You know how it is – you wait on this my Pound Store Plastic Warriors Blog for a Close Wars post to come along for ages and then, like London buses, two come along at once.
First, Roger Halvorsen on his Model Rails and Wargames blog reset these rules into the 1960s Bush Wars of Africa:
https://modelrailsandwargames.blogspot.com/2022/12/close-wars.html
Next and independently, The Wargaming Pastor on his Death Zap blog (“Anyone can afford wargaming”) setting these simple rules (appendix) into a Sci Fi future. https://deathzap.co.uk/2022/12/16/battle-of-the-rulebooks-part-4-close-wars-by-donald-featherstone/
The Wargaming Pastor makes some “as you game” adjustments as he goes, which are worth reading through. Featherstone’s group melee rules or mechanism appear to cause the biggest issues.
I too sometimes use Featherstone’s simple Melee variation rules for individual combat using d6 dice throws, other times I use Gerard De Gre’s Parry and Lunge duelling rules.
To be fair, as the Wargaming Pastor says, these original core rules are designed for French-Indian Wars ‘troops versus natives’ cluttered forest skirmish, not at first view an obvious match for futuristic fighting in the urban jungles of other planets.
You will find an attractively photographed battle report by the Wargaming Pastor and more reflection on the pros and cons of the Close Wars rules.
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Featherstone and Sci-fi Rules?
I had to do similar modifications when gaming with these Featherstone 1962 War Games rules on a past Wellsian garden Star Wars / Little Wars / Close Wars mash-up improvised game:
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/close-little-space-wars/
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/09/25/in-a-garden-far-far-away/
The original Close Wars rules can be found in my blog post here:
https://manoftinblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/09/close-little-wars-featherstones-simplest-rules/
Not that Donald Featherstone was averse to fantasy and sci-fi gaming, as he left two unfinished or unpublished scenarios (one fantasy, one sci-fi) for his Skirmish Wargaming book that were edited and added by John Curry when he reprinted this classic book in his History Of Wargames Project. He has also reprinted Featherstone’s original 1962 War Games.
“This new edition, includes an additional fantasy scenario and a science fiction scenario: To Claim our Long-forgotten Gold (Third Age) [fantasy] and Mining Station Sigma 9 (Year 3015, the far future) and guidance on how to play solo skirmish wargames.”
http://www.wargaming.co/recreation/details/dfskirmish.htm
I wonder what the next Close Wars variant will be?
Blog post by Mark Man Of TIN, 17 December 2022
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