Mad Dog’s And Englishmen- A Review

I came across Jon Sutherland’s 2018 Mad Dogs and Englishmen ( MDAE ) almost by accident. One thing, Crimean War, led to another, India. The rules are named after the title of a Noel Coward song from 1931.  All distinctively Colonial as befits Mr Sutherland’s rules. He aims to cover many conflicts.

MDAE popped up again during Roger of Go Pa’s Sikh Wars Rules Quest. Roger liked some of the mechanisms. However he lacked the cards. 

Then I listened to a 30 minute You tube review by Ralph Astley. Mr A was disappointed by Mad Dogs and Englishmen. Too many gaps and contradictions in his view made it unplayable. Specifically he detests the lack of a good editorial hand. I hope he never buys Furioso! 

All the same Mr A detected there was possibly a good game in there albeit with  work. Since then one of my correspondents has pronounced them unplayable as they stand. Recall both these fellows paid their money but couldn't take their turn.

I was hoping a cheap second hand copy. Alas that was not to be. I paid full price.  Of course Mad Dogs and Englishmen was originally intended for the Mutiny. Currently I am doing the Mutiny. Also MDAE is partially Card Driven. Units can fight defensively for anything else it's a card. I like cards in games.

Let us take a gentle dander through the core rules. Specifically, the bits I like.  I like variable movement and MDAE has it in spades. No lack of uncertainty there.

Also, we see the Sepoys move and manoeuvre with the same efficiency as the British and Loyal sepoys.  This is correct and often overlooked. If that changed later on I see it a sensible response to facing the Enfield Rifle. Close order and outranged by Enfield's? No future in that.

The Enfield advantage is detailed along with other guns and missilery. Except the Brunswick Rifle is missing.  Mentioned in the rules but missing from the tables. Pleasingly MDAE makes the point that not all British Regiments had Enfield rifles.  Of course they eventually did get them.

There are a load of cards required for MDAE. Some of them seem of very similar effect. The better your commander the more cards they get. The cards enable aggressive actions or hinder the foe. 

Once you play them they are gone. If you win an engagement you get one back, destroy an enemy unit and you get 2 back. But which one? Can you pick? Or, is it an entirely random new one?

You have to make the cards. You can see some of mine on the page. They are either Leader or Action cards. I’m presuming that you choose which cards your Leader gets? Or maybe its random? Whatever, you could tailor the cards to the sort of action you wish to fight. You could make new additional cards. The author doesn’t say.

Then there are Hits. Some Hits are Kills and some cause Terror. There is a chart to tell you which. It all works. Too much Terror and your lads run away. As they would.

Leaders can rally off terror using their Command Rating/Points. So far as I can tell a Leader wanting to do this throws a dice and the result reduces that amount of Terror on a given unit.

Sir Colin Campbell (above right) is a sixer in command points. When his card is turned he can do 6 things. Six things in the entire game? That was my best guess. But Campbell and the other Leaders have 2 cards each. So for Campbell it is 12 things in a game

There’s nothing for it but to Play Test Mad Dog’s And Englishmen. 

My two MDF "Indian" Buildings shown above might be finished in time. Red Vector Afghan/African buildings from Pendraken. 

Also above British and Indian guns and crews. Irregular, Dixon and Irregular if you feel your wallet twitching.

Will it work? I couldn’t tell you. There is some intriguing thinking all the same.

Finally, you might like these Civilians from Fighting 15s. There was a grand outfit. Anyhow, could it be the Collector, the Magistrate and a member of the Fishing Fleet? No? A daughter then or perhaps an affianced Lady. Surely not to the Magistrate?

Next week we are back in the Crimea.

2025, How Did it Go?

 

First, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.  Thank you for reading my blog. I thought I'd do a retrospective on my plans for '25. A how did it go?  Here it is.

Back in '24 I thought I'd finally get to finish off some outstanding projects.  '25 didn't go quite as planned. The easy part is that my Tyrone's War game is now with the Publishers. My Crusades game, a joint venture with Andy Callan, ditto. If and when they are due to appear I'll let you know.

I had thought to finish Gonzalvo my Italian Wars game. There is really very little to do. Somehow, I managed not to do it. Likewise my Aztec game. Hopefully '26 will see both finished.

Unexpectedly, I have a Flodden -1513 game done and dusted. Not a new idea for me but it managed to get to the front of the queue. The Days of The Cid too, is done.

Some new things came my way. The most influential being David Louis Raybin's Charge of the Light Brigade rules for the Crimean War. Much more on this anon.

Brent Oman produced Battle Command and Ancient and Medieval Battle Command. I bought these both with the custom cards.  Next year should see a review of the two.

Also Barry Hilton produced another edition of his splendid Beneath the Lilly Banners. It is basically a reprint of the last one but with a different theatre focus. Key mechanisms are unchanged. Barry's stuff tends to sell out. Then it changes hands for mad prices second hand. This new edition is most welcome. I'll be reviewing it here. 

Comitatus, a favourite rule set here, is also due a second edition in '26. Odd to write that, '26. My maternal Grandfather was a NUM Shop Steward in the General Strike of 1926. That was '26 for us. Time has marched. Anyhow, new Comitatus will also be reviewed here.

I also hope to bring you a monthly game report on whatever period and system has me preoccupied. Game reports take a lot of time and also interrupt play. That's why I don't do many. I'll be delighted if I can present you with 12 of them.

Regular readers will have noticed a steady completion of collections taking place. 

I'm very happy with this. 

The idea is both sides are game ready for a range of periods.

Anything new for '26? Yes, Middle Romans and Picts with Comitatus.

That's it. Hope you enjoy the pic's. See you in 2026.

EFM Border Reivers -A Review

 

As part of my Flodden Project I ordered some packs of 15mm figures from East Front Miniatures. The service was excellent and the figures arrived within days including a 10% Discount offer on a future purchase. EFM also gave me a free mounted Long Bow man figure.

In terms of size these figures sit easily with QRF, Minifigs Essex. They are mounted on ponies as they should be. I count 4 pony variants. Not bad at all.

I present all of them to you painted. You can see them unpainted at EFM.

LS24- Scottish Swordsmen, 8 figures with two variants. Two interesting figures. Both might do service with Cortez or such like. Paint the fellow with targe as having bare legs and he could join a Highland clan array. Consider his Trunk Hose as Cannions. As Borderers they are perfect. 

There is also an English Swordsmen pack of two different figures. Both packs could supply English Targeteers for the Nine Years War in Ireland. Obviously they can be used as dismounted borderers.

LS35- Lancers in Bonnets, 4 figures. 2 Lancers with separate arm that can be glued lance up, lance charged. This is rather good. For Borderers pistoling see the blue cloak figure below. Two horse poses for all 4.

LS33 -The Heidman and the lads, 4 one piece casting figures of The Heidman, a Lancer, a mounted Archer (not shown) bow in quiver and a Borderer firing a pistol or Dag as they used to say.  The Heidman is the star of the show for me. 

Also, the pistoleer, he is wearing an Irish style Brat cloak. Interesting and not an unlikely detail. It is not often recalled that Borderers served on the Irish side in the Nine Years War.

LS31- A pack of 8 hounds and two handlers. Very nice and intended for a Hot Trod on the trail of miscreants. You get 4 big dogs and 4 smaller ones. The big dogs are Bloodhounds the smaller ones Beagles. Useful, the big ones,  as Spanish war dogs in Mexico or Peru.

EFM also offer a pack of English Crossbowmen and ditto Scots. These are going to serve with my Colonial Spanish. They are appropriately equipped and half of them are a perfect size fit with my Khurasan Colonial Spanish and with Grumpy Portuguese. The other half won't being stockier. All of them are good for Border Gaming.

There is also a pack of 8 Civilians, 2 children, 2 women, 4 men all in Tudor clothes. Handy for scenarios.

To recap these figures would work in other conflicts. As themselves in the Tudor  Wars. As colonial Spanish or Portuguese. Not the mounted archer figures of course but the others are quite serviceable.

If you fancy reiving and feuding along the Anglo-Scots Border in 15mm look no further.

Lurkio Highlanders 15mm-A Review

 

I have Highlanders galore.  Khurasan, Minifigs, Essex and God knows what else. Lurkio offered something slightly different.  Their Highlanders will pretty much suit the Williamite Wars. No apostles or Matchlocks. The Highlanders who had guns favoured Firelocks. The figures above are marketed as Lochiel's Skirmishers. 

My March on Alnwick Campaign requires Highlanders for both sides.  You may know that in 1688 many of the Lords of Clan Campbell withheld support from Argyle’s Rebellion.  All the same Argyle had some Campbell support. I thought I’d do a representative unit.  That has yet to be done. I intend using Lurkio figures for the unit.

This is a rare Highland unit, everyone has a firearm. Barry Hilton believes there was one such at Killiecrankie. Further, it adopted standard tactics. Accordingly the figures you see are 6 to a base rather than 5.  

The flag is by David at Not by Appointment. It is that of Gordon of Glenbuchet. David has some fine Clan flags.  Check the link in the side bar.

As you can see there is a lot of figure variety. Some might quibble about the armour on some figures.  In fact it is well attested.

Currently I'm working my way through the poems and songs of Ian Lom McDonald. There is a mine of information on Highland armament therein.  I will be reporting back in due course.  Ian Lom was an eye witness to many a fight and battle. 

How do they scale with other manufacturers?  Good with Essex, Matchlock and Irregular offerings for the period.

I was sufficiently impressed to order a whole clan unit from Lurkio. I'll show them here soon.

 

Civitates Bellantes-A Review

 

I thought we should have a look at Simon MacDowell’s 2014 rule set for the Classical period.  A while ago I know.  Comitatus has provided much fun so I wanted to give this game a go too.  Also, I don't recall seeing that many reviews of it.

The rules are titled Civitates Bellantes, Warring Cities might do as a translation.  They will work for the Greek and Persian Wars, Alexander to Pyrrhus and the Roman and Carthaginian Wars up to the early Roman Principate.  I think you could do other stuff too.  It is a flexible system.

Civitates Bellantes comes as a pdf at a very reasonable price.  Of course you then have to print it or maybe you don’t. Kindle or some such.  I printed mine.  I’d sooner of paid more for a hard copy.  A generational attitude no doubt.

Now to the meat.  You get an awful lot for your money including colour pictures and useful 'How to' diagrams, 48 pages in all. The system is clear, well explained and easy to learn. Maybe already playing Comitatus helps for there are similarities.  There is a free downloadable QRS too.

There aren’t any Army Lists but there is info’ galore on how to rate your troops.  There’s a lot of nuance in the process even though it takes very little time to do.  This I think is good, accommodating, for example, the willingness of Cretan Archers to get stuck in compared to most other psiloi. Or, consider the Cardaces, lightly armed but all young noble men out to impress the Great King.  

There is also a notional point system for those so inclined.  You know the sort of thing.

Armour comes into play only when one combatant enjoys a clear advantage in that respect.  I like this approach.

All measurement is by “javelin throw” or multiples of the same.  Said throw being a base width.  Thus, all collections are catered for.  Another plus.  Outside of bow range (5 base widths) it's double moves all around. 

Closer to the enemy movement is variable with player decisions required. You can opt for a cautious advance or an enthusiastic one.  As you might expect light troops can scoot about and heavies are limited by the need to stay in formation.  This works for me.

Figures per stand is purely decorative- it is up to you. That said the author tells us in some detail what he favours.

Command and control is rather pleasing.  The Big Lad has more ability than lesser fellows. He can issue 2 orders others 1.  Exceptional Big Lads can issue 3 orders.  The bar for these latter is set high.

Leaders of independent contingents enjoy more autonomy than subordinate generals.  Both of these types influence only their own commands.  Commanders need to be active and might well get killed.  Best of all the menu of possible orders is simple, attack them, take that and defend it, or hold this.  That’s it.

Orders can be changed as the battle develops-but only if the generals put the work in.  There is much to like here.

Missilery is seldom decisive but in can undermine the will to fight.  Units need to pause to rally off “Disorder points”.  Sometimes a commander needs to intervene to help, even if other matters press.  This means more player decisions-a good thing. If you fail to remove disorder points you will rapidly find yourself removing your unit.

Close combat is decisive.  Defeat can produce a ripple effect.  This is appropriate for the period but also makes for a good game.  The player needs to ensure that assaults get results.

Morale is pretty much as you would expect in terms of factors.  That said, it permeates the game rather than being confined to a discrete phase.  As a General the player needs to keep the troops motivated or plans fall apart.  Doing so might distract from other important tasks. The General as Battle Manager if you like.  This is good for dramatic tension, player engagement  and for those of us who favour games with a narrative.

I think Civitates Bellantes will work for solo games, there is sufficient uncertainty. For paired opponents and multi player outings no problem.

If all this sounds up your street you can get it direct from the author at https://www.legio-wargames.com/

We will have a game report soonish and you can see what you think.