Scale

[Jeremy]

No, not the armour or a weighing apparatus.

I find that for me, some periods suit a certain scale of play. For instance, WW2 is better for me as a skirmish game, I’ve played grand tactical and just don’t enjoy it. AWI, FIW, Dark Ages, are also skirmish only periods for me.

Ancients, WW1 and ACW, ECW and Horse and Musket are all grand tactical games for me.

Napoleonics is the only period I find works for both.

How does everyone else feel?

[World2dave]

I agree with most of that, but with the releases of decent skirmish rules for H&M, I think this whole period has good skirmish potential now, not just Napoleonics.

[Paul]

I think virtually all periods have good potential for massed battles and skirmish, plus everything in between. What limits it, as W2D implies above, is the lack of decent Rules for playing the games.
Most new rules for pre gunpowder now though seem to place themselves firmly between 'Grand Tactical' and 'Skirmish'. SAGA, Lion Rampant etc... generally involve something like 30-60 figures a side. That seems to fit perfectly into how I (and seemingly many others) want to play games that involve pointy sticks rather than shooty sticks.

[Jeremy]

Agreed Paul, all periods do have potential. However in my mind, which I know is a strange place, some periods just feel ‘right’ in a particular scale. Regardless of rules.

[Paul]

(Obviously based on what I am doing or might plan to do)
This would be my preferred list:
Pre Roman Empire: 'Grand' Skirmish (30-100 figures a side) or Grand Tactical
Beginning of Roman Empire to c. 400AD:Skirmish, Grand Skirmish or Grand Tactical.
'Dark Ages': Skirmish, Grand Skirmish
Medieval: Skirmish, Grand Skirmish
ECW/TYW: Grand Skirmish
C18th: Grand Tactical
Napoleonics: Skirmish, Grand Tactical
Colonials: Grand Skirmish
ACW/Late C19th/Early C20th: Grand Tactical
WW1: Skirmish (Trench clearance etc...) Grand Tactical
Inter-war: Grand Skirmish
WW2: Grand Tactical
Post WW2: Grand Skirmish, Grand Tactical

[Essex Boy]

Leaving aside what can or can't be done, my wargaming version of fingernails down a blackboard would be.......

Anything below brigade level in ACW.
Skirmishing with pikes.
AFVs formed up wheel to wheel in any scale or period.

[Paul]

AFVs formed up wheel to wheel in any scale or period.

No Flames of War or 40k for you then.....good man

[BaronVonWreckedoften]

Because of its interest (to me, at least) as an historical subject, I will fight AWI in any figure size or numbers, and at any level of command.

Otherwise, I'm 15mm for Renaissance (Early 1500s/ECW/TYW/Late 1600s) although I've always thought 28mm was the best size for this period; and both 15mm for small Napoleonics actions (a few big battalions/squadrons per side), or 28mm for skirmish; and 28mm for Dark Ages (SAGA/Lion Rampant).

I'll play anything historical outside of these periods, if a body is needed to make up the numbers, but anything non-H&M (other than DA skirmish above) does not really float my boat and I won't collect/paint armies for them.

[goat major]

I find that for me, some periods suit a certain scale of play. For instance, WW2 is better for me as a skirmish game, I’ve played grand tactical and just don’t enjoy it. AWI, FIW, Dark Ages, are also skirmish only periods for me.

Ancients, WW1 and ACW, ECW and Horse and Musket are all grand tactical games for me.

I've just bought Rommel for WW2 which i think has the potential to make the breakthrough as a grand tactical WW2 game but it needs some thought on the look and feel of it (Sam Mustafa has tokenified a lot of it in his application so it doesnt feel enough like a miniatures game to me)

I'm with you on Dark Ages - havent seen a battle level set of rules that isnt just 2 lines of men rolling dice. I think if i did dark ages i'd want a semi-historical saga feel to it (as in icelandic sagas not the game)

I think WW1 has great potential for skirmish - if i did it thats what i'd do. 1914 or 1918 breakthrough battles leave loads of scope for platoon sized actions with lots of combined arms opportunities

Like Brendan i'd go for AWI in any flavour.

For some reason Ancients has never gripped me below big battle scale. In fact - in hindsight - one of the things i didnt enjoy about WRG 6th was that you were only fighting little battles with a couple of thousand men.

[goat major]

Anything below brigade level in ACW.

What is it about ACW skirmish that you dont like so much ? i'm not a big ACW fan but isnt there lots of opportunity for raids etc in this period ?