I was having a chat with some wargamers, one of whom I was meeting for the first time, and as he lives nearby, I was trying to figure out whether we had any rules/scales in common, so we could play a game. I was trying to remember just what I had played, had thought about playing, played and hated, or conversely, always wanted to try and never got round to it.
Being a confirmed tragic, I thought a spreadsheet would be ideal to track them. Plus, with lock-down, I am getting fed up with DIY, and after strenuous effort my muscles ache too much to hold a paintbrush steady. I've re-organised my DVD & book shelves, I'm replacing the sink taps, I've resurfaced tables, painted doors, stripped varnish, worked in the garden... etc. so this is by way of amusement.
So these are all the rules I currently have in hard-copy on my shelf. There are actually a few more, but they form part of a book, such as Lost Battles, or Little Wars, so I haven't included them. I got to a nice round 50, of which I have actually played about 30 or so. I reckon a 60% Purchase to Play (PtoP) ratio would be pretty high for a wargamer... so what's your PtoP ratio?
(NB- the term scale is an entirely subjective view of whether the rules play for a small, medium or large engagement.)
| Name | Scale | Period | Theatre | Played It |
| DBMM | Large | Anc/Med | Land | Y |
| DBM | Large | Anc/Med | Land | Y |
| WRG 7th Edition | Medium | Anc/Med | Land | Y |
| Crusader Ancients | Medium | Anc/Med | Land | Y |
| FoG | Medium | Anc/Med | Land | N |
| DBA | Small | Anc/Med | Land | Y |
| Dux Bellorum | Medium | Dark Age | Land | N |
| Dux Brittaniarum | Medium | Dark Age | Land | N |
| SAGA | Small | Dark Age | Land | N |
| Lion Rampant | Medium | Medieval | Land | Y |
| Tercio | Medium | 16-18th Cent | Land | Y |
| DBR | Medium | 16-18th Cent | Land | Y |
| Gush WRG Renaissance | Medium | 16-18th Cent | Land | Y |
| FoG - Renaissance | Medium | 16-18th Cent | Land | N |
| Galleys & Galleons | Medium | 16-18th Cent | Naval | Y |
| Principles of War | Large | 17-18th Cent | Land | Y |
| Polemos ECW | Large | 17-18th Cent | Land | Y |
| Maurice | Large | 17-18th Cent | Land | N |
| Horse Foot & Guns | Large | 18-19th Cent | Land | Y |
| WRG 1685-1845 | Medium | 18-19th Cent | Land | Y |
| Sharp Practice 2 | Small | 18-19th Cent | Land | Y |
| General d’ Armee | Large | Napoleonic | Land | Y |
| Age of Eagles | Large | Napoleonic | Land | N |
| Grande Armee | Large | Napoleonic | Land | N |
| Polemos Napoleonics | Large | Napoleonic | Land | N |
| General d’ Brigade | Medium | Napoleonic | Land | Y |
| Song of Drums and Shakos | Small | Napoleonic | Land | N |
| Langtons SCA Quick Play | Small | Napoleonic | Naval | Y |
| Principles of War 19th Cent | Large | 19th Century | Land | N |
| Polemos FPW | Large | 19th Century | Land | N |
| DBSA (Pre-Dreadnought) | Large | 19th Century | Naval | Y |
| Age of the Dreadnought | Medium | E. 20th Cent | Naval | N |
| Blitzkrieg Commander | Large | WW2 | Any | Y |
| Airfix Battles | Medium | WW2 | Any | Y |
| Rapid Fire | Medium | WW2 | Any | Y |
| Chain of Command | Small | WW2 | Land | Y |
| What a Tanker | Small | WW2 | Land | Y |
| Cold War Commander | Large | Modern | Any | Y |
| Force on Force | Small | Modern | Any | Y |
| AK47 | Small | Modern | Land | Y |
| Shipwreck | Medium | Modern | Naval | Y |
| Future War Commander | Large | SciFi | Any | Y |
| Full Thrust | Large | SciFi | Naval | Y |
| Aeronef | Large | Steampunk | Naval | Y |
| Imperial Skies | Large | Steampunk | Naval | N |
| [RPG removed] | ||||
| Fear & Faith | Small | Horror | Any | Y |
| Warhammer (1st Edition) | Medium | Fantasy | Any | N |
| HotT | Small | Fantasy | Any | Y |
| Geezers | Small | Street | Land | Y |
