Light Bobs – Skirmish Wargame Rules for the American Revolution

Light Bobs

Skirmish Level Wargame Rules for the American Revolution

For a printed copy go to On Military Matters

Light Bobs provides a wargame based on small companies led by individual officers during the American Revolution. The rules are named after the nickname given to the British Light Infantry in the period.

The rules are written to simulate battalion level combat where hundreds, rather than thousands, of soldiers are deployed. This is larger than an individual skirmish, but below a brigade or multiple battalion action.

The game is for two players using 25 or 40 mm figures. Each player commands 4 to 6 companies of 4 to 12 figures and is represented on the table by a special leader figure. This means games can be played with as few as 17 figures a side while an average game will involve some 33 figures a side. Action is fast and sharp with companies of mixed arms and varying morale types.

There are detailed army lists covering the four theaters of the American Revolution: Boston, Saratoga, the Mid­-Atlantic States and the South. The lists, used in combination with the army creation rules, allow players to move from one theater to another, fighting actions with different types of armies. For example, an army in the Saratoga campaign looks entirely different from one in the South: the former has Indians but no mounted troops while the latter has mounted troops but no Indians.

To bring out the individuality of the scale and period further I have used the personality rules from one of my previous rule sets: Day of Battle. This allows players to learn, or not as the case may be, from battle to battle rising from the rank of Captain to the dizzying heights of General. This allows you to run a simple paperless campaign. I have also reused the command and battle line morale rules from Day of Battle so if you have used my rules before these sections will be more than familiar.

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