I am a member of quite a few wargame-related Facebook groups, and as I was catching up after my very recent short cruise, it struck me that the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook group was generally different from the others. Whereas most of the others seem to be more about new armies players have created to go with a certain set of rules or brief reports about tabletop battles they have fought, the members of the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook group:
- Seem more interested in showing how they have developed various versions of the basic PORTABLE WARGAME rules to meet their requirements
- Seem more interested in sharing quite detailed battle reports and scenarios with other players
- Like to share various game mechanisms that they have added to or experimented with
- Want to share and describe how they have adapted or scratch-built terrain they can use with the rules
- Want to ask questions about how other players interpret and use the rules
The group seems to have developed a life of its own, and as the originator of the PORTABLE WARGAME, I find this very rewarding. I always wanted the basic rules to be a toolbox that users could adapt and experiment with ... and that seems to be happening. I must also say that without the PORTABLE WARGAME Facebook group, the impetus to write more books about the rules would not have been as strong.
Having mentioned writing more PORTABLE WARGAME books, I thought that I ought to give a progress report of ¡ARRIBA ESPANA!. The draft of the text is now finished, and it is going through the final stages of proof reading and checking. The full title of the book with be ¡ARRIBA ESPANA! INCLUDING THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME RULES and it will be just over 100 pages long.
The first part of the book contains the revised text of the 1989 rules published under the title ¡ARRIBA ESPANA!, and the second part contains THE PORTABLE SPANISH CIVIL WAR WARGAME rules, and seven scenarios. Each of the scenarios includes both an 8 x 8 square gridded and a 9 x 8 hex gridded scenario map, and I have added a further short section that suggests how the scenarios and maps can be adapted for use with the ¡ARRIBA ESPANA! rules and for larger grids.
Bob
ReplyDeleteI think you have hit the nail on the head for the PW FB group but also highlighted the features of many good rules groups out there. I look forward to your SCW rules as much for the rules themselves as for the group interest they will generate. There is a significant level of common membership across the groups where I lurk. Solid game engines encourage constructive thought and The Portable One Hour Wargame is a real thing I suspect!
S&F
Mike
Mike C,
DeleteI find the way members of the PW Facebook group are using my rules very inspiring … and whenever I feel a bit ‘stale’, a quick read through the most recent posts revitalises my interest.
S&F,
Bob
Hi Bob
ReplyDeleteBefore I finally wrote my own wargame rules I had played with many commercial sets over the years. I can't remember a single one which I did not feel the need to amend. Back in late 60s and early 70s one would write to the author and ask his opinion before doing so. Or at least I always did. I well remember the long wait and anticipation of a reply from Don Featherstone or Peter Gilder. Happy days.
So I am sure that wanting to fine tune a set of rules is no reflection on the rule set. I remember reading debates about how it had proved impossible to get one set accepted by a sufficient number of players even for a wargame show/convention.
So I think it was a wise move to make your rules easy to amend. And it will greatly add to the enjoyment of those using them.
Glad to hear that your absence was to enjoy a short cruise and nothing more serious
best regards
Paul
Thistlebarrow (Paul),
DeleteI think that all of the wargamers I knew in the 1960s and 1970s were rule tweakers … and it was generally accepted that when you ‘played an away game’, you used your host’s house rules.
I wrote to Donald Featherstone several times in his capacity as editor of the WARGAMER’S NEWSLETTER, and he published them - and his replies - a month or two afterwards.
The PORTABLE WARGAME evolved from my desire to write a simple set of rules that I could adapt to different periods, and is based on my experience of designing wargames and writing computer programs in BASIC. The latter taught me about subroutines that could be plugged in and unplugged from the program … and that concept is incorporated into the basic PW rules structure.
Our cruise was incredibly relaxing … and much needed!
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to your new book, and the ACW one as well. I think your spot on in your assessment of the group. I find the group very stimulating and can say as a result of your rules and the group's activities I haven't had this much fun with wargamming in many years. Keep up the good work, and thanks.
Mark Cordone,
DeleteI find the group's enthusiasm for wargaming and using the PW infectious. I want fun from my hobby - and it sounds as if you do as well - and if using the PW rules enables that to happen, then that is great!
I hope to get the latest book published in the next week or so, with the ACW one following a few months afterwards.
All the best,
Bob
Bob. I fully agree that our group or community is quite different from all the other ones I follow and it is putting the fun back into my games as well. It is great to see so many original ideas being shared to help push the hobby forward. All the best. Paul.
ReplyDeletePDL,
DeleteI noticed that my comments have sparked off discussions about active membership participation on a couple of other groups, but I don’t think that they have quite such a large active membership. In my opinion, the only one that comes closest is the Airfix Battles Facebook group.
All the best,
Bob