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When searching for new topics for our miniatures packages we usually apply three criteria. First, we must feel that the subject has not been adequately covered in the current miniatures gaming literature. Second, the book should have room to cover the uniforms, organizations, histories and scenarios of the subject. Finally, the topic should be Canadian. Okay, but two out of three ain't bad. No wait! Most of Canada was called Rupert's land for a long time - the same Rupert that fought at Charles I side at Naseby and Edgehill. And Charles I issued the charter that established the Hudson's Bay Company which opening up most of the Canadian wilderness in the next 200 years. Well two out of three still ain't bad.
Despite its rather dubious Canadian connections, the English Civil War was attractive in a number of ways. There are few definitive packages on the war that cover the uniforms, organizations and histories of the campaigns. There are many excellent miniatures rules on the market; 1644, Forlorn Hope, DBR, but all use a very small scale - almost skirmish gaming. No rules set, we believe, really capture the essence of the ECW at a grand tactical level.
Sometimes when I am faced with writing a new set of rules, I find I can't get any ideas flowing until I have something to work with. In these cases I often cobble together some rules from the rules sets I already have. I know the new creature won't work but at least I have something to play with. This was the case in 1992 when Keith asked me to come up with a short set of rules to illustrate what a grand tactical set of ECW rules should be. We had reviewed a couple of games which totally missed the essence of pike and musket warfare both at a grand tactical and tactical level and we wanted to show that a set of rules were capable of capturing the favour of the era without becoming too complex. So I took the volley mechanism from Highlander & Habitant and grafted to the melee mechanism from Flower of Chivalry.
Some rules fall in place without effort. Others take hours and hours of tinkering and still don't quite "hit the sweet spot". The For God, King and Country rules in this book are virtually the same rules we played with during our first play test. We simply couldn't find anything to improve upon or bugs to work out. Later on as scenarios developed we had to develop special rules for special situations. Highlander charges had to be added for instance, but basically the game is exactly as it was when first conceived.
Besides a set of rules, it is important to us to provide an all-round miniatures book. In this aspect the ECW has much to recommend it. There is great variety in the troops involved. Musket, pike and shock cavalry to be sure, but also highland clans, Life Guards and Irish professionals, mercenaries and Scottish lancers. There are seven armies to experiment with Parliament (early and late), Royalist (early and late), New Model, Montrose Royalist, and Convenanters. Each has its own quirks and strengths. Finally, there is a great variety of scenarios. The set-pieces at Edgehill, Naseby and Marston Moor had to be included, of course, but I also took care to include scenarios that were not the stereotypical Pikes-in-the-centre, Cavalry- on-the-wings confrontations. So players will also find meeting engagements such as Cropredy Bridge and Tippermuir, surprise attacks as at Dunbar and even a solo game of hand-to-hand melee in the hedges around Preston.
I always like to include a campaign in our books and the ECW offered a unique opportunity. ECW campaigns were small and for the most part self-contained. The army carried most of its supplies with it and so there is little need of tedious supply rules in a miniatures campaign. The ECW armies were relatively small. Gamers with even a modest Pike and Musket collection can do the campaign of Naseby. Campaigns were limited. The capture of one major city was considered quite a coupe. Again, this suits itself to miniatures campaigns. Finally, most of the campaigns resulted in one large battle which resolved the issue before both sides retired to winter quarters. Miniaturists rather like the campaign reaching a climax rather than dribbling away in a haze of skirmishes. There are some excellent boardgames on the market that can be used as a basis for a campaign, with the battles resolved in miniature. 3W's Ironsides and Clash of Arms King's War come to mind. Also, some new rules systems, DBA, DBR and Armati lend themselves very nicely to campaign wargaming.
Finally, as seems usual the personalities of the conflict came to enthral me. The regal Charles I, his nephew the dashing Prince Rupert and the loyal Montrose up against those dirty convenanters, Lords Fairfax and Manchester and, of course, the cold but efficient Cromwell. What a bunch!
So don your cuirassier, strap up your lobster-pot helmet, mount your stead and draw your sabre..."For God, King and Country"!
I hope you enjoy what foll