Rorke's Drift

(figures)

reviewed by Richard Brooks


The Richard Houston Collection Battle in a Box: Rorke's Drift!

"It's Jolly Deadly, Old Boy!"

The Richard Houston Collection, PO Box 14522, Oklahoma City, OK 73113

This set of figures at $0.29 per figure ($85 for the set), while the price is somewhat higher than Old Glory, it is a better deal. The box contains a set of rules, 2 dice, casualty markers, card chart page, map of the drift with Zulu starting points, a templet for setting up the drift buildings, personality and unit movement counters, and five card sheets of cut and assemble buildings to construct.

There are 14 bags of figures, by the scan on the opposite page first by line then column:

    1) Wagon-1 bag; Dabulamanzi (mounted and unmounted), Reynolds, Chard, Smith, Bromhead, Dalton, and Pip the dog-1 bag.
    2) inter-mixedfive sergeants and five wounded-1 bag.
    3 and 4) 20 British Rankers, firing and advancing both with and without bayonets-1 bag. Columns 1 and 2: 1 bag each line of figures; totalling ten bags, each contains 25 Zulus with separate shields, each bag containing a different Zulu unit. Unfortunately, there is no Sergeant Major Bourne, but any of the other SGTs will do. The wagon is the cleanest cast wagon, I can remember having seen.

I think these figures are better sculpted than the "Rough Riders" Battle in a Box. Having wounded fighting figures was a nice touch.

The card structures are quite well done and with a decent paint job will be a standout on your table.

A couple of minor things bother me concerning the rules. Why is it easier to hit a Sgt than others; why do the Brits move faster then the Zulus, my mistake the rules say the Brit movement is 1d6+3, while the card says 2d6+3. Which is it? I assume the rules. I think the wound chart could have been a little more explicit, but then that might confuse the flow of battle. An overall Highly Recommended, Good Job Chris Ferree, Richard Houston and Patrick Wilson.

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© Copyright 1998 by Richard Brooks.
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