The Sword and the Flame 20th Anniversary Edition British Colonial Era Miniatures Rules Review by Russ Lockwood

Published by: And That's the Way it Was 1999 $25 Designed by: Larry V. Brom The British Victorian era saw a rapid expansion by European powers across the globe. This so-called Colonial era produced some dramatic battles between masses of ill-equipped natives against small detachments of Europeans with modern firepower. Zulus, Pathans, Egyptians, Dervishes and others were conquered during the period-- not easily and not without handing the Europeans some devastating defeats. TSATF attempts to capture the military actions between native and European forces. First published in 1979, and with several upgrades, this new 20th anniversary edition refines the original mechanics that made this miniatures rules set a classic. Much of the original rules remain intact--after all, why tinker with success? Players still move units by rolling a number of six-sided dice, modified by formation and terrain. Formations are still the basic close order, open order, square, march, and mass, each offering advantages and disadvantages. Who moves first is still determined by pulling cards from a deck. The major change is in firing. By going to a 20-sided die for firing, the percentages can by spaced out a bit more, although a quick look at the original chart shows about the same percentages as the old. Players roll for each figure, compare vs a chart, and if a "hit" occurs, flip a card for damage--the familiar wound, kill, or special figure (i.e. like a leader) kill. It's all very smooth with a little experience, and a lot of d20s. Knock off enough men in an enemy unit and morale checks result. Melee is the same, figure vs. figure (d6 vs. d6 with modifiers) matchups, with natural "1s" being a kill, "2s" being a wound, and "3-6" running away. If there's a nit, it's with large multiplayer (8+ people) games. Since card-draws determine order of movement, and then more card-draws determine order of firing, one player moves/fires at a time. This rules mechanic, used in many other rules sets, often means players must wait to do something. Another minor nit is the 30-degree field of fire for infantry. Oddly enough, artillery gets a 60-degree field of fire. It seems rather restrictive considering that an infantryman could point a gun pretty much anywhere to his front, but 30-degrees (15 degrees left and right of centerline) is all you get. Units tend to "banana" (bend lines) to reduce firepower blind spots. We tend to use a more liberal "house rule" of arcs--an easy enough solution if you feel it too restrictive. One rule we often ignored was the "wounded" rule, where unwounded troops must carry wounded ones, and neither can fire when doing so. We treated wounds as "kills" instead to simplify battlefield accounting. The rules book also contains a basic primer on various native and European military systems, weaponry, and equipment. There's a quick painting guide, terrain construction tips, and a sample scenario. A couple of quick reference (cardstock) pull-outs are included. In short, it's an excellent introduction to the period for the miniatures gamer. As a bonus, TSATF: 20 includes a "small-unit" level rules variant called, "The Sword in Africa." The Random Event Tables are a hoot, and as the popularity of the "Darkest Africa" range attests, this may attract as much attention as the classic re-release. All told, the value of the new 20th Anniversary Edition of TSATF rests on the clarifications and changes designed to bring the rules up to "modern" standards. If you already enjoy TSATF, picking up this new version should be automatic. If you are new to the Colonial era, this classic should be on your short list of "must-buy" rules. Scenario Playtest: British vs. Pathans Purchase: TSATF/20th will be sold ONLY via the Internet and at larger conventions in the US. To request further information, please visit the following site: http://www.thewayitwas.com/request.html Back to Historical Game Review List Back to Master Game Review List Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 1999 by Coalition Web, Inc. 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