(ED. These quotes and written tracts were gleaned from both an interview with the author and his pre-game rules descriptions.)

"The Newbury Rules (the full edition ones, not the Fast Ppay) are tactical rules. What they try to do, they achieve. Both WRG and Shock of Impact try to be both tactical and strategic with you as the general trying to combine both, but Newbury clears up so many wrongs done to the Ancient period.

Weapons types, armor type, troop class are all fully explained and have more differentiation...the weapons thing isn't important, it's the tactical situations which screw you up. Look at the Ancient Greeks. No super troops, no super weapons ... in the Newbury Rules Army Lists,, the troops are mmostly Cs (average) with not many As or Bs.

"Disorganization in a melee:

a) troops fall back,
b) then they retire
C) then retreat and
d) finally rout ... and that's it.

In Shock of Impact, routers keep coming back, they (the rules writers) tried to deal with mass by having the unformed melee, but the more you fight (in Newbury), the more disordered you are and the longer it takes you to reform. Cavalry is very potent, but they must charge in a straight line."

The Newbury Rules are:

1) Tactical rules.

2) One set of rules for ancient, medieval and Renaissance, not three different sets, or one set designed for one period and stretched to cover more than just that specific period.

3) The rules are comprehensive i.e. few if any arguments about rules or interpretations,

4) No super troops or super weapons. Yes, these rules have more troop classifications and weapons than any other I know of. But in playing, the weapons do not affect the outcome alone but a far more important factor is the tactical situation, As for troops, I think morale, and training are important; how does one classify troops, that have great morale but little battlefield training? Troops which are seasoned or raw is the answer,

5) Disorganisation is not just good or bad, but on a scale of one to eight which takes time to reform,

6) Routs mean routs, troops who do rout are unlikely to return and if they do are severely penalized i.e, they discarded many types of weapons.

7) No more open order skirmishers holding up loose or close order cavalry, If the cavalry charges it will melee and if it wins it will be able to move in that turn the rest of its move distance.

8) Reaction time. This represents the time a unit takes to react to a charge i.e. no more automatic turns or about faces to face a charge. If a unit is at a tactical disadvantage, the liklihood of it reacting is less than if in a favorable tactical situation."

It's just the detail of the rules, I think, that's the bottom line."