Seems the English are just as fond of civil disobedience as the rest of us. Without really bothering to delve greatly into the matter (at eight years old, intellectual curiosity was very limited, under-developed, and mostly superficial anyway), I intuitively sided with the losing Lancastrian cause. Nearly sixty years later, I am still siding with the losing side simply because I know the value of what-ifs. Especially when wargaming. And, besides, ultimately the Lancastrians won when Henry defeated Richard III at Bosworth.
ACOS stands for A Coat of Steel which is set in the War of the Roses (1455-1487). It covers the main areas of conflict - England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland.
I am really liking the breakdown and detailing these rules provide into the period and how it was fought back then.
Within the concept of the rules a Band, usually refers to a single 40mm stand representing 60-100 men. Whether this is historically the case deserve further investigation but for now I content to accept their explanation. Besides, it makes for an interesting appeal, and it's better than being called a "thingy".
A group of bands (normally 3 or 4) belong to a Contingent while a Company comprises several contingents (ranging between 6 to 16 contingents - no more, no less). Scale for these rules is 28mm. Which allows scope for painting beautiful minis.
The Company is the basic tactical unit within the game, and must be led by a commander. Beyond that, as you rise up in organisational levels terms like Ward, Host, and Battel become more common and therefore the norm, especially in Campaign Mode (ACOP - A Coat of Paper). Like I said before, the rules are designed for company-level gaming but it is possible to wage large-scale tabletop conflicts. It means more players of course.
What is attracting me right now with this ruleset, i.e., wanting to pull out the paint brush and acrylics, are the coat-of-arms of those involved. These are part of the multitude of other files - cards, counters, personalities, scenarios - that seriously much colour to the ruleset. And it's a big plus rergarding The Perfect Captain; their production output is seriously good for Little Known rules.
Always found shield heraldry fascinating. There is colour. There is history. There is symbolism. And the perfect opportunity to create a colourful company, especially the standard bearer, is really motivating me to buy some minis and assemble a group together.
Which commander to choose from the eighty-odd has yet to be determined however. But I do know he will be Lancastrian-aligned. Although there are some nice shield emblems on theYorkist side too.
Leaders come in all degrees of competency and loyalty. I like the fact that you can have commanders on your own side suddenly turn Treacherous on you. Much like real-world situations. Gives it a spice from your usually bland commercially produced sets.
I've already printed out Ironbow 2, Strongbow (the campaign mode), The Armies of Strongbow, and John Bull/Patriots (covering the period of the American Revolution up to 1815 on the North American continent).
Also exploring my options in terms of suitable figurines, their availability within Australia, and type. My son is planning on travelling overseas to the UK next month so I could probably save on the pricey overseas postage if I can get my act together.
I will test the waters, so to speak, with these various rules to some degree of commitment.
There are other rulesets within the free grab bag from all those years ago. There is a set of seven modules based within the Pike and Shot era (16th-17th centuries) centred on the Spanish domination in European affairs at that time. Rules cover such specifics as conventional naval warfare, piracy in the New World, religious persecution (Hugenots), conventional land battles, sieges (coastal and fortifications). There is even a simple duelling module! And a Nordic ruleset covering the local wars of Scandinavia is tossed in for variety.
Of course, I should end this brief post back on the topic of English civil disobedience, namely that other great conflict that divided the nation: the English Civil War. There are three modules for this period - Planter Fox (Ireland module), Tinker Fox (core ruleset), and Very Civile Actions (campaign module).
There is a lot here to keep me occupied for many several years.
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