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Commander MIA

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Here is an interesting Kriegsspiel situation.  You never see this in regular wargames.  What if you lose contact with your commander?  What should you do? 

 

Our campaign began with our army dispersed wide over a province.  The enemy declared war and intell reports that a large enemy army has crossed the border and is heading our direction.

 

I received no starting orders.  Of my own initiative, I moved my Corps to a central location, in anticipation of a concentration.  I immediately sent a report to the Army commander informing him of my intent and planned march. 

I have been marching and fighting now for a week.  I have destroyed 1 enemy Corps and am about to attack and destroy a second.  I have been sending 1 Sit Rep every night to my Army commander.  Reporting on my daily events, enemy positions and strength, and my intentions for my next maneuvers. 

 

What is the response from the Army commander?  Silence.  I have yet to receive any orders or messages for the entire game.  What does this mean?  What should I do now?  What would you do?  Have I over stepped my bounds?  Am I going way too far?  Am I on the right track? 

 

We usually think of silence as peaceful and serene.  Here I find it fearsome and disturbing.    

Pub Battles -Experimental

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By now, Austerlitz was supposed to be out.  Ancient Pub Battles was supposed to be out.  Germantown should be on the cusp of being released and 1st & 2nd Manassas should be ready for summer.  What’s the hold up?  Rules!!!

Before all of these new releases, we wanted to clarify and adjust a few things in the rules.  We figured this would be a 1-2 week process.  Wow were we off.  Instead it developed into a raging and fierce debate among the design team and play testers.  Months later, we are still at an impasse.

A play tester proposed a new approach to combat.  This new method seemed to resolve many issues we were wrestling with, while simplifying and clarifying the rules to boot.  Devout factions have now formed for and against this new proposal.  Some love it.  Some hate it.  What should we do?

We would greatly appreciate input on this.  Would you like to help us resolve this?  We need more eyes on it.

I don’t want to lay out the details here in advance as that can bias and color your reception of the idea.  Here’s how you can help:

  1.  Download the new proposed rules here.  This is only a proposal.  This is NOT the official Pub Battles 3.0 update.  This is also a first rough draft.  Expect formatting errors. 
  2. Print them out and play at least 3 complete Pub Battles games with the new rules.  Try to keep an open mind.  We all naturally resist any and all change at first.  We are hard wired that way.  You won’t like these at first just because they are different than what you are used to.  It will seem strange and awkward.  From my experience, it gets easier once your mind adjusts.  It is not bad, just different.
  3. Give us some feedback by answering the following questions in comments below.  You can send us a direct email if you prefer and feel free to add any other comments you may have.

Questions

  1. Do you like this approach better than the previous edition?
  2. Do you like this approach better than the original edition?  (no FoE restrictions)
  3. Is this proposal consistent with the original Pub Battles concept?  Simple, quick and realistic.
  4. Does this approach add more or less complexity?
  5. Does this approach make the game less fun, intense, or enjoyable?
  6. Does this approach make the game take longer to play?  (once you are used to it)

 

 

 

 

 

Telestrations -Review

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What does Telestrations have to do with wargames and military leadership?  Everything.  Telestrations IS Kriegsspiel. 

We often laugh after playing Kriegsspiel.  What did you think was happening?  What was really happening?  What did you tell them to do?  What did they actually do?  Why?  These differences are often hysterical!!!  Well, I guess we laugh so we don’t cry. 

Real leadership and real command is about communication.  Writing orders.  Getting your team to work together.  How often does this break down?  I have 2 words:  Murphy’s Law.

Remember the Chinese Telephone game we played as kids?  Everybody gets in a line.  Then you whisper a sentence in the first person’s ear.  They quietly pass it down the line.  When you get to the end, the result is completely different right? 

Telestrations is Kriegsspiel without the maps and musket warfare.  It is Pictionary and Chinese Telephone rolled together into a fun, easy party game. 

How does it work?  You pull a card with a word on it.  You have to draw a picture of that word.  You pass your picture to the next person.  They have to guess what the word was.  Here is an example starting with the word:  Recliner

Hysterical!  If you don’t have it, get it!!!  This is one of the best games ever made.  Everyone can play it.  I recommend the big 12 player party version.  Everyone will want to play.  This is a classic.  

Caution:  Do not play this if you have broken or cracked ribs.  You are going to be laughing a lot during this game!

Gettysburg Replayability

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I have just completed another game of Gettysburg,  and this was a Union Major Victory (Confederate concede on turn 7 of Day 2 with ten blocks lost).

First off, for simplicity purposes, I count all blocks no matter the type. In this particular game all losses were infantry and both elites were lost.

I find that Gettysburg has a certain flow. On day 1, Lee has a shot at a major Victory. This is a little misleading as he actually has the smaller force for the first half of the day, and not much more than the Union by the end of the day.

Lee may have a chance on the first few turns of Day 2, but somewhere the tide turns. When that has happened is the critical point of the game, and the one that tests the player’s judgement.

If the South switches to the defensive a turn late, they can lose quite quickly. If they switch too soon, they might miss a chance at a major.

Switching from a desperate bid for victory, to a cool withdrawal, is such a major shift in thinking that it more frequently results in pushing too long.

Frequently,  the game then becomes very tense for the Union player, as now they hold the cards. They must push Lee over the edge without ending there themselves.

This is made tricky by approaching night. Come morning, Lee will have had a chance to recover, and Stuart will arrive!

In the best games, Lee manages to wrest initiative away from Meade, as the game see-saws back and forth.

This is why this game has so much replayability.

 

Mike Strand

Kriegsspiel Example

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Here is a fun little example of a Kriegsspiel problem / situation.  What would you do if you were in command here?

Civil War era.  Operational scale.  Each block represents a Division of about 5,000 men.  You are in the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia.   

The Army of Northern Virginia has been marching NW for several days.  The Army of the Potomac is reportedly to the NW and is moving in your direction.  You are closing with the enemy and a battle is soon expected.  Comparative strength is unknown. 

The Army of Northern Virginia is divided into roughly 3 equal Corps.  You are in command of Jackson’s II Corps.  You are in the center.  Longstreet is to your left.  Hill is to your right.  Those little flag / HQ cubes mark your best guess as to where your friendly columns are currently.  You have marched for 3 days at a leisurely but steady pace:  5 miles per day, then stopping to forage the area for supplies and setting up camp for the night. 

 

You have marched 5 miles today since dawn.  It is now mid morning.  You have just halted the column and are preparing to send out foragers when you hear a fight break out to the SW of your position:  musket and canon fire.  This is likely in the vicinity of Longstreet’s Corps which is about a 2-3 miles away.   This is the first contact with the enemy. 

Map ahead. Enemy is expected to be approaching from the NW or upper left. Your LOC runs back to the SE.

Lee’s HQ is about 2-3 miles east of you. What do you do?  What are your orders?

What are the options?  What is the best move here?  Why?  Keep in mind that the clock is ticking.  Every minute you spend thinking and writing, delays your troops response.

Comment below. 

Do you need more information?  Have questions?  Ask!  I’ll provide Umpire answers.  🙂

 

 

 

First Impressions: Pub Battles Gettysburg

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So how is this new Gettysburg game?  Is it any good?  What is it like?  Here are some initial reactions from Mark:

 

 

I have been discussing ideas with Mike, but I have only played with the rules as written – and then the last couple times with the Baggage Train idea of 1 unit per Train rallying.  That rule, by the way, really improves the game for my tastes!

 

Overall, I enjoy the game very much.  I think it handles Day 1 as well or better than any other Gettysburg game I have played.  It unfolds in a historically plausible manner, is fast paced, and leads to plenty of solid, difficult decisions for both sides.  The PB system is responsible for a lot of that.  The random chit draw along with the ability to try and alter the draw is what makes the 1st day challenging and variable.  

 

That being said, the game suffers some of the same problems all Gettysburg games suffer in days 2 and 3.  There are a lot of units, both sides are very strong, and it is essentially a stalemate.  I find that in the opening turns of Day 2, there is still a feel of a good game going, with the South having an opportunity and the North just weak enough to make it exciting.  But unless heavy losses are inflicted quickly, the game tends to bog down into a game where the South is pressured to win (since I interpret the rules to mean that if you play past day 1, the only kind of victory available for the South is a Major victory by Defeating the Union through 50% losses).  The South no longer has any kind of positional or strength advantage by the second half of Day 2, so after that, it is a matter of attacking and hoping to out-roll the Union.   Now, that is still an enjoyable process, especially since the game moves fairly quickly even once all of the forces are on the board.  And the arrival of the cavalry on Day 3 adds a touch that most games do not have.

 

Toning down and getting rid of unit Recovery could help with this.  Day 1 saw heavy Union losses, twice as many as the South took.  After day 2, both armies were greatly reduced in strength.  But in my games, both armies tend to enter day 3 almost full strength.  That not only means a stalemate, but it makes the idea of the South eliminating 50% of the Union’s infantry almost impossible.

 

The FoE rules are more difficult to use in this game.  That is due to the density of pieces and the busy terrain on the map – there are many slopes and slices of woods all over the place.  So every unit on the front has to measure its LOS to see if and where it extends a FoE.  And measuring can be difficult when the terrain is well-covered with units.  I am not sure if there is a solution – but any kind of streamlining to make the process easier would help.

 

But overall I like this game, and I certainly would prefer it to any of the more complex games out there.  Relatively few units, simple rules, variable command system, and a game that can be completed while covering all 3 days (most Gettysburg games simply cannot be completed in a reasonable amount of time, if at all!).  I would say this adds a new take on a well-covered subject.

 

Mark

 

Do Board Games Suck?

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Anita Louie brings up many good points in this article.

I agree with her in many ways.  During design, we always start with a key question:  What is the ‘game’?  How do you win?  What is the point? 

All too often in board games, I feel like the point of the game is a bunch of boring work.  Collect and track a bunch of resources.  They make me feel like a worker drone on an assembly line.  Why are we doing this?  To me, that is not fun.  It’s doing a bunch of busy work.   

 

What is the point of most video games?  To practice and memorize the proper sequence of buttons to be pushed quickly?  Find the right weapons on the level in the right sequence so that you can beat the level?  Do it a 100 times until you can get fast enough at it to succeed?  Is  your goal is to develop rapid hand eye coordination and memorize a bunch of moves?  There is a time and place for this but then what?  Not my idea of fun.

 

To me, games like Monopoly, Life, Clue, Battleship, etc. are really for kids.  The point is to teach basic skills like counting, taking turns, following rules, making change for money, etc.  They are really just slightly more advanced versions of Candy Land and Chutes & Ladders.  There is an educational purpose to this but for adults?  Not fun.   

 

Where do most  wargames fit in here?  I hate to say it but I have to agree with her.  Most wargames fall into the same category.  What is the game?  They amount to attritional exercises of accounting, record keeping and tracking resources.  Busy work.  How much fun interaction is there with another live human?  A contest of intelligence and wits? 

 

One goal she doesn’t mention is education.  Why do we play games?  I feel that a big goal in wargaming is learning.  Maybe the game isn’t fun.  Maybe it’s not an engaging battle of intelligence with a live opponent.  Still, I like playing them because I want to learn about this war, campaign or battle.  I want to understand better how and why it was fought.  How and why it was won or lost.  I see many wargames more as interactive models of historical conflicts than an actual ‘game’. 

 

Does Anita have a driving need to learn and understand military conflict and history?  No.  For her it is all about fun and meaningful interaction with friends;  with live people.  If I wasn’t a military history nut, I’d feel exactly the same way.

 

I wonder what Anita would think of Kriegsspiel?  I have to imagine that she would love it!  To me, Kriegsspiel is exactly what she is talking about.  What is the ‘game’?  It is people.  How do we interact with them?  Working together.  Teamwork.  Communication. 

 

These are the things I love about Kriegsspiel.  Anita would love them too, IF you could ever convince her to try it. 

 

Gettysburg Launch!

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Ok, we are ready to launch!  Our Kickstarter should be ready to go in about an hour.  You’ve been pre warned.  🙂

This will be a very short and quick Kickstarter.  -like Waterloo.  If you want to get in, move quickly.  It won’t last long.  

If you miss it, no worries.  We’ll get a page up soon for Pre Orders.  

If all goes well, we should be ready to start shipping in a few weeks in the order we receive them.  

 

Team Building Cooperative Board Game

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Forest of the Impaled is one of the best team building cooperative board games I’ve ever seen.  Six Muslim players must cooperate as a team to defeat the historical Vlad Dracula.  The trick is:  They Can’t Talk!  Actually, the rules say they can’t “communicate” in any way, to include pointing, eye rolling, groaning, banging your head against the wall, etc. 

“This game is about teamwork, leadership and communication.” 

This game plays fast (1-2 hours) and is easy to learn and teach.  It has some fun stuff in it:  Castles, secret mountain passes, hideouts and impalements but really this game is about teamwork, leadership and communication.

One player is Dracula.  Up to 6 other players must cooperate as a team of Muslim invaders to conquer Romania.  This asymmetrical situation immediately raises a very interesting question.  What is better?  The efficiency of a small 1 person, autocratic, dictatorship?  Or a very large, slow moving team?  Are more minds better than one?  What are their advantages and disadvantages?  With practice, a good team can overcome their weakness and maximize their power of synergy.  How do you do this?  Through leadership, planning and communication.

The Muslim players can talk and plan freely before the game starts.  After it begins, players can only talk briefly with other players while they are in the same spot on the board.  So what happens when the plan gets disrupted? 

Let’s say 3 players are supposed to move up the middle and take on Dracula.  I’m supposed to take my army around the west to capture castles and drive deep into Transylvania.  I shouldn’t be facing any serious resistance.  That’s the plan.

On turn 1, Dracula unexpectedly races across the board to the west and bam, there he is right in front of me.  Now what?  We can’t talk.  What should I do?  What should the 3 players in the middle of the board do?  We need to adapt but how? 

I could march over to talk to them but that will waste a couple of turns to get there and then back.  There usually isn’t time for that.  The Muslims only have 4 turns to defeat Dracula!

Painful.  Agonizing.  Interesting.  Fun.  Also the same types of situations we run into at work.  Well, maybe not impalements and castle sieges but things like:

  • How to plan for the unexpected.
  • How to react to the unexpected when you are stopped in the field  and not able to consult your team or management.  -or maybe how do you react on the spot BEFORE you can consult your team and management.  
  • How important it is for everybody at your organization to know the strategic goal and keep it in mind.  
  • How will your individual decisions and actions affect that plan and others on your team. 

Just to name a few.  

This game brings out the very best in team building, cooperative board games. 

Learn More  

Antietam Reserves

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We introduced our rules for HQ Reserve cards in Antietam.  It was a great rule that took things in a great direction.  This is my favorite rule of the whole system!

 

What you see on the board.

It was a great improvement and start.  Since then we have been able to use them in other battles.  This experience has given us a better understanding of exactly what they do and how the work the best.

Note other HQs and even whole Corps can be held in Reserve.

Given all this, we are altering our lineup for HQ Res cards in Antietam.  This update is easy to implement.  All you need to do is take out some of your cards and trash em!

 

The New games are going to come with only 3 cards per side as follows:

  • Lee, Longstreet, Jackson
  • McClellan, Hooker, Burnside

 

This is one of those strange cases where less is more.  Most of the Federal Corps are small.  Many only have a couple of divisions.  If every Corps has a Res card, they become diluted and ironically have less of an impact.  We have found that 3 per side here work much better. 

 

What the Feds see.

Note that you CAN put other Corps in Reserve!  So this makes it much harder for the ANV to read exactly where the Potomac is and what their true intention is.  Where are there reserve Corps?  How many left?  You don’t know until they march out. 

 

What the Rebs have.

Give it a try!  We think you’ll like the effect much better.