Sabers & Muskets

     In my humble observations if there is one historical time period that has given rise to "house rule sets" its Napoleonics. I have done my part to contribute to this fact. It started out as a two page rule set many years ago. It was tested in our local play group and added to. Then I ran it at a few conventions through the years and made additions and changes as "issues" arose during games. Unexpectedly, players began to ask me if I had a copy of the rules they could have after the games. Never one to turn down an excuse to indulge in my favorite hobbie I decided to "formalize" the rules into a small handy booklet and sell it for $10 to cover the printing for any one that wanted one. The photo above is the result.
     The rules are designed for convention play. I wanted a rule set that gave you the "feel and flavor" of Napoleonics without all the graphs, charts, and waiting to do something. Perhapes the best example is a game I held at New Orleans. I had six players that had never seen the rules before. In 10 minutes we started playing and in four hours we got seven turns done. That was with 1500 figs on the table. Everyone got a chance to shoot up their commands.
     Some of the parts I am personaly proud of is I gave each nation individual traits and I manage to represent command response without written orders, chits, or die roles, which speeds up play alot. Players say they like the rule that allows cav to declare a charge, see if the unit squares up, then cancel the charge. I also added a Civil War section and many optional rules, the whole book is about 20 pages or so. Enjoy.

Home made naval game & cards

Like many gamers I found different things I like about different rules. Naval gaming is no exception. I had a desire for a game that did justice to the ships but was fast and easy, ideal for conventions and first time players. Taking inspiration from countless games I now have what I wanted. I have played it for several years at conventions and seems to work well and is well recieved. Above are some "SSD's" for a few of the ships I have made. I currently have WW1 & WW2. Enjoy.