Mad Dogs & Englishmen: Colonial Wargaming in Times When the Sun Never Set

Originally conceived as a set of “large scale skirmish” rules for the Indian Mutiny, MD&E is easily adapted for other theatres and periods. These rules will easily manage skirmishes and battles between European and any native forces. The rules will even work if you want to pit a colonial German force against the French Foreign Legion, or for that matter, the British in South Africa against the Boers.

For the most part, the disparity in weapon technology offsets the fact that the Europeans are often heavily outnumbered, even though newer rifles meant superior range and firepower, in each theatre these new weapons were not universal. In fact, the British and other colonial powers often relied on locally raised allies, or levies, to do most of the fighting for them. The British had a habit of issuing local troops with weapons that were one or two developments behind their European counterparts. In far flung theatres, the replacement of seemingly obsolete weapons took some time.

The game mechanics are straightforward. All movement is randomized by using dice and you lose movement dice for bad terrain. It is easier to move and control units if there is a commander present. Firing and combat is based on the number of figures, plus or minus relevant factors. Damage either kills a figure or inflicts terror on the unit. Morale tests are triggered by extreme situations, or the gradual buildup of terror.

The rules are designed to be quick, capable of handling battles from forty or fifty figures a side to several hundred. They have worked well on a standard home-sized 10 x 6 or a monstrous 45 x 6 and have been “crash tested” by over 100 wargamers from a dozen different countries.

—description from publisher