Colonial Campaigns

Boxer Rebellion Scenarios

by Steve Winter

Hard on the heels of the remarkable “Ethiopia 1887-1896” scenario book, Colonial Campaigns has published a second book of scenarios by Mark Fastoso, this time focusing on the Boxer Rebellion. More specifically, this book deals with Admiral Seymour’s attempt to move an ad hoc, international force from Tientsin on the coast up the rail line to Beijing, where the international legations were besieged by Boxer forces. The column managed to advance more than halfway to the capital before being stopped by torn-up rails and then was forced to turn and fight its way back to the coast through increasingly desperate straits.

All the good features of “Ethiopia 1887-1896” are repeated in “Boxer Rebellion.” The ten scenarios are clearly laid out with historical context, special rules, victory conditions, options, a table map, and force lists for both sides. Unlike “Ethiopia,” the China scenarios vary in size between 5x8 and a more diminutive 4x6 table. The presentation assumes the games will be played with “The Sword and the Flame” as the rules. Instead of the standard 20-man TS&TF units, however, Fastoso prefers 8-man infantry, 6-figure cavalry, and 1-gun artillery units. This alteration allows the scenarios to pack a lot of units on the table without cramming them in elbow-to-eyeball. A typical scenario involves ten Boxer units (just 80 figures) with a few guns and leaders facing around half-a-dozen units of Western interlopers or Chinese regulars. In other words, the number of figures involved is very manageable.

Of the ten scenarios, six pit European forces against Boxers, one is a contest between European and Chinese regulars, and three see Chinese regulars fighting Boxers — plenty of variety for everyone. Best of all, though, is the structure of the scenarios themselves. Fastoso doesn’t simply line up the forces for a toe-to-toe brawl or battle of attrition. These scenarios are built not like battles, but like games. Clever use of special rules and victory conditions make them tense contests in which players have to juggle objectives against risk with limited resources — the very definition of “game.” In other words, these scenarios are exciting, challenging, and fun for everyone involved. Even if you never play one, studying their structure can only make you a better scenario designer. But you’d be foolish not to play them (if you have no Boxer forces, they’re easily convertible to other colonial wars).

Besides the scenarios, the book contains designer’s notes (always welcome, though here they’re disguised as an introduction), historical background (10 pages), bibliography, rules changes for TS&TF, a painting guide for your figures, and minimalist campaign rules. “Admiral Seymour’s Relief Attempt” is another tour de force for Mark Fastoso and Colonial Campaigns. Don’t hesitate to get a copy. 64-page book/$15 + $5 S&H; available from Mark Fastoso, 1911 R Street NW, Suite 402, Washington, DC, 20009; http://home.ix.netcom.com/~fastoso/.

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