Knyghte Pyke and Sworde is a set of miniatures gaming rules for "mass skirmish" games ranging from 4-5 figures on each side up to battles with 30-40 figures each.
As the name suggests, the rules are intended for dark age through medieval battles though I have included provisions for early firearms as well.
The game play is simple and straight-forward, allowing you to focus on the drama unfolding instead of digging through the rulebook every 17 seconds.
The rules are strictly 1 figure equals 1 combatant, meaning the game is about raids, skirmishes and patrols. The stuff where we get to know each soldier and naming our heroes matter.
Core game mechanics include:
Alternating turn sequence.
Opposed rolls between individual figures for hand to hand combat and a straight roll vs target number for missile combat.
Injury rolls and morale checks are both taken by rolling 2 dice and seeing how many dice roll over a target number (meaning instead of troops always being okay or dead/routed, we have a third option as well)
As exhausted troops are vulnerable to close combat, counter-attacking can help turn the tide after an enemy charge.
Each troop type receives a straight forward mechanic allowing them to be differentiated on the table. Chargers are powerful on the attack while Polearm troops can engage horsemen more effectively. 7 base troop types are included.
3 types of individual figure is included: Scouts that can be used for delaying in the turn sequence, fighters are mighty with a sword while captains can inspire your soldiers to enhanced actions.
Of course no Nordic Weasel game would be complete without some extra goodies including:
Advice and mechanics for playing on a big map.
Campaign rules with simple experience and casualty mechanics.
Tables to award your leaders with rewards and to grant advantages and drawbacks to future battles.
A weather table.
Points values to build your own troops.
A scenario system to set up a battle with multiple ways to play.
The game can be played with any individually mounted figures. You can get started with as little as 4 miniatures each, with a typical game being about 20-40. If you have existing armies, odds are you can dive right in. If you don't, you won't need to buy very much.
The game was written with figures from 15-28mm in mind. 6mm and 10mm skirmish is gaining in popularity. Players should simply take all measurements and read them as centimeters instead (so 5" becomes 5 cm).
Solo mechanics are not specifically included, though the game is fairly easy to solo.
As the mechanics are very simple, this is also a good choice for resolving battles in your RPG campaign.
Fantasy rules are not specifically included at this time.
—description from the publisher