The Basic Game
Introduction
This game is designed to be easy to obtain, simple to play, and it provides an introduction to miniature wargaming of the 18th and 19th centuries. Even the simplest historical miniature wargame, De Bellis Antiquitatis, requires $15 for rules, $40 for metal figures, and some painting, or $160 $200 for painted and mounted figures. You can buy those rules and figures at only a very few specialized stores. This game should not cost you more than $35. You may already have its components, or you can find them in many local stores.
To play this game you need three things:
1. a six-sided die (four dice would be faster)
2. an checkerboard (8x8 squares)
3. plastic playing pieces from the board game RISK*
* RISK is available from toy stores and game and toy sections in other stores for $27 to $23. It comes with 360 plastic miniatures in six colors. The pieces that come with RISK represent soldiers from the wars of Napoleon and the War of 1812. You can also use Horse and Musket to refight the French and Indian War, the Revolutionary War, the Mexican American War, and the American Civil War by purchasing boxes of plastic figures for those armies from hobby stores.
Set-up
This game is for two players. Place the checkerboard between the two players. The row of squares closest to each player is his or her "baseline." Each player selects 4 cannon, 6 cavalry pieces, and 16 infantry pieces and places them in his or her baseline squares.
You cannot put more than four pieces in one square.
Each player takes a coin, a small stone, or other small object and places it in one baseline square. That is the player's headquarters. It cannot move during the game. You can have four pieces in the headquarters square.
Each player rolls the die. The player who rolls the higher number moves first. Re-roll tie
Unit Capabilities
You can use the playing pieces to move and attack. Each piece has different abilities. All movement and attack distances are given in squares. All attack values are the number of dice the piece can roll.
| Unit | Distance in squares | Number of
dice rolled | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Movement | Attack | Attack | |
| Infantry | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Cavalry | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Artillery | 1 | 4 | 1 |
Artillery cannot shoot on the same turn that it moves.
Infantry can attack squares from two squares away to represent their ability to shoot. Cavalry move faster and attack with greater strength, but they must be next to their opponent to attack. Artillery can bombard enemy-occupied squares to four squares away. The artillery must have a clear path to its target, it cannot shoot through friendly pieces and it must shoot at the closest enemy pieces.
* Measurement - All measurement is done in straight lines, front, back, left, right. There is no diagonal measurement!
Cavalry cannot attack enemy-occupied squares to its left front or left right. Infantry and artillery cannot move into a left front or right ftont square. They must move forward one square the first turn and sideways the second turn.
There is no diagnonal moving or attacking!
Turn Sequence and Moving
You must finish moving before you attack.
You can choose to "pass" and not move any piece.
Player A: Move any or all of the pieces in four squares. Attack any enemy-occupied squares within range of your pieces.
Player B: Move any or all of the pieces in four squares. Attack any enemy-occupied squares within range of your pieces.
Each piece can only move once per turn.
When each player moves, you can only move pieces in four squares. You can move all of the pieces in those squares, but you cannot move any other pieces. You can decide which four squares full of pieces you will move. You do not have to move all the pieces in a square. You do not have to move four squares' full. You can move fewer pieces.
* You cannot move any of your pieces into a square with enemy pieces already in it. You must eliminate those enemy pieces with attacks and move in on your next turn. You cannot move pieces more than once per turn. If you move a piece into a square, then move the pieces in that square, you must leave behind the piece you have already moved. While you are moving pieces, you cannot have more than four pieces in one square at any time. [Advice: Move your pieces in front first.]
When you have finished moving your pieces, perform your attacks. Pieces that did not move can attack if there are any enemy-occupied squares within range.
Each piece can attack only once per turn.
Attacking
Each piece can attack one *square* within range. Roll one die and look at the attack table. If the result is R, the defending player must retreat one piece in that square. If the result is X, the defending player must remove one piece from that square and take if off the board.
When a piece must retreat, it must move back two squares. If the piece is in the first (baseline) or second row, the piece is eliminated. If the square that the piece must retreat into has four pieces already, the retreating piece is removed from the board. If either square behind the retreating piece has enemy pieces in it, remove the retreating piece. [Move your pieces forward quickly and fight in the middle of the board so that you don't lose pieces that retreat off the board.]
Attack Die
Roll:
6-X
5 - R
4, 3, 2, 1, - no
effect
If, at the end of all his attacks, a player has pieces next to his opponents headquarters square, and that HQ square is empty, he can move pieces into it from adjacent squares.
Winning
A player wins when he occupies his opponent's headquarter's square with at least one *infantry* piece, and holds that square for one full turn. The defending player gets one turn to counterattack and try and retake his headquarters square. If he succeeds, the first player has not won and must try to capture the headquarters again.
National Colors
The RISK pieces are dressed like soldiers from the wars of Napoleon, You can choose the color of the pieces you use to match a particular army.
French: Blue
British: Red
Russian: Green
Prussian: Black
Austrian: Yellow
Spanish: Yellow
American: Blue
Canadian: Red
Italian: Green
Turkish: Red
Infantry 1 cannot attack. The range is too far to the enemy pieces.
Infantry 2 attacks a square with 1 die. You roll a 3, no effect.
Infantry 3 attacks a square with 1 die. You roll a 5, Retreat. Your opponent must retreat one piece 2 squares.
Cavalry 4 attacks a square with 2 dice. You roll a 3 and a 6: no effect and Eliminated. Your opponent loses the second infantry piece.
Cavalry 5 cannot attack because it it too far away from the enemy.
Artillery 6 cannot fire because it is blocked.
Artlllery 7 cannot fire at the square in front of the cavalry and infantry, because it is now empty. Instead, it fires at the other enemy square with two infantry, You roll a 3, no effect.
The Prussians wore a very dark blue uniform. The Austrians wore white, but painted their artillery dark yellow and marked their uniforms with dark yellow and black. The Spanish used many colors, but many cavalry regiments had yellow uniforms. The Turks wore many colors, but the most common infantry colors were red and white.
Advanced Game
These rules make the game more complicated, but if you have learned the basic game and are bored with it, these rules should make the game more interesting. All players should agree on which rules are being used.
Advance Rules for all Periods
1. Points System: Infantry are worth two points, Cavalry and artillery are worth four points. Set a point limit (such as 70 or 80 points), and allow each player to buy any number of any type of piece until he or she uses up all his or her points. Neither player can buy more than 32 pieces, since the baseline has only eight squares, and you can only have four pieces in one square.
2. Three or Four Players: Each player picks 8 infantry, 3 cavalry, and 2 artillery pieces. Each player places his or her pieces and headquarters on just the center four squares of one side of the board. Players can help each other, but you cannot put pieces from two different players in the same square. Pieces that must retreat through squares full of "ally" pieces are not removed. When a player's headquarters is taken and held by another player for one full turn, all of that player's pieces are removed from the board. The last player left on the board wins the game.
3. Terrain: You can make squares of terrain from paper or felt, or draw a checkerboard with the terrain drawn on it. The squares should be the same size as one square on the board. Each player gets two woods, four hills, and one town. Place one terrain piece on any square on your half of the board. You cannot put two or more terrain pieces on the same square. You cannot place terrain on your baseline (first) row!
Towns/Forts - Cavalry and artillery cannot enter. Cavalry cannot attack into towns or forts. When you attack a town or fort square, "R" combat results count as No Effect. Woods - Cavalry and artillery cannot enter. Cavalry cannot attack into woods. When you attack a woods square, "K" combat results count as "R" (retreat).
Hills - Attacks against hill squares are -1 to the die roll. A result of 1 -1 is still 1. Artillery on hills can fire *over* squares with friendly pieces. Artillery cannot attack a square if there is a town, hill, fort, or woods between the artillery and the target square, even if the artillery is on a hill.
If, at the end of your turn, you have pieces next to a piece of terrain, and there are no enemy pieces in that terrain, you may move pieces into that square.
4. Light Pieces: The dense European and American armies of the 18th and 19th centuries had trouble fighting in bad terrain. To solve this problem, they developed Light Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery. To indicate the light pieces, you will need some paint. Paint the plumes of the pieces green. (On the green pieces, use yellow.) (Put the mark on the carriage of the artillery piece.)
Light Infantry move 2 squares and attack with I die at a range of 2 squares.
Light Cavalry move 3 squares and attack with I die at a range of 1
square.
Light Artillery move 2 squares and attack with I die at a range of 3
squares.
In the points system, Light pieces cost 4 points
each.
5. Units of different quality: Some armies can have very good pieces called Guard and some armies can have poorly trained pieces called Militia. All other pieces in the army are considered Regular.
When half or more than half of the pieces in a square are Militia, add one to the die roll of any attack on that square. When a Guard piece attacks, add one to its die roll. A roll of a 6 +1 is always a 6. When terrain and quality rules call for +I and -I to the die roll, they cancel out. When using the points system, the cost of the pieces is:
Guard Cavalry 5 points
Guard Infantry 3 points
Guard Artillery 5 points
Regular Cavalry 4 points
Regular Infantry 2 points
Regular Artillery 2 points
Militia Cavalry 3 points
Militia Infantry I point
Militia Artillery 3 points
A typical army would cost 75 points. Add one point to the cost of a piece if it is Light. To indicate that pieces are Militia or Guard quality, use pieces of a different color (but not a color used by your opponent!) In the basic game, you might want to use these patterns:
- Regular: Blue
Guard: Black
Militia: Gray
Regular: Green
Guard: Red
Militia: Yellow
6. Cannister and Grapeshot: Artillery fire became more powerful at closer ranges. When attacking at ranges of 1 or 2 squares, artillery pieces roll 2 dice. If the target is in a woods or town, only roll 1 die. Light Artillery roll 2 dice only when firing at a range of one square.
Army Variations by Period
The following sections describe how you can change the composition of the armies and change the rules to recreate the armies that fought at different times in American history. If you are using the Advanced Rules, each section describes what terrain to use, and what were the different troop types in each army.
I . French and Indian War Army Composition
British/American: 20 Inf 0 Cav. 2 Art. 4 Indians
French/Canadian: 16 Inf. 0 Cav. 2 Art. 8 Indians
Terrain: both sides get 2 Forts, 2 Hills, 8 Woods
Troop Types: All artillery is Light.
British Inf - 2 Light, 8 Militia, 10 Regular
French Inf. - 2 Light, 8 Militia, 6 Regular
Special Rule: Indians. Indians move 2 and attack with I die at a range of I square. They cost 2 points.
2. American Revolutionary War
Army Composition
British/Tory/Hessian: 18 Inf 2 Cav. 3 Art. 2
Indians
American/French: 20 Inf. 2 Cav. 3 Art.
Terrain: both sides get I Fort, 2 Hills, 4 Woods
Troop Types: All cavalry and artillery are Light.
British Inf. - 2 Light, 4 Militia, 12 Regular
American Inf. - 2 Light, 10 Militia, 8 Regular
3. War of 1812 Army Composition British/Canadian: 20 Inf 2 Cav. 3 Art.
American: 20 Inf. 2 Cav. 3 Art.
Terrain: both sides get I Town, 2 Hills, 4
Woods
Troop Types: All Cavalry and Artillery are
Light.
British Inf. - 6 Militia, 14 Regular
American Inf. - 10 Militia, 10 Regular
4. Mexican-American War
Army Composition
U.S.: 14 Inf. 4 Cav. 4 Art.
Mexican: 16 Inf. 6 Cav. 3 Art.
Terrain: both sides get 2 Forts, 4 Hills, 4 Rough Terrain
Troop Types:
U.S. Artillery - 2 Light, 2 Regular
U.S. Cavalry - all Light
U.S. Infantry - 10 Regular, 4 Militia
Mexican Artillery - 2 Light, I Militia
Mexican Cavalry - 3 Light, 3 Regular
Mexican Infantry - 10 Militia, 6 Regular
Special Rule: Rough Terrain. Cavalry and Artillery cannot enter Rough Terrain. Cavalry cannot
attack into it. Rough Terrain does not block artillery fire. Attack results of "K" against Rough
Terrain become "R".
Special Rule: Dragoons. All of the U.S. cavalry are mounted riflemen who can dismount and fight like infantry. At any time during the game, the U.S. player can move a cavalry piece, then replace it with an infantry piece. That piece must remain as infantry for the rest of the game. It can attack on the turn that it changes.
5. American Civil War Army Composition
Union: 18 Inf. 4 Cav. 5 Art.
Confederacy: 14 Inf. 6 Cav. 4 Art.
Terrain: both sides get 2 Forts, 2 Hills, 4 Woods
Troop Types: All troops on both sides are Regular.
Special Rule: The Confederacy can move 5 squares of figures each
turn.
6. The Wars of Napoleon: If you want your army to look and act like the real armies of the era of Napoleon, use these special rules and army lists. Even though the United States was not directly involved in Europe, many players like to recreate these armies because they have so many different nationalities and troop types to choose from.
British infantry: +1 on attacks one square away Russians: R result - they retreat only one square
Number of squares of pieces that you can move each turn: French: 6 British and Prussians: 5 All Others: 4
| Unit Type | France | Britain | Russia | Prussia | Austria | 1 | Canada | U.S. | 2 | Turk |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guard Cav. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Guard Inf | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Guard Art. | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Reg. Cav. | 4 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Reg. Inf. | 12 | 18 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 4 |
| Reg. Art. | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Militia Cav | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Militia Inf | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 18 | 10 | 9 |
| Militia Art | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Light Cav. | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Light Inf. | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 |
| Light Art. | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Others 1 - Spain, Portugal, Naples, Dutch-Belgian
Others 2 - Northern Italy, Bavaria, Saxony, Poland,
Sweden
Sample Starting Set-Up
Example 1
Infantry 1 cannot attack. The range is too far to the enemy pieces.
Infantry 2 attacks a square with 1 die, You roll a 3, no effect.
Infantry 3 attacks a square with 1 die. You roll a 5, Retreat. Your opponent must retreat one piece 2 squares.
Cavalry 4 attacks a square with 2 dice. You roll a 3 and a 6: no effect and Eliminated. Your opponent loses the second infantry piece.
Cavalry 5 cannot attack because it it too far away from the enemy.
Artillery 6 cannot fire because it is blocked.
Artillery 7 cannot fire at the square in front of the cavalry and infantry, because it is now empty. Instead, it fires at the other enemy square with two infantry. You roll a 3, no effect.
Example 2
Infantry 1 cannot attack. The range is too far to the enemy pieces. However, when the turn is over, it can occupy the hill, because it is next to an empty terrain piece.
Guard Infantry 2 attacks a square with 1 die. You roll a 4, which is usually no effect. But guard units add 1 to their die roll, making the result a 5 - Retreat, Your opponent m ust retreat one piece. He chooses the cavalry.
Infantry 3 attacks a square with 1 die. You roll a 5, Retreat. Your opponent must retreat one piece 2 squares.
Cavalry 4 cannot attack. Cavalry cannot attack into woods, and it is too far away from the enemy infantry in the open.
Light Cavalry 5 attacks, but with only 1 die. You roll a 5, which because at least half the pieces in the square are Militia, becomes a 6, Eliminated. Your opponent removes t a Militia Infantry.
Artillery 6 fires cannister* into the woods: you roll two dice: 2 and 6, no ffect and Eliminate, which in wo, ds becomes Retreat. The second enemy infantry piece leaves the wo
Light Artillery 7 cannot fire because It the town is in the way.
* two hex range
Cavalry 4 cannot move into the town or the wood. If this game were set during the Great Plains Wars, you could dismount the cavalry piece next turn. Then is could enter the empty terrain.
Playing without the Board
You can play Horse and Musket without the checkerboard, Mark an area on a table, the floor, or any other flat surface that is about two feet wide and two feet deep. Use ALL the rules, EXCEPT those for movement and position. You will need a ruler.
| Unit | Movement Distance | Attack Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Infantry | 4 inches | 8 inches |
| Cavalry | 8 inches | 4 inches |
| Artillery | 4 inches | 16 inches |
In other words, for each square, use four inches. For example, Light Cavalry moves 12 inches.
You move each piece separately, not in groups. Each piece can move in any direction, as long as it does not leave the play area. Each piece can attack in any direction.
Each player rolls 4 six-sided dice. The total number of those four dice is the number of pieces the player can move in his turn. Confederates and Napoleonic French roll 5 dice.
Terrain pieces should be 4 inches in diameter. Headquarters should be the same size, but only four pieces can be in a headquarters at any one time. Armies and headquarters must start the game within 4 inches of the back end of the playing area.
Attacks are from one piece to one piece. The pieces with an attack range of 2 squares or greater do not have to be next to the enemy to attack. They just need to be within attack distance.
Pieces with an attack distance of only 1 square be able to move next to enemy pieces to attack them. R results mean that the piece must be moved 8 inches straight back towards his side of the play area. If the piece is closer than 8 inches to the back edge, it is removed.
Line of Sight: If one piece attacks another piece and there is a piece of terrain nearby, take a long ruler or stick and hold it between the two pieces. If the stick crosses over the terrain the terrain blocks the attack (unless it is Rough Ground).
New Terrain
This terrain piece is for you to use to create your own battles, or to recreate actual historical battlefield conditions. Make the stream as long as you want.
Streams: Units that enter a stream [square] must stop and cannot move until the next turn. Units in a stream square are -1 when they attack. Artillery cannot attack from a stream square.
Bridges: These cross a stream in one square (or 4 inches of length) and remove the effects of the stream.
Rivers: No piece can enter a river square [or area]. Rivers can be two squares (8 inches) wide. Artillery can shoot across rivers. Rivers can be crossed with bridges.
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© Copyright 1999 Hal Thinglum
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