First Look: Through the Mud and the Blood

With the significant "investment" I have made in various 28mm WW1 figures and the fun I have had with previous Lardies' rules pre-ordering their new "rules for large skirmishes in the Great War" was a foregone conclusion.

As I ordered the PDF version I now have a copy and have had a chance to peruse them. Obviously I haven't yet played the rules so this is emphatically not a review but rather an overview of what you get.

The rules are 68 pages including covers a few pages of photos and adverts (which you may wish to skip if you don't want your ink cartridge to be emptied!). There are 16 main and two supplementary sections covering all the usual troop types, movement, spotting, firing, close combat etc. The supplementary sections cover Great War artillery and National Guidelines, with the latter covering the structures and tactics of the German, French, British and US armies in a decent amount of detail (about 15 pages worth).

You can clearly see the heritage of the rules themselves with the traditional Lardies' card activitation mechanism combined with the command and control system seen, most recently, in Sharp Practice; however, as usual the Lardies have managed to build on these foundations to create a set of rules with plenty of period features. Period specific weapons and tactics are detailed and the 7 page Artillery supplement provides loads of information and appropriate tables.

All in all this looks like another decent package from the TooFatLardies building on their familiar mechanics but adapting them to the period and adding lots of relevant background information too. I am really looking forward to setting up a game and trying them out.