The encounter between Crook and Crazy Horse at Rosebud Creek was a close-fought affair which makes an interesting wargame. It can be played as an orthodox game, with opposing Indian and U.S Army players, but this approach has certain disadvantages, the main one being that players representing the Indians will find it difficult to accurately represent the thinking which lay behind Indian warfare, and will tend to fight in a much more "orthodox" way, with a reduction in historicity. The alternative is a multi-player game in which all of the players take on the roles of the U.S Army commanders. One will act as commander-inchief, with other players taking the roles of subordinate commanders. "Crook" may issue written or verbal orders, but provision should be made for their being garbled in transit, and subordinate commanders should be given considerable latitude, both to represent the confused nature of the battle, and also to allow them to react to Indian moves.
Indian operations will be built into the game system, their actions being decided by chance cards based on a system such as that represented in, for example "Pony Wars" by Ian S. Beck, Tabletop Games, 1980. There are a number of suitable rules, though some of the ones specifically tailored to the "Pony Wars" tend to represent rather more of the "Hollywood" version of history than the reality. Whilst these can provide an enjoyable game, purists may well prefer to adapt them using information derived from other sources. Most rules for the late "colonial" period will provide useful ideas.
Victory conditions will be based on successfully exiting the northern edge of the table, and thus moving on to attack the Indian village, Points should also be scored for casualties inflicted on the Indians, and deducted for losses suffered. The result should be a highly unpredictable affair, with the U.S. plans constantly being thrown into confusion by unpredictable Indian actions, and the subordinate commanders having to rapidly react and improvise.
Because of the small forces involved, the Rosebud is an easy battle to recreate. (It also provides an interesting situation which can be adapted to a wide variety of other "colonial" locations.) A realistic game can be staged by adopting a figure ratio of 1:10, for which the U.S. side will need approximately 130 figures, and the Indians about 120.
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