The Sword and the Flame (TSATF) is a spectacular rule set for wargaming conflicts between the armies of the British Empire and its various foes. There are African army descriptions for Zulu, Dervish, Egyptian, and Boer. Whilst the rules are specifically for the British Empire, it is reasonably easy to adjust the game-play and tables to cover other European forces. The supplement gives specific suggestions for the French Empire in North, West, and Central Africa, as well as more general suggestions for game variants.

As part of the well-rounded and comprehensive set of rules, there are notes on the creation of a suitable table-top environment for the game (a table of at least four by six foot is recommended) – including how to make hills, woods, and buildings – and how to paint the miniatures you obtain from various manufacturers (both a painting sequence and uniform guides). The only thing lacking in this book is colour illustrations, but figure manufacturers usually have photographs of painted figures on their sites.

Game play follows the now-standard wargame format of Movement, Fire, Close Combat, and Morale – remember that when these rules were first created they were revolutionary and have been a heavy influence on most of the rule sets that have been developed since.

The major appeal of these rules is the way a pack of cards is used to introduce a randomness to the order of play. If a red card is turned over, the 'British' forces move, if a black card, the 'native' forces move. The same method is used to determine the order for the fire stage of a round. The rest of the game mechanics revolve around tables for movement, successful firing, close combat, and morale. (Successful hits are once again resolved by turning cards – a kill or wound, and the rank of the figure indicated by the suit and value of the cards.) Two sets of the game's tables are supplied on card to speed up the play.

Towards the end of the rule book is a description of a sample battle between a British infantry platoon and two clans of Pathans (Second Afghan War, on the northwest frontier of India). If you have any questions about how the rules work then read this carefully – most of the mechanics are applied as the battle progresses, giving an excellent feel for how the game should play.

The 'standard' set of rules ends with a fairly extensive bibliography (with books on particular campaigns and general books on Colonial wars) and a selection of movies which capture the feel of the period.

The twentieth anniversary edition of TSATF also includes a 'Small Unit African Skirmish Variant' called The Sword in Africa which allows for smaller units, called squads, to battle it out as European explorers and/or Arab traders making their way into the interior of Africa, encountering various Central African tribesmen.

This game has a slight role-playing aspect with tables for random encounters and events which can drastically alter the way a game proceeds – so your party may be making good progress when it suddenly meets a rogue elephant or a long lost pastor from the London Missionary Society. Possibly created as a response to The Foundry Ltd's large selection of Darkest Africa figures, and the interest sparked amongst ex-fantasy wargame players, this simplified version of TSATF offers an excellent adventure in Colonial Africa.

What else is needed for a game?
Figures (you need to buy these separately) are individually mounted, and combined in units of 20 for infantry (platoon, Pathan clan, Zulu Iviyo, Dervish warband, etc.) and 12 for cavalry (troop). Units are then added to make larger forces (company, battalion, Pathan/Dervish tribe, Zulu Ibutho, Boer Commando, and cavalry squadron). Each unit has an identifiable command figure, with additional leaders added as the force increases in size. Although the game play is 'one-on-one', a scale is used for the size of combined units: the rules use 85 British infantry figures to represent a battalion (historically this would have been nearer 700 soldiers) or 61 Zulu miniatures to represent an Ibutho (nearer 2000 in life). The sample game described towards the end of the rules is for a single platoon of British infantry against two clans of Pathans, so a short game can easily be played with a few as 60 miniatures. In order to play a balanced game, a comparison table is given which indicates the relative strengths of the different 'armies'. For example, the ratio of Boers to Brits would be around 11/4:1 whilst Zulu's to Brits would be nearer 3:1 (possibly from the relative scale of the table-top brigades to real life?).

As well as figures you'll need a surface to play on and materials to create the terrain; a standard pack of playing cards, half-a-dozen or so six-sided dice (d6), about a dozen 10-sided dice (d10), and a tape-measure (or two, to avoid arguments). You may also want a pad of paper to make notes and sketch a plan of the table so that concealed units can be recorded.

One thing to remember, these rules do not set out to favour colonial armies and warfare. You will get as much fun, and possibly even more fun, from playing the 'natives'. There is nothing finer than the feeling of success you get from being the 'underdog' who devastates the better equipped and better disciplined opposition. remember Isandlwana, Adowa and Majuba!

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