A set of Seven Years War rules, titled Black Eagles by I.E. Lenton and C.A. Sapherson, is now available. The rules consist of 18 typed pages and are of the simple variety, which is not in itself a criticism. They do lack a lot of necessary explanation as to game mechanics, such as what factors are compared to what for morale checks. There is no mention of which type of dice to use; I assume a normal six-sided one. No where is there any mention of how casualties are deducted, but I assume by a roster of "real troops", not miniatures. Certain events cause disorder, but there is no explanation of how or how long it takes to regain order. Substantly, the scales are strange with a three rank battalion of 640 men crammed into 90 yard frontage. Frontages also allow only 1.2 to 1.8 feet per cavalryman (assuming 2 or 3 ranks). Both of these frontages are about fifty percent of what they should be. Cavalry can fire while charging. Carbines can outshoot muskets at the 50-75 yard range band. An elite Prussian dragoon unit can outshoot an Austrian battalion at any range! The rules provide for 8 infantry figures on a 45mm x 1/2-inch base, so I assume the rules are for 15mm figures. With some adjustments and a lot of "house rule interpretation" these rules are playable. The alternating move system resulting in cavalry getting double moves is inventive. I think the authors probably have a lot of knowledge of the Seven Years War, but unfortunately haven't included enough detail to allow the average wargamer to decipher their intent. These rules are available from Raider Games, 119 Elmete Way, Leeds LS8 2ND, England, for $3.95 including p&p to U.S. More Reviews Quality Castings 15mm WWII/Modern Heroes Miniatures 20mm Elite Forces Greenfield Hobbies 15mm Ships with Crew Ros Heroics 6mm 1870 Series Falcon Miniatures 15mm 1870 Series Munro Miniatures 25mm Franco-Prussians Wargames Foundry 25mm Marlburian Stone Mountain 25mm American Revolution Front Line Figurines 25mm Jacobite Rebellion and American Civil War RSM 25mm Seven Years War Frontier Miniatures 15mm Mex-Am War Whittlesey Miniatures 25mm Napoleonic Era War-Game Library Maps - II Konigratz A Year at War 1809 Dominance Renaissance Rules Setting Up a Wargames Campaign Third Edition Black Eagles Seven Years War Rules Charge! Or How to Play War Games Napoleon's Marshals Figure Base Terraining Material Armory Building Paints Osprey's Elite Series The Ancient Greeks Back to Table of Contents -- Courier Vol. VII #5 To Courier List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1987 by The Courier Publishing Company. This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com