Having identified the periods of choice, the corresponding rulesets needed to be selected and it must be said, like many, I have a fair number to choose from.

Harking back to the process that I have just used to streamline the boardgame collection, I am going to apply the same single-minded series style process here.

All of the periods I favour (except WWII) fall within the time frame covered by what could be thought of as the Warlord Games’ trilogy of the Black Powder systems, these being, Black Powder, Pike & Shotte and Hail Caesar and so it is here that the axe will fall, with these rules and their various supplements being kept.

Not only does this cut rule systems down to just three sets, but these three books are themselves heavily inter-related. Know one of them properly and you will know 85% of the others.

Yes, there are pros and cons to these rule sets, but harsh streamlining does what harsh streamlining does and this will at least stop me flip-flopping around the world of rulesets ….. for now at least :-)

Edit - I am also working on my own rule sets and more of my gaming is making use of them. I am not saying they are better or that other systems have failed me, its just I like what is in them … obviously!

I have been working with them for a number of years, so they are both familiar and fairly tight now. Recently I have sent the Napoleonic and ACW sets off to one of these print on demand companies and had each printed out as a proper rules book, with nice photos etc.

They are still being tweaked and though I don’t like the idea of writing update notes in these printed books, they are just tools (he says) and it is nice to have them in a ‘proper’ looking format. They have cost me between £10.50 and £14.40 to have printed (post free), so doing a new updated version every now and then is acceptable, especially asI have mostly stopped buying commercial rules. 

For WWII, I have warmed to Rapid Fire Reloaded and have already started basing infantry for that system, so they are also in the final mix.

Taken together, all of this should bring a much tighter focus to the figure side of my gaming. Storage will be acceptable, painting will be more pleasurable with the bigger scale and a bit of modelling along the way can be enjoyed. 

These smaller armies should deliver relatively short games (under 2 hours) - a few of my recent games have been running for at least double that, putting a noticeable strain on my back and causing discomfort for the following couple of days - so all of these plans are not just do-able, but for the good.

And then of course there is the inspiration that comes from other gamer’s tables - there is a video link in the Resource Section (below) from a demo game by the League of Augsburg. Their table is what I see my games looking like in my minds eye :-).

Once I had decided to approach the question of figure scales and rules with the same ruthlessness that I did with the boardgames, the obvious conclusion was that with a decision made of what to keep, everything else would have to go and that is where the real conundrum sat - If I had chosen the smaller scale, that would mean the 28mm Wars of the Roses stuff going and the 28mm 1066 not being built and I just couldn’t travel that route and in the end, it became the deciding factor.

I have always said that the question of what to keep should be turned upon its head and instead the question should be ‘what could I allow to go’. There is a strong argument for wanting to keep both large and small scales and many gamers do, but in the end, I knew that it would come down to a heart over mind decision. I have likely made the emotional choice, rather than the sensible choice for my circumstances …. but in the words of the greatest of philosophers - Bollocks to it! 

I am fortunate that most of this kit is already in my possession, some in raw metal, but most is plastic, still on the sprue, due to some over-buying during Covid Lockdown, so the plans are not really looking at any new financial commitment, rather, there should be a release of funds as the other stuff gets sold off.

This all gives a definitive framework for the brutal disposal of ‘everything else’, whether by sale, donation or bin! making space both physically and mentally. 

I must say, this sudden activity in sorting out the boardgames and the figures in one fell swoop has come as something of a surprise and has been seriously cathartic in its own way. I am back to embracing the simple principle that all of this wargaming thing should be a simple joy.

I don’t want distracting multiple rulesets, I don’t like painting, I don’t want dozens of battalions and I prefer shorter games, certainly for figures. I do like playing games with things that look pretty and that are just a pleasure to own for their own sake. So there it is, a decision! I can now come out of my bunker!

There will obviously be a bit of a lag while this all gets jacked up, but the reader should then start to see some of this stuff drifting onto the table as a plan most excellent is executed :-)

Thanks for accommodating the recent self indulgent posts on hobby restructuring. The truth is, none if it is important enough to justify public consumption, but if it turns a light on for any one else, then good.

Video by League of Augsburg LINK

https://youtu.be/FbemdT1cN24?si=2edcisXco0SH9iv-

My sister webspace ‘COMMANDERS’ is being re-configured to showcase various figure and boardgame systems that I am enjoying and gives a flavour of where current projects are up to. Link.

https://commanders.simdif.com