What I don't like about miniature wargames

 And it's not about the "toy soldiers". 

I love the look of miniatures; I appreciate the artistry of figure makers. I love holding and looking miniature figures. I am fascinated by the detail the painter has put into each individual figure. But I just do not have the patience to paint lots of soldiers. And I don't have the space to store them.

What I don't like about tabletop miniature wargames is... (and this list might get added to...)

1. The competitive nature of "most" wargamers.

I play games because I enjoy putting myself in the position of the historic participants, mostly at the level of the generals or commanders.

I like the social activity of playing a game that enables me to understand the scenario, the historic situation better. If I want to play a game to win I play boardgames - like Lost Cities, or Tigris & Euphrates

2. Wargames emphasis tactics and technology.

I feel this topic is over represented in too much military history - and don't get me started on some of the Youtube channels. There is a difference between the bodkin tipped arrows and an ordinary tipped arrow, but is it really that important.

What wins battles is organisation, motivation, morale and courage.

3. The God's Viewpoint of the battlefield

 I recently played in a game where the player directed his archers like homing missiles across a game set during the 1480s. 

I prefer a wargame that emphasises the confusion, the lack of information and the uncertainty that the participants had to endure. The problem with tabletop wargames is that they are easy to setup - just get two or more players, a board, some figures, rules and off you go. The games I prefer often require a Control or Umpire and sometimes require two maps or two boards to represent the hidden movement. I know - who wants to be "Control"?

4. The Massive Rules Sets

This is a product of the competitive, two player mainstream wargame norm. Rule sets have to account for every situation, they have to have detail on how to deploy, how to dice for reactions or interruptions etc. And then there are the rules-lawyers... sighs.

My preference for a Control or Umpire is so that I get someone else to apply and adjudicate the rules and I DO NOT CARE if they are making it up or making a judgement call, so long as they are consistent and reasonably accurate to the history.

... 

I will add to this

A game about military doctrine and training

This is very much a placeholder as I do not intend to make this game but thought to record the idea like a jotting in a notebook.

I have been inspired by talking to a gaming mate who just finished a History PhD on the subject of the different ways the British Army in Burma and India in the Second World War undertook its training. After reading Slim's "Defeat into Victory" I was struck by the effort, time and energy Slim put into training his army. And I am also familiar with a similar amount of effort put into the training of the British Army in World War 1 on the Western Front.

The game would not just be about the training. I don't think that kind of administration would make for an interesting game. I would include training as one of the factors and resource hungry factors in a long term campaign - like say the Western Front, 1916 to 1918. I would also have another factor that of the learning of doctrinal tactical lessons that would require a payment in blood and possible failure and then an expenditure in time and resources to distill the doctrinal lessons and then put them into the training schools so that they new units in the next campaign would be more effective. Hopefully.

Maximum Effort

I had designed a similar system for a campaign game inspired by a gaming mate, in 2004. This game never saw the light of day, even as a prototype, and only existed as a series of blog posts and conversations.

I have found the archive of the blog. I will check it out and see if I feel I want to republish it. 

Let Our Bloody Colours Wave

Aim

To create a medieval figure wargame that starts with the organisation, preparation and planning for battle that leads to the final decision on the battlefield.

All medieval armies were hastily thrown together. Any organisation and training of units and appointment of commanders must have been done after they had assembled. There were no recognised ranks, just the usual medieval ranks of King, Nobles and their servants.

Organising the army into their three wards would be an interesting debate - who to command who, which contingent to march next to another etc. There would have been incidents on the march - looting, fighting, arguments etc. - that would need to be addressed. The leader of the army would need to impress upon the men why they were fighting and why theirs was a just cause that God would favour.

Then there is the night before when planning for the next day of battle is very important.

Game Description

The game will be a multiplayer game that has five Acts. 

1. Warriors for the Working Day

2. Marching in the Painful Field

3. The Royal Captain Walking

4. Through the Foul Womb of Night

5. Cry “Havoc,” and Let Slip the Dogs of War.

All players are on the same side - a better de. They are in effect comrades - though of course some are more equal than others - as the army leader will be a King or Duke, and the other leaders will be Dukes, Earls, Barons and assorted knights. They are effectively trying to win the war and also win their own victory conditions. Sometimes these might conflict.

We are but warriors for the working day;

Our gayness and our gilt are all besmirched

With rainy marching in the painful field.

Henry V - Act 4, scene 3

Act 1 - Warriors for the Working Day

The players are assigned the role of a Lord. This comes with the usual list of lands, estates, offices, wealth and also a short biography. The Lord will also have a list of friends and rivals etc. who will be in the same army. Each Lord will have a personal “retinue” of loyal retainers and servants, who act as their bodyguards, and will enhance status. Some Lords will have a Commander - a professional soldier servant - in their retinue Next a series are cards are dealt from the “hosts” pack. These represent the companies, groups and contingents of soldiers who have turned up. The Lords will then assign and organise these into three Wards. A Commander is an experienced professional soldier who will be able to advise their Lord.

1. Cards

1. Lords and their Retinues 

2. Town, & City Contingents 

3. Mercenary Bands 

4. Professional Soldiers
   
   

2. Form Special Units

1. Mercenary Bands

2. Artillery

3. Scourers and Prickers

4. Forlorn Hopes of Archers

5. Men at Arms

3. The player places the cards into their “battles”

1. Three battles and a Reserve

2. Special Units assigned to a Battle

3. Commander of the Battle

1. Subordinates

2. Deputy

3. Professional Soldiers

Act 2 - Marching in the Painful Field

Incidents that might occur on the march.  A fight and a murder. A quarrel over loot or baggage or a bar maid!

What do you resolve each problem? 

How do you control the men, organise the baggage, the food, looting etc?

Act 3 - The Royal Captain Walking 

What methods do the leaders use to raise the morale of the troops; to tell them that their cause is just and honourable?

1. Masses

2. Theatre

3. Preaching

4. Victuals 

5. The Royal Captain Walking

Act 4 - Through the Foul Womb of Night

The planning for the battle on the night before. The field of battle is known or at least the terrain and some intelligence will be had on the enemy.

1. Any last minute changes to the Battles and Leaders

2. Any deployment of the Special Units

3. What is the battle plan

1. Deployment on the field of war

2. What signals and orders are pre-arranged

Act 5 - Cry “Havoc,” and Let Slip the Dogs of War.

The battle will require little intervention from the players. They will have a few decisions to take but might suffer from not being able to implement them.

1. Deploy the Battles and the special forces (some might be secret)

2. Some players might wish to now use another set of rules for a medieval wargame, integrating some of the factors from the campaign into the ruleset for the battle.

Hidden Terrain in a Miniatures Game

Vistas

Many years ago I had an idea to break a map game into "vistas". My idea was for a game with two player sides and a control / umpire.

My idea was that each player would be given a map with only the main routes and settlements marked on it and everything in between would be blank - "here be dragons". As the player advanced the player could draw tiles to fill the spaces.

My initial idea was unworkable as I wanted those tiles to be hand crafted "vistas". So as you reached the crest of a hill you could see into the valley and would have a suitably cut "vista" tile to fill that space. It could be done, but it would be time consuming to construct.

I presented this idea in 1990 at an early COW - Conference of Wargamers.

Trigger point Vistas - the updated idea

I was reminded of my idea when I saw this square based map used in this game. Instead of giving the player "vistas" the player is just handed enough tiles to fill in the gaps as they reach "trigger" points on the map. 

The trigger points would either be marked on the map - at obvious places like church spires, hills etc. - and this would enable two players to discover the map - they could keep the tiles thus revealed secret to themselves until the other side reached an opposite trigger point.

One way of doing this would be for the map to consist of face down tiles that just need to be turned over. This reminds me of one of the first German boardgames I ever bought - Entdecker (trans: Explorer). The players explored the map by visiting face down tiles and turning them over by moving to them.

Another method would be in a back-to-back game. Control would build the map for the players as they advanced across "hidden" trigger points. Each map is hidden from the other player.

 

Inspiration

Graham Evan's game - with the map made of squares that is then used to create a wargame miniature's terrain.

https://wargaming4grownups.blogspot.com/2016/10/marchais-en-brie-september-1914-op14.html