Scourge of Princes

 I have long convinced myself that I need a decent set of Renaissance battle rules. A cursory glance at my rules bookshelf will tell you that this is nonsense, but what can I say? I'm a wargame butterfly. And yes, I will almost certainly buy the Pike and Shotte supplement on the Ottomans at Partisan on Sunday. I have been hooked on this period ever since being introduced to it by the sadly recently departed George Gush. His book and rules dominated my gaming for a long time.

Into my mythical void comes Scourge of Princes by Sam Mustafa and John Holly. It covers the whole period from Machiavelli to Cromwell. My first reaction was that it looks like Blucher, but it also has features from his other rules, particularly Maurice. I am a fan of Sam's rules and have many of them. Some I even play regularly, particularly Blucher. So, despite the price, even the PDF isn't cheap, I went all in. In fairness, you don't have to buy blind. Sam's introductory YouTube videos are excellent; there are free downloads of a chapter, QRS, scenario and army lists. And no expensive cards to buy.

For this price (£37 for a printed copy), you get 118 pages, Osprey size, in colour. The Amazon print binding isn't ideal for rules, but after a few games, you won't have to refer to it often. There is limited 'eye-candy' padding, and as ever with Sam's rules, they are a model of clarity and layout. Unlike others I could name, there is very little need to go backwards and forwards to find an explanation. The language is concise, supported by clear diagrams. 

Sam usually names his rules after a key general in the period. He didn't this time because he felt there were too many. Of course, he is completely wrong about this. He should have named it after Suleiman the Magnificent (Lawgiver)! The Magnificent would be a great name for a set of rules, even if his Dad, Selim I, arguably did more to expand the empire. However, a ruleset titled The Grim doesn't quite have the same marketing vibe!😂

There is a free download of the basics, which reassures you that no rebasing is required. Although not explicit, it is based on 28mm, but you can use any scale, and there is a section on how to play smaller games than 6' x 4'. We used 15mm figures at full scale, and it worked fine. The core rules are 30 pages, clearly sequenced, followed by advanced rules, an open architecture to create your own army lists (the main ones are available for free download), and a campaign system. There is even an index, hurray!

I won't give a detailed account of the rules, as the YouTube videos do a better job than I could. It's an IGO-UGO system based on Momentum (MO), which you dice for each turn. You get one MO for most units, unless you roll one on the dice. This sounds fine until you realise that most moves require two MOs or more. The exception is when you place your commander within earshot (4") of a unit when it requires only one MO. This is not as random a command mechanism as, say, TtS, and is intended to allow you to concentrate your effort where it is most needed. The downside is that half your army stands still every turn. This is what happens in Maurice, which is why I don't play it often. In our trial game, it was less of an issue as the game developed, because you are likely to be defending somewhere on the battlefield. MO is required only for movement, not for shooting. It can be argued that this reflects the reality of command-and-control in the period, but I can see it irritating some players at my clubs. The earshot distance is quite short given the size of the units, and I might consider tweaking it or adding just a bit more MO. 

Movement distances are quite long (12" for cavalry and 8" for infantry), which means the armies get stuck in quickly, assuming you can move the units. The shooting and combat rules are simply elegant. Blucher players will be at home with them, split into skirmish and volley fire. Skirmishing is more likely to slow up command than inflict casualties, which is sound. There are only a few plus factors which make for quick play. The combat system is a little more complex, but again is not bogged down by too many special rules and factors. As you complete a full turn with each unit (move and shoot or charge), it means you can soften up a target before charging in. This is as it should be. The downside of the long movement distances is that shooting infantry doesn't get a round off before cavalry charges in, and there is no defensive fire before combat. It is presumably factored into the combat factors.

There are advanced rules for brigades in the later period and adjunct commanders, which might help with the MO issues. There are rules for field works, commanded shot, war wagons, caracole and others. I had a few issues with the Ottoman army lists, no change there, but the open architecture allows you to tweak them to your own historical view.

For the trial game, we played Ottomans v  Holy Roman Empire in 15mm at full scale. I would recommend the latest edition of the Prime and Load podcast for a discussion on the Holy Roman Empire. Although I am not convinced about the USA analogy. I still think Voltaire got it right: "the Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire."

We should have used the points system as the Ottomans were a bit outgunned, but it was a good trial. I am also off to Serbia next week, so a battle there was appropriate.

The Ottoman left wing charged across the table, while the rest of the army stood still. My opponent did the same on his left, unhindered by my daudling Tatars and segbans! Even my elite Kapikulu cavalry bounced off the cuirassiers. The Imperial left broke through my right centre, and what was left of the Ottoman army was flanked on both sides. Back to Constantinople and come again for me.

I will be playing more of these rules.