Chop Sockey! Kung Fu Movie Wargame Rules update

Greetings, I'm a bit behind on the weekly blog post so here's an update on my new project, Chop Sockey!! a set of wargame rules intended to recreated kung fu movie style battles. I've been working on it fairly steadily and while the pandemic and social distancing has put a kibosh on play testing the rules continue to be written.

I am at the moment writing the rules for vehicles and riding beasts and the concepts seem to be coming along well.

For a sneak peek, (no release date set yet) here's the current version of the table of contents with current page numbers:


 Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1. Introduction 2
But I don’t watch kung fu movies!! What the heck is a kung fu movie wargame??!! --- Notes for historical and other miniature gamers who have find these rules thrust in their hands. 2
2. Force Creation and Troop Types 3
Minions 3
Fighters 3
Warrior 3
Heroes (or Villains) 3
Specialists 3
Monsters, Creatures, and Animals 4
Forming Units 4
Chi and other special considerations 4
3.  Terrain 6
Rough Terrain 6
Dangerous Terrain 6
Elevated Terrain 7
Moving uphill 7
Moving downhill 7
Increased elevation 7
Impassible Terrain 7
Cover 8
Climbing fences and walls 8
4.  Battle Rules 9
Objectives 9
Sequence of Play 9
Turn Phases Table 10
Activation 10
Activating Units Table 12
Special Actions 13
5.   Movement 14
VEHICLES AND MOUNTED ANIMALS 14
Chi aided movement 15
6.   Combat and Close Combat 15
Basic Concept 15
Melee 16
Combat Sequence 16
Melee Weapons Table 17
Hits 17
Effects of Hits Table 18
Saving Throws 18
Wounds and the Effects of Hits 18
Wound Effects Table 19
Spectacular Hits and Morale Throws 19
Charge effects 20
Use of Chi in Combat 20
Breaking Free of Combat 21
ANIMALS IN MELEE 22
7.  Ranged Combat 23
Ranged Fire Hit Roll Chart 24
Ranged Weapons Chart 24
Firing Modifiers Chart 24
Running out of ammo 25
Chi in ranged Combat 25
Firing at Mixed Units 25
----Method One 25
----Method Two 26
Ammo –Running out of Ammunition 27
Catching thrown weapons, arrows, or bullets 28
8.    Morale 30
Morale Effect and Ending Moral Effect Check Table 30
Effects of Chi on Morale 31
Shaming 32
9.    Special Actions and Rules for non-combat challenges 32
10. Optional And Scenario Specific Rules 33
1. Multiplayer games (more than two sides) 33
2. Artillery and Crewed Weapons 33
3. Vehicles 33
4. Sorcerors, Technicians, Snipers, etc. 33
5. Creatures 33
10.   Duels and Tournaments 35
Single combat between heroes 37
Fighting Strategies. 37
Combat Results 38
REFERENCE CHARTS                                                                                                                     40

Gangs of New York #4 - Dead Rabbits --work in progress

Work in Progress!

The Dead Rabbits Gang.

Are they finished? Absolutely not. But you can take a peak at what they look like so far.  Stay tuned and for the moment, read on and how cast metal got to this point and then come back and see where it goes to. 

Greetings! While new at blogging, I do know that the key to successful blogging is consistency and reliability. Alas, neither comes easily to me, and I realize that I am a few days behind in offering content. Yet, while busy, busy, busy, and disrupted by a now occurring historic event called the Covid-19 Pandemic, I have still spent time on wargaming and modelling projects. And with that in mind, I offer an update on my current miniature wargaming project, a sort of semi-historical, "Steampunkish," "Victorian SF." Weird West kind-of representation of the Dead Rabbits gang described in mid-nineteenth century American newspapers and the book and film Gangs of New York. Little by little, evening by evening, I've done some work on this project and here it is. 

The figures have been primed and based and a little bit of color (is gray a color?) have been added. 

The gray is finished for the moment.

And then came the dark brown.

Followed by a black, the end result of a relaxing evening spent on a silly hobby project.

Next came a dark, almost maroon red.

A few different colors including a dark skin tone are now added.

Getting closer to the detail work. I enjoy the detail work. If I didn't, well, it wouldn't be worth doing, would it?

And now, the detail work begins . . . 

(Is it finished? Absolutely not. To see the finished project and the completed figures, you will have to come back to a later installment in this blog. Hopefully, if fate wills it, coming soon. Remember. These are not done yet. Works in progress.) 

A look at some of the gang. Again, about two thirds finished. Those eyes need some touching up as do the weapons. 

Some random gang members.

A close up of the two command figures. The calculating, cunning, always planning gang leader and the Irish Roman Catholic Priest. I figure these figures are about two thirds finished. I also think those eyes are way too big and need some touching up. It will happen. Come back and see. 

Works in progress. Dead Rabbits Gang members. And, yes, my photography skills could stand a bit of improvement.

Another view of the partially finished command figures.

Another close up of the half finished command figures.

Stay tuned for the final project.

Books and Media for the period. 

There is a variety of media one can get if you wish to explore this period of American history in more depth. Please remember, if you order through these links you are supporting this website.

First, once again, we have this wonderful set of rules. 

  

Second, we have Herbert Asbury's classic yet sensationalized work, "Gangs of New York." Asbury was writing in the 1920s about life in the mid-nineteenth century and historians who look it over pretty much universally feel he was more interested in entertaining the reader than sticking to the facts and presenting a historically accurate document. It's an entertaining read that has been through several editions, but should not be taken as gospel. This is probably why when you look for more details and other sources on some of the things he describes you simply don't find them, as it is likely that they never existed.

Tyler Anbinder's "Five Points: The 19th Century New York City Neighborhood that Invented Tap Dance, Stole Elections, and Became the World's Most Notorious Slum," is a more serious history of the time and place written by a contemporary author. The two books at times contradict each other. 

The Great Riots of New York is a late nineteenth century work that describes historical events as the author understood them to have happened. It is probably one of the sources Asbury used to write his book and parts of it are well worth reading to understand this period.

Yes, there was a big Hollywood movie based on these things and the events in Asbury's book. Perhaps unexpectedly, I was not a particularly big fan of the film, neither are the people at TVAG either by the way, they make that clear in the introduction to their wonderful rules, and it is also not particularly accurate in its depiction of history. Dates are mixed and some of the details not quite right. Nevertheless, if you are going to game this period, it's gotta be a "must-see" film so,  if you wish, consider buying it through this link.

I was a bigger fan of a much lesser known BBC-America show called "Copper," which portrayed the adventures of a New York City police detective during the American Civil War. The show ran for two short seasons only and the actual number of episodes is a bit limited but it was a very interesting series and gives an interesting depiction of the underside of the City of New York at the time, even if it does not mention any of Asbury's gangs. Be forewarned that is a very dark and at times difficult to watch series but very well done. For instance, several episodes of the first season deal with the main character's attempts to get a 12 year old prostitute off of the streets and into a better life. She is portrayed disturbingly realistically. The situation is complicated when it turns out she is fleeing an abusive, yet completely legal, marriage to a man three or four times her age, and the legal options under the laws of the time are quite limited when he announces he wants her back. (The age of marriage at that time was much, much lower than now.) Worth watching if the period interests you and you can stomach dark materials.

Please be aware-

while there are only two seasons of the show available, they are being sold in several different packages so there are six items listed below.

And one more time, the awesome rules . . . 

Finally, my books . . . 

Yeah, I've written books. Please check them out and see if they interest you.