Opponents Wanted

Find Gaming Opponents!

Another new feature for Grognard.com, "Opponents Wanted" provides a quick and easy way to locate gaming opponents with similar gaming preferences. Requires site registration.

Spotlight Articles

Outstanding articles that are not necessarily linked to one particular game, but may have broad appeal to gamers.

The Origins of the AVALON HILL GAME COMPANY 1952-1963

The Avalon Hill Game Company is 72 years old this year and time to chronicle the history of Avalon Hill. In Part 1, Origins, we will look at the story of not only the establishment of a game company, but an industry and a hobby. Thanks to Legendary Tactics YouTube Channel for this great series.

Poster: Robert Holifield
Post Date: 4/18/2024

Tributes pour in after death of award-winning veteran wargame designer Dean Essig

Mike Didymus-True, in BoardGameWire, brings us the sad news of the passing of designer Dean Essig.

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 4/1/2024

Alumwell Wargame Show 2024

"...I actually enjoyed this show more than any other that I have been to in the past couple of years." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, regales us with sights and surprises from this show, along with some great pictures! And check out the source of an insight that led Norm to conclude "It made me realise that considering these things went into the air in their thousands, the financial investment in longbow archers must have been huge."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/22/2024

Fields of Corn & Rye

"...I was pretty sure that I had found something that might do the job." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, discusses a way he's found to address an old itch, namely adding texture and/or crop fields to tabletop settings. Check out what he finds to be a reasonable, cost-effective approach, considering that "...sometimes I think we have made ourselves a picture perfect world and lost something along the way."

Poster: Doug Holt
Post Date: 3/11/2024

Gaming Conventions

Another new feature for Grognard.com, the Gaming Convention calendar will make it a snap to keep up with all the latest gaming conventions in your area. But we need your gaming convention information, so please contribute.

Grognard News

Grognard Challenge - Expanded Room for Comments! (6/25/2023)

The Comments entry area has been resized to 512 characters.

Grognard Opponents Wanted (9/14/2022)

New Opponents Wanted function. You can now set your ad expiration date, up to one year. Requires site registration.

Gaming Conventions

New Gaming Conventions calendar. You can see all upcoming gaming conventions worldwide.

If you are sponsoring a board gaming convention of some type, or know of one that is not listed on Grognard.com, then please contact us and let us know!

Gaming Clubs/Organziations

New Gaming Clubs/Organizations listing. You can search for existing gaming clubs worldwide.

If you belong to a gaming club, or know of one, please drop us a line and let us know so we can get it listed on Grognard.com!

New Search Features

Now you can search for specific games (or games by publisher) using the new Game Search feature, located at the top right corner of the this page. In addition you can now harness the power of Google to search the entire Grognard.com site for any specific information you'd like. Just enter a search word or phrase into the Google box labeled "Search All of Grognard.com" and click magnifying glass button. Search features will continue to be improved and enhanced going forward so check back often to see the latest stuff.

Grognard Originals

In addition to our links to great content all around the internet, expect to see more Grognard.com "originals" in the future.

Fast, simple, not expensive, little errata, but only reasonably fun. (War game Review)

In his review on BoardGameGeek, Brendan Whyte first turns a critical eye towards the components and rules and lists their shortcomings. Game play fares better: “…the game is fast and quite fun”. Whyte then goes into comprehensive details covering game mechanics and spares no criticism for the game opponent (AI). His discussion concerning solitaire board games vs solitaire computer games is very interesting.

PE TANG 1900 Q&A with Marco Campari

Some Q & A between myself and Marco Campari, designer of Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Strategy Tips

This is the strategy I developed after playing Pe Tang 1900 from Lumaca Games.

PE TANG 1900 Optional Line of Sight Table

Here is an optional table to make it a little more difficult to eliminate the Boxer artillery.

More Grognard Originals...

Grognard Challenge

Latest Challenge

Have a look at the graphics for the latest Challenge and see past solutions and contest winners.

Recommended (archives)

Wargaming - General Info

Board Wargames

Miniatures Wargames

Computer Wargames

Academic Gaming

Board Games

Internet Based/PBEM Games

Individual Wargamer Blogs

Wargaming Magazines

Asst Software/Player Aides

In Memoriam

Grognards Lost

Please support Grognard.com by supporting our site sponsor, VentoNuovo Games

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I
J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R
S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z	'-9

Updates to Our Privacy Policy (as of May 25, 2018)

Game: Sword and Spear

(s10090)		Publisher: Great Escape Games Game Type: Miniatures Designer(s): Mark Lewis Search for this and related games with Noble Knight

Description:

Sword & Spear is a set of wargames rules for large battles set in the Ancients & Medieval period. They are suitable for any scale figures and any basing standard. The only requirement is that figures are organised into units of equal frontage. A typical game consists of about 12 units on each side and games take around 2 – 3 hours. The rules are designed from a top-down perspective, focusing on outcomes rather than detail. The rules feature a clever and innovative system for activating units that creates interesting and challenging decisions, keeps both players involved at all times and has a lot of depth and subtlety. Each turn is split into phases, where players each receive a number of command dice, which are rolled and then used to activate their units. The number shown on each dice determines which units it can activate (with better quality units being easier to activate), what the unit can do when activated, and the numbers also determine the activation sequence. Certain dice also give bonuses to combat, movement distance or shooting range.

Articles

Article ID	Pub Date	Article Description
7	Date: 9/16/2022 Poster: Doug Holt	1471 - Feud on the battlefield! "...their embittered hatred of each other would now no doubt be played out on the battlefield and it would be personal!" Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, takes the Tewkesbury action between his two Piggy Longton opponents, Darcy and Trebian, from board game to figures table, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules. Join Norm for the clash, and see if the issue is decided when "…it is Trebian who is getting the upper hand and he eventually cracks the Lancastrian centre, but…"!
6	Date: 8/17/2022 Poster: Doug Holt	1471 - The 2nd Battle of Coron Torr "...once again, Darcy had to attack towards Crown Hill, the gateway to his estates from the west." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, brings us another intense Piggy Longton clash, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules. The fight reaches a crescendo when the Bishop of Dungborough, Stephen the Fearless, "…led the long spears to the foot of the slope and then started to climb to clash with Trebian’s dismounted Men-at-Arms, the latter being roughly handled." Is this a win for Lord Darcy, or does he just face more hard decisions…?
5	Date: 6/3/2022 Poster: Doug Holt	1471 - The defence of Crown Hill, Piggy Longton. "Even as Somerset and Darcy were breaking camp and readying their troops for the attack on the hamlet, Lord Trebian’s men were already marching!" Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, brings us more intense Pocket Armies action, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules. Join Norm for the fun and great miniatures photos, then find out why he exclaims "Well that was a surprise!", and concludes "1471 is proving to be the year of decision!"
4	Date: 1/5/2022 Poster: Doug Holt	The Battle of Longton Fields - 1471 Piggy Longton "Darcy, aware he was outnumbered, joined his own Men-at-Arms and moved them forwards, ready for the inevitable clash of heavy armour on heavy armour." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, brings us more spectacular Pocket Armies action, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules. Join Norm for a gripping narrative: "In the Centre, Darcy was coming under extreme pressure, he had lost many archers and his Men-at-Arms were now engaged by both Salisbury’s Men-at-arms and William Stanley’s levy billmen. This centre could become broken…"!
3	Date: 12/6/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	Festival of Osric’s Chapel - Piggy Longton 1471 "Lord Darcy... suspected that the Festival of Osric’s Chapel the following Sunday was the moment that his adversarial neighbour would choose to strike." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, brings us more Pocket Armies action, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules. The men of Lord Darcy, bucked up by local Bishop Stephen the Fearless and the promise of ale, are ready for a good showing. Yet things reach a point where the engagement "…had become a battle that really could go either way. Both commanders simply had to hold their nerve."
2	Date: 9/21/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	Raiding Piggy Longton 1471 "The moment needed someone to take charge and Bishop Dungborough, or rather Stephen the Fearless, was that man!" Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, brings us more Pocket Armies project action, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules, and featuring a redoubtable man of faith! Join Norm for the clash of arms, terrific miniatures photos and some unique victory conditions: If the Yorkists successfully burn down the tavern, they instantly win. If the Yorkists capture Stephen the Fearless, they instantly win. If the Yorkists cause the death of the Bishop in combat ….. they instantly lose!
1	Date: 6/28/2021 Poster: Doug Holt	Wars of the Roses clash "...I thought it about time I created a generic scenario that different rule sets could be bench marked against, to test different areas of the rules and try to pick a 'go-to' set." Norm Smith, in Battlefields & Warriors, is back at his Pocket Armies project, using the Sword and Spear miniatures rules. Check out the action in a War of the Roses encounter, where "…in the end, the [Lancastrian] pike found themselves fighting to both front and rear."

Please support Grognard.com by supporting our site sponsor, Noble Knight Games

Please support Grognard.com by supporting our site sponsor, Wargame Vault