by Steve Danes
Lace Wars is a set of wargames rules that cover the period of European conflict between 1660s until the 1720s, taking in Louis XIV wars against the Dutch, the War of the Grand Alliance and the War of the Spanish Succession. These rules also cover the Great Northern War and the wars against the Ottoman Turks. The rules provide army list, scenario ideas and details of the major battles of the period. There is also information on some of the lesser conflicts including the Jacobite wars in Ireland and Scotland, the Monmouth Rebellion and the fighting in Tangiers. Lace Wars allows players to recreate some of the largest as well as the smallest battles of the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
One of the features of Lace Wars is that it can be played at three different levels, representing the very biggest battles of the period such as Blenheim and Malplaquet, smaller battles such as Walcourt, and very small battles such as Sedgemoor and Killiecrankie. These different scales require no re-basing of figures, therefore players will have the flexibility to use their figures for any scale.
one of the main reasons for me writing Lace Wars reflects the main reason why I play wargames, which is re-fighting historical battles. Having played many games in this period, I found that most rule sets did not allow for the resolution of large scale historical battles within a reasonable timeframe. Lace Wars has a fast and easy system for resolving encounters with multiple units, which is essential for getting decisive results in large battles. Once the rules have been mastered, players can move rapidly through the mechanics with little need to refer back to the rules. I have played out most of the major battles of the period and decisive results have been achieved in the majority of cases in three to four hours. Lace Wars is definitely not one of those systems that takes longer than the actual battle itself!
I hope you enjoy Lace Wars, and I hope this website provides a useful contribution to wargaming the seventeenth and eighteenth century. I shall continue to add more material to this site that may be of use to players and hope that players feel free to offer their comments and suggestions on the rules.