(Above - the image from the front cover of my home brew tactical rules).
In a recent post over on my Commanders site, I mentioned a need to find some fast play rules to reduce my time standing at the table and so help with constant back ache.
This got me thinking to yesteryear. I recall that decades ago, Irregular Miniatures produced some small boxed sets of fast play rules for several periods for their 2mm and 6mm armies. In the box would be say six or seven different coloured cards (like mini index cards).
They were colour coded, because each colour corresponded to a different part of the Sequence of Play and you cycled through the cards as you advanced through that sequence. So for example, the yellow card might be the movement phase. On the front face would be the movement charts and modifiers that you needed, working a bit like a quick reference sheet. On the rear would be the notes and rules needed to interpret the charts or convey design intent.
It was all rather clever and the boxes had something of the cute factor. Even the box lid doubled as an artillery blast zone (If memory is not playing tricks!).
I had both the Napoleonic and Ancients sets. Anyway, I have just checked the Irregular Miniatures website and they still do them, together with two other sets, one for Franco Prussian to WWI and one for Renaissance to Marlburian, each one for under a fiver, plus the base postage.
As an idea, it seems a great format for the gamer who likes to make up their own rules (me), with the limitation in size, keeping the player true to making concise rules and avoiding rule bloat.
I thought I would give it a go and make an effort to do a ruleset for each of the main periods that I game in, taking the current home brew rules that I have and paring them right back to fit the small card format. Hopefully that sort of streamlining will see games play through at a faster pace.
Will it work? I don’t know, but as a nod of respect and gratitude to Irregular Miniatures for the inspiration of taking me down this path and to just indulge in a bit of nostalgia, I have put in an order for their Ancients box set. In a few days time, I shall no doubt be in my twenties again immersed in just some simple good old fashioned wargaming pleasure …… minus the 6mm armies …… for now! :-)
Link to COMMANDERS - my other wargame web space;
https://commanders.simdif.com/dear_diary.html