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Disaster at Little Bighorn

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This is our first After Action Report, from a Backer on Little Bighorn.  It was a DISASTER!!

The game took 1 hour, including sorting out all of the little cubes, glancing at the rules, and then playing the entire game.

He took Custer and a fake Mathey north along the ridge (hoping to draw me toward Custer, as he told me later), while Reno and Benteen came across the river straight at the villages.  I sent two of my nations straight at Reno and Benteen, while the 3rd nation escorted the NCs toward the edge.

Reno and Benteen ran into bad luck.  As he realized afterward, he advanced too far from a good crossing place and then frontally charged my line. He forced most of my line to run, but killed only one, while I forced a couple of his to retreat, creating holes in his line.

Next turn, Reno went first, and began to pull back, but then I went next, and he failed Benteen’s roll. I swarmed behind Benteen and trapped a couple companies.  I then realized Custer was on his own and the 3rd nation moved straight toward Custer. The NCs (Non-Combatants) were all able to flee off the board.

Meanwhile, by the time Reno and Benteen were able to get to the river, they had both lost half their companies.  Warriors then poured across the river and trapped some of Custer’s companies and he ran back to join the remnants of Reno and Benteen.

He decided afterward that was perhaps a mistake.  By the time he decided to circle on hill tops, the damage was done.  He lost 9 of the 14 units, and the Natives lost about 9 units.

It was a disaster, and we laughed through the whole game!  It was just plain fun!

Mark

If you can scrounge up another few players, it gets even more fun because you can only ‘communicate’ with other players if your HQs are touching.  Intense and hysterical. 

Top 4 Great Things About Bobby Lee

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Top 4 Great Things About Bobby Lee, from Columbia Games

#4  Blocks

Columbia is known for their block games which incorporate Fog-of-War. The blocks rotate to conceal the strength of the unit:  1-4.  This is mechanic is interesting.  It creates a sense of fear and uncertainty.  Yes, fear.  Remember fear is often rooted in the unknown and Bobby Lee is full of unknowns. 

Hidden blocks allow for bluffing. The enemy just created a big huge stack of blocks.  This looks intimidating but are they all full strength or is this a ruse?  They could all be strength 1 units that will collapse like a house of cards if you have the guts to strike.

The blocks and hidden strength are fun. They do add to the game but you may be surprised that I ranked this as #4 on the list.  Isn’t this the main attraction?  Hidden blocks with rotating strengths? 

Surprisingly no. I don’t see this as the best thing about Bobby Lee.  Considering all the other features, this effect seems minor in comparison.  

 

 

#3 Political Will

How do you win? Cities are worth VPs.  When you take them, the Victory marker moves towards your side that many spaces.  Get the marker all the way down to your side and hold it till the end of the turn and you just won the war! 

I love this. Simple, accurate and effective.  Basically it is tracking the political will of your side to continue hostilities.  Need troops really badly?  Institute a new draft.  You get to raise ‘free’ troops but it costs you VPs.  The Confederate player gets free VPs over time.  The clock is ticking for the Union.  The burden of offensive is squarely upon their shoulders.  They must invade the South.  They must take and hold cities.  If you can’t do this, international pressure and support for Southern Independence will become insurmountable. 

The VPs threshold drops for the election. The Union is very vulnerable here.  This gives Lee the perfect motivation to launch a northern Gettysburg style invasion.  You don’t have to conquer the North, just crash their support for the war right before the election.  

 

#2 Two Scales at Once

Is it a strategic game? Is it a battle game?  A campaign game?  Somehow, Bobby Lee amazingly pulls off all of these at once.  To me, this fills a perfect niche.  The overall Strategic game is played on the big strategic map.  Once forces collide for a battle, you pull them off and place them on a smaller battle board to slug out the results blow by blow.  You play on two different maps and at two different scales at once.  Amazing. 

All the other games struggle with this dilemma. If you have a Strategic game, the battles and maneuver are abstracted.  If you have a battle game, the over arching strategic situation is strictly regimented. 

I usually hate battle games. What are you fighting for?  VPs on terrain?  Why do I need to take that hill?  I don’t care.  Battle games often feel pointless.  Not in Bobby Lee.  You are fighting the campaign.  All of the strategic concerns are right there.  You are always fighting the battles with these in mind.  How hard should you push it?  How badly do you need to win?  At what cost? How will the campaign continue over the next few turns if you lose or win?  The players must weigh all of these concerns against every battle move and die roll they make while fighting.  Finally, the battle makes sense.  The campaign makes sense.  The whole war makes sense!  All in one, small neat package. 

#1 HQs

The number one best thing about Bobby Lee? HQs!  Their HQ system is nothing short of brilliant.  In real wars, you see long periods where both sides mostly just sit and wait, broken up by brief periods of insane levels of furious activity.  Hurry up and wait.  You never see this in most games.  It’s I-go-you-go.  Every turn, every piece moves and attacks.  Very unrealistic. 

Bobby Lee flows like a real war. Months and months where both sides sit and build.  Wouldn’t that make for a boring game?  No!  If both sides pass for the month, then the turn is over.  You build and off you go to the next turn.  You can blow through 6, 1 month, turns in a few moments.  When both sides start marching, then the game slows down to savor every delicious moment of conflict.

How does Bobby Lee do all this? With HQs.  The troops can’t move by themselves.  They are natural slackers.  They need lots of shouting officers to get things going.  When an HQ activates, all units in range can move and attack.  The catch is, after it deactivates, it drops a level.  So you can only activate and move so many times before you can’t move anymore.  How many times?  It depends.  How many levels did you have the HQ build up to?

Imagine a game where the enemy can move and attack but you can’t. How long would the game last?  Not long at all.  So it is critical that you keep enough HQs around with enough steps left to respond to the enemy. 

Building up your HQs costs Production Points. Note how this simulates logistics and supplies as well.  A huge part of war that is mostly just ignored by most games.  Now the game flows like a real war.  No fuss, no muss.  Quick, easy and all integrated into one seamless system.

Absolutely brilliant.

 

You can get Bobby Lee here!

 

Why Move?

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I was teaching a new guy to Wargaming recently. I noticed a strange phenomenon.  It’s not just him.  I see veteran players do this also.  What did he do?

I noticed that every time he moved, he moved the maximum distance possible. He pushed it EVERY time.  I had to constantly watch and police him.  He kept trying to nudge each piece just a little further. 

I even noted that he wasn’t in a hurry!   There was no reason for him to be moving fast.  There was no urgent tactical or strategic crisis at hand.  No benefit to be gained from going a little further. 

It is strange when you think about it. Why do we do this?  Have you notice this in your play?  Do you and your friends do it too?

Identifying Unit Types

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We started Pub Battles with cardboard counters.  We switched to blocks later for ease of use.  They are easier to grab and flip around.  We also loved the look once we saw it. 

We never really intended them to be used for hidden intelligence.  When the piece is spent you can see what it is.  You can also see what it is if it is facing away from you.  It can happen. 

Units could be spotted from about a mile out.  On a dry, clear day with dirt roads you could even identify the unit type (cav, inf, art) and size out further by the dust cloud shape formed by marching. 

Once on the field, I’m thinking you should be able to identify at least the unit type at a certain distance IF it can be spotted. 

Should we clarify this in the rules?  What exactly should the rule be?   What are your thoughts?

 

 

So What Happened in Mega Supremacy?

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I meant to write up a full report in our Blog for what happened in our Mega Supremacy game.  It was an incredible success.  Jim Owczarski over at Grogheads did a great interview with us a few weeks ago on it.  It was such a great interview and discussion that  I  forgot all about reporting on the game myself!

So if you haven’t seen it yet, check it out!  You can find it here.

Excellent questions about Mega-Supremacy and Pub Battles.  It is a very interesting discussion about big multiplayer games and the future of our hobby/industry. 

They run a very good site on gaming also.  Lots of good info here on Kriegsspiel.  You will find lots of other cool things here. 

Umpireless Kriegsspiel

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Designer’s Notes -Pub Battles

One of our main design goals, that we haven’t talked about much yet is the Kriegsspiel intent. Yes, the maps and pieces look ‘kriegsspiel’ style but what does this game really have to do with Kriegsspiel?  It is just a quick, easy 2 player game. 

Actually, it has everything to do with Kriegsspiel. Much of this design is aimed at solving key problems in Kriegsspiel.

Kriegsspiel Problems

  1. Slow Game speed and player interaction. 10 players and 1 Umpire, means there can be a lot of time sitting around waiting to hear something new as a player.
  2. Lack of Players. In our hobby, it is often hard just finding 1 player. Now you have to find 4-10. On top of that you need at least 1 Umpire. Preferably more! A friend of mine who runs Kriegsspiel games regularly, likes to see a 1:1 ratio in Umpires to players. Ideal I agree but good luck.
  3. Player detachment. I see this effect a lot in computer games too. It is almost like the computer gets to play the game and I just sit and watch. What is going on? How does the combat work? How could I have lost that engagement? I should have won. Did the Umpire roll a 1 for me? Can I roll my own dice? I think players like to know what is going on. They like to see it. At least if I roll a 1 and I watch my opponent roll a 6, I know why I lost. It happens. A brief whining phase then we move on.
  4. Overly technical rules. The original Kriegsspiel rules for combat are a great piece of history that document real world experience of combat in 1824. For actual game rules they are slow and tedious to execute. This extra drag time on the Umpire makes the game even slower for player interaction. If you are a junior officer ordered to participate in a training Kriegsspiel that is ok. If you are trying to convince friends why they should play this game with you for the afternoon, it is a big problem.

Umpireless Games

So what is an umpireless game? How does it work?  In a big battle, you would have 3-6 player teams running each Command (usually a Corps).  They all sit at the same table with 1 map.  They can all see everything.

Yes, we lose a little of the hidden intell effect but consider this: The players can’t talk to each other.  Also that the Army Commander does not sit at this table.  He cannot see any of this.  The guy in charge sits at a separate table with separate map.  All he knows is what his Corps commanders tell him in written reports that are delayed.  There is your hidden intell with no Umpire. 

Besides from my experience in command, the hidden intell is the least of your trouble. Even if you had perfect intell, the much bigger problem is getting your people to do what you want and getting them to report back and tell you what is going on.

As a Corps commander, if I am ordered to attack Little Round Top, what difference does it make to me what is happening at Culp’s Hill? That doesn’t concern me much.  I’m busy watching and fighting with the enemy in my sector of the line.  I might be aware that there is a lot of fighting going on near Culp’s Hill.  In a real battle I could hear that too.  So what?

 

Pub Battle Solutions

So how does this format in Pub Battles address the Kriegsspiel problems?

  1. Slow Game speed and player interaction. Pub Battles plays in 1-2 hours. If you add more players in teams it will slow down more but still you can complete an entire big battle in 2-4 hours. Try that with traditional Kriegsspiel.
  2. Player interaction is much better. Note that if my Corps is not currently engaged, this gives me something to do as a player. I can watch what is happening. I can write to other commands and to my commander, to report and urge them to action. The game is still fun and I still have a level of participation and engagement.
  3. Lack of Players. No Umpires needed at all. We’ve also cut the rules down to size. The Quick Start rules fit on 1 page! You are also playing in teams. This makes it very easy for new people to play. They can just jump in and learn by playing. It is much easier to get non-wargamers and even non-board gamers to give it a try. This greatly expands the potential player pool.
  4. Player detachment. The players can actually see and move their own pieces. They can resolve the combat. This increases player engagement but still preserves Fog of War and Hidden Intell, because Army Commander doesn’t know any of this. It has to get reported back and that’s where all the trouble (and fun) starts.
  5. Overly technical rules. When you gather 10 non-wargamers together to play an Umpireless Kriegsspiel with you, SPEED is critical. The game has to be fun and fast moving. We based the Pub Battles rules off the core Kriegsspiel data. The goal was to boil all this down into a quick, simple system that returns the same essential results for movement and combat. Yes, we lose some of the detail and options but the speed gained is worth it!

 

Small Army vs Large Army

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How does a large army with many small Corps differ from a small army with a few large Corps? Antietam is a great example of this. The Federal Army of the Potomac had 6-7 small Corps. The Confederate Army of Northern Virginia had only 2 Corps but they were large. What impact do these different command structures have?

Many of these differences become clear in the Pub Battles system. Each Corps has a chit. The Corps move in random order as you pull these chits from a cup. HQs can attempt to alter this random sequence by rolling a die. You can attempt to move first by jumping ahead of the current pull, OR delay your move by returning your chit to the cup.

The Federals must roll 1-3 to be successful. The Confederates are more likely to pull off the timing they want as they only need 1-4. This isn’t to say that all the Confederate officers were better. It is more a reflection of the command structure. The Potomac had more Corps and more command layers. It stands to reason that it would take a little longer for their orders to actually get people moving.

Ok, so how does all this actually impact game play? Who has the advantage? The big army with lots of Corps or the small army with few, large Corps? Here is a quick analysis:

Case 1

Big army wants to attack little army all up and down the line.  They can’t just advance everybody at once to engage.  They can only advance 1 small Corps at a time.  This will leave openings and gaps in the line.  The little army should be able to move in between these moves and cause all kinds of chaos and awkwardness. It is easy to catch them with 1 foot over the barrel.

Advantage:  Small Army

Case 2

Little army wants to attack big army all up and down the line.  With a little luck and timing, they most likely can pull off a coordinated attack all up and down the line at once. 

Advantage:  Small Army

Case 3

Traffic jams!  You are trying to relocate a big portion of your army.  This can easily result in traffic jams for the Big Army.  If you can’t pull in the right sequence, several Corps will be held up waiting for the ones in front of them to move.  This tends to make Big Armies slow and lethargic.  Sounds a lot like McClellan doesn’t it?

Advantage:  Small Army

Case 4

Let’s say it’s time to bug out.  All hell is breaking loose and you just want to flee.  This is like the big coordinated attack all at once, only in reverse.  If you can’t move in the right sequence, some Corps will get stuck.  Others will be in the way.  Which ones are fighting a rear guard action?  This can become a huge nightmare.  Especially if the Small Army can very likely jump in and strike at the worst possible moment.

Advantage:  Small Army

Case 5

The Big Army does have more flexibility and a slight advantage in numbers.  Antietam is a good example.  Let’s say the Federal artillery bombards a Confederate Division in the Sunken Road.  The Confederates flip and run.  Now who moves next?  This is critical.  The Federals have more chits in the cup.  So they have better chances of getting pulled first to occupy the Sunken Road before the Confederates can. 

There is also a good chance that the Confederates already moved for the turn.  Their whole army is concentrated in 2 Corps.  What if they got picked early in the turn?  They delayed but then got picked again?  That is half their army that has to move early.  Good chance they won’t be able to scramble back into the Sunken Road now. 

The Federals have 6-7 Corps.  Much better chances at getting one of them picked to move first.  This seems like a huge advantage but not so fast. First, consider that most of those Corps can’t actually get to the Sunken Road.  They are scattered around the field.  Maybe only 2 or 3 of them can actually get there.  Also, remember that some of those 2-3 Corps may have already moved.  

Advantage:  Slight advantage to Big Army.  Not as big as you might think.

So at Antietam, these 2 armies are going feel very different. They will require a completely different approach and strategy. There are going to be many other things to consider in your moves. I like how none of this requires any new rules. It is already built into the system.

It is going to require a little more thought, a little more time. It is more complex but the complexity is in strategy, planning and decisions, NOT in learning and remembering more rules. I like complexity in command decisions. This is complexity well spent on a game design. Not complexity in how units technically move and fight. Not in looking up results on tables of data.

This complexity is spent pondering timing effects related to command and how that can impact battle results.  These are decisions related to command.

This is what we are all about.

How Important is Victory?

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I’ve notice many times that players never even look at the Victory Conditions for a game.  Do Victory Conditions in the rules even matter?  What would you think of a game with No victory conditions?  Is that completely crazy?  Is it even possible?  Here is my case:

 

Often times, players don’t even bother to lookup the rules for Victory.  I’ve seen this in many games.  They just setup and start playing.  Most games never even go to the end.  About half way through, one player usually gives up and concedes.  Game over.  They lost.

Players seem to have an intuitive sense for Victory.  They can tell.  They know when the lose.  They know when they win.  Both players usually see this at the same time and they are usually in agreement.  I don’t remember ever seeing players argue over this, where both players believe they have won at the same time.  I do see them argue over the meaning of rules. 

We usually love to discuss the outcome of the game afterwards.  This is often our favorite part.  It usually goes something like this:  “Well, looks like you won.  You really surprised me with this move.  I didn’t see that coming and then I got bad luck over here.  I did pretty well containing you here under the circumstances but in the end it wasn’t enough.  Good game!”

 

We like to talk about our brilliant moves and colossal failures.  Where did the game change?  What was the most important event or decision?  What were you thinking when you did this?

I don’t see players argue with each other but I do see them argue with the Victory Conditions in the game.  Often times they are at odds with the game rules.  How many times have you heard:  “Well, technically you won according to the rules but in the real war, I would have won!”  OR “You are winning now but IF we play 1 more turn, you are going to get stomped!”

This kicks off a very interesting debate on what happened in the real campaign / war and how the game events differed.  How would these differences would have altered historical events afterwards?

I’ve noticed that players consider many subtle factors and variations in these discussions.  They take into account far more information than any game rules on Victory Conditions could.  Could you imagine a separate 100 page, fine print rule book on how to determine Victory after the game?  How would the game results have impacted army morale later?  Public opinion on both sides?  The political impact on parties, elections and legislation?  Economic performance and production?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, or you could just look at the board and say:  “I think you won.”  For me, this is often the best part of the game:    Discussing and debating the outcome of the game.  Who won?  Imagine how history would have been different with this result.  Preferably over some cold beers.

Could you have a game like this?  Are there other views?  How important are Victory Conditions to you and your friends?  Would you play a game that had No victory conditions?

W1815 vs Pub Battles

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W1815 is a zip lock game on the battle of Waterloo by U&P Games.  It is fast, small, simple and has a period looking map with wooden blocks.  Is this the same thing as Pub Battles?  How do they compare?

This is a great little review by

Chris Rakowski

Q:  What is the difference between W1815 and Pub Battles?  How do they compare / contrast?

Pub Battles is a very traditional miniatures-ish wargame. You choose where to set up. There’s terrain with modifiers. You measure distances and maneuver. You get close to and attack the other pieces and if you roll high they get hit and lose strength or fall back.

There is some hidden info about which units exactly you’re attacking until you start fighting. Cavalry is fast but weak, artillery has range and defensive first fire, and elites ignore a hit. There are no formations other than the occasional road column. It’s a full fledged black powder battle with no bull.

W1815 has none of this. The pieces go in their places and don’t move. Either they’re there or they’re not. The game board is more like a very pretty chart showing you how strong each corps is. The “game” is in the notecard for each corps showing whom it attacks and what can happen when it does with modifiers for the state of the game.

There’s a back and forth as one attack opens up the opportunity for a counterattack and you follow that branch until one side can’t stand it anymore and focuses somewhere else.

Your attack can hurt you more than it hurts the enemy, sometimes even as the best possible outcome. Instead of fighting, the Allies can shore up the line with reinforcements or roll for more Prussians.

As things get worse, each side has to roll rout tests on an asymmetrical table to see who quits the field first. It’s elegant, has strong narrative, is very easy to teach and really can be played in 15 minutes leaving you wanting to have another go with a different strategy. It’s a wargame bonsai.

I love this block aesthetic. It’s like l’m looking at a page in a military atlas. The actual games are very different, though, both accompishing what they’re going for, which is a game you can pull out and just play, without needing to make it a big event, and without your head in the rules. I happily have both and would get more in both series as they come out.

Marshall has several more in the pipeline. If UP isn’t interested in making more I’ll probably try to do more of those on my own.

Where to get them:

W1815

Pub Battles