Hello MattiT!         

Thanks for the post!

I'm planning to do 1745 in a couple of years and I'll be using the Polemos rules "Ruse de Guerre" that I wrote using 60x30 bases.

Well that's one of the many advantages of 60x30. You can play pretty much any rule set as is or with a couple of simple house rules. I don' know of anyone using 60x30 who rebased to play a new rule set. It was hilarious when Blucher came out all kinds of people got into 6mm and based them according to the rules. Some people took a few years to paint their figures while those using 60x30 started as soon as they got the rules. I would like to be a fly on the wall when the next new rule set shows up and they find out they probably won't be able to use their big Blucher bases. Not to mention the ton of rules presently on the market. 

Our hobby is presently divided into two camps. Those who see value in changing formations and those who do not. Originally there was only one group. Over the last 40 years a number of people realized that having the crux of changing formations was not a realistic reflection of actual Napoleonic warfare. Napoleonic commanders didn't sit in the middle of a batttelfield and play rock/paper/scissors. So for those people the focus of the game shifted from battalion/regiment formations to brigade/Division/Army formations.

A smaller divide within the "new school" group is between those who think the brigade is the lowest moving piece and those who think the battalion is the lowest moving piece. For Polemos players this often translates to the 60x60 base or the 60x30 base. So even here there are lots of things to consider. One can look better than the other. One would have fewer moving parts in a game than the other. One generally gives a faster game than the other. One lets you get deeper into Napoleonic tactics more than the other. It was a closely debated issue in my club some 25 years ago and surprise we chose 60x30, mainly because of the last point and we are a hard core Napoleonic club in our 55th year. No one has ever regretted that choice and it's a consensus that it's one of the main underlying reasons that makes "Ruse de Guerre" such a dynamic and exciting game to play. 

I'm actually starting to get into Napoleonics and I'm considering 80x80 bases, purely so that I can build Dioramas on each base (each base as a brigade), but I think it also has the added benefit of still being suitable for Blucher and Black Powder?

Yes, they'd work fine with Bluecher (at least - I'm not a fan of BP, so don't know offhand what the basing for that is). Bluecher bases are usually 80x60mm, so an additional bit of depth isn't going to hurt too much, and dioramic basing is awesome.

I split my bases in three parts for infantry and two for cavalry, so I can use Polemos Rules but also create columns and squares for other rules systems.

I play March Attack by Crusader Publishing where they recommend two bases of width 40 x depth 30 to represent one battalion, but I've opted for three bases, one being 40 x 20 and two 20 x 20. That way I can have them stand in line, column, and square. I think you should consider what you would like the best: faster games with few required formation changes, or rulesets that differentiate between formations beyond numbers changing in a table but which would sometimes mean a longer game. Do you like moving your miniatures around? Go with the latter. Do you want to finish a game within 2-3 hours? Go with the first. As long as you end up with a play style that you're happy with, go nuts I say.

Hello Ascarin!

Welcome to the wonderful world of 6mm Napoleonics!

80x80 will certainly give you great looking bases for playing single base brigade games. I think BP is a battalion based game so probably check that out before you start your basing as 80x80 would be very awkward to use in a battalion based game. 

The critical thing to consider when using big bases is the size of your table. If your using 80x80 for a large battle a conventional table 6' x 4' will fill up very fast and might be too small. The bigger the base the more awkward they look on certain terrian features like round hill tops, valleys, towns, etc. Some people make custom town bases and keep the table flat to minimize these problems.

As for rules I would recommend you have a look at Polemos "Napoleonic Marechal de I'Empire", sold by Baccus. Simply the best single base brigade game ever written. There is a bit of a learning curve, but well worth the experince and there are lots of people here to help answer any questions. 

Best regards,

Glenn

Hello Glenn:

Remember me? John Stallaert I know it's been about 25 years since we last spoke or gotten together at your place for wargaming but I'm still at it after all these years and still using an adaptation of the original 6mm rules we used in Toronto back then I named: "A Gathering of Eagles".. Not getting any younger I'm afraid and a lot has happened during the past 25 or so years. I no longer live in Toronto. Would love to get in touch with you and the gang we used to wargame with. Is Rob Dabkowski and Wayne Harding still in the group? Give me a shout on here and we can reminisse, lol :-)

Hello Jean!  Wonderful to hear from you my friend!  Please contact me at glennrpearce@hotmail.com and l will be able to answer all of your questions.  Best regards,     Glenn