This and future columns will cover the entire range of subjects pertinent to pushing toy soldiers across a table top. We will discuss available figures, fabrication and use of terrain, and additions or possible alterations to existing rules or games. We will also review reference works pertinent to miniatures wargaming.

Our principle concern, however, will be reviewing new or existing miniatures rules. In order to keep the record straight, we feel it only fair to state the basis for our reviews. We will assess each set of rules by itself and in the context of other rules covering the same period.

For each set of rules we review, we will ask the following questions:

1. Are the rules comprehensible? Rules should be written on the assumption that they will be picked up, read, and played by a novice gamer with a high school education who is unfamiliar with miniatures wargaming, with wargaming terminology, and with the historical events the rules are intended to portray.

2. Do the rules develop in a logical and orderly manner? The rules should be written in such a manner as to lead the reader/player from one stage to another, conforming to the actual sequence of play. Thus, if morale testing follows melee in the sequence of play, it should also follow melee in the rules description. References to other sections should be used where necessary, but each section should be comprehensible on its own.

3. Are there pertinent examples? No matter how well something is worded, examples frequently resolve ambiguous points. The authors may know what they meant to say, but often their assumption that the reader will understand is more wishful than actual. All too often, especially in tournament play, we have witnessed prolonged arguments over some small point which would have been made completely clear with the inclusion of one or two examples.

4. Does the system play quickly? Rapidity of play is always sought, but rarely found. Few players appreciate rules which take forever to resolve basic conflicts. Battles which last longer than a single Saturday afternoon should do so because of their size, not because of rules complexity. Essentially, we are looking for as few charts and die rolls as possible. The widespread availability of polyhedral dice allows enormous variations in point spread, and virtually any bell curve can be simulated.

5. Are the rules realistic? Admittedly, this is the most subjective area of all, for as anyone familiar with standard reference works knows, they differ more than they agree. We feel it only fair, therefore, to judge "realism" within the rules parameters-a logical consistency within the author's view of reality-and a certain minimum level of scholarship (no English longbowmen on camels or laser range finders on 12-pounder Napoleons, for example).

6. Do the rules fulfill proclaimed goals? Rules should provide means and methods for accomplishing successfully whatever simulations are claimed possible. Similarly, rules should not be down graded for failure to provide methods and means for accomplishing simulations not promised by the author. No matter how devoutly a reviewer may desire a grand-tactical American Civil War rules set, he should not fault a set of Civil War skirmish rules for failure to cover brigadelevel operations.

We will apply these six criteria to all sets of rules, not just those for miniatures gaming. Our goal is to inform you of what is available, how good it is, and what you get for your money. Having made our position clear, our first review follows.

Review

Engage and Destroy: Contemporary Armored Warfare for Miniatures in HO, micro and micro-condensed scales