Nine years in the making and five years of play testing have helped make these rules the best generic set I have ever come across. They are an exciting new rule set that are designed to wargame a historical simulation as much as a fun game to play.

The way that armies are organised and manoeuvered in Great Captain allows for the use of actual tactics and leads to realistic outcomes of battles.

These rules show both the capabilities and limitations of 'command and control' and emphasize the importance of morale and training. Also, the role of troops are defined and regulated along historic lines.

Armies are organised into 'wings' (called ABC's - Army Battle Commands) and movement rates are fairly generous. These ABC's are made up of Legions, Tribes etc(called 'Divisions') which are the main melee and morale units in an army. Divisions are further sub-divided into a number of Cohorts, Battalions etc (called sub-units) whose purpose is to indicate the morale and tactical status within a Division. By varying the numbers of ABC's, Divisions and sub-units, you can fight battles that range from a couple of hundred figures a side to battles of thousands per side without unduly lengthening the time taken to play a game.

Once the game mechanisms are learnt, battles may be fought fairly quickly, this adds to the excitement and combat unfolds just as if you were reading from the pages of ancient authors.

We believe playing Great Captain will give you new insights into the conduct of war in bygone ages and the difficulties and possibilities of commanding masses of troops in the field.

Despite being aimed at the periods mentioned, we've even used these for WW2 successfully with a little adaaptation - in my opinion the concepts are good for pretty much any period!

Price £9.95 or Special offer : buy the book at £9.00 if you order £20+ worth of figures from us at the same time

If you wish to pay by Paypal direct, Postage for this book : U.K. = £1.00 ; Europe = £1.50 ; Rest ofWorld = £2.00

NB : although there will be no initial support via a newsgroup or similar (as the authors are technophobes!) Outpost are happy to pass on queries to the authors and will compile an on-line FAQ as answers are given ..... to be honest though, I found the rules easy to understand so I can't see these being a huge list!

Although this is primarily a set of wargame rules for the period, it is interspersed with fascinating 'titbits' of information from the period. B/W photographs of figures and diagrams are used to illustrate points and tactical details.

The rules have been comprehensively researched and playtested over a long period and are backed by an active news group on the internet, use the link below to visit and ask a question or two of the Author or 300+ members if you wish.

These period specific rules offer a far more comprehensive flavour of the conflicts, the actual tactics and unique manouevers that made it 'special', than any generic rule system could hope to match.

Achieving this without detracting from the playability or 'fun' of the game is a real tribute to the author. Please note though that they are NOT a 'five minutes and out with the dice' ruleset. The rules themselves run to 48 pages or so, with army lists from the First Crusade and references taking it to a cool 60 pages in total.

The main principles can be learnt pretty quickly however and after a few games, you will only need the supplied 'quick reference' sheet for much of any game, using the main book for special reference where necessary.

the newsgroup

Special offer : buy the book at £9.99 if you order £20+ worth of figures from us at the same time

If you wish to pay by Paypal direct, Postage for this book : U.K. = £1.51 ; Europe = £2.01 ; Rest ofWorld = £2.51

Background

Official Troop Organisation

Example of actual Army Division

Uniform Guide