New Gettysburg regimental-level scenario book!

Talented wargame scenario designer Brad Butkovich is among the upper echelon of today’s generation of Civil War regimental-level wargamers. The Georgia-based Butkovich is well known to Charge! readers from his previous series of excellent scenario books, mostly based upon battles in the Western Theater.

Now, Brad has produced an interesting new booklet covering various actions at the July 1-3, 1863, battle of Gettysburg. It’s an area of keen personal interest to me! Some of you may recall a two-volume set, Enduring Valor: Gettysburg in Miniature, which I wrote for my friend and graphic designer Ivor Janci more than a decade ago. They have long been out of print, so Brad’s fresh look at the battle is much appreciated and timely.

Here is the table of contents for this book, which may be the first in a series (let’s all hope!). Brad’s research is compelling and accurate, and his take on how to break up the battlefield into bite-sized scenarios is of strong interest to Civil War gamers everywhere. The scenarios are adaptable for almost every major regimental-level rules set. They are designed for 15mm gaming, but of course can be modified for other figure scales.  Brad also presents data for rules based upon 10-minute, 15-minute, and 20-minute time intervals per turn.

Easy-to-use illustrated wargame mats from Cigar Box Battles!

Cory Ring of Cigar Box Battles has produced a growing series of printed mats/blankets for wargaming use. They are useful for quick set-ups for tabletop games where time or space is a premium. They come in a variety of styles and prints and can be cut apart for additional variety of setups.

In the case above, I set up a quick 15mm American Civil War game between a brigade of Union infantry and a Rebel brigade protecting a critical roadway leading from a village in Northern Virginia. I spread out the mat over an air hockey table in my game room, added a dozen stone walls, some houses and outbuildings, and placed a few tree models in the printed “woods.” Add the figures and the game is ready in under 5 minutes!!!

Cory has a nice website with photos and ordering information, as well as images of each of these new mats.

Four new titles from Osprey Publishing

Among Osprey Publishing’s recent releases in the autumn of 2013 are these four new titles of interest not only to wargamers, but also to general military history buffs. All contain Osprey’s usual excellent custom-drawn graphics, as we have become used to seeing over the years, as well as an excellent selection of vintage and period photographs and drawings. Each paperback book is printed on high quality, coated-two-sides enamel paper using fine offset lithography printing.

The two books at the top of the photograph are both part of Osprey’s popular “Combat” series, which examine opposing warriors across a wide variety of periods and armies.

David Greentree has written an interesting account of the opponents in the Mediterranean 1942-43 theater: British Paratrooper Versus Fallschirmjager. His book details three key encounters between the airborne forces in Tunisia and Sicily. The new book contrasts their organization, training, tactics used on the battlefield, experience, and weaponry. Greentree has drawn from first-person accounts, military records, old photographs, and contemporary strategic and tactical maps to give a useful look at the opposing units. Tennessee freelance artist Johnny Shumate nicely drew the modern illustrations. Chapters include The Opposing Sides; Pont du Fahs, Depiene, and Oudna; Green Hill, Primosole Bridge, and an analysis and conclusion. He also includes a useful look at unit organizations and a selected bibliography. $18.95. ISBN:  978170969244.

FREE rules for ACW wargaming – Give Them the Cold Steel!

Ed McKie has graciously allowed the Johnny Reb Gaming Society to publish here on our website his new rules for miniature wargames for the American Civil War (ACW) period.  He maintains a support site which has more details on these new rules. It is a Yahoo site http://games.groups.yahoo.com/group/GiveThemtheColdSteel/ where quick play sheets and game counters can be found.

Give Them the Cold Steel is an interesting addition to the pantheon of published rules for ACW wargaming, and are worth a look, especially since Ed has provided them as a FREE service to the wargaming community.

Here are the rules and supporting files:

• Give Them the Cold Steel rules
• ACW Event Cards 2
• Disorder, retire, and other markers
• Casualty markers

Please try out these rules when you get a chance, and report your likes and dislikes by adding comments to this blog post. Feel free to suggest any improvements or house rules, or any after-action reports!

Thanks Ed for your generous contribution to the JRGS and our CHARGE! website!

Excellent new scenario book for Regimental Fire & Fury ACW gaming!

Author and wargaming expert Rich Hasenauer, a member of the HMGS Legion of Honor, has produced the first in what we at the Johnny Reb Gaming Society hope will be a long series of fantastic, full-color scenario books for his popular rules set, Regimental Fire & Fury.  If the quality of this first offering is a hint of what is to come, we are in for a real treat as this series progresses through the war.

Regimental Fire & Fury Civil War Battles Scenarios, Volume 1: 1861-1862 is a welcome addition to my library of scenario books for regimental-level ACW gaming. Rich presents 11 different battles, some of which have multiple scenarios to depict portions of the larger fighting on a manageable scale. These range in chronological order from Big Bethel in 1861 to Prairie Grove in 1862, and represent both the Eastern and Western Theaters of the war. He also presents some optional rules which the gamer may incorporate into these scenarios, or into any other RFF game. The most interesting of these is his take on deploying and using skirmish lines in an RFF game, as well as the use of extended lines and twilight/night game turns. These are elements which have evolved from the wider usage of RFF and extensive playtesting among a variety of gaming groups.

As with the original Regimental Fire & Fury rules book, this new supplement is printed on glossy coated-two side enamel paper, enabling crisp reproduction of the photographs, maps, and images. The images show several of Rich’s fantastic miniature wargames in progress, and help visualize how to layout the gaming table for each scenario. Having retired in 2011, he now has more time to devote to his hobbies, and with more than 2,000 copies of RFF sold, he has a devoted following who will look forward to his continued efforts in the years to come.

New owners of Dave’s Baggage Train offering 10% discount for Charge! readers

Phil and Robin Spera have assumed ownership of Dave’s Baggage Train following Dave’s passing away. They are offering all Johnny Reb Gaming Society members and CHARGE! blog readers a special 10% discount for all orders placed between now and Cold Wars 2012! Simply mention the code word “scott mingus discount” when you place your order to receive this special pricing. Visit their website at Dave’s Baggage Train and then decide what you want to order. Talk with either Phil or Robin, and receive your discount when you order. Or, you can e-mail Phil at phil@davesbaggagetrain.com.

I have used this system for several HMGS-East conventions, and have added to my collection of trays and cases. Here are photographs at some of my Civil War miniature wargaming items as stored in the trays that I purchased for use with the carrying cases.

Here is a quick look at the armies in their new home. They are mounted on metal bases for Johnny Reb 3 and the plastic army trays are lined with magnetic sheeting. Figures were painted by Scott Mingus and by Larry Reber of Gettysburg Soldiers.

And now a few more pix…

Die Fighting! New Gaming Rules Set for the Horse & Musket Period

Long-time wargamer and rules author Bob Jones of Repique Rules is back with a brand new rules set that is sure to excite gamers who like the horse & musket period (roughly 1700-1900). This of course includes the popular wargaming topics such as Napoleonics, the American Civil War, Mexican War, Crimean War, American Revolution, Hundred Years War, French & Indian War, the Franco-Prussian War, Spanish-American War, and what Bob terms the Linear Wars (for example, the Age of Marlborough and the Age of Reason). Refighting the battles of Frederick the Great, Wellington, George Washington, Santa Anna, Stonewall Jackson, Teddy Roosevelt, and von Moltke with a single set of rules is a major hallmark of Die Fighting! Each time period has a few unique and simple rules that help add flavor and playability to that particular war.

The new easy-to-learn rules are designed for 2 players to small groups, and can be used at home or at conventions. It lends itself to tournament play, campaign play (with statistics), and.or single battles. Solo play is also covered in the rules and should be useful for those times when potential opponents cannot be found as they fear your die-rolling ability. Nothing unusual is required to play Die Fighting! – standard D6 dice, tape measures/rulers, and terrain / figs are all you needs, plus the rules books, simple charts, and events cards.

Blue Moon 15mm ACW figures – new line of Civil War soldiers!

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, wargamer and living historian John Mayer sent me three photographs of his freshly painted 15mm Blue Moon Civil War wargaming figures. Blue Moon has made quite a splash lately with their new line of figures, and these photos show the detail of some of the Confederate models.

Click each photo to enlarge it for better viewing of these exciting new figures.

John writes, “I really like these figures, although not as much as the original Old Glory.  They are definitely bigger and I think some people will have a problem with that; but still some of the best sculpted  since Old Glory’s originals and AB or Battle Honors. These new figures have good detail and nice sturdy rifles, although the bayonets seem just a little small and stocky, which I understand the reasoning for that.”

John adds, “Blue Moon’s  new figures are a bit bigger, but I would use them with my Old Glory 15’s. I look forward to the shoulder arms figures and other specialty troops. How about some 1st Bull Run troops for us to celebrate the 150th Anniversary!”

Anyone out there who also has painted some of these new figures? What do you think? Yay or Nay?

Back issues of CHARGE! newsletter now on-line for only $2.99 each!

YORK, PA — The Johnny Reb Gaming Society, a non-profit wargaming society based in York,  is pleased to announce a partnership with the Wargame Vault to offer back issues of CHARGE!, our official quarterly newsletter. Each issue features 2-5 regimental-level scenarios to recreate battles of the American Civil War using miniature wargaming rules systems such as Johnny Reb 3, Regimental Fire & Fury, Civil War Commander, Rally Round the Flag, Gettysburg Soldiers, and many others. Back issues #1 – #24 are now available on on-line at the Wargame Vault for only $2.99 per issue. All are downloadable and printable.

For an index of these scenarios and ordering information, please visit the website of the Wargame Vault.

Regimental Fire & Fury: A well done book!

After years of preparation and perhaps the most significant playtesting in wargaming rules history, Rich Hasenauer has published his long awaited Regimental Fire & Fury rule set. I have been a long-time devotee of regimental Civil War gaming, having started in college with home-grown rules and graduating after that to Scott Bowden’s Stars and Bars before getting a hand-typed copy of a set of rules from an early Origins that grew into Johnny Reb. I have played dozens of ACW systems of various scales over the years, with my favorites being Johnny Reb 3, Fire & Fury, and Brother Against Brother.  I was involved in a few playtests of RFF at various conventions, including Historicon and Cold Wars, and came away interested in the system for its simplicity and ease. Hence, I have watched Rich’s progress with interest, and wargamers such as Lowell Hamilton have worked diligently to translate the Johnny Reb scenarios I publish in the hard copy version of CHARGE! into RFF format. I have asked Lowell to write an article for an upcoming issue on how others can make similar conversions, because there are hundreds of JR-type scenarios out there that can be used for the new RFF rules with a little effort.

I got a copy of RFF at Historicon and have had a chance to read through the book a few times. Here are my initial impressions: