VBCW - What?

[republic of tolworth]

Blaker. We often have multiple factions per side. The army of E viii tends to be less likley or need any other back up though.

Often each faction will have different and often conflicting objectives during the battle. This can lead to amusing arguements between allies and a superior force can loose due to snatching each other objectives.

We try not have too much of an arms race with tanks being uncommon in non army factions.

As all the others have said the fun is pick a location and then let the creative juices flow. Our area of north surrey and s London means it's a battle to keep the BUF from crushing all hope.
Though I think a second front is opening up near Middlesborough if Sandanista gets his way!

[Maenoferren]

Shetland has had its share of scraps too. Lerwick/Scslloway being fought over time and time again as they are two ports able to take deep water vessels. We of course have Norwegian forces too.

[Luddite]

Luddite that is really cool. So the factions yall create are from you own research and what you group thinks is good? 

Yep.
That's the real attraction of the setting - it allows you to conduct research into your own area and local history so you have a real attachment to the game you create.

Now i know you're in the US, so it'll be hard for you to do this for Britain, but there is always the option to 'bring it home'!  http://theminiaturespage.com/boards/msg.mv?id=165235   

Are there any basic armies that can be used as examples?

Not sure what you mean, but for me the basic forces involved are;

• BUF (British Uninion of Fascists) - they started it.  The rotters. 'The Government'
  The Left Wing (Communists, Socialists, Trades Unionists, etc.) - brave heroes riscking life and limb for Blighty. 'The opposition'.
  The military (Army, Navy, Airforce - including troops from across the Empire who increasingly are returning to Britain to 'sort things out') - mostly a fractured force with various units joining the government or opposition.  Which is useful.

Then there are a wide variety of 'lesser' factions; the police, the Anglican League, Welsh/Irish/Scottish/Cornish nationalists, LDVs (locals defence volunteers (citizen militia), private armies (mostly raised by the nobility, or corporations like the railway companies or major manufacturers to defend their assets), brigands, mercenaries, 'road-warriors', International brigades, etc., etc.  Anything you can think of that fits!

Im thinking in either the source books or their rule book.  I like the Miners fluff 

There are no rules.

AVBCW is a game for wargamers that prefer to not be 'spoon-fed'. 
The Sourcebooks are just that and contain no rules, just ideas.  Its also aimed and small level skirmish actions, perhaps upt to company scale and therefore focuses on 28mm gaming.

Our group have tried various rules;

Legends of the Old West (Alamo massed batle rules conversion)
Too Fat LArdies: I Ain't Been Shot Mum
Triumph and Tragedy
etc.

But we finally settled on Breat Escape Games 'Rules of Engagement'.  Perfect for that scale of gaming.

For us our AVBCW had certain criteria;

Only include things that were 'based on' historical reality in Durham in the 1930's.
Keep it small scale, no 'super weapons' like modern tanks etc. (SMGs and grenades would be considered 'super weapons' for us!!), or ubertroops (in fact most of the troops are untrained militia who'd really rather be watching the cricket or down the pub with a pint on)'. 
'Heath Robinson' contraptions are possible - as supplies of food, weapons, ammunition, working vehicles, spare parts, trained fighters, etc. are all critically short.
Gentlemanly conduct prevails - e.g. peoples gardens are impassable terrain (just because theres a war on, no need to go grubbing up the roses)
Battles should be challenging, fun, surprising, and contribute to a narrative development of the conflict as it unfolds in the north.

Now then, moving on, we've had a break from AVBCW for a while (Field of Glory Tournament and Opration Sealion campaign has taken us away from it), and i'm seriously considering developing things into a 'later war' setting...maybe AVBCW 1944, where the conflict has escalated.  I'll be looking therefore to do it in 10mm probably using BkCII.  I like the idea of the BUF-led govt in the south finally facing off in a proper war with a Communist-led breakaway government led from Liverpool in the north.  Still thinking it through though...

Ultimately though Blaker, its about sorting out what you find enjoyable and fighting some fun 'Very British' battles!

[Sandinista]

And heres the theme music 
http://uk.video.search.yahoo.com/video/play?n=21&ei=utf-8&fr2=tab-web&tnr=20&p=english+civil+war+the+clash&vid=0001434877685&dt=1175165511&l=0&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fyts.video.search.yahoo.com%2Fimage%2F19EBB4F51&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvodpod.com%2Fwatch%2F34484-the-clash-english-civil-war&tit=The+Clash++-+English++Civil+War&sigr=11pt13aqb&newfp=1

[Squirrel]

We'll have to keep churning out the releases until we're accepted into the club...!   

Sounds like a spendid idea  Mind you, you've done a pretty good job so far!

Cheers,

Kev

[Blaker]

That is so much info to get me started and thinking and the best part - researching. Kinda what I do 

Any hoo I even have music now   

That link to the TMP thread about the 1930s ACW is very interesting also - sooo now I have to alternatives spinning around in my head.  So how could the two come together?  So these two alternatives are spinning around the time of the SCW just before WW2 breaks out?  I think that is what I am reading. Even the Nazi movement was building in America before WW2 started, was there a similar one in Britain?

Man this is going to be sooo much fun and soo very much pulling out the creative side of my daydreams (wife says they are nightmares) but hey need to do some more reading.

Thanks again for all of the help. I would be interested in seeing / reading more batrep if anyone could post links 

cya

[Hurrah]

After the very first book, I recommend these two:

VBCW Guide to the Anglican League

VBCW Guide 2 Royalists and Reactionaries

Made in the style of Osprey books (or more rather the Del Preado semi-reprints that went with their miniatures part work).

These really give you flavour of what they are going for.

I did not rate the Flags and formations book unless you are going to photo-copy them in colour to make unit flags.