There are no blog posts about other people's PORTABLE WARGAMES, and then like buses, several come along at once!
Arthur Harman has written a very interesting contribution to the PORTABLE WARGAME COMPENDIUM about how to simulate flank marches in the FP3X3PW, and he has since suggested that a couple of area be added to the basic 3 x 3 grid so that units that are attempting a flank march can be placed there in the same way that units that have yet to arrive on the battlefield can be placed in the Reserve Area. If this idea were adopted, the 'new' battlefield would look something like this:
In a reply to Arthur's comment about this, Mark Cordone replied 'I'm thinking that if both sides are attempting a flank march to the same side of the battlefield, the units involved would fight a combat against each other with the loser being the first unit to take a hit whether it takes casualties or is forced to retreat. It would then arrive in its army's reserve area on the next turn and the winner would then get to make a flank attack on its next turn. If both units take hits, both flank marches would fail.'
This seems like quite an elegant solution, and one that needs further investigation.
Mark Cordone has also been fighting a fictional battle from the First Balkan War, the Battle of Vizya, using one of his 3 x 3 terrain boards. The battle took place when a Bulgarian army launched a surprise attack on the Ottoman army stationed to the north of Istanbul.
In his conclusion, Mark states that 'This was a fun, tense game that took a little over half an hour to play and showed Balkan Wars battles transfer very well to 3 x 3 games.' In reply to a comment, he further states that 'It would be a fun Matrix Game with an opponent, or Snakes & Ladders solo. You could have three armies on the Snakes & Ladders matrix at the same time with battles whenever any of them lands on a battle box. (Ottomans, Bulgarians and Serbs and their allies.)'
This has certainly given me several ideas that I want to follow up on ... when I have enough time!
Please note that the photographs featured above are © Mark Cordone.
Bob (and Mark) -
ReplyDeleteThat winter battlefield does look good. Almost like a bought one!
The flank march idea has occurred to me before this, but on the whole I wasn't sure about the game mechanics. There was also a concern that the game might fetch up being dominated by flank marches. On the other hand it does add a dimension to a very constrained type of game!
That's something I might have to see how it works before deciding whether - or to what extent - flank marches become a feature of my game.
Having said all that, it is really astonishing just how far and wide - or perhaps I ought to say to such depths - such a simple concept has been taken.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI’d like to experiment with flank marches as I can see that they might add an interesting dimension to a 3 x 3 battle. I think that it might need some sort of limitation (e.g., requiring two unit activations to move a unit from the Reserve Area to the Flank March area).
The 3 x 3 ‘phenomena’ is interesting. I’ve read several 3 x 3 battle reports by people I’ve never heard of!
All the best,
Bob
Thanks. I have more ideas on the subject of flank marches and other aspects of general ship for 3x3 and original portable wargames. I will post them on the Facebook page asap.
DeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI look forward to reading about your ideas on Facebook.
All the best,
Bob
There are so many interesting additions to the PW, it's hard to keep up!
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteI must admit that I’m having trouble keeping track of all the developments!
All the best,
Bob
The 3x3 craze has certainly Been both fun to play and follow!
ReplyDeleteMy experiments with flank marches have been very much like those described and I've been happy with the results so far.
Campaigns with a range of battle board sizes are next in line for experimentation; there are so many possibilities it will be hard to keep on track.
Mike Taber,
DeleteI thought that my original PW idea was a good one, but the 3 x 3 version is even better … which is why it has gained so much popularity.
I am really looking forward to reading about your experiments.
All the best,
Bob
I wouldn't go so far as to say it's better, for now it's just novel and provides a slightly different type of game. The original portable wargame is a great game and without it there would be no 3x3 game.
DeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteThanks for your kind comments. I see FP3X3PW as a supplement to the original PW rather than a replacement.
All the best,
Bob