Gary Sheffield has fought yet another of his online American Civil War battles, and it was featured on the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook page yesterday.
Gary commanded some Union militia that were reinforced by cavalry, and they were tasked with defending the Fullerton Road from an attack by against a Confederate force commanded by Spencer Jones.
This game was fought using the ‘Sudden Death’ rule, and Gary introduced a time limiting element that forced the players to get to grips and win as quickly as possible. It worked thus:
Please note that the photographs featured above are © Gary Sheffield.
Gary commanded some Union militia that were reinforced by cavalry, and they were tasked with defending the Fullerton Road from an attack by against a Confederate force commanded by Spencer Jones.
This game was fought using the ‘Sudden Death’ rule, and Gary introduced a time limiting element that forced the players to get to grips and win as quickly as possible. It worked thus:
- Starting with turn 9, roll a D6 die. On a die roll score of 1, the battle ends immediately.
- On turn 10, it ends with a die roll score of 1 or 2.
- On Turn 11, it ends with a die roll score of 1, 2 or 3 ... and so on.
- This meant that the game had to end by Turn 14, but that it could also end much sooner!
Please note that the photographs featured above are © Gary Sheffield.
.jpg)
I've not used the Sudden Death rules yet but I'd imagine they make for a quicker game in themselves. Nice to see other people using PW for ACW games. I guess your Laptop is holding out Bob?
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteThe ‘Sudden Death’ option does tend to produce a fast and furious battle, and the basic PW rules do seem to work well with the ACW.
As to the laptop ... well, I’m taking things carefully, and hope to have it fixed later today.
All the best,
Bob
The idea of countdown dice is used in a number of the rules produced by Peter Pig (roll a dice each turn, when the cumulative total reaches a certain value, the game ends).
ReplyDeleteMike,
DeleteI’ve come across the mechanism you mention in some of Peter Pig’s RFCM rules. This works slightly differently, but produces a similar result.
All the best,
Bob
The sudden game end count down mechanism features in many of the rule sets published by Peter Pig. I have not yet used it in any way but it looks like a good udea.
ReplyDeleteMike C,
DeleteAs I mentioned in my previous comment, I am aware of the mechanism used in Peter Pig’s rules, but the mechanism used in a Gary’s battle works slightly differently.
All the best,
Bob
Ah the "curse" of the moderation delay got me there. The other Mike got in first :)
ReplyDeleteMike C,
DeleteUnfortunately, it’s either that or lots of comments that are either meaningless drivel, scams, spam, or - most recently - containing quite explicit sexual material.
All the best,
Bob
Personally, while I'm all in favour of uncertainty in wargames to reflect the 'fog of war', I'm unsure what - if anything - randomising the end of the game represents in reality. It can't be nightfall, as that is pretty predictable, albeit it varies according to the seasons. When Wellington remarked, 'Night or the Prussians must come,' he must have had a good idea when it would become dark in June 1815; it was the arrival of his allies that was uncertain, and to dice to determine the latter would be perfectly reasonable.
ReplyDeleteWhy not simply agree before a game that it will be dark after a certain number of turns (to suit the real time available for the game), so players will need to break the enemy - or survive if on the defensive - by that turn to succeed?
Arthur1815,
DeleteBecause the length of a PW turn is not time-related, I can see why such a sudden end mechanism might appeal to some players.
Al least in the suggested mechanism, the game has a minimum number of turns before the end came come, and that alone commends it.
All the best,
Bob
PS. I watched WATERLOO on TV again recently, and well remember Christopher Plummer saying the quote about night and the Prussians. In fact, the film was replete in famous quotations, and I doubt that the scriptwriter had little to do other than to string them together ... and not necessarily in the right order!
Bob,
DeleteAlthough PW turns may not represent specific periods of time, if one relates weapon ranges and distances moved to unit frontages one can form an approximate relationship.
I believe Plummer himself created a lot of Wellington's dialogue, using remarks attributed to the Duke, because the original screenplay placed much more emphasis on Steiger's Napoleon and he wanted to avoid being overshadowed.
I think the film would actually have been better had it simply focussed on the French perspective and Napoleon 'meeting his Waterloo' literally and metaphorically, rather than trying to present both sides simultaneously. Rather like Shakespeare's Richard III, where the focus is on Richard, and Henry Tudor has little part to play.
Best wishes,
Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteI suppose that there is a sort of relationship between time and events implied in the rules, but it is never anything that I really gave much thought to. Its probably due to my aversion to the old 'Russians march at 100 paces per minute whereas Austrians march at 105 paces per minute' levels of detail!
The film does rather feature a lot of Rod Steiger shouting (or seeming to), and I can understand why Christopher Plummer chose to 'embellish' his dialogue with lots of supposed Wellingtonian quotes.
I wonder how the film would have turned out if they had used the approach taken in TORA! TORA! TORA! The Japanese filmmakers made the scenes involving their ships, and characters, whilst the American made their bit of the film and the scenes showing the attack. They were then spliced together to make the film. I once took the two apart, and watched the Japanese bits as a single entity, and it made interesting viewing.
As to Richard III ... well, he may have been turned into a monster by a certain playwright, but he had a more legitimate claim to the thrown that Henry Tudor, who always struck me as being a very unpleasant man.
All the best,
Bob
Randomising the number of turns with something like the sudden death rule, or randomising the number of actions that can occur in a turn (as in Altar of Freedoms) to me replicated the apparent fluidity of time. Eyewitnesses often mistake how long something lasts or at what time something occurred.
ReplyDeleteNundanket,
DeleteAn excellent point.... and one that I hope reflects the thinking behind my PW rules.
All the best,
Bob