hope is that you find inspiration and merit in my
alterations.
I welcome your correspondence. Cheers!
[TheNumberSixtyTwo]connolly[CircleA][GoogleMail]
Addenda
6. OPTIONAL RULES
Square Formation.
Infantry units may move to or from Square has the following
effects:
* No Movement. Units in Square may not move.
* No Shooting. Units in Square may not shoot.
* Protection from Cavalry. Enemy Cavalry units may not
charge an Infantry unit in Square formation.
General.
Each player fields a General and his retinue on a
separate base.
* Rally. Following the Movement phase, a general can rally
his own unit or one friendly unit in base contact.
Subtract up to six hits from the target unit's hit tally.
This ability may only be used once to rally any unit.
* Movement. The General moves as does Cavalry.
* Shooting. The General's small retinue is ineffective at
Shooting.
* Hits. The General has 12 hits.
Rout.
If, at the end of any player turn, that player has lost
half-plus-one units of their initial force, the entire army
routs and is immediately removed from play. Command Unit. If
playing with the General Optional Rule, count the General's
Unit as two units for purposes of Rout checks.
Special Events.
While relying on randomization is anathema to these rules,
we recognize the place of chance events in the complex chaos
of battle. A system for simulating this chaos is a viable
option in extending these rules. Chance Cards. Page 182 of
One Hour Wargames describes a system for injecting random
occurrences into play and the adaptation of a similar
mechanism may have merit.
Tide of Battle.
When a unit is eliminated, all neighboring friendly units
within 3cm immediately suffer two hits. If this puts a
neighboring unit over 12 hits it is eliminated. A Tide of
Battle check must then be made for this newly eliminated
unit.
Thus Ends This Tale.
May you and all you love be Safe and Well.
[1]
https://i.4pcdn.org/tg/1446437787255.pdf
[2]
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3691
