Black Powder: Rebellion!
Even if you are from the USA, you may or may not be aware that we are coming up on the 250th year of the birth of a our nation. In that vein, I wanted to play out some of the early battles. I started printing and painting a colonial force early last month, but I soon realized that I was not going to be able to finish both forces in time for the Battle of Bunker Hill. So I decided to put it off for little while, and hopefully fight some of the actual battles over the next few years.
I enjoyed painting them, but having entire forces is just a lot of work. The “requirements” for a force in Bunker Hill would require over 96 models for the colonials alone. I think I got through about half of that before boredom over took me, and I got excited about some different stuff.
I also really want to go back and really make a go at wargaming Gallipoli as a “real” campaign, which also requires a lot of work. Not to mention the creators that are turning out some really nice GI Joe figures that I want to paint. I think my winter project will be to actually print the entire USS FLAGG in 28mm. I always wanted one, and I am absolutely going to make my kids buy me the real version for my 50th birthday. And of course, Warlord Games is releasing an epic version of the Revolutionary War. I should ask if Victor’s Spoils has or is going to get any of it in stock. But I don’t think I want to paint them in 10mm or 12mm or whatever the scale turns out to be. But I digress. On to the review.
Review
Rebellion! is a supplement for the Black Powder game from Warlord Games. Rebellion covers the American fight for freedom from their oppressors the British. I really enjoyed reading this. I read a Presidential biography every year, and this year was George Washington. So seeing the “other” side of some of the history that I read was entertaining and informative. These supplements are really nice. They cover the history in a nice easy to read format, they cover army lists, and they have some great scenarios to play over. I do wish they all had an alphabetical index that I could use to go to what I want. This is only the second Black Powder supplement I have ever read, so I won’t say as usual, but the first 14 pages consist of the historical background. The next fortiesh pages cover Forces of the Crown, Forces of the Rebellion, the French, the Indians, Weapons and Tactics, and of course Commanders of Note for each of the three “white” forces. The rest of the book contains 19 scenarios from various stages of the war, and finally at the end is a Bibliography covering various books you will probably want to read to understand the War, and various people involved.
Historical Background
Spoiler Alert: You probably realize by now that the Americans won the war, and won their independence from the British. Of course it is way more nuanced than that. The beginning started of course with the aftermath of the Seven Years’ War or the French-Indian War was we colonials have been taught. It is one of those world wars that we don’t really acknowledge much in the US, I don’t know if it termed as such in other countries, but it should be. The British needed more money, and what did governments do back then? They taxed the people more to fund what needed to be funded, at least they didn’t just start printing money like we do today. The Americans did not like this. There were of course other reasons for the war. Read this section is is a nice primer on . It covers the various years, and what was happening, the war in the south, the war in Canada, and the war in New England. I really like that is broken down by years. If you wanted to get into American War for Independence (AWI), this is a good year to get started. You can follow the various campaigns, and have several good years of fighting to keep up with what was happening 250 years ago.
The Forces of X
We start with the Forces of the Crown move on to the Forces of the Rebellion, the French Army, and finally finish with the Indians. You get Organisation, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery and the Guards. I know I say this a lot, but it is a great primer on all those involved in the war. You also get some decent information on the Uniforms, and how they were used in various places in various battles. Since I am more of a painter, than a wargamer. This section was great. Am I going to build hundreds of figures with facings for each battle and each year? No, I’m not. But having some ideas on where to go, and what regiments to paint is really helpful.
They also offer a dossier on the leaders of each of the forces. This includes special rules for each commander, and some historical information.
Models 3D printing:
AWI British ArmyInfanterie in uniforme (walking) for American Revolutionary War - 28mm
Mounted officers serie 2 for American Revolutionary War - 28mm
Models Physical:
This is not a comprehensive list. Just some of the ones I’m either using, or would like to us in the future.
Scenarios
Finally we end with the scenarios. We start with special rules that exist in Black Powder, and how they may or may not be useful in Rebellion! For instance, Form Square was not really used in the Rebellion, while it was not unknown, cavalry was not as useful in the forested regions of North America as it they would become in the Napoleonic era in a few years. I enjoy when the author’s “give permission” to play games the way you want. I also enjoy reading the author’s thought processes on why the rules are what they are.
Each of the scenarios consists of some history of the battle. the overview, the armies involved, and orders of battle, deployment maps with relevant terrain features, with of course beautiful battlegrounds with minis. Each scenario contains dispositions and objectives, and the stats and special rules for each of the forces involved.
Would I buy this again? I would. The short history at the front is well worth the price of admission. The rest of the book is great, and can really help inform your own battles for the AWI. Will I actually play any of it? I really want to. I’m not in love with any of the 3d printing figures that I have. I need to find some forces that I actually want to put together and play with.
W.A. is about to release a Minutemen and British Dragoons set, just in time.
Some of my gaming group have played Black Powder and are trying to get me into it.
As someone who also has a lot on my plate without also painting a couple hundred Napoleonic figures, I've been checking out some smaller-scale alternatives. There's Rebels and Patriots from the Rampant series. And on the skirmish level, there's One-Hour Skirmish Wargames, which has a musket-era section.
Haven't played any of the Rampant games yet, but OHSW was great for WWII.