Warfare, since the very beginnings of Time, is notable for small incidents and individual actions that possibly have no bearing whatsoever on the eventual outcome of the battle in question, yet form fascinating facets often engaging the attention out of all proportion to the violent background against which they were played-out.

Perhaps the first was the legendary Horatius Cocles, reputed to have held the bridge over the Tiber against an Etruscan host under Lars Porsena, in 508 BC; King Henry V at Agincourt in 1415, fighting between the second and third rank of his center body of men-at-arms, fighting off the sixteen French knights led by Brunelet de Masinguehen and Ganiot de Bournonville, pledged to smash the crown from Henry’s head; the defense of La Haye Sainte by Major Baring and about 300 of the King’s German Legion at Waterloo in 1815; the commandos at Berneval during the Dieppe Raid in 1942; or Johnny Frost and his Paras on the Bridge at Arnhem.

All stirring deeds worthy of a Skirmish Wargame, but who is to say that they hold any more merit than what happened during the flight from Isandhlwana down Fugitive’s Drift; or that Private Hook of the 24th Foot, winning his Victoria Cross holding the hospital at Rorke’s Drift, showed any less bravery against the Zulus than did Henry V at Agincourt? And the ambush at Ityotyozi kraal, when the Prince Imperial lost his life and Lieutenant Jahleel Brenton Carey was court-martialed for abandoning him – won’t that make an interesting tabletop skirmish? Role-playing, or ‘getting into the skin of the characters’ is an exciting, personalized form of wargaming, based upon the individual, who forms the ‘basic unit’ with a personal firing and fighting capability, who can suffer casualties (wounds) and is subject to reaction (morale).

Skirmish Wargames are not necessarily concerned with historical armies and formations that have evolved over the centuries but with individual men whose physical evolution has been minimal. With each figure on the table representing a separate man, the rules encompass the entire available range of movements and actions of a reasonably fit human being, movement being measured in distance and actions measured in Time. It is, in fact, a time-and-motion study approach to the Fighting Man through the ages. The Mechanics of play are very simple – beginning when each player carefully and accurately records the intended movement and actions of his men for the first phase. After all players have done this, the men are moved and actions declared. Then the actions of firing and/or fighting are calculated. Finally, in the space for recording the next phase, the players note down wounds and reactions.

The general rules cover all principal movements and actions, with modifications grafted onto specific situations (skirmishes). Ranges of weapons are all CLOSE but divided into short, medium and long – as these skirmishes take place at close quarters, although players can extend ranges to the weapon’s known capabilities, if required. An important aspect of the rules is the classification of specific weapons into their particular category. Man’s ability to kill at a distance has improved over the centuries, but he remains relatively primitive at hand-to-hand fighting, so these rules – and are – suitable for skirmishes in any period of military history.

Morale – the effect upon a man or group of men being assailed by missiles or close-quarters fighting – plays a major role in most tabletop wargames, but has only a minor part in this skirmish system. This is because the short period of time taken by most real-life skirmishes (rarely more than two or three minutes) means that it is more necessary to represent any hesitation or delay that may impair the effectiveness of the man, than the factors of rout or retreat (as in the usual larger-scale Wargame) which would hardly begin to operate in the time available. Moreover, it is virtually impossible to produce rules to realistically cover the reactions of men in the variety of situations that occur in a Skirmish Game. So morale is termed REACTION and is limited to percentage variations that impair a man’s effectiveness.

The 20-sided dice used in Skirmish Games are fundamental to the percentage system employed, permitting all endeavors to be reduced to a clear percentage chance. One Percentage Die is red and the other is black, and they are numbered0-9 twice; the numbers on the red die represent tens, those on the black die represent units – this makes it possible to throw any number from 1 to 100 (with 00 representing 100). If the rules indicate that a man has a 70 percent chance of hitting his target, when he throws his dice there is exactly a 70 percent chance of throwing a number between 1 and 70, which would indicate a hit. Conversely there is a 30 percent chance of missing by throwing a number between 71 and 100. It is a simple and flexible system that is also the basis of the simple rules for general tabletop wargaming, eminently suitable because it offers many possibilities and presents a calculated solution to any problem or situation encountered in both Skirmish and normal wargaming.

Here are the rules for Skirmish Wargaming – albeit more involved than those suggested for re-fighting larger-scale battles of the Zulu War, but still easily used to put yourself into the uniform of those fearful fugitives attempting to escape from the carnage of the camp behind them at Isandhlwana; or to become one with those exuberant Zulus bounding over the difficult ground in hot pursuit. Try this reconstruction of the events of 22nd January 1879; then transfer yourself to Rorke’s Drift and don the redcoat (or shirt-sleeves) of those doughty soldiers of the 24th Foot – Privates Henry Hook; Joseph Williams; John Williams; Robert Jones; or his names sake William Jones – see if you, can win a Victoria Cross, as they did in real life!

Next issue (142) will contain a scenario for the flight at Isandhlwana in its entirety, with cast list and supplementary rules to cover specific aspects.