15mm Basing and scales

[Tim Bancroft]

I’ve noticed a couple of incidental replies, but…

What is the accepted norm for 15mm movement and basing?

We’re currently using 1 inch -> 1cm for movement and ranges in Napoleonics, and six×30mm square bases each with 4 infantry (2×2) for a normal battalion (we could drop to 5, of course).

Whilst the 1″ to 1cm seems to work well, I am a little concerned about the 6×3cm (18cm, musket range) and wonder if it should be 6×2.5cm or 5×3cm (15cm).

Thoughts?

[Garry Wills]

This is my reply to a similar question in the distances thread. I use cms for my games – I use 15mm figures. With regard to unit sizes the switch to cm also changes the unit frontages although BP2 gives the frontages in mm! So a standard unit; 200-250 mm frontage or 8 to 10 inches or 8 to 10 cm in the cm scale.

So in your example it would 3x 3cm.

[Dr Dave]

We use 15mm a lot for our Nap games. We just half the inches and John Stallard has played in some of our games at the Friends of General Haig without (too much) complaining.

Perhaps they key thing is to determine the frontage of your typical real life unit. Then relate / scale that to weapon range. I.e. if a musket had a range of 100 yds and a typical frontage of a unit in line was 100 yds, then just ensure that on the table top these two distances are the same?

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Dr Dave.

[Lochmoigh]

I understand there is a QRS that reflects the halved values, Does anyone know where that is?

[Big Al]

The easiest thing to do is just convert to centimetres. That means there is no maths to do, however simple. It works and works well. The current QRS works because the numbers are all the same, you just have to remember it’s centimetres. Of course, that becomes obvious when your unit hurtles off like a rocket because your opponent, wide eyed, lets you know about it! While we all have tape measures, if you have one of those fancy measuring sticks in centimetres, you can’t Get it wrong.

the game is forgiving enough to allow such a simple conversion and it fits the KISS rule.

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