The Boxer Rebellion is one of those historical settings that seems almost designed for a skirmish campaign: barricades, mixed national contingents, civilians under siege, improvised weapons, desperate sorties, street fighting, relief columns, burning buildings, and a battlefield packed into a small urban district.
For the wargamer, the siege of the Legation Quarter in Peking — modern Beijing — from June to August 1900 offers something different from the usual colonial expedition game. It is not just a column advancing across open country, nor a simple “last stand” scenario. It is a compact, multi-sided urban campaign in which every wall, gate, alley, garden, courtyard and rooftop matters.
Handled carefully, it can make an excellent historical skirmish project.
Historical Background: Why the Legations Were Besieged
By the end of the 19th century, China had suffered decades of foreign pressure, unequal treaties, missionary activity, economic disruption and political humiliation. Anti-foreign anger grew sharply in northern China and found expression in the movement known to foreigners as the Boxers, properly the Yihetuan, or Righteous and Harmonious Fists. They targeted foreigners, Christian missionaries, and Chinese Christian converts; some were armed with firearms, but many fought with swords, spears and traditional weapons, often reinforced by better-equipped Imperial Chinese troops.
In June 1900, diplomats, legation guards, missionaries, civilians and Chinese Christians took refuge in the Legation Quarter of Peking. The siege lasted 55 days, from 20 June to 14 August 1900, until relieved by an international expeditionary force.
The defenders were an extraordinary mixture: British, American, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Italian, Austro-Hungarian and other personnel, with many Chinese Christian refugees also sheltering inside the perimeter. Britannica gives the core military strength of the legation defence as 409 soldiers of different nationalities, while the National Army Museum notes that foreign civilians and Chinese Christians were also trapped inside the diplomatic quarter.
This is what makes the setting so strong for skirmish gaming. It is not a battle between two neat armies. It is a crisis fought by mixed detachments, improvised commands and desperate people in a confined urban space.
Why It Works as a Skirmish Campaign
The Legation Quarter is ideal for tabletop gaming because the whole situation naturally breaks into small actions.
You do not need to refight the entire siege at once. Instead, each game can represent a single episode: a night attack on a barricade, a sortie to burn nearby houses, a fight over a wall, a rescue mission, a supply search, a counter-mine, or a relief column trying to force its way into the city.
The historical defensive area included barricades, legation compounds, enemy attack works, the British Legation, the Russian Legation, the Japanese-held area, the Hanlin Great Library and the Su Wang Fu residence. A surviving 1900 plan of the British Legation shows exactly the kind of terrain a campaign needs: walls, buildings, barricades, defensive lines and enemy works pressed close against the perimeter.
In other words, this is a campaign about space.
Every game should ask: who controls the wall, the gate, the courtyard, the alley, the roofline, the garden, the stable, the library, the barricade?
A campaign map can be very small and still produce many games.
Campaign Structure
I would run the campaign as a linked series of six to eight skirmish games, with each scenario affecting the next.
The defender’s goal is survival. The attacker’s goal is pressure. The relief force exists as a distant clock: the longer the defenders hold, the closer relief becomes. But if the defenders lose too much ground, suffer too many casualties, or run out of supplies, the final game becomes much harder.
A simple campaign system could track five things:
1. Defensive perimeter
Each lost barricade or compound reduces the defenders’ safe area.
2. Ammunition
The defenders begin with enough ammunition, but every heavy firefight drains reserves.
3. Civilian morale
Losses, fires and abandoned positions lower morale; successful sorties and rescued groups improve it.
4. Chinese pressure
If the attackers win scenarios, they gain better positions, more firing points, or siege works.
5. Relief progress
After each scenario, roll or advance a track. When relief arrives, play the final breakout or rescue game.
This gives every battle consequences without needing complex bookkeeping.
Forces for the Campaign
The Legation Defenders
The defenders should be a mixed international force rather than a single army. Small detachments are more interesting than large uniform units.
Possible defender groups:
- British marines, sailors or volunteers
- U.S. Marines
- German marines
- French sailors or marines
- Japanese sailors or infantry
- Russian troops
- Italian sailors
- Austro-Hungarian personnel
- Civilian volunteers
- Chinese Christian labourers, guides and defenders
The National Army Museum notes that legation guards from Austria-Hungary, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, Russia and the United States were involved in defending the quarter. It also mentions improvised resources such as “Betsy,” the makeshift cannon, and a Colt machine gun manned by British and American troops.
For the tabletop, the defenders should be better armed but thinly spread. They have rifles, some machine-gun support, improvised artillery, and better fire discipline. But they are outnumbered, tired, and must protect civilians as well as positions.
The Boxers and Imperial Chinese Forces
The attackers should not be treated as a single homogeneous mob. A more interesting force mix would include:
- Boxer groups with swords, spears, banners and some firearms
- Imperial Chinese infantry with rifles
- Better-trained troops used for serious assaults
- Snipers or marksmen in buildings
- Fire-setting parties
- Sappers or miners
- Command figures representing local leaders or Imperial officers
The National Army Museum notes that many Boxers were armed with swords and spears, while in some areas they were reinforced by better-equipped Imperial Chinese troops.
This gives you an excellent asymmetry. The defenders have firepower and fortified positions. The attackers have numbers, infiltration, night attacks, fire, mines and pressure.
The Relief Force
The relief force should appear only in the final campaign stage unless you want to expand the project. The international relief expedition included British, Indian, Japanese, Russian, American, French and other troops. The National Army Museum describes a 20,000-strong international force under Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Gaselee, reduced by heat, disease and exhaustion by the time it reached Beijing.
For skirmish purposes, the relief force can be represented by a small vanguard: British or Indian troops entering through a gate, U.S. Marines scaling a wall, Japanese infantry fighting through streets, or Russian troops pushing along another route.
Building the Table
A Legation Quarter table does not need to be huge, but it does need density.
The key terrain pieces are:
Barricades
Sandbags, furniture, carts, doors, barrels, crates, paving stones and rubble.
Compound walls
These define movement and line of sight. Walls should matter more than open ground.
Courtyards and gardens
The legations were not just street blocks. They included compounds with enclosed spaces, trees, walls, gates and outbuildings.
Burnable buildings
Fire was a real feature of the siege. Buildings near the defensive perimeter can become hazards or objectives.
Rooftops
Urban warfare becomes much more interesting when rooftops and upper floors are usable.
Narrow streets and alleys
Avoid large open spaces. The battlefield should feel cramped.
The Tartar Wall or city wall sector
For some scenarios, a large wall section becomes the main objective.
A symbolic British Legation strongpoint
Historically, the British Legation became a key refuge and defensive centre. You can represent it as the campaign headquarters, hospital and civilian shelter.
The 1900 plan held by the Huntington is especially useful because it shows the British Legation area in relation to the Russian Legation, Japanese Legation, Hanlin Great Library and Su Wang Fu residence. That gives a ready-made inspiration for a campaign map.
The Campaign
Scenario 1: “Barricades Before the Storm”
Situation: Violence is escalating. The defenders know trouble is coming and begin blocking streets and preparing compounds.
Table: Streets, walls, one or two legation buildings, open approaches.
Defender objective: Build or occupy three barricade positions before the attacker can disrupt them.
Attacker objective: Prevent the defenders from completing the defensive line.
Special rules:
The defenders begin with a few armed troops and civilian work parties. Civilians can build barricades but are vulnerable. The attackers begin with small groups and receive reinforcements from random table edges.
Campaign effect:
For every barricade successfully completed, the defenders gain a prepared position in Scenario 2.
Scenario 2: “First Assault on the Quarter”
Situation: The siege begins in earnest. Boxers and Imperial troops attack the outer barricades.
Table: Defensive line with two or three barricades, nearby houses, alleys and side streets.
Defender objective: Hold the barricades until the end of the game.
Attacker objective: Capture at least one barricade and force the defenders back.
Special rules:
Attackers may use smoke, fire or mass rushes. Defenders may have limited machine-gun or improvised artillery support, but ammunition should be tracked.
Campaign effect:
If the attackers win, the defensive perimeter shrinks. If the defenders win, morale improves.
Scenario 3: “Fire at the Hanlin”
Situation: Buildings near the perimeter are burning. The defenders must prevent the fire from spreading and stop attackers using the confusion to get close.
The Hanlin Academy was close to the Legation defences, and the Huntington map description places the Han-Lin Great Library north of the British Legation area.
Table: Library or academy buildings, smoke markers, walls, gardens and narrow lanes.
Defender objective: Prevent the fire from reaching the main compound and evacuate valuable supplies or civilians.
Attacker objective: Use the fire as cover to seize a forward position.
Special rules:
At the end of each turn, fire may spread. Smoke blocks line of sight. Troops inside burning buildings risk casualties or panic.
Campaign effect:
If the defenders fail, they lose supplies and a section of terrain becomes ruined for later games.
Scenario 4: “The Fu”
Situation: Fighting rages around a large mansion or palace compound sheltering refugees. This is perfect for representing the Su Wang Fu area, which appears on historical maps of the defences.
Table: A large walled residence with courtyards, gates, gardens and interior buildings.
Defender objective: Hold the compound and protect non-combatants.
Attacker objective: Break into the compound or force the defenders to abandon part of it.
Special rules:
The defender must allocate some figures to escort or protect civilians. The attacker may enter through gates, breaches or ladders.
Campaign effect:
If the compound falls, civilian morale drops sharply. If it holds, the defenders gain a morale bonus in the next game.
Scenario 5: “Sortie by Night”
Situation: The defenders launch a night sortie to destroy enemy works, clear nearby houses, or recover supplies.
Table: Dark streets, enemy barricades, ruined buildings, supply cache or artillery position.
Defender objective: Destroy an enemy work, recover supplies, or rescue an isolated group.
Attacker objective: Detect, delay and trap the sortie.
Special rules:
Limited visibility. No shooting beyond a set range unless a flare, fire or alarm reveals the target. The defenders begin hidden. If the alarm is raised, attacker reinforcements arrive.
Campaign effect:
A successful sortie reduces Chinese pressure. A failed sortie costs casualties and ammunition.
Scenario 6: “The Mine”
Situation: Attackers tunnel or prepare explosives beneath a defensive position. The defenders must locate and stop the work before part of the line collapses.
Britannica notes that the siege included attacks on the legation defences and renewed assaults as the relief expedition approached; underground mining and close siege work are especially suitable for this kind of scenario structure.
Table: Defensive wall, nearby buildings, suspected tunnel entrances.
Defender objective: Find and neutralise the mine entrance.
Attacker objective: Protect the sappers until the mine is ready.
Special rules:
Use hidden markers for possible tunnel sites. Engineers or labourers are needed to search. If the attackers complete the mine, a wall or barricade section is destroyed.
Campaign effect:
If the mine succeeds, the next scenario begins with a breach in the defences.
Scenario 7: “Hold Until Relief”
Situation: The relief force is close. The attackers make one last push to break the perimeter before help arrives.
Table: The main defensive line, with damaged barricades, smoke, ruins and exhausted defenders.
Defender objective: Hold two key points until the relief track reaches zero.
Attacker objective: Capture the headquarters, hospital, or main refugee shelter.
Special rules:
Defenders are low on ammunition. Attackers receive repeated waves but suffer morale penalties if they take heavy losses. At a random turn, sounds of distant fighting indicate the relief column is near.
Campaign effect:
If the defenders hold, play Scenario 8 as a relief entry. If they fail, Scenario 8 becomes an evacuation or last-ditch counterattack.
Scenario 8: “Relief of the Legations”
Situation: International troops enter Beijing and race to reach the Legation Quarter.
The relief column reached Peking on 14 August 1900. Britannica notes that British troops reached the legations first after finding a less defended route, while U.S. Marines climbed the city walls; the National Army Museum also describes the final advance into the Legation Quarter on 14–15 August.
Table: City gate, wall, streets leading toward the Legation Quarter.
Relief force objective: Break through to the defenders.
Chinese objective: Delay the relief force long enough to overrun or evacuate key positions.
Defender objective: Send a party out to guide the relief troops or hold a gate from inside.
Special rules:
This can be a three-part scenario: relief troops at one edge, besieged defenders at another, Chinese forces between them. If the relief force and defenders physically link up, the defenders win.
Campaign ending:
Add up the campaign results: civilians saved, positions held, supplies remaining, and relief arrival. This gives a better ending than a simple “who killed more figures?”
Rules Ideas for Any System
You can adapt this campaign to many colonial, pulp or skirmish rulesets. The important thing is to make the scenario mechanics reflect the siege.
Useful rules to include:
Ammunition pressure
Defenders should not fire freely forever. Give each defender unit an ammunition rating. Machine guns and improvised artillery should be powerful but limited.
Fire and smoke
Burning buildings should block sight, spread unpredictably and force movement.
Civilian movement
Civilians should not behave like soldiers. They slow movement, cause morale tests if harmed, and must be escorted.
Language and command friction
International defenders should not coordinate perfectly. British, American, French, Japanese, Russian and other groups may need officers or runners to share orders.
Improvised artillery
A makeshift gun such as “Betsy” should be unreliable but dramatic. It may misfire, run low on ammunition, or be difficult to move.
Night fighting
Many of the best games should take place in darkness, with alarms, lanterns, muzzle flashes and confusion.
Attack waves
The attackers can afford more casualties, but failed assaults should still affect morale and momentum.
Prestige and rivalry
For the relief column, national contingents may compete to be first into the Legation Quarter. This can create interesting sub-objectives.
Painting and Modelling the Project
This campaign is attractive because the figure count can be modest.
A starting collection might include:
Defenders
- 8–12 British sailors/marines
- 8–12 U.S. Marines
- 6–10 Japanese troops
- 6–10 French, German or Russian troops
- 10 civilian volunteers and refugees
- 1 machine gun
- 1 improvised cannon
Attackers
- 30–50 Boxers with mixed melee weapons and firearms
- 20–30 Imperial Chinese troops
- 4–6 leaders, standard bearers or specialists
- Fire-setters, sappers or labourers
Relief force
- 20–30 troops from one or two national contingents
- Optional artillery or naval gun crew
The terrain will take more effort than the miniatures, but it can be built modularly. Start with barricades, walls and two compounds. Add burned buildings, gates, a mission house, a small temple, a garden, and ruined streets later.
This is one of those projects where every new terrain piece creates another scenario.
Tone and Responsibility
The Boxer Rebellion can easily be mishandled as simple “civilised defenders versus savage attackers” adventure fiction. That would be both lazy and historically misleading.
The uprising was rooted in real anger over foreign intrusion, missionary activity, unequal power and Qing weakness. At the same time, the violence against civilians, missionaries and Chinese Christian converts was real and brutal. A good campaign should not flatten either side into caricature. The National Army Museum’s overview makes clear that anti-foreign anger grew from economic hardship and political concessions, but also that the uprising targeted foreigners and Chinese Christians.
For gaming, that means the tone should be tense, historical and human rather than cartoonish. The Boxers and Imperial troops should have motives and leadership, not just be faceless hordes. The defenders should include Chinese Christians and civilians, not only foreign soldiers. The foreign powers should not be presented as innocent adventurers detached from imperial politics.
A thoughtful campaign will be more interesting than a crude one.
Why This Campaign Is Worth Playing
The Legation Quarter siege offers a rare combination: a small battlefield with huge stakes.
It gives you urban warfare without needing a whole city. It gives you multinational forces without needing large armies. It gives you asymmetric tactics without requiring fantasy or pulp exaggeration. It gives you desperate defence, sorties, fires, barricades, civilians, relief columns and political complexity.
For a blog or club project, it is also visually distinctive. A table of high walls, red gates, narrow streets, burning roofs, improvised barricades, foreign legation buildings and mixed troops immediately looks different from the usual colonial battlefield.
Most importantly, it creates stories.
A Japanese detachment holds a gate with only a handful of men. U.S. Marines rush to reinforce a crumbling wall. Civilian volunteers drag ammunition through smoke. Boxers surge through a breach under banners and gongs. A makeshift cannon fires one perfect shot before jamming. A relief patrol appears at the end of the street just as the defenders are down to their last few rounds.
That is exactly what a good skirmish campaign should do: turn history into a sequence of difficult choices.
The Boxer Rebellion’s Legation Quarter is not just a siege. On the tabletop, it can become a compact, dramatic and highly replayable campaign — one barricade at a time.
