Petite Guerre Toy Soldiers: Skirmish rules - Part 2

A well-designed point system should ensure a balanced game between forces of roughly equal strength

As most other rules do, my skirmish rules also use a point system to determine the strength of the opposing forces. However, unlike in most rules that I have reviewed, whereby points are assigned to troop types rather arbitrarily, I wanted a direct, quantitative correlation between the points assigned to a particular troop type and its actual combat worth in the game.

To achieve this, I calculate the point value of each troop type as an arithmetical function of its skill levels, which in turn correspond to the dice used by that troop type to perform actions during the game; the general principle throughout my rules being that an action be performed only if a die roll scores equal or higher than a given threshold.

There are no modifiers, simply, different troop types use a different die, or combination of dice, based upon their different skill levels or coefficients. In this way, the point value of each troop type mirrors its skill levels and has a direct effect on the mechanics of the game.

Dice used throughout the rules.
Different dice reflect the different skills of different troops types in performing actions during the game

The system may be better understood looking at the table below, which shows the point value of each troop type:

ELI = Elite infantry (Guards, Grenadiers)

LNI = Line infantry (Musketeers, Fusiliers)

LGI = Light infantry (Independent Companies, Troupes Legères, Chasseurs, ...)

HCV = Heavy cavalry (Cuirassiers)

MCV = Medium cavalry (Dragoons)

LCV = Light cavalry (Hussars, Uhlans)

SOF = Specialists on foot (Pandours, Croats, Frei-Korps, Miquelets, Canadian Militiamen, Rangers, …)

SOH = Specialists on horse-back (Frei-Korps,Cossacks, Calmoucks, Tatars, …)

COS = Conscripts (Militiamen, Provincials)

RDR = Raiders (Coureurs-des-bois, Bandits, Brigands, Pirates, Privateers, Smugglers, Runaway Slaves, …)

SVG = Savages (Native Americans, Sub-Saharian Africans, …)

CIV = Un-organized civilians (Peasants, Townspeople, Guides, Servants, Colonists, …)

The skill coefficients for Command / Discipline (C), Fire (F), and Melée (M) correspond to the number of faces of the dice used to perform the respective actions.

Note that aimed fire uses a combination of two dice: d8 (common to all troop types) + dn (n = 4, 6, 8, 10) depending of the specific skill of each troop type. Only this second, type-specific die is used for the Aimed Fire skill coefficient.

Also note that for regular infantry, the skill coefficient for Fire (F) is calculated as the average of the dice used for volley and aimed fire respectively.

Here follow some examples of regular troop types and the corresponding dice:

Line infantry
Command / Discipline = d10; Aimed Fire = d8+d8; Volley Fire = d20; Melée = d8

Light infantry
Command / Discipline = d10; Aimed Fire = d8+d8; Volley Fire = d20; Melée = d8

Light cavalry
Command / Discipline = d10; Aimed Fire = d8+d8; Melée = d10
(Cavalry fire with carbine and pistols, aimed fire only)

And here below examples of irregular troop types (Irregulars do not fire by volley):

Specialists on foot
Command / Discipline = d8; Aimed Fire = d8+d10; Melée = d8

Raiders
Command / Discipline = d6; Aimed Fire = d8+d10; Melée = d8

Savages
Command / Discipline = d4; Aimed Fire = d8+d10; Melée = d6

The skill coefficient for Movement (MV) is calculated based on the relative mobility of each troop type, taking into account that cavalry always moves at double speed than infantry; and that different troop types may move at different speed levels (low; medium; high) on different types of terrain (normal; rough; water meadows; woods).

Cavalry moves at double speed than infantry. That is taken into account in the calculation of the Movement skill coefficient, as is the different mobility of different troop types on different terrain conformations

The point value of unit leaders and sub-leaders is a multiple of that of their subordinates, depending on how many men a given command figure may control.

Here follow some examples: