Rough Riders! America’s Little Wars of Empire (1988)
From the prolific keyboard of Mr. Chris Ferree comes a unique system designed (as always!) from the ground up for this colorful and widely misunderstood and under appreciated period in history. Scaled at 1:10 and intended for 15mm or 25/28mm figures, the rules include all the particulars necessary for the pivotal battles of the War of 1898, San Juan Heights and El Caney.
To quote from the Introduction,
“Rough Riders! is a war game which depicts the battles of San Juan Heights and El Caney, in Cuba, and actions in the Philippines, between the eager, but nearly clueless, Army of the United States, and the highly experienced and far better equipped Armies of Spain, as well as the resultant insurgency of the Moro’s that came with acquisition of the Philippines.
Each Player represents a Commander who controls a number of Battalions, and it is his task to defeat the enemy through maneuver and firepower. Even though an Army may have many Battalions, and far outnumber their enemy, if the soldiers are new to war, discipline, and command, those advantages can quickly evaporate. To achieve victory with such an army, a Commander, by his personal example and with the help of his junior officers, must struggle to keep his confused and isolated men fighting and moving on their objective, or see them fail and die to no purpose.
In such battles, even more than any others, the difference between Victory and Defeat lies in Leadership….”
Completely original, card driven, and exceptionally fast and “clean,” no other set of rules on this subject has caught the essential problems of command and control as experienced by all forces engaged. Already widely play tested since its original release in 1998, this new edition is updated, clarified, and quicker than ever to “start up.”
A special rules section for battles in Mindanao against the Moros are included which allow not only for hidden movement, but random generation of terrain as U.S. Forces advance across country mastered by inhabitants whose fanaticism became legendary.
The 74 page, 8.5″ x 11″ rules book comes with full color covers, 8 pages of color maps and flags to help identify units in play, as well as the complete Action Deck of cards paper printed in b&w, ready to cut out and use, as well as useful Game Markers which eliminate the need for written records.
In support of RR!, a professionally printed, full color, heavy card stock Action Deck (with extra “blanks”) accompanies the Print Edition. Further, four sets of color card stock 15mm and 25mm scale buildings and blockhouses which actually featured on the battlefields are available for war game use.