Steady Bayonets 1756 is a set of rules for playing tabletop wargames representing battles in the middle part of the 18th Century, using 15-30mm size model soldiers. The rules cover the period roughly 1740-1790 in Europe.
In these rules, battles are won with lines of well-drilled, bayonet-armed infantry delivering coordinated volleys of musket fire. Cavalry in general cannot take on steady infantry frontally and artillery is not yet powerful enough to be a battle-winning arm.
A typical game has about a dozen units per side. A game like this should take under four hours for a pair of opponents familiar with the rules to complete.
The rules work best with units of 24 infantry models, 12 cavalry models and batteries of 2-4 gun models but this is not a strict requirement.
Game setup usually involves two opposing forces facing one another across a table laid out with terrain models representing hills, woods, streams, etc.
The usual table size is 4-6 feet deep by 6-8 feet across.
Figure and Ground Scales:
• One infantry model = 20 actual men.
• One cavalry model = 20 actual men.
• One cannon model = two actual guns.
• One gunner model = 5 actual crewmen.
• One inch = 20 actual paces (50 feet).
Turn Sequence
Rally & Command
Move
Shoot
Close combat & Recovery
—description from the publisher