Little Wars TV has done a tremendous job of developing a clean, simple ruleset to the black powder era of wargaming. (And they are not paying me to say this… I’m just so damned impressed.)
Being a Black Powder Gamer using the eponymous Ruleset published by Warlord Games, I do tend to like a clean, unencumbered set of rules. And compared to many of the Napoleonic era rulesets, Black Powder has been hands down, the best ruleset for that time period.
So, when I came across a Little Wars TV video of their AWI Battle of Brandywine using their newly released Live Free or Die ruleset, I had to know more.
For just $13 for a digital version of the ruleset, I had to grab a copy on the Little Wars TV website just to see the details for myself.
And I was pleased to see that the ruleset came in a just FOUR pages, as they said in their video! I’ve seen introductions to rulesets that were twice that long.
The scenarios that come with the ruleset and the additional 10 scenarios in a $13 second book are focused on the American War of Independence. The scenarios tend to be more along the line of ‘skirmish’ games. The rules do a good job of accommodating the role of the irregulars during this war — Indian Nation allies and colonial militia.
But, as I play tested the rules, I saw a lot of potential for its use in continental battle scenarios — especially early French Republican battlefields and some of the guerilla skirmishes in the Peninsula.
I have not worked all the kinks out of my notes about this, but I see that with a few adjustments, there could be a Second version or an expanded version of this rule set in the future, with Little Wars TV’s permission.
I’d be interested in hearing from anyone else that has had some exposure to this new ruleset. What thoughts do you have about them? And do you see them as a potential option for some of the Black Powder games?
IMAGE: Little Wars TV
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