Here is another great game by David Bezio. This is billed as a 30-minute fictional medieval skirmish game. Our playtest ran a bit over that but we were reading through and learning the game, plus stopping for discussions along the way. I imagine once you play it once or twice, that will be a good time estimate. Don’t let the brevity of play make you think the game is overly simplistic or not worthwhile. It is a very fun game with lots of tactical opportunities. With only 2 pages of rules to read (generously offered for free here by David), a 3′ x 3′ battlefield, and 3 figures per unit, this game has a very low barrier to entry. The rules even come with 8 scenarios and a mini campaign system to get you going. It is a great introductory game to get new players into the hobby, and a ton of fun for veteran gamers as well.
We happened to have dark ages figures handy, so used them for the game. Though the rules a written for medieval warfare, they can easily be used for any genre where melee combat with formed groups/units is the norm.
Some keen eyed folks may have noticed that there are polyhedral dice, other than only the common 6-sided dice (d6) on the table. If you hate using them, we do give an optional rule later to use only d6 instead, so stick with us. The rules are written to minimize modifiers added to, or subtracted from, the die rolls. Instead of doing math, the advantages/disadvantages are incorporated automatically by changing what type (number of sides) die that you roll. For example, if you need to roll a 4 or higher to be successful on an attack, there is a better chance for success if you roll a 4-sided die (d4) vs. if you roll a 12-sided die (d12). I am a “dice person”; I have them all and I want to use them, so this mechanic appeals to me, but I know that others are not in the same boat. When David wrote Mice-at-Arms (M-a-A), he changed to the more typical add/subtract a modifier system instead of changing dice. For those of you that would prefer that, we used M-a-A as a basis for our Option Rule below.
Mini-Medieval was followed up by 2 expansions: Muster This #1 and #2 (MT1 & MT2). These optional supplements add new troop types, etc. MT1 introduces some characters with special bonus: A Champion, Standard Bearer, etc. It also adds archer upgrades such as having crossbows, pavises, or horses; and has 2 additional scenarios. MT2 introduces Solo Rules and some men-at-arms upgrades such as having shields, pikes, or horses. It also has 3 additional scenarios. There is plenty here to keep you entertained!
The figures shown are from our 20mm Warlord, Noman and Viking range. They were originally sculpted and produced by Stan Johansen back in the 70s if I recall correctly. We purchased the rights and brought them back into production; you can find them here. And if the Dark Ages are not your thing, we also have Medieval figures available here.
You made it this far, so hopefully, you are wanting to give it a try for yourself. A free pdf copy of the Mini-Medieval rules are here, Muster This #1 here, and Muster This #2 here. Below is our Optional Rule of those who do not like to use various types of polyhedral dice.
Optional Rule:
For those that do not like switching dice, these rules can be adjusted to use just d6 only. Simply change the references to being Q d6 to (+0), Q d8 to (+1), and Q d10 to (+2) modifiers. To roll a flat 1-12 for the Muster Table, roll 1d6: On a roll of 1-3, add zero to a 2nd 1d6 roll; on a 4-6, add 6. The best option to roll a flat 1-10 for the Scenario choosing table is to use the exact same procedure, rerolling any result of 11 or 12.
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