My favorite version of John Hill’s ACW rules “Johnny Reb” is “Johnny Reb 2”. I originally started playing with JR1, which is a fine game, but switched over to JR2 when it was published by GDW and it’s been my preferred ACW rules set through the years. I like the system because it is a distinctly tactical game. Johnny Reb 3 evolved into  a grand-tactical game, but I always preferred the feel of the smaller, tactical ACW battles fought with Johnny Reb 1 and 2.

A unit of Rebs – at 1:10 scale this unit has 10 stands and 40 figures. I really like the look of the 1:10 scale.

The ground scale of JR2 is one inch = 40 yards and the figure scale is 1 figure = 20 men. I’ve been experimenting with fighting tactical battles using JR2 at 1:10 scale, and one inch = 20 yards. I thought it would be a great way to fight some small battles, or portions of battles, with a bunch of miniatures. A typical unit in JR2 is 5 stands with four figures on each stand (20 figures), but a typical unit in the 1:10 game would be 10 stands of figures (40 figures). A battery would be 4-6 stands of artillery instead of the standard 2-3 stands (guns would be 1:1).

Let me be clear, I’m not trying to rewrite the Johnny Reb rules! They are fine rules, and I’m just making a few scale modifications to allow for a more visually appealing game. Here are some additional things I’ve done to accommodate this style of play:

Units: All units have twice as many figures and stands (except officers).

Ranges / Movement: All ranges are doubled. Rifled muskets normally fire 5 inches at normal range, but that would be changed to 10 inches for this game. All movement is also doubled. Yes, you’ll need a big table for this, but that’s OK if  keep the focus on re-fighting smaller battles. A prime example of  a classic JR scenario is the Front Royal, VA, 1862 scenario (included with the original boxed game) . In 15mm at 1:20 it is fought on a table only 3.5 ft x 2 ft, so at 1:10 this would only be 7ft x 4 ft. However, you wouldn’t want to re-fight Gettysburg at this scale!

Firing: Use the same charts but use 50% of the figures when using the combat results table. A 40 figure unit would fire on the 20 table. Mark double the hits when calculating casualties, i.e if 4 hits are scored mark of 8 figures. Saves can still be made per hit.

Morale: Works exactly the same! Just remember that a stand is now effectively two stands.

I haven’t covered every rule and modifier here, but I think you probably see the overall doubling / halving trend here.

Another benefit of 1:10 is that in my opinion it puts 15mm buildings and terrain into a more correct scale and proportion with the size of the units….”it looks right”!  I’ve also never been one to shy away from painting figures and this is a great way to get all that lead out of those cigar boxes and on to the table-top! 1:10 gaming definitely has eye-appeal! I’m thinking about running a 1:10 game at the next Nashcon…..you never know!

A battery of Federal artillery awaits the Rebel assault!

This might also be a great option for re-fighting American War of Independence battles, French and Indian War battles,  and other smaller periods, or perhaps small portions of Napoleonic battles!

Please let me know what you think of this idea and feel free to leave comments and suggestions.

Good Gaming – Cory