‘To Kill a King’ review

Warlord Games have released their latest supplement for Pike and Shotte. To Kill a King comprehensively covers the English Civil Wars of 1638 to 1659.

The book starts with a brief overview of the period and the personalities involved. It then covers section by section each of the conflicts, using a mixture of relevant army lists and scenarios to use them in. The lists are dated by year and/or location, so the Scots Covenanter home army (which fought Montrose) is different in character to the one that invaded England (in the Bishop's War and later) which is slightly different again from the late army that supported Charles Stuart.

Every aspect of the Civil Wars period is covered including the Irish campaigns. I thought I had a good grasp of the period and this book taught me a few things I didn't know, which I found very pleasing. The battle reports were limited to a single example, but I generally don't like this feature so their lack was a big plus to me - more room for scenarios and army lists!

The army lists themselves are comprehensive and are revised from previous versions (much to the better in my opinion). Artillery, for example, is limited to the Batallia or the Army (so gone are the 'grand batteries' one player tried on me with the old system, where artillery was a percentage of points of your army).

The new special rules are kept to a minimum in the book. There are, however, a comprehensive set of siege rules and some campaign rules suggestions, both of which are a welcome addition.

This book impressed me. I've seen many a Black Powder and Pike & Shotte supplements and this ranks as one of the best I've seen. It is full of information, great pictures, and flavoured army lists. The key to any great book is inspiration and this simply brims with it. It has me dusting off my Scots Covenanter army and planning some games.