Rifle & Saber: Tactical Combat 1850-1900
BGG rank
BGG #25,232
BGG rating
5.8

Rifle & Saber: Tactical Combat 1850-1900

1973

Rules assistance for Rifle & Saber: Tactical Combat 1850-1900

Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

  • 2 players
  • 90 min
  • 12+
  • Complexity 2.1/5

Rules assistant for Rifle & Saber: Tactical Combat 1850-1900

For 2 players

What would you like to know?

Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.

Rifle & Saber: Tactical Combat 1850-1900 is a board game released in 1973 for 2 players, 90 minutes per game, and ages 12 and up. It was designed by John Young and its main mechanics are Dice Rolling, Grid Movement, and Hexagon Grid.

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About the game

Rifle & Saber is a tactical (company level) simulation of warfare in "the age of the rifle," roughly from 1850 to 1900. The period was marked by a tremendous increase in the firepower of infantry units which far outstripped advances in tactics. The game simulates battles or portions of battles from some of the most significant wars of this period. Seventeen scenarios are drawn from battles in the American Civil War (1st Bull Run, Shiloh, Gettysburg), the Franco-Prussian War (Worth, Mars-la-Tour), the Spanish-American War, and the Boer Wars. There are also battles from minor wars in Europe, South America, and India. Included in the game are a 22" by 28" mapsheet (50 meters per hex), 400 counters (muzzle-, early breech-, and late breech-loading infantry; muzzle- and breech-loading artillery; cavalry; various game markers), a 10-page, accordion-style rules booklet, a sheet of historical notes, and various play aids. Cavalry and infantry units represent about 100-150 men, artillery units about 4-6 guns, game turns about five minutes real time.

Questions and answers

Rifle & Saber: Tactical Combat 1850-1900 supports 2 players according to the catalogue. This is the publisher’s listed player count, so the game is designed for exactly that number of participants. Variants for other group sizes, if any, are described in the rulebook of your edition, so check it before setting up a different configuration.