We are moving closer to the release of Land of the Free and we have had a lot of exciting activity in the industry over the past few months. Wargames Factory announced their supporting range of 6 plastic box sets consisting of Continental Infantry, Colonial Militia, British Infantry, Native Americans (Indians), and 2 to be named later. I recently ended a Kickstarter, my very first one, which offered up a myriad of customized dice concentrating on the Colonial Period. If you missed your chance to pick up your dice, don't worry, because Wargames Factory will be selling dice sets along with their range of plastic miniatures later this year.
I have been working with Alex, owner of Ironheart Artisans, and we have been collaborating on a set of tokens that will not only work for Land of the Free but many of the tokens could be used for other game systems. The contents of each token set are designed for one player participating in an average sized game. Alex sent me a sample of the finished product and I took some pictures to share with you.
The first pack of tokens are the wound markers or 'hit' markers. Alex even spent time researching the print font that was used in the 1770s to create these wonderful, ingenious markers. They are designed with the 90 degree cut so you can place the marker on the back edge of element unlucky enough to suffer hits. These are great because it avoids confusion during a game trying to figure out which hits belong to which element. The size of the marker works very well for both 25mm and 15mm.
The Wounded Acrylic Token Set pack comes with the 12 tokens below for the retail price of $12.00 USD
An example of an element of Militia that has the 3 Wound marker applied to it.
The Morale Token Set has six different tokens for the different discipline affects an element might suffer during a game of Land of the Free. Elements failing an order, being pushed to hard by their commanding officer, or being hit by cannon fire are just a few ways an element will suffer a Disorder Marker. Disorder is cumulative so smart players will make sure to remove any Disorders before attempting the more difficult tasks in the game.
Shaken and Exhausted are Discipline levels that an element will eventually reach as it takes hits in the game. The marker has a reminder on them telling the players what type of actions it loses as its morale is decreased.
The Morale Token Set comes with 18 tokens and retails for $8
The Game Accessories Marker Set has both setup and in game functionality. The set comes with deployment zone markers as well as a center of the table marker which could also serve as a wind direction marker or general compass. There are 3 objective markers that are very useful for the Land of Free scenarios and could be used for historical re-fights. The 45 degree template is great because if you lay it against the front corner of your element it will give you a perfect 45 degrees every time. The set comes with the 9 markers seen below and retails for $12.
A closer look at the objective markers
The deployment zone and center marker
The token set that caters to the Land of the Free rules the most is aptly named Land of the Free Token Set. In the pack you will find the markers for your commanders as well as markers for your elements when they perform particular orders such as firing, holding for a snap fire, or preparing for a counter-charge. The oval shaped markers with the Fleur-dy-Lys are command tokens that can be issued to commanders at the beginning of each turn.
There are four different levels of commanders in the game and these could be randomly determined at the start of the game or themed to represent historical leaders more accurately.
Elements may elect to use their orders to set themselves in a snap fire or counter charge posture. The markers make it easy to remember which element is doing what. The fire marker is used when an element has shot and is unable or unwilling to reload their weapons.
Below is the Land of the Free Token Set which retails for $20. (Please be aware that the picture shows 10 command markers but the set only comes with 9)
I have been working with Alex, owner of Ironheart Artisans, and we have been collaborating on a set of tokens that will not only work for Land of the Free but many of the tokens could be used for other game systems. The contents of each token set are designed for one player participating in an average sized game. Alex sent me a sample of the finished product and I took some pictures to share with you.
The first pack of tokens are the wound markers or 'hit' markers. Alex even spent time researching the print font that was used in the 1770s to create these wonderful, ingenious markers. They are designed with the 90 degree cut so you can place the marker on the back edge of element unlucky enough to suffer hits. These are great because it avoids confusion during a game trying to figure out which hits belong to which element. The size of the marker works very well for both 25mm and 15mm.
An example of an element of Militia that has the 3 Wound marker applied to it.
The Morale Token Set has six different tokens for the different discipline affects an element might suffer during a game of Land of the Free. Elements failing an order, being pushed to hard by their commanding officer, or being hit by cannon fire are just a few ways an element will suffer a Disorder Marker. Disorder is cumulative so smart players will make sure to remove any Disorders before attempting the more difficult tasks in the game.
Shaken and Exhausted are Discipline levels that an element will eventually reach as it takes hits in the game. The marker has a reminder on them telling the players what type of actions it loses as its morale is decreased.
The Game Accessories Marker Set has both setup and in game functionality. The set comes with deployment zone markers as well as a center of the table marker which could also serve as a wind direction marker or general compass. There are 3 objective markers that are very useful for the Land of Free scenarios and could be used for historical re-fights. The 45 degree template is great because if you lay it against the front corner of your element it will give you a perfect 45 degrees every time. The set comes with the 9 markers seen below and retails for $12.
A Militia element checking its visibility with the 45 degree template
The deployment zone and center marker
The token set that caters to the Land of the Free rules the most is aptly named Land of the Free Token Set. In the pack you will find the markers for your commanders as well as markers for your elements when they perform particular orders such as firing, holding for a snap fire, or preparing for a counter-charge. The oval shaped markers with the Fleur-dy-Lys are command tokens that can be issued to commanders at the beginning of each turn.
There are four different levels of commanders in the game and these could be randomly determined at the start of the game or themed to represent historical leaders more accurately.
Elements may elect to use their orders to set themselves in a snap fire or counter charge posture. The markers make it easy to remember which element is doing what. The fire marker is used when an element has shot and is unable or unwilling to reload their weapons.
Below is the Land of the Free Token Set which retails for $20. (Please be aware that the picture shows 10 command markers but the set only comes with 9)
Joe, all these game aids look great! I like the plastic 'Hit' markers, as well as the wooden pieces too. For skirmish gaming this period, I've really enjoyed the Muskets & Tomahawks ruleset, and especially like the period-pleasing look of the M&T artwork, and the look of the few playing aids that are available for that game. The wooden pieces being prepared here for Land of the Free just beg for a bit of wood stain, and/or a varnish coating to really make them "POP". If one wants to embellish the miniature battlefield with game-tracking tokens such as these, then I do appreciate that these look more like period artwork pieces (as the above do), which can then work to enhance rather than distract. Very nice looking stuff!
ReplyDeleteOne question: Your 3-stand "element" above - would these be a small, medium, or large scale unit [choice] per your rules?
Dave
Btw, I've made "Black Powder" [cotton ball] marker containers for M&T out of cheap wooden chest available at craft stores (bought mine at Michael's), and when stained really look the part. I could see using these to store the play-aid pieces for LOTF too.
Hey Dave. Thanks for the feedback. Alex and I discussed wood vs. acrylic tokens and ended up with the wood tokens because of the tabletop affect they would have.
ReplyDeleteThe element shown above could be any size depending on how the players wanted to play their game. If a 3 stand element is small then medium could be 5 stands and a large element could be 7. On the other hand if the 3 stand element is medium then a small would be 1 stand and a large would be 5 stands. Of course players don't have to have odd numbers of stands but it makes it easier for game play since the command stand (middle stand) is used for measuring and line of sight purposes.
That is a cool idea using the wooden chest and I know exactly what you are talking about. If you don't mind I may use that idea. :)
Joe, thank you for this feedback on the unit flexibility enabled by your rules. It looks like I'll be able to use my 15mm AWI figs for playing Land of the Free. Though I've mounted mine in staggered "ranks" of two-figs to on a 1-inch stand, I can treat them as a single "man" when skirmish gaming (like in M&T), but when they're lined up base to base, the formations definitely look more "linear". This way I can have the look of larger units, but can still assess casualties by single stands (whether the game system is "skirmish" or "element" centric).
ReplyDeleteJoe, I'll try to send you a pic or two of my wooden chests, and the wooden trays I also bought and stained. These trays I use for organizing units on pre-game, for a particular scenario I'm planning on hosting.
The wood tokens look great.
ReplyDeleteIronheart has some really interesting stuff in their store- I love the north African buildings.
Ironheart has been really good to a gaming club I belong to, Guns of April. We present a historical game at Adepticon each year for the past 4 years and Alex at Ironheart has always provided us with gaming aids and scenery. This past year he went over the top and provided us with a full city's worth of Egyptian buildings. I couldn't think of a better guy to ask when it came to supporting Land of the Free with gaming accessories. I hope this exposure continues to see his products successful.
ReplyDeleteJoe