Low Whig and High Tory Rules

 The game uses the British Parliament as the forum for gaming Colonial conflicts between 1837 and 1914.

The Rules

Victoria's Amusement track

1.  The Government falls.  Remove the three Government MPs with most influence. Gather in the remaining MPs shuffle and deal.

2,  the Queen goes to Balmoral. The PM is not invited.

3.  The Queen verbally rebukes the PM

4.  The Queen is chilly towards the PM

5.  Her Majesty raises an eyebrow

6.  The Queen takes tea with the PM

7.  The Queen asks after the PM's family members

8. Queen Victoria permits herself a small smile

9. The Queen is in good spirits

10.  Queen Victoria is Amused.  Honours any successful Military Officer.

11.  The Queen smiles at the Times headlines. All is well with the world.  

12.  Hurrah for Britain. Three Cheers for Her Majesty.  Are there crumpets yet for tea?  Is the Game won?

God Bless Her

Provincial Loyalty Rolls
1 Rebellion Point added
2  Concession required

3 Simmering
4-6 Loyal for now

Setup

The Treasury is determined.  Roll 2d6 x 12 for how many million guineas.  Low rolling will create a cash strapped Government pretty quickly.  The total is recorded in the Treasury using tiny "white fiver" tokens, each representing 5 million.

The cards are shuffled and dealt blind into three six card hands. 

These are then turned and examined.  Find the Whig, Tory and Radical MPs with most influence.  These become party leaders.  Any ties in the influence score are resolved in favour of alphabetical order.  Unionists may be asked to join your government, but will cost you dearly if you wish to pass a bill.

All MPs cards dealt are moved to the same hand as their party leaders.  Count up the influence for each side, the highest forming a Government.

Any Wars are placed into the Active Wars zone.  Enemy leaders are added onto the map, or onto their active war if relevant.

Queen Victoria's amusement level is set to six (on a track of  12). If it reaches 0 the Government falls.

Any bills are retained by the party leaders, but the Government may place a bill before the dispatch box as first business.  A bill is merely a way for the government to deal with any other business.

The opposition will also control enemy leaders and wars.  Unless the government falls in which case roles are reversed.

Any scandals are placed in "The Papers" and random rolls determine which unlucky MP attracts attention.  If a scandal appears the Queen's "amusement" level is reduced by the extra number of the scandal's depravity.  Each scandal is between levels 1 to 3.

Any Concessions, including Honours, are held by party leaders at this point, but may need to be given to individual MPs to buy loyalty for a reroll.

Any Military Officers are sent to Home Service.
A Field Force is deployed in Home Service and one in India.

If Parliament is split both sides may attempt to attract Radicals or Independents by paying 4000 guineas or awarding honours.

Parliamentary Business 

The Government sponsors a Bill but must still pay to support its passage.  The price differs between bills cards.

To pass a bill the government must have a majority.  Opposition MPs can be bought, as can independents

Whigs and Liberals take 5000 guineas each to support a bill.

Tories  take 10000 guineas to support a Bill. 
Unionists  take 5000 guineas each to support a Bill, even if part of a Government, but add d6 to Irish Unrest.
Radicals and Independents take 5000 guineas each to support a Bill.

Bills that are passed go to to the Lords to be ratified.  The Government can choose to dice for passage of a Bill or pay.
The House of Lords will take 10000 guineas to guarantee to pass a bill, otherwise roll d6.  On a 4, 5, 6 the bill passes, roll lower and it is sent back to the dispatch box.  If a bill passes the Queen is amused and adds one to her score.

Wars

Wars have a face cost, to send out a field force.  Enemy leaders may increase this cost by 5 million per level. The cost reflects the size of enemy forces.  Once a Field Force is dispatched the battles for that war can be fought until the war is defeated.  Defeating a war earns a cash "subsidy" from the vanquished.  This subsidy is half the cost of prosecuting the war.  It also adds one or more to the Queen's amusement and an honour may be generated.

Losing a battle is not a good idea since Victoria will not be amused about that and the Victoria's Amusement level is reduced.

With setup complete we move to the first month, and draw a card.  Twelve cards will be drawn for each year of the campaign and the deck holds ten years worth of cards for each period.

Wars of Victoria's Early Reign Deck
Canadian Rebellion 1837. £5 million. Forests
The Pastry War, Mexico 1838 £5 million. Desert
First Anglo Afghan War 1839 £5 million Mountainous
First Opium War 1839 £5 million River war
Second Egyptian Ottoman War 1840 £5 million Arid
First Anglo Sikh War 1845 £5 million desert

Enemy Leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh
7th Xhosa War 1848 £5 million. Arid
Second Anglo Sikh War 1848 £5 million. Arid
8th Xhosa War 1850 £5 million Arid
Second Anglo Burmese War 1852 £5 million Jungle
Taiping Rebellion 1850 £5 million
Second Anglo Burmese War 1852 £5 million Jungle
Crimean War 1853 £20 Million Arid 

Enemy Leader Imperial Russian General, Alexander Sergeyevich Menshikov £5 Million

Second Opium War 1856 £5 Million. Arid
Anglo Persian War 1856 £5 Million. Arid
The Indian Mutiny 1857 £20 Million. Arid

Enemy Leader, The Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi 20 Million

Wars of Victoria's Mid Reign Deck 1859 to 1872
1859 Pig War United States £5 Million. Temperate
1860 Second Māori War.  Māori Kiwi (tribes) £5 Milliontemperate
1863 Anglo-Satsuma War. £5 Million temperate
1864 Ambela Campaign, British Raj ,Afghan Pashtuns £5 Million Arid
1864 Second Anglo-Ashanti War £5 Million Arid
1864 Tauranga Campaign New Zealand £5 Million Temperate
1865 Bhutan War £5 Million Jungle
1865 Morant Bay rebellion Jamaican Rebels £5 Million Temperate
1865 -1868 East Cape War New Zealand Temperate
1867 Andaman Islands Expedition, Onge rebels Join ngle
1868 Tītokowaru's War New Zealand Wars Temperate
1868 British Expedition to Abyssinia
1869 Red River Rebellion, Dominion of Canada, Métis Forested
1879 Ninth Xhosa War, Mfengu Tribe Arid
1878,Second Anglo-Afghan War Arid Mountainous

Wars of Victoria's Later Reign Deck. Cards.
The Zulu War 1879 £5 Million Mountainous

Enemy Leader Ceteswayo, lvl 1

The First Boer War 1880 £5 Million Mountainous Arid

(Card Example - Requires a vote to send a Brigade to the Cape.
Skirmish at the wagon auction
Battle of Laings Nek
Battle of Majuba Hill 
Enemy Leader, Boer, Piet Cronjé, lvl 1

Anglo Egyptian War 1882 £10 Million Arid

(Card Example
Requires a vote to send two Brigades to Alexandria. 
Battle of Kafr El Dawwar
Battle of Tell So Kebir
Gen Garnet Wolseley
Enemy Leader Tewfik Pasha lvl 1
Enemy Leader Ahmed ‘Urabi lvl 1)

Mahdist Sudan War 1881 £10 Million Arid

(Card Example - Requires a Bill to send two Brigades, 10 million, to Egypt.
Tel El Kebir
Gordon Relief Expedition
Gen Garnet Wolseley
Enemy Leader The Mahdi. Lvl 2
Enemy Leader The Khalifa Lvl 1)

1878 Second Anglo-Afghan War £10 Million Arid Mountainous

Battle of Maiwand

Battle of Kandahar

Gen "Bobs" Roberts

1885  North-West Rebellion £5 Million Forested

1885 Third Anglo-Burmese War £5 Million Jungle
1888  Sikkim Expedition Temperate
1891. Hunza-Nagar Campaign 
1893  Anglo-Manipur War
1893. First Matabele War Arid
1895. Ashante War Arid
1896. Second Matabele War Arid
1897. The Tirah Expedition Arid Mountainous
1899. Boxer Rebellion Temperate
1899. Second Anglo Boer War Arid

Cards in the deck

Politicians

Laws and Reforms cards

Concessions cards

Scandals

Wars

Military Officers

Enemy Leaders

Honours

Events

The Offices of State

Her Majesty's Prime Minister
Lord Chancellor of the Exchequer
Minister of War
Home Secretary
Foreign Secretary
First Sea Lord

Lesser Offices and honours are given to buy loyalty.  Worth 4000 Guineas each.  Peerage.  Knighthood.

Field Force deployments
Home Service. Guards Brigade, 1, 2 Brigades

Reserve, 4, 5 Brigades
Ireland. 6, 7 Brigades
India.  8, 9 Brigades, Reserve 

15, 16, 17, Reserve Indian Army Brigades
Ceylon. 1Bn of 10 Bde
Africa. 2Bn of 10 Bde
South Africa. 11Bde
Canada. 1Bn of 10 Bde
The Caribbean. 1Bn of 12 Far East Bde
Far East.  1Bn of 12 Far East Bde
China and Hong Kong.  1Bn of 12 Far East Bde
Mediterranean.  1Bn of 10 Bde
The Australias 13 Bde Reserve, 14 Anzac Bde

Examples of Bills
Army Discipline Act
Consolidated fund Act
Indian stocks Act

Wars of the Edwardians card deck.  Still working on this one.

South African War (1899–1902) Arid

Botha

Smuts

Anglo-Somali War 1900
The Mad Mullah of Somalilland Arid

Agadir- The Panther incident Coastal
Pulling the Lion's tail US Temperate
The Balkan troubles Mountainous
The War of a Thousand Days (1899–1903)
Boxer Rebellion (1900–01) Temperate
Moro Wars (1901–13) temperate
Russo-Japanese War (1904–05)
Pig War (1906–09) arid
Mexican Revolution (1910–20) arid
Italo-Turkish War (1911–12) Arid
Armageddon - The Great War 1914. Temperate with added mud.

Provincial Loyalty Rolls
1 Rebellion.  Govt must double the garrison.
2  Concession required

3 Simmering
4-6 Loyal for now

Very much a work in progress.

British General Officers

"Bobs" Roberts
Garnet Wolseley
Redvers Buller
Evelyn Wood
Herbert Kitchener
Lord Chelmsford
Colonel Gordon
Lord Cardigan
Sir Colin Campbell
Sir Henry Havelock
Lord Lucan
Sir James Napier
Sir Harry Smith

The Offices of State
Her Majesty's Prime Minister
Lord Chancellor of the Exchequer
Minister of War
Home Secretary
Foreign Secretary
First Sea Lord

Her Majesties Government 1879

The Liberals
John Russell Prime Minister
Lord Tweedmouth, Lord Chancellor of the Exchequer

John, Lord Wodehouse - Unionist, Home Secretary
Charles Parnell, Radical, voting with the Liberals (1st Sea Lord)

Sir Robert Slack

Her Majesty's Opposition
The Tories
Mr Benjamin Disraeli 
Lord Randolph Churchill

Mr Judas Quilp MP

Mr H.M. Strainer MP
Mr Dominic Blarb MP

1 crisis in play, A General Resigns (next one out)

The Queen is currently rated as "Amused, (level 6)" 

Events so far

Sir Robert Slack has  resigned due to a Far East Scandal.  

The First Afghan War is in progress but British Finances are soundly propped up by Rhodes and currently stand at 14 million Guineas.

Wolesley has gone out to prosecute the war using Indian Army brigades.  What could go wrong?

In January the "Tories in Petticoats" scandal erupts in the Papers.  Tory MP Dominic Blarb resigns.

February.

Veteran Scots MP Hamish McBeth Strainer survives a scandal on Scottish Widower Trust shares misappropriation.

A Scandal rocks the January papers, Men in Petticoats, one that rocked Victorian visions of morality at the time.  The Queen loses one amusement point.

Needed

White fiver tokens for treasury 5 million.

Figures for the benches?

Regular battalion 5 SP  Range 6

Regular Cavalry 5 SP.    Range 4 dismounted

Regular Artillery 3 SP.   Range 18

Locally raised Native contingent 3 SP Range 4

Native shooters Warbands 3 SP. Range 6

Native Melee Warbands 3 SP. Range 1

Native Cavalry or Camelry 3 SP. Range 0

Quick 2mm scale rules

Using my home made 2mm battalion

IgoUgo, dice for initiative.

Terrain is indicated on the War Card.

Movement

Regular foot 6

Cavalry 10

Artillery limbered 6

Native foot 8

Roll d6 x SP of unit/base

Hit on 5/6

Save roll 5/6

Terrain half move

Cover -1 on to hit dice (ie. 6's only)

Over 50% losses in bases decides game.