Monday, December 31, 2018

2018 Retrospect





Happy New Year !!! 

...2019 are just to start in a few hours and I bring you a summery of 2018 for my blog. I hope you have liked my posts during the year even if I had a lower blogpost output than erlier years... might be a trend but I hope to post more in 2019, but no promise.

The wargaming year 2018 in numbers...

  • 1 Russian Galley 28mm built and painted. 
  • 1 Medieval Blida 28mm built and painted. 
  • 1 Article published in Wargames Illustrated  
  • 1 Trip to Salute, Running the awardwinning "Battle at Stäket 1719" demonstration game with master terrainbuilder Jan. Thanks to Collin, Andy, Jesper, Steve and Teemu that helped out during the day ! 
  • 1 Salute 2017 runner-up award, The Bill Brewer Best Presented Game Memorial Award, for our demonstration game "Battle at Stäket 1719" 
  • 1 Building a 1,8m x 3,6m terrain board in about 2 days for a Demogame at the 299 day of the Battle at Stäket 1719.
  • 2 Dogs 28mm painted 
  • 3 Guns 28mm painted 
  • 3 Blogposts published on the Osprey official blog
  • 4 Artillery 8mm painted 
  • 5 Houses 8mm painted 
  • 6 Vehicles 28mm painted 
  • 4 Articles published in Wargames Soldiers and Strategy 
  • 12 Houses 28mm build and painted.
  • 32 Mounted minis 8mm painted
  • 60 Monunted minis 28mm painted 
  • 62 Blogposts 
  • 172 Foot minis 8mm painted 
  • 613 Followers ! Thank you very much to you all !!! and especially thanks to the 19 new one that signed up during 2018, very appreciated ! 
  • 654 Foot minis 28mm painted
  • 1 000 000+ page vievs sins I started this blog in 2010 

 Here comes some pictures from the the wargaming year of 2018.


8mm minis from Perry miniature Travel Battle







Battle at Stäket 1719 at salute 2018





Medieval Blida






Star Wars Legion terrain and minis.










Strontium Dog





Building a Russian Galley







Building terrain board for demogame






Buildign the Sheriffs Office and Wild West gaming






Painted lots of minis for Rebels and Patriots some for ACW but most for Mexican-American War
















Saturday, December 22, 2018

...yes you can! Conflicts included in the Rebels and Patriots rules


British Loyalist Skirmishers, American War of Independence, miniatures painted by my matey Jesper

One of the most common questions I get regarding Rebels and Patriots are: 

Can I use the Rebels and Patriots rules for this conflict... 

The answer to that question is:

Yes you can! 

...at least with a minimum of adjustments, if any at all.

Swedish Light Cavalry charged by Russian hussars fielded as Shock Cavalry, Finnish War 1808-09

Rebels and Patriots are writhen with a focus on North American Conflicts from the Seven Year War until the American Civil War and a bit further and we have included more than 40 example army lists for 13 different North American Conflicts:
  • French and Indian War (1754–63) 
  • American War of Independence (1775–83) 
  • Northwest Indian War (1785–95) 
  • Mexican War of Independence (1810–21) 
  • War of 1812 (1812–15) 
  • Texas Revolution (1835–36) 
  • Canada Patriots Rebellion (1837–38) 
  • Mexican–American War (1846–48) 
  • Cortina War (1859–60, 1861) 
  • American Civil War (1861–65) 
  • The Mexican Adventure, French intervention in Mexico (1861–67) 
  • Fenian Raids (1866–71) 
  • What-if: British Intervention Force in North America (1860s)
British Highlanders fielded as Shock Infantry, American War of Independance, miniatures painted by my matey Jesper

With these army lists as a base it should not be a problem for you to make your own army lists for any conflicts raging over the globe during this period of history, in short  ...Yes you can use Rebels and Patriots for other conflicts. 

Swedish Line Infantry  in Close Order fielded as 2 units of Line Infantry, Finnish War 1808-09

For example you can use the Rebels and Patriots rules for the Finnish War 1808-09 as I do, using the latest Perry Miniature  range Napoleonic Swedes OR way not for Napoleonic Peninsular War games ;)

Perry Miniatures, Swedish Infantry 1808, picture from www.perry-miniatures.com

I even throw in a 24-point Peninsular War list I would use as a Christmas gift.

Sharpe´s Rifles 1809-12
  • Officer Richard Sharp, Trait: Heroic Leader (1 mini)
  • 1 unit of Veteran Skirmishers that are Sharpshoters  - Chosen men of the 95th rifles (5 minis + Officer).
  • 2 units of Light Infantry - Captain Fredrickson and 60th rifles (2x12 minis)
  • 1 unit of Mounted Skirmishers - Teresa Moreno´s Spanish guerrilla (6 minis, most on foot and a few mounted or horseholders)
As it happen Brigade Games have a extensiv Napoleonic range with a bunch of minis that look very much as the charachters in the Sharps serie, all sculpted by the most talanted Paul Hicks.

Brigade Games, British RiflesVeterans Command - Chosen Men, picture by Paul Hicks


I hope you all will have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !


By the way... on Christmas eve there is only one month untill Rebels and Patriots are published:)





Sunday, December 16, 2018

Troop Types in Rebels and Patriots


Mexican Line Infantry storming a Hacienda

As I guess you might want to start building your forces for the release of Rebels and Patriots I thought it would be a good ideea to talk a little bit about the Troop Types we use in the rules.

As in the other rules of the rampant family we use generic troop types to represent the different units you can field in a game. They are indeed generic and you might have to think an extra second about how to best depict and represent the specific troops fielded in the conflict you are building a force for.

Most of the minis in the pictures are from my Mexican-American war 1848 forces that i startedup as my playtest project for Rebels and Patriots. The minis are Perry ACW and Napoleonic and Victrix Napoleonic plastic that I converted in to Mexicans and Americans. The Natives are from Galloping Major, now on to the troop types.

First we have the basic footsloggers that make up most forces during the major part of the period coverd by the rules, The Line Infantry, they are most often fielded in units of 12 miniatures and they have access to the longest list of Unit upgrades of all Troop types in the game, so it will be possible for you to tailor them in to the perfect unit for your force.

American Line Infantry

We have also included two "specialist Line Infantry" Troop types, The Light Infantry and the Shock Infantry, they are both specialisations of the Line Infantry that we feelt needed their own Troop type to best represent their special training and function. They are both normaly fielded in units of 12 miniatures and both have several Special rules that make them stand out in their own way and better represent their special tasks during a battle, but it come with a cost.

Mexican Light Infantry

Mexican Grenadiers as Shock Infantry

Skirmishers have alway had a place on the Horce and Muscet battlefield so also in the Rebels and Patriots rules. The Troop type Skirmishers can represent either trained regulars that are sent out as a picket/skirmish line those main task are to protect the Line Infantry or as Irregular troops that harass regular troops taking potshots from cover, either way are they fielded in units of 6 miniatures.

American Riflemens as Skirmishers

The last of the true Infantry Troop types are the Natives, they fight in irregular loose-order warbands that mainly focusing on hit and run tacktics untill the enemy are withered down and then move in for the final assault. If you want your natives to hide in the forest taking well aimed shots you might consider fielding them as Skirmishers instead. Natives are most often fielded in units of 12 miniatures.

Native American Warband as Natives
Even if the rules are focusing on small scale action there Artillery probably didnt have any greater impact we have included the Artillery Troop type in the rules, the Troop type are subdivided in to Light, Medium and Heavy artillery and are normaly fielded as 1 gun + 4 crew

Mexican Artillery

The last Troop types are the Cavalry, due to the special terrain prerequisites in North America with dence forests etc. Cavalry didnt have the same impact on the warfare as in Europe for example so most cavalry are represented by the Light Cavalry Troop type, that are fielded in units of 6 miniatures.

Mexican Lancers as Light Cavalry

Sins the focus of the rules also include Mexico we decided to also include the Shock Cavalry Troop type to better represent Light Cavalry grouped together and used in the battlefield role of European Heavy Cavlry as Shock Cavaly that are normaly fielded in units of 12 miniature! In short the same Light Cavalry minis can be fielded either as Light Cavalry or as Shock Cavalry all depending on how you as a commander want to ues them during the battle.

Mexican Cuirassiers fielded as Shock Cavalry

If you for example are looking for the iconic American Mounted Riflemen you will find him as a Unit Uppgrade in the Skirmish Troop type, already had a buch of question what Troop type they would be represented by.

I hope my short introduction to the different troop type can help you out starting to draft your Rebels and Patriots forces.

Mexican and American forces in battle. About double size of a normal game, i.e. 48 points on each side.