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Monday 1 August 2022

Some important changes to my simple Napoleonic campaign rules for use with my version of the Waddington's Campaign map

In the light of some very useful feedback and some play-testing of my own, I am proposing several important changes to the existing draft of the rules.


CAMPAIGN TIME

  • Each turn represents two days of game time.
  • During the summer (June, July, and August) four playing cards are turned over for each day.
  • During spring and autumn (March, April, May, September, October, and November) three playing cards are turned over for each day.
  • During the winter (December, January, and February) two playing cards are turned over for each day.

ACTIVATING FORMATIONS

  • Each side is allocated a playing card colour.
  • A standard pack of playing cards is shuffled and placed face down.
  • At the start of each turn, the top playing card is turned over, and the colour of the playing card determines which side activates its formations first and how many formations it may activate.
    • If the playing card is an Ace, that side may move all its formations one grid square.
    • If the playing card is a numbered playing card, that side may move one formation one grid square.
    • If the playing card is a Jack, that side may move its formations a total of two grid squares (i.e. it may move one formation two grid squares or two formations one grid square).
    • If the playing card is a Queen, that side may move its formations a total of three grid squares (i.e. it may move one formation three grid squares or one formation two grid squares and one formation one grid square or three formations one grid square).
    • If the playing card is a King, that side may move its formations a total five grid squares.
    • If the playing card is a Joker, that side throws a D6 die and reads the result from the list of Special Events.
    • Special Events
      1. That side may not move any of its formations for six game turns and any cards that favour them and that are turned over during those game turns are discarded.
      2. That side may not move any of its formations for four game turns and any cards that favour them and that are turned over during those game turns are discarded.
      3. That side may not move any of its formations for two game turns and and any cards that favour them and that are turned over during those game turns are discarded.
      4. That side may not move any of its formations for a game turn and and any cards that favour them and that are turned over during that game turn are discarded.
      5. The Joker is treated as if it were a numbered card, and that side may move one formation one grid square.
      6. The Joker is treated as an Ace and that side may move all its formations one grid square.
  • After the playing card has been turned over and any actions have taken place, the playing card is discarded. The discarded playing cards are placed face up in a separate pile.
  • The next playing card is turned over, and the process is repeated until all the playing cards for that game turn have been turned over. That game turn is then over, and play moves on to the next day's turn.
  • Once all the unused playing cards have been used, the pile of discarded playing cards is shuffled and placed face down where all the players can see it, ready to be dealt when required.

I am hoping that these changes will speed up the whole campaign game, but further play-testing will be needed to see if it does.

6 comments:

  1. Hi Bob

    I agree with your final comment about "further playtesting will be needed". I often find that even the most considered changes to game or campaign rules have hidden unintended consequences which only come to light when I play test them. So much so that I no longer amend my hard copy wargame rules until I have played a few games with the amendments.

    Looking forward to seeing how your campaign develops

    regards

    Paul

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thistlebarrow (Paul),

      Because I design my rules to have ‘plug in, unplug’ subroutine game mechanisms, it is possible for me to play-test each in order to iron out anomalies or obvious errors. I’m also always looking to simplify any mechanisms in order to make them easier to remember and use.

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete
  2. Bob, those are some interesting revisions and I look forward to giving them a test soon. I will let you know how I get on. All the best. Paul.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. PDL (Paul),

      I’m hoping that the changes will both speed up game play and make the mechanisms easier to use.

      All the world,

      Bob

      Delete
  3. Is there a competition for the longest title for a blog post? Think you might have a winner.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Trebian,

      Is it really that long? I do hope that you don’t see this as a challenge!

      All the best,

      Bob

      Delete

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