Free Sneak Preview!

[Jupiter]

Now that you have taken the time to register at The War Event, you may have many questions about Casus Belli and what it is. Let’s start with some information right out of the Preface in the rules:

Welcome to Casus Belli! Some four years ago I decided to write a second edition to Ancient Empires, which was originally published in 1990. It was during this period that I met Gary Hoover. Gary has been in gaming many, many years and has play tested a number of games over the years that went into publication. It became obvious to me as time went on that Gary’s input into the changing game mechanics were much more than those of a play tester; indeed he was an integral part of authoring the rules.

As we progressed, we both realized that we were not happy with the combat system in Ancient Empires 2nd edition and sought to come up with a new and better way. We made fundamental changes in the combat system and a number of other aspects in the game as well. One day, we realized that what we had was a whole new game. Ancient Empires, both first and second edition dealt exclusively with antiquity. The new rules cover both antiquity and the medieval period, hence the name Casus Belli, which literally means “War Event”.

In Casus Belli, you will still find some of the terminology and methodology that existed in Ancient Empires 2nd edition still exists. I and Gary are both of the mindset that “if it works, don’t fix it”. We have integrated some of the best aspects of Ancient Empires 2nd edition into Casus Belli and discarded what we feel did not work. Some of the changes are very noticeable and some are quite subtle. You will therefore find some terminology in the rules that you will be familiar with. Other rules and terminology are completely new and will require time and play on the part of the player to master.

In today’s market place, there are a number of game systems that you have to choose from. Each has their own unique qualities that attract gamers to them. In Casus Belli, you have over 130 different troop types from which to choose from when you assemble your army. This makes it much easier for players that wish to refight historical engagements to do so as you can fine tune the qualities of the forces engaged to suit most any eventuality. Also included is a point schedule for those gamers that may be new to the hobby, or don’t have the time or resources to research historical engagements. The point schedule also allows players to play with their favorite army against an opponent it may never have encountered in history. While such mechanisms may work well within competition games, they have little to do with history or the methodology of historical armies. Players must realize that cross-play of armies of vastly different historical periods may result in uneven engagements, even when opposing armies are of the same point value. Another anomaly is the horse army vs. the foot army on the game table. If the foot army takes the position of his choice, the horse army would be foolish to attack. If the foot army is foolish enough to engage a horse army in the open, you will find your results being fairly consistent with the battle of Carrhae.

Casus Belli uses base mounting that seems to have become fairly common in the gaming community. For 15mm and smaller figures 40mm wide move stands are used, and for 25-28mm figures a move stand is 60mm wide. Depths of move stands will vary by troop type. You will also find a Player’s Handbook available for those that desire a quick and simple way to buy their point army for a particular army in history. For players that are familiar with other common terminology used in other rules sets, the Player’s Handbook gives you the methodology of representing your existing army for play in Casus Belli. Many armies are included in the Player’s Handbook and this will be expanded further as time goes by to include many more.

Game mechanics in Casus Belli are simple but mastering them in order to achieve success is another matter. Strategy, tactics, and even gamesmanship, will determine success on the battle board. Morale is key and success will usually come to the side that causes a Morale Test on the enemy at a critical time and place during the battle.

Casus Belli offers multiple figure scale options for the gamer. There are three scales to choose from so that you can select the best one for you. If you prefer the Grand Tactical battlefield you can choose 1 to 100 scale. If you still want Grand Tactics but desire a game with a lot of figures on the table use the 1 to 50 figure scale. Then, if you are really desirous of getting into the nitty-gritty of combat, try the 1 to 25 figure scale!

To begin with, start small and conduct a battle with only one or two Major Units per side. This will allow you to learn the basic mechanics before going on to a game with several Major Units per side. At 1 to 100 figure scale, you can play a game with ten to twelve move stands per side if you wish and occupy yourself for a couple of hours. After you are comfortable with the concepts, increase the size of your army to your liking. A battle of 1,000 points (1 to 100 scale) will normally take you two to three hours to play. Battles from 1,500 to 2,000 points (1 to 100 scale) will normally run from three to six hours. Battles of 2,000 to 3,000 points and up (1 to 100 scale) will usually take from six to eight hours. The actual time it takes for any game depends a lot on the players and their familiarity with the rules. The better you know the rules, the quicker the game. Likewise, multiple player games can speed a game up or slow it down just depending on the players.

At The War Event, we have decided that the best way to give you a quick look at the rules is to provide a sneak preview by making the rules available in a new Forum of Casus Belli for a limited time. We have also made some much requested changes to the Casus Belli Forum allowing more community interaction.

We hope that providing this opportunity to you will answer many of your questions and that you will like what you see and support us with a Premier Membership, which includes a one year membership as a Supporting Member and your own copy of the rules, player’s aides, and appendices in pdf format. Also included in your Premier Membership is the Player’s Handbook #1, covering some 50 popular armies, at no additional cost.

All for only $20.95!