Is HoW any good then?

[tim.w]

Worth going on the xmas list?

My SYW army grows and if you lot are likely to be using this set again I might get a copy. Less than a tenner on fleabay.

[Buff Orpington]

I think they felt right for the period. They chaps who have played more games have identified a few tweaks but I had no issues at Purps's game.

[Essex Boy]

Some rules you can just pick up and play - Henry's rules are a good example. You'll get a good game and there'll be no nasty surprises even as a novice. With HoW it really helps to know the system and that, in my humble opinion, takes a couple of games. They're a good set of rules but if they were my house rules I'd tweak them quite a bit. Actually, I think Rank & File are far better, but they're generic and I suspect most people will think them too simplistic.

Iain

[tim.w]

I've always been intrigued by Rank and File. Simple is good for me.

[Ilkley Old School]

I have played HoW three times. Overall I found them a bit too predictable.

Not played Rank and File but they are more traditional in their approach.

For the SYW I still prefer Grants The War Game .

[Tony of TTT]

The command rules can make for a very frustrating game if you have any Poor generals. In one of our games mine came onto the board after a flank march and sat there for 4 moves doing nowt. On the other flank one unit pushed its opponent off the hill in front (one of our objectives) and its supporting unit refused to move up to protect its flank despite being fresh and facing no enemy.

The combat and movement rules work fine but the C&C rules stink.

[Jeremy]

I don’t know. A poor commander should do nothing until his commander comes over and puts the boot in (reflected in HoW by the upgrade). That’s why he’s poor!

I think that the c&c are excellent. Perhaps frustrating. But excellent

[goat major]

to some extent you can use the CinC to mitigate the poor commander as Jeremy says. I can see how a flank marcher might struggle to be controlled though if his brigade is separate from the main body

[Jeremy]

Agreed, but then don’t use a poor commander for flank marches and expect performance

[goat major]

good point. No one wants a Grouchy or a Pickled leading their master tactical ploy