War of the roses - Sharp Practise

Whilst I am building and painting the miniatures for my Bosworth Field project I have been looking for a good set of skirmish rules. Over at the blog Wargaming with Silver whistle, Pat adapted the rules Sharp Practise by Too Fat Lardies and he's started a trend with those who use the rules by these jolly fellows.

I have to say I am chomping at the bit to try this out. Unfortunately I will need to paint up  two forces. So I have another project to do, still it's all within the fold of my War of the Roses project. I may start a list of how I am getting on so the world can see my progress. It may keep me going too!

Still, onwards and upwards!

Bosworth Orbats - Second Revision

Having played a game of A Coat of Steel I have decided to revise the Orbats for the respective sides. This hasn't adversely affected the size of the units, but it has allowed me to base miniatures according to their quality. MAA/pike - 4 models to a stand Retinue Bowmen/levy billmen/crossbowmen - 3 models to a stand Levy bowmen/hand gunners - 2 models to a base This also means that I'll have more miniatures to go round which means that in time I'll be able to put on the Battle of Towron as a large club game...hopefully! One aspect of A Coat of Steel is that Men At Arms and Retinue Billmen are not discreet units, rather they are combined on a stand. This will allow me to be a little more creative with how I want the models to look on their bases.

A Coat of Steel - First Play

I had the opportunity to get a first play of the rules today at my local war games club. I kept it simple and my opponent was most helpful with the interpretation of the rules.I must say that they were easy to follow and they play really well. I was using my 15mm miniatures based on 30mm square stands. The game flowed really well. Shooting and close combat were resolved easily. I even used the Black Shield cards rather than dice. The game lasted around 3 hours with a narrow Yorkist victory. We did make a few mistakes but that's to be expected. I look forward to the next game. The rules are ideal for a club set and I am keen to get the rest of my 15mm minis finished. I think I will base the levy troops according to how the rules suggest, 2 levy bowmen to a base. I'll have to check on the levy billmen.

Rules and more rules.

Over the last few years I have collected a variety of different rules publications. I had used Warhammer Ancients as the staple for quite some time having spent long afternoons and evenings playing the fantasy variant. I have copies of Poleaxed (Lance & Longbow), Bloody Barons (Peter Pig), Warhammer Ancients (Games Workshop), Medieval Warfare (Terry Gore), and finally I picked up a copy of Hail Caesar at Salute earlier this year.

I am currently basing my orbats for the Battle of Bosworth Field on the Medieval Warfare Supplement although with some slight modifications they'll fit nicely into Poleaxed. Of course it will be some time before I have a chance to play them.