My quest for an enjoyable and simple, fast-play set of Horse and Musket era rules has made many stops on the way. First, there was "Warfare in the Age of Reason." We played and liked it quite a bit, but it was too much of a battalion-level rules set to simulate the grand clashes of the Seven Years War that I wanted. I bought "Volley and Bayonet," read it and played it once at a convention. Although perfect for large scale battles, there were game mechanics I didn't like, so it too was left behind.

A year or so back, I came across the Humberside DBA Extensions on the internet. I read through them, but the idea of using them never really caught fire until recently, when I heard of a new twist on the rules. Bruce McFarlane, of the Canadian Wargames Group, suggested a system of limited recoils to better simulate the gradual wearing down of battalions by musketry and cannon fire.

I've never been a fan of markers on units (those ugly black rubber casualty caps are hideous). However, while reading Bruce's variant, an image of tiny (attractively-made) smoke markers came to mind. As the battleline recoiled in spots and accumulated smoke markers, the board would begin to LOOK like a black powder battle. The markers would actually increase the visual appeal of the game! This got me excited, and I began to reread the Humberside Extensions in detail.

The extensions were created in the mid-1990s by Tony Barr and the Humberside Wargame Society in Hull, England. His group (like mine) were big fans of the fast-play Ancients rules set De Bellis Antiquitatis (DBA). They extensively play tested a series of modifications to take the rules all the way up to the early 1900s. Their reasoning was that battles, up until around that point, were basically linear in nature, and missile fire was concentrated at short ranges. DBA simulates these facets well, and it should be a simple matter to make a few changes, add a troop type or two, and use the rules for Renaissance, 30 Years War, Seven Years War, Napoleonics, Colonials, etc.

The idea of a "universal" rules set has great appeal. Take a look at the success of Piquet (which I also tried and discarded). Although its fans wax poetic about its unique system, I think another factor in its popularity is its universality. Your wargame group doesn't have to learn a new set of rules for every period it plays. Well, this same idea made the Humberside Extensions even more attractive to me.

There are three new troop types in the rules that apply to the Seven Years War period: Muskets; Cannons; and Jagers. There are new ones for earlier periods, too (Pistols, Shot, Dragoons for Renaissance warfare), or later periods (Rifles for Colonials). However, the only troop types that should appear on our Seven Years War battlefield are:

Muskets - line infantry and grenadiers
Jagers - loosely-formed, skirmishing infantry
Cannons - artillery batteries
Knights - heavy cavalry such as Cuirassiers
Cavalry - medium cavalry such as Dragoons
Light Horse - light cavalry such as Hussars

Muskets, Cannons and Jagers are the only elements able to conduct missile fire. Their ranges are: Muskets - 200 paces; Jagers - 300 paces; Cannons - 1000 paces. Ground scale is one inch equals 100 paces in 15mm, 50 paces in 25mm. One of the hallmarks of the DBA system is its simplified method of resolving missile fire and melee. Each element has a base factor against mounted and foot, from +2 for Jagers to +4 for Muskets. Opposing elements roll 1d6, add their base factors, modify them by a short list of tactical factors, and compare scores. Generally, if an opponent's score is double yours, your element is destroyed, if greater but not double, you recoil. However, the nuances of the period are enhanced by exceptions to the above. Jagers, as skirmishers, will flee 600 paces if doubled by Muskets, rather than being destroyed. However, they are ridden down and destroyed by Cuirassiers (Knights) if merely recoiled by them in melee on open ground.

Bruce McFarlane came up with the twist to the system, though, that neatly finished it off, and rendered the appropriate feel of a Seven Years War battle. He had played Tony Barr's Extensions, and was vaguely unsatisfied. "My only complaint with Tony's work was that I found musket-to-musket confrontations inconclusive," McFarlane said. "With +4 vs. +4, muskets never achieved the doubling needed for a kill, and so firefights could continue for hours."

His "Limited Recoils" system also added in a morale aspect, of sorts. "Each element was limited to the number of recoils it could take according to its discipline and training (an important trait in blackpowder days)," he said. "Guards could take four recoils and dissolved on the fifth; Veterans dissolved on the fourth; Regulars on the third; and conscripts dissolved on the second recoil."

So, Tony and Bruce handed me a simple, fast-play set of rules for the Seven Years War period. So far, the Columbus Ka-niggits (I know, I know, but it was the only name everyone could agree to!) have play tested them a half a dozen times, growing more enamored of them each time. However, if Tony and Bruce were allowed to tinker with the rules, I thought, why not me? Their modifications are meant to cover the entire period from post-Medieval to early Modern. I was focusing on the Seven Years War, and felt a few more tweaks could better reflect the period's flavor.

In DBA, Knights -- our Cuirassiers -- are the only mounted troop that follows up the recoil of a beaten enemy (which occasionally lands them in a heap of trouble!). However, reading Seven Years War accounts, ALL cavalry seemed to share this impetuous trait. Cavalry engagements are tales of successful charges, pursuits, countercharges by the enemy, and subsequent fleeing from them -- a process that chews up the mounted wings of both armies during the battle. Thus, I added my first tweak: All mounted troops follow up their opponent's recoil in melee.

Also, armies of Frederick the Great's era seemed to anchor their battlelines on villages fairly often. Infantry in villages were tough to root out -- the best way being to bombard them with artillery from outside of musket range. Thus, I added a tactical factor of "+2 if completely inside a built up area (i.e., town or village)." This seemed to work well. Players who marched up an infantry battalion to try to shoot them out ran into difficulty, and were often worn down or driven off by the defender's covered musketry.

One other thing I found was that Cannons are very tough. Most of the army lists on the DBA Extensions limit them to roughly one element per 12. I found this to be a good ratio -- too many more and they shred the opposing infantry's battleline before contact. Also, unlike Muskets, which fire on both your turn and the opponent's, Cannons fire only once. The rules state they fire on the opponent's turn, and only if they did not move or pivot in their own turn. I felt it would be easier to simply allow them to either fire OR move in your own turn. As such, no fire is allowed in the opponent's turn at all. This makes it simpler to remember who moved or didn't, and avoids arguments.

With the above tweaks, I'm becoming more and more pleased with the DBA Extensions for my Seven Years War battles. I recommend those of you online checking them out, and giving them a try. My quest may not be over, but I am certainly enjoying this stop.

The address for the Extensions is: http://www.barr.karoo.net/hws/dbx/dbaext.htm.