Fight Out The English Civil War With Alternative Armies’ Furioso

February 1, 2024 by brennon

Alternative Armies have recently released their English Civil War wargaming rules for any scale figures including 15mm and 28mm. Furioso is out now in both physical and digital format alongside a whole host of starter armies.

Furioso // Alternative Armies

The Furioso rules have been designed to be simple at heart. The basic mechanics revolve around a roll of a d6 where a five or more will achieve success. A score of four or lower will end up in failure. Modifiers are then applied to the number of dice rolled rather than the score required. Initiative is also determined for each brigade in turn and they will be activated in kind from highest to lowest. Those that end up with a score of one might end up doing something you didn't intend, mimicking the chaos of battle.

Play therefore goes back and forth between armies so you'll need to have command of the battlefield and the ability to react to unintended battlefield consequences. The idea is that this is meant to represent the "real" experience of warfare on the tabletop. I am already intrigued by the system at its basic level.

Furioso - Contents // Alternative Armies

Furioso also covers random events and hazards that pop up during gameplay. This means that troops can run low on ammunition, you can be subject to friendly fire and your artillery might explore spectacularly. The rear of the book also features lots and lots of army lists that are broken down by campaign. You can approach the game from any particular period of the English Civil War.

Unit cards are also supplied for your army with the book and they also have a gameplay effect where they are deployed during the opening stage of the battle so your enemy doesn't quite know what awaits them.

Talking of miniatures, you can get your hands on bundles to get you started. There are Royalists, Parliamentarians and a Mega Starter Bundle which includes two opposing armies and the rules.

Could you be tempted to snap up Furioso and some miniatures?