Battle for Planet Earth and the Question of Rules.

A friend of mine read an article.

(Riveting, right?)

I don't know the name of the article, though I myself would enjoy reading it.  This article wandered about a few different topics in the retelling, but in an aside it spoke to a central core of miniature wargaming that isn't spoken about enough.  Often the idea of the game, exploring each and every possibility, is more enthralling than the game itself.

It's not a bad thing I think, as long as you recognize it.  It feeds the Gamer ADD like dating a new girl.  It is what it is and on another drive between the Richmond and DC offices, after the last call was done, I chewed on the Battle for Planet Earth, that on again, off again Star Blazers redo.  The problem is the rule set.  I want it to feel pre-dreadnought, with limited formations, wildly random hit effects, and, well, not every ship looking the same.

The way I saw it, out there on 95, is that there are a few decent contenders, but I'm not really enamored with any of them.  They lack the elegance I've seen in other genres, but there's two that are out there that I think have some possible staying power.  Well, three, but one is not published.

First is Battlefleet Gothic, sadly their free Specialist Games version ripped from the website.  Thank you Games Workshop (again).  Simple system, basic mechanics, easy to teach and learn.  Little customization is required, the original models fits the models size I'm looking at.  It's not complex, but it's doable and it meets the need.

The other one I was looking at was one I played back in college, called The Stars Our Decimation.  We got through a half-dozen games in a short sprint, before folks moved on to other games of the era.  TSOD became Voidstriker sometime in the middle of the first decade of the new millennium.  So I decided to reach out to buy them, but the Cafe Press site is no longer functional.  This is what I would call a conundrum.  So I reached out, on a lark, to the writer....and now by the grace of a generous soul, I have a copy.  It's an excellent balance of playability and crunch.  What makes it interesting is the the fact that it is a hex game.  There are ways to play hex games on an open table....so this truly remains an option.

The third?  Song of Void and Stars has "been almost there" since 2012.  I like Ganesha games.  It's a simple rule base, and I have hopes for it, I'll just have to wait.

Let's Sink a Battleship - Ugly Draft Edition

Well, so I was working on the A!M rules, and discovered that the good gentlemen at Battletech figured out their rules had too many bubbles being filled out.  So Alpha Strike is now on the way.  This won't kill A!M, but I won't deny it takes a little steam out of the project.  Instead I've finished up an Ugly Draft version of a quick ship to ship rule set targeting turreted metal ships up until the aircraft carrier, with a targeted period of the Pre-Dread. I have creatively called it Let's Sink a Battleship.  Heck if I know if it's any good, but for now, let me share for your viewing pleasure.  Feedback welcome.


Let's Sink A Battleship by Sean D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

One of those occasional games

///First started writing back after the Fall Season Novag Game Day.  Now as I start to work on completing it, I'm two weeks away from the Spring one.  Whoops.////

If you live in the Greater DC Metro Area, and have not linked up with NOVAG, I highly recommend it.  Good group of gamers, and yesterday they held their Fall Game Day.  Sadly I only could only stay until Noon, which I was fortunate enough considering moving requirements.

Some things came out of this.

First of all, General Quarters 3 from ODGW is actually an enjoyable game.  So far it's the best game I've seen for addressing the game vs. simulation balance for World War 1 Naval, and I understand it does the same for World War 2.  Someone at the game event was running his "Wobbly 8" scenario, with a British Fleet of Armored Cruisers and Pre-Dreadnaught Battleships fighting four ultra modern German battlecruisers.  I was doing ok, about to cross the T before I ran out of time, but only due to the absolutely dreadful luck of my foe.

So, with that in mind I was reminded of two projects which have been sitting on the way back burner.  The first was Aeronef which is, more or less, normal pre-dreadnought at 10,000 feet, and I think GC3 would capture it well and quickly with only the addition of altitude mechanics while maintaining speed of play.  For a long time I had been looking at the possibility of using Battlefleet Gothic.  No clue why, as I'm sitting her thinking about it.  It just seemed to make sense...I should probably go back and reread it to see if that core theory applies.  My books have finally returned from deep storage (and let's face it, I'm still doing a happy dance.

Project number two, and maybe more viable is the CSN vs. USN in the 1901-1905 period. However this is for another time.

This has been sitting in my drafts for too long. just some random thoughts

WADBA(?)

Something that's been kicking in the ample space of my mind has been the possibility of linking DBA and WAB (Warhammer Ancient Battles-1st edition for me for what its worth) into a coherent system.

Yeah....probably not.

So, this is the basis of the idea-well, it's nothing revolutionary by any means.

Building Units: 

DBA has the army lists for a couple hundred historical forces- but limited to 12 stands each.  Work off the 2.2+ unit types (sorry I'm of that hetrodox order).  Each unit type has a line item in WAB. Modify the stat line for equipment as appropriate.  

Now once you're done this you're going to find some armies don't hit the threshold of 500pts in twelve stands. This is where we start adding additional stands until you hit the number or twenty four stands-some armies will never reach it.  You can never more than double stand types. 

So...why?

The advantage is spacing. Heavy infantry fights at four to a 40mm stand (in 15mm). Medium's only three. In combat rolls that will be telling. 

So why not just play Dba?  Because am a tinkerer mainly. And why not just build WAB armies?  Other than the fact that I am among the slowest painters in the hobby it allows for quick decisive games. Oddly this could also work in 15mm on a 4x6 table to allow for that oft overlooked maneuver phase of the battle's course of events. 

I will let you know if I make something happen with this one or if it stays a passing fancy

Dux of the Rings?

So... recently there's been the appearance of a number of rules systems from Osprey. It's a simple model, but one I suspect that will work quite well for them in the long run. Dux Bellorum however is a quality product, and brings something I've been looking for out of a system for a while. My problem is simple. I don't paint much quickly, which, when combined with my Gamers ADD, results in mot a lot being available to throw on the table. So that's meant DBA for the most part, which I'm fine with. It's a simple solid system in 2.2 (I'm not touching that whole 2.2+ vs 3.0 mess). But-it's simple, and the forces are always 12 stands on 12 stands, so it's not always balanced.

Dux Bellorum give additional details with a rather specific focused feel for the period. There are a number of fine reviews you can find online, I won't attempt to compete with their efforts. What I can say is that this allows a rather complex game with 8-12 stands on the table....well, at least it appears that way on first read through.

Now I've been a fan of the idea of using DBA (not HoTT) for "Historically Plausible Fantasy Wargaming", whatever that means. In much the same way Dux Bellorum could have a roll in similar fantasy gaming. However, as Dux is, in it's roots, a rule set focused on a particular period, it brings to mind a fantasy derivitive also focused on a particular type of fantasy gaming, in particular Lord of the Rings.

 Gondor should be run as a simple Late Roman army List with, as far as I can tell, no changes (though I'm sure some experts of the archeological evidence will argue with me). Mordor Orcs should be an easy translation, which was what jumped out when I first read through the book. Clearly I have problems.

Mordor Orcs
Aggression +5     Leadership Points: 6-10
1 Foot Companions with Leader @ 5 Pts ea
0-3 Noble Warriors @ 5 Pts ea
0-10 Ordinary Warriors @ 3 Pts ea
0-1 Foot Bows @ 3 Pts ea
0-2 Mounted Skirmishers @ 2 Pts ea
0-2 Foot Skirmisher @ 1 Pts ea

Special Rules
Allies: Up to 6 Army Points may come from one of the following lists: Easterling, Southron (obviously TBD at this point).
 * If Foot Companions are Selected, they must be Warriors
 * If Chariots are selected, only the Leader may select them
 * Mounted Skirmishers should be represented by Wolfriders
 * One piece of Terrain if defending  
 * 0-3 Strategy and Tactics: Ambush, Champion's Challenge, Chariots, Experienced Warlord, Fanatics, Mead (all but a must), Veterans, War Dogs (er...Wargs)