Der Kreigskunst is a set of battalion level rules based on the General De Brigade system. Battalions are 4-6 bases of 4 castings on a 40x40mm base. Cavalry are in units of 20 or so castings. Many people have SYW armies in mothballs and this might be a good opportunity to dust them off and give them a run
About Die Kreigskunst
Die Kriegskunst (“The Art of War”) owes its origins to the “Napoleonic” rules set General de Brigade, written by Dave Brown, which in turn was a development of Peter Gilder’s old-school In the Grand Manner. The premise of General de Brigade was that players command a division, and with a figure ratio of 1 figure equals 20 men then the battalions on the tabletop were larger than ones you’d normally find on the wargames table. In Die Kriegskunst we made the decision to alter the figure ratio, which is now 1:40 rather than 1:20. the main reason for this was that it offered a compromise – units still looked good, with an average of 20 figures per battalion, while it also allowed us to attempt refights of historical battles in their entirety, or at least by concentrating on the centre of the action. After all, battles were often smaller than later “Napoleonic” engagements, so this allows you to put yourself in the shoes of Frederick the Great, or Loudon, Daun and Saltykov. However, those die-hard old-school wargamers out there will be pleased to learn that Die Kriegskunst works equally well at the old 1:20 figure ratio, so you can still field your big battalions if you really want to!
If you are (in New Zealand and) interested in SYW and/or the idea of FreddyCon please contact Reg Newell.
UPDATE: Reg has been able to confirm a date for Freddycon as 9-10 October 2011 at the Hutt Club at St Brendans School, Palmer Crescent, Upper Hutt. The emphasis will be on 28mm Die Kreigskunst 1200 point armies for competitive play but they will welcome demonstration games of other rules sets such as Black Powder. For more information or to express interest contact Reg at the above email link.
UPDATE 2: Reg Newell reports that at the Hutt Valley Wargaming Club they have a number of people interested in the SYW. They are trying to gauge whether there might be interest in a 1-2 day convention next year with a SYW theme – probably mainly 28mm Die Kreigskunst, possibly Black Powder, but also skirmish level games, naval, F&IW (French & Indian War), SYW boardgames, etc. There is no specific date in mind at this time other than beyond midway through next year.