What does this have to do with wargaming? I’m not sure but I like it. If I like it, there is a good chance that you
will too!
I got a new flag pole to put on the front of our house. What flag to hang? Well, it’s got to be something cool from
history right?!
This company has a great selection. I ended up getting 3 different revolutionary flags. They are all awesome. Great quality.
I got the red mahogany pole with brass. I love the classic look. Works great for us here but get something stronger if you have any winds that kick up where you are.
This company has great customer service too. I had an issue with my order –my own
stupidity. They were easy to get in
touch with, they helped me fix it right away.
No problem at all. Great people
to work with.
Am I getting paid to talk them up? Nope, not at all. I just love their products and they are good
people to work with.
Of course there are about 3 more flags I want to get from
them now…. Yep, here we go.
We got our stuff!! We’ve
been unpacking and getting things setup this week. All our main equipment made it in one piece
and seems to be working now! We are
getting close. It is looking like we
will be ready to start rolling again on Monday!
We have a ton of back orders to go through now. We’ll start cranking through them in the
order we received them. We still see
some delays in shipping but it looks like it is getting better.
Thanks again for your patience and support. It won’t be too much longer now!
Hey everybody! Just a quick update on the progress of our move. +
First off, no we are not out of business!! Sales for us have been very strong this year. We are growing and doing well. Looking forward to getting up and running again once we get all of our stuff.
The contractors got everything done in time but our closing got bumped back a couple of weeks by the banks. That should have been the easy part. Go figure.
The movers loaded up all our gear and put it into storage temporarily. They loaded it all up and moved it to our new location a few weeks ago. Fine but there it still sits. :/
They are having trouble finding enough movers in this area to unload it right now. I’m not sure why. The virus may have some impact. So they bumped back our unload date to September 16th. I know!! We’ve been raising a ruckus over it but there doesn’t seem to be anything they can do.
Very sorry for the delay everybody. We certainly aren’t happy about it either. They have all our personal furniture and belongings too. So we’ve been camping out in our new house with air mattresses, camp chairs and cardboard boxes for furniture!! lol… Moving is always an adventure huh?
Well, it gives us a little extra time to clean and paint before the gear rolls in. We can be glad of that. We have been trying to anticipate the supplies we’ll need in advance so we’ll be ready once it arrives. We just got a shipment of paper, canvas and printer parts today.
Great example of how logistics can easily grind a whole operation to a halt. No worries. We’ll be up and on the offensive again soon. Hopefully within a couple of weeks now.
I know it’s frustrating when you ordered something new and it gets delayed. I want it right now!!! I can’t wait anymore. =) Thank you all for your support and patience.
As a new wargamer in a small town, solitaire play is about your only option. Wargamers are far and few between. Many times that is our only option. Unfortunately, wargamers are often forced to become experts at solitaire play. Is this worthwhile? Is it good to do? Does it teach you bad habits?
“What are you doing?”, my aunt asked. “Oh, just playing a new game I got.”, I responded. “Who are you playing with?” she asked. “Nobody. I’m just going through it on my own.” I said. She burst out laughing so hard that she almost fell down.
She made a few silly jokes like, “How do you know when you’ve beaten yourself?” and “Do you get mad at yourself when you lose?” Interspersed with generous rounds of continued hysterics. She was mostly having fun but she really did not understand how playing a game by yourself could be possible at all.
This can be a huge stumbling block for new players trying to
start in the hobby. In addition to
learning a new hobby and game system, most likely they will have to figure out
how to play without an opponent.
Wargames don’t come with instructions on solitaire play. It can be difficult for new players to figure out but I’ve even noticed that veteran wargamers sometimes struggle with this. I’ve heard wargamers often declare games as unplayable for solitaire; the very games that I find fascinating in solitaire play.
My aunt’s question was valid. How is it even possible to play a game
without an opponent? Here are some tips
to help you get started if you are new.
Veteran wargamers might also find a few new insights they haven’t
thought of before as well.
Goal
The main difference I notice at first is the primary
goal. WHY are you playing? In regular games, you play to win! If you are playing both sides, that doesn’t
work. What does that even mean? For solitaire play, we need a new goal.
Here is the key
difference: The goal is not to win.
The goal is to learn.
This focus changes our entire perspective on the game. We don’t care anymore who wins. This frees are mind to really learn. Learn things you might not otherwise. Learn the rules of the game better but also
lessons on tactics, strategy, history and leadership.
Play both sides to the best of your ability.
Actually, (yes, I’m contradicting myself here) we do care who wins. We want both sides to win. When you make a move for a side:
make the best move possible, for that side, given the current situation.
Defense: Ready for Anything
Usually there is a weaker, defending side and a stronger offensive
side. I find that it works well to set
the defense up first. What will the
offense do? I have no idea. I haven’t even started to think about that
yet. How should you set up the
defense? Where is the enemy most likely
to attack? Where are you weak and
vulnerable? What key areas MUST be
held? When I set up the defense, I try
to set them up for maximum flexibility.
Be prepared for ANYTHING. This
usually means a light setup along the front with a strong, mobile reserve force
able to respond where needed.
Example:
If I knew the British were going to launch a frontal attack across the river, I would deploy the Colonials like this at Brandywine.
If I knew that Cornwallis was going to be flanking me on the right, I would set the Colonials up like this.
Not knowing anything, I would setup more like this. The Colonials are lightly covering both flanks and main river crossings with a strong central reserve. From this position, they can delay the main attack and respond with their reserve, once they know where it is.
Forgetting Break
Once the defense is setup, it is a good time to take a
little break. Go to another room. Have a snack.
Catch up on emails, texts, posts, etc.
Forget about all that. Set it all
aside.
Offensive Plan
Next I like to start thinking about an overall offensive
plan. Where will we strike? What do we want to accomplish? How will we defeat the defender? Reading some historical accounts can be a
great source of inspiration. Often you
will hear an armchair historian claim that this particular moment or decision
was the key to the entire campaign / battle.
It was a huge mistake and resulted in defeat. If only this general had done this
instead.
Interesting. Is it true? This is an aspect of our hobby that I find most fascinating. Wargames give us a chance to actually test and try these theories out!
Example: If only Hitler had pushed a little harder, he could have destroyed the BEF at Dunkirk. Germany would have won the war right then! There is no way Britain could have continued to resist. They would have been forced to negotiate surrender. Really?
Let’s find out! Let’s
play a good strategic wargame on WWII.
Set it up starting in summer of 1940.
What do the Germans do?
Everything they can to ensure the destruction of the BEF. What happens?
Can they easily invade and conquer the British Isles now? Exactly how would you conduct a Sea Lion invasion? Fascinating to see how this could play out.
How does the defender setup?
What does the defender do? This
is a critical part of solitaire play.
Also why it is best to set the defender up first, before you have an
offensive plan. Remember, you’re not
playing to win. You are playing to
learn. Set the defender up as they would
have historically. Once the game begins,
try to play the Allied side as they would have moved historically. AS IF they didn’t know what the German plan
was.
While playing, you do know what the Germans are up to. You have to set all that aside. Pretend you don’t know. Obviously, if you set up and play the Allies
with the intent of saving the BEF being the first priority, then you will
right? Set the BEF up in Brest and
immediately move them back to Blighty on turn one. There.
Mission accomplished. What is the
point of that? What have you learned?
Actually, there is an interesting lesson here too. It reminds me of Sun Tzu. The best plan is one designed to defeat the enemy’s plan. The problem is, we usually don’t know what the enemy plan is. We have to try to figure that out on the fly.
Play the defense according to what is best for them. Set them up AS IF they didn’t know what was coming. Play them AS IF they didn’t know what the enemy was going to do next. IF they didn’t know, what is their best move? What would they most likely do? Don’t jump the gun.
Here is another key question: When would they know? At some point, the British had an ‘Oh #$@*!’ realization that the BEF was in trouble. How are we going to get them out of there?! When would that moment happen? What would trigger that realization? What would the Allies do then to save the BEF?
Example:
It is turn 1 at Brandywine.
Wouldn’t you know it, Washington gets picked to move first.
He is in command of the central reserve. What should he do? The British haven’t moved yet. Since we are running both sides, we DO know that Cornwallis is planning to flank on the Colonial left. Great but Washington doesn’t know that yet. We can’t rush Washington over to his left now. The Colonials, at this time, have no idea where Cornwallis will strike. What does Washington know? When will he know it?
The best choice here is for Washington to delay his move. With a little luck, this could result in Cornwallis moving first, which would allow Washington to respond this turn. If Washington is forced to move first, he should simply pass. At this point, he would have no intell to act on.
If Cornwallis is picked to move next, he will also attempt to delay his move. Why? Because he wants to keep his intent hidden for as long as possible. Ideally, the British want the Colonials to waste their first turn passing. If the British can move first on turn 2, they will in effect get a double move before the Colonials can even do anything. That could be a devastating blow!
Play the offense according to your pre determined plan. I generally won’t change the offensive plan unless it goes terribly wrong. If it does, it might be time to pull the plug and start a new game. Sometimes not though. This can be an interesting situation too. It happens in real life. The plan failed. At what point do you realize this? At what point do you admit defeat? What is plan B? What can you do now? Given this, is there another way to win?
Wrestling with questions like these is not only great training, it is very rewarding and great fun!
This goes back to our earlier questions: Is solitaire play a waste of time? Detrimental to understanding military science and command?
No! We find it extremely useful. Even if you were constantly surrounded by lots of eager wargame players, I would still recommend playing solitaire once in awhile.
There are many things you can learn more quickly and deeply
by playing solitaire. It will make you a
better player. It will make you a better
leader / commander. Solitaire play
trains you to think from both sides.
This is a critical command skill.
It is easy to see through our own eyes.
How does the enemy see us? What
do they know? What don’t they know? If we move here, how will that look to the
enemy? When will they realize what we
are up to? What is the enemy’s
intent? How can we conceal our own
intent?
Solitaire play teaches you to see through the enemy’s eyes. This is a real world training benefit that is
priceless. Some of the best training you
can ever do.
–Even though silly aunts may not be able to stop laughing.
We are going to consolidate Brandywine, Monmouth and the new Germantown into one Campaign set.
Brandywine will be the main game that includes the blocks for all the battles. Monmouth and the new Germantown scenarios will be like the Waterloo expansions: Ligny, Quatre Bras and Wavre. They will just be maps and scenarios. No blocks. This will make them much cheaper and lower the average cost of the battles!
If you have the old Brandywine, no worries. We will send you an update kit for FREE with another order. We will list these on our products page when ready.
We are working on Scenario Updates to better fit the 3.0 rules. A couple of the scenarios will need new stickers and a few extra blocks. We are putting together Scenario Update kits for this. You will be able to add these on to orders for FREE!! We’ll post these on our Products page as they are ready.
What is the best name for the new Dispersed units?
We have lots of wrong answers. Help us out! What is the best thing to call these things?
This is what we’ve tried so far and the problem with them:
Dummy Units
Everybody seems to have PTSD over early Avalon Hill Dummy units. Nobody likes them.
Skirmishers
This doesn’t really fit the scale. Skirmishers are a part of each unit. Each block has a skirmish line deployed out front. This is a big part of what makes up the Field of Fire. (FoF) If we use this term, it will get confused with that.
Light Infantry
This could be a term but many times Light Infantry were massed into big formations. They were also usually elite units. That doesn’t fit.
Dispersed Troops
We thought this was a term with no issues but apparently not. Some other games must use this as a term for a unit’s status. Like when it gets badly disrupted. Pub Battles calls that “Spent”. Dispersed Troops are not a status that regular units become. They are there own special units. A unit type.
Scouts / Patrols
This is a good term from Kriegsspiel. Scouts and Patrols are only 1-5 man units. They can’t cover much ground or fight at all. They were also mounted. So people will get this confused. Murphy’s Law.
Columbia Games
Columbia Games call units like this: Static units, Garrisons or maybe Cadres. These terms might fit WW2 aplications better. I’m not sure if they fit well for a musket era battle.
So what exactly are they? Mostly, they are blank / decoy / dummy units. You use them primarily for strategic deception. You can also use them to screen. They can actually fight and slow down the enemy.
If this was a more modern era, I’d almost call them recon units. That doesn’t really fit the era though. Hmmmm….
I don’t know the best thing to call them but they are amazing and work great in the game. They give the game the perfect feel. -That IS historical and profoundly realistic.
Managing baggage trains can seem overwhelming at first. As wargamers, we aren’t used to thinking like
this. Does it sound tricky? It can be but that’s what makes it so fun!!! It is worth the effort.
Here is the basic rundown:
1. Combat flips your pieces to Spent.
2. Only Unpacked baggage can rally them back to Fresh.
3. Unpacked baggage can’t move.
4. If your baggage gets sacked, you lose. Game over.
Easy.
Here are a few basic tips to get you up and running quickly:
When to Unpack Your Baggage?
The Baggage Trains are critical to victory. Here are a few tips to get you started and
keep you out of trouble:
Defense
Don’t unpack too soon.
Don’t unpack too far forward!
Example
Let’s say we’re running the Feds at Gettysburg, Day 1. We deployed Reynolds’ I Corp along McPherson’s Ridge. The Confederates launched their first assault. We drove the Rebs back and mostly held. Fantastic but our line is now Spent.
At this point, it is very tempting to unpack. We are off to a good start. If we unpack we can now rally this line and maybe hold much longer!! Sure that’s true but it’s not good enough.
Don’t marry the first girl you kiss! Yes, you need to have commitment issues!!
Unpacking is a huge commitment. Don’t unpack because things are looking good
right now. Sure you may be able to hold
for another assault. Especially if you
start rallying. Maybe you can hold for
another couple of turns. Still not good
enough.
Here is the key question you need to ask yourself:
If you unpack, can you hold this for the rest of the battle?
Yeah, not a few turns.
Can you hold this line for the next 3 days? Come what may? What happens when Ewell comes storming down
out of the north 2-3 turns from now? What
if Jackson and Stuart unexpectedly show up?
Can you still hold that for 3 more days?
I didn’t think so.
With Baggage Trains, you need to think very long term. The whole battle depends on it, so think in terms of the battle.
The beginning of a battle is the trickiest part. You need to be constantly asking yourself
these questions:
Where is the enemy’s main threat? How strong is the enemy? Where can I delay? Where and when will reinforcements arrive? Where can I fall back to? Where can I make a stand and hold for the entire battle? How can I minimize casualties until then?
Blow by blow, as the battle is developing, all these answers
will be changing. You need to constantly
reassess the situation. Where can you
fight? Can you even fight here at
all? Maybe the best solution is to never
unpack. Just fight a delaying action for
a day and then bug out. Sometimes that’s
all you can do. Is this really a battle
you can fight? Is it a battle you can
win?
Once you unpack, things get much more simple. None of that matters anymore. You’re all in. Now the question becomes: How on earth can I possible hold this
line? How can I take pressure off and
distract the enemy? Where are his
unpacked trains? Can I get to them
before he can get to mine?
Did the enemy break through?
Can you counter attack and drive him back? How much longer can you hold out? Is it time to give up and pull the plug? It is much better to voluntarily bug out than
let your baggage trains just get sacked.
Pack up and go home. You can
fight another day.
Offense
For Offense, unpacking is more simple. Two key questions:
Has the enemy unpacked yet? Where?
Do NOT unpack unless you are sure the enemy already has. If you unpack too early, you will be hopelessly overextended for the rest of the battle. You will never be able to mount a serious threat.
Once you are sure the enemy has unpacked, you need to
formulate your overall strategy for the battle.
Where is his line going to be? How
can you crack it? What is the weak
link? Where are you going to make your main
effort? Think long term: For the whole battle, not just the next turn
or two. You need to plan ahead for this.
Wherever your main effort will be, your trains need to be able to effectively support that.
Where to Unpack Your Baggage?
Now that we know when, the next question is where? Where is the best place to locate your Trains? This is fairly simple. It just requires a little careful planning.
Work this backwards.
Defense: Where is the line you plan on holding?
Offense: Where is the defender’s committed line? Where will your line be to assault that?
Ok now, where will your troops be when they retreat off that
line?
Your Baggage Trains need to be able to rally this spent line efficiently. Simple place them where their range will extend over most of this area.
Rally range is 1/3 Mounted move.
Finally, don’t worry too much. You don’t have to be perfect. The enemy won’t be perfect either. Just dive into a battle and try
something. Experience is the best
teacher. “Ah, now I see why I shouldn’t
have unpacked there.” Yeah, well the
upside to making a big mistake with baggage trains is that the battle will be
over soon. Now you know. Now you’ll remember. Now you have plenty of time to start a new
battle.
The new rules are out! All the new games are shipping with them. You can get an updated copy by emailing the company and asking for a pdf. What’s new?
There are a few little tweaks and refinements to the main rules. Nothing big. The basic game is essentially the same.
Fog-of-War
The Fog-of-War has gotten a huge upgrade. The Hidden Reserve rules are now standard. They are also much easier to use. The HQ marks the exact location of the hidden troops. The old way was confusing and open to all kinds of abuse. This is clear and it works.
There are new units: 1 step Detachments. These vastly increase the deception. What are those 2 blocks sitting back there? Elite Guards, waiting to pounce at the right time? Or just a couple of Detachments faking me out? Hmmmm…..
These two rules together raise the uncertainty bar. How close is the enemy to breaking? How many reserves do they have left? Will one more good assault do it? You can only wonder. Perfect!!
This is what it looks like to the enemy but what is there?
Victory
The biggest change is Victory. The Baggage Trains are key. As your troops fight, they become spent. Only Baggage Trains can Rally them back to
fresh. Here’s the catch: Baggage Trains can’t Rally until they
Unpack. What’s the big deal about
that? Unpacked Baggage Trains can’t move. Even worse:
if they get sacked, it’s battle over.
You lose. Yeah, it just got
real.
Basically, they are like mobile VP locations, except you
lock them into place. We need to take
that hill. Why? Because the game designer says we have
to. It’s worth a lot of points. No!
Because we think the enemy has unpacked their baggage behind it. If we can take that, we win!
YOU decide when and where to set these ‘VPs’ down. In order for your troops to fight effectively, they need unpacked baggage. As soon as you do this, it becomes a target. It is a double edged sword.
The ramifications are immense. Where do you make a stand? What line do you think you can hold? Where do you need the baggage trains to
support that? If you unpack too far
forward, you won’t be able to protect them.
On the other hand, the sooner you unpack, the sooner you can start
rallying your troops and the better you will be able to protect them.
I find myself thinking like a real commander with these new
rules. Where is the enemy? What are they doing? Can we beat them? Do we even want to fight a battle here? Where do we form a line? Where can we hold? How can we shatter their line to win? Where is their baggage? When do we throw in the towel and give
up? You’ll be asking yourself all these
questions over and over again because the battlefield results will be
constantly changing the answers. What
now?! What does this mean? How does it impact our plan? Do we continue to press forward or is it time
to reassess?
These very simple rules turn Pub Battles into a very deep,
strategic game of position, maneuver and planning. The results are astounding.
I am a little worried that the Kriegsspiel pieces will be too small and fiddly. Is there a photo on your site with something to compare their size to (like someone’s fingers picking them up – 13mm seems pretty small…are they wide and tall enough to get a good grip on them, or will I be battling against knocking them over and pushing them out of place?
We got this great question via email today! We have lots of great photos on our website but it is hard to get a sense of the scale of these pieces. How big are they? One half inch by one quater inch. That’s tiny but how tiny? Are they going to be too much of a hassle?
A picture is worth a thousand words. Check these out:
Regular 8 sided die. The others are standard 12mm & 16mm rounded corner dice. Metric Scale up.
Hopefully these pictures will give you a good sense of how the scale translates into the real world. Ok, so back to the question, how fiddly are they?
First of all, let me say that these Kriegsspiel blocks were designed long ago by the Prussian military to be easy to use. They are.
My personal experience is that these Kriegsspiel blocks, though small ARE indeed easy to grab and move around. -even for my Jimmy Dean sausage fingers! Much easier than standard wargame counters for comparison. We tested them extensively for this before deciding to go into production.
They are small. Half the size of standard wargame counters. What makes up for this is the thickness or depth. This makes them very easy to grab even though they are half the height.
These are standard half inch wargame counters.
We actually have plans for a hex, corps scale WW2 game. You can easily stack 4 blocks per hex on a ETO or A3R map. We found them easier the move around a look at than regular counters.
Kriegsspiel blocks on a standard hex and counter wargame.
Now, all that said, are they just as easy as Pub Battles blocks to push around? No. Those are like mini Jenga blocks or maybe half a Domino.
Pub Battles pieces vs Kriegsspiel.
So, bottom line conclusion? Pub Battles blocks are the least fussy and easiest to see and adjust. Our wooden Kriegsspiel blocks are second easiest. They are taller / depth wise than the regular Kriegsspiel blocks. This makes them much easier than regular Kriegsspiel blocks and standard wargame counters.
We’ve found them to be the best fit if you want fine detail but also something relatively easy to manipulate.
