Whilst I was waiting for my radiotherapy session yesterday, I decided to ‘ask’ AIChat what it knew about THE PORTABLE WARGAME, and this is what it ‘wrote’:
The Portable Wargame is a set of rules for tabletop wargaming that was developed by Bob Cordery, a well-known wargame designer. This rule set is designed to be versatile and portable, allowing players to easily set up and play wargames with minimal equipment.
The Portable Wargame is unique in that it uses gridded terrain and bases representing units rather than traditional miniature figures. This simplifies gameplay and makes it easier for players to create their custom battles. The rules themselves provide a good balance between realism and playability, allowing for tactical decision-making and strategic planning.
One of the key features of The Portable Wargame is its flexibility. It can be easily adapted to different historical periods, from ancient battles to modern conflicts. Additionally, the rules can accommodate both large-scale battles and smaller skirmishes, making it suitable for a variety of tabletop wargaming preferences.
Another benefit of The Portable Wargame is its portability, as the name suggests. The rules are intentionally designed to be played on smaller playing surfaces, such as a standard-sized table or even a smaller board. This makes it easier to set up and play games in different locations, making it a great option for gamers who may not have access to a large dedicated gaming space.
Overall, The Portable Wargame is a versatile and accessible rule set that provides the opportunity for engaging and tactical wargaming experiences. Whether you're a seasoned wargamer or just starting out, this ruleset offers a great way to enjoy tabletop battles.
This is not a bad synopsis of the concept, and better than I would have expected.
That's something to be proud of!
ReplyDeleteNundanket,
DeleteI am seriously thinking of using this as the blurb for future PW publications!
All the best,
Bob
Bob,
ReplyDeleteI was going to suggest exactly that! Perhaps the first setence of the second paragraph could be amended to explain that PW can be played with blocks representing bodies of troops or with model figures mounted on bases that occupy the area on the terrain display equivalent to the area a unit would occupy in reality on the ground. You would not wish to put people off by inadvertently suggesting that one cannot use wargame figures in PW!
Best wishes,
Arthur
Arthur1815 (Arthur),
DeleteThanks for the suggested change. It certainly clarifies the fact that PW is suitable for all sorts of large and small wargames.
All the best,
Bob
Have you tried the Ask the Historical figures option? Alexander the Great was quite complimentary about the idea of your book and of wargames - not bad for a blurb?
ReplyDeleteMark, Man of TIN,
DeleteI'm off to give that search a try ... and it certainly would be a great thing to add to my book blurb!
All the best,
Bob
Comment attempt 2: Have you tried the Ask Historical Figures option on AI Chat? Alexander The Great for example was quite complimentary about wargaming and your book The Portable Wargame. Not bad for your book blurb as an endorsement?
ReplyDeleteMark, Man of TIN,
DeleteIt sounds as if Blogger is having one of its 'silly' days when it won't allow people to make comments. At least both of yours managed to get through.
All the best,
Bob
Sounds like you have an AI PA
ReplyDeleteGeordie an Exile FoG,
DeleteIt certainly does!
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteI reckon I'd be quite chuffed at such a positive review!
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteI was very pleased … and will use it for any future publicity blurbs about the PW.
All the best,
Bob
An excellent review for sure and amazing what AI can do! I would love to see it's take on quotes from Frederick the Grat, Naopleon etc just for the fun of it:).
ReplyDeleteSteve J.,
DeleteI know that people have serious - and justifiable - concerns about the use of AI, but the genie is out of the bottle and the more we understand what it can and cannot do, the better. If it can produce stuff like this, I can see it being a useful tool … just as long as one doesn’t become too reliant on it.
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob I was surprised that AIchat said your grid/bases combination was unique, plenty of wargames meet that criteria not to mention grid rules such as Peter Pig and Table Top Battles by Mike Smith. What seemed to be missing in AIChatspeak was what I felt after buying and playing rules. That is the "mechanisms in combination" give such an enjoyable and free flowing yet sufficiently complex game. I think your AIChatmate is under selling your offering! Your game was indeed a pleasure to play.
ReplyDeleteNorber,
DeleteI agree that the description is not 100% accurate, but with a few minor tweaks it will make a very passable blurb about the concept.
Thanks for your very complimentary comment about how my rules work. It is much appreciated.
All the best,
Bob
Both my wife and one of my boys enjoys playing with the various AI apps. My wife is partial to bard, the Google AI assistant. She works for Google and is trying to get on the team that is developing it. The nice thing about Bard is after it spits out whatever you've prompted it to write it gives you the option of approving or disapproving the output and then it will ask you for help fixing your output if you didn't like it. One of my twin boys on the other hand loves chat GPT. He can easily spend two hours asking it to spit out ideas for dungeons and dragons or he's equally fond of having it right what if battles between Godzilla and King Kong or whatever silly thing comes to his mind.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the stance of AI assistance or a genie that's been released from the bottle and there's no getting it back in. I feel it's just another tool like the Gutenberg printing press or computers used in making music. It's up to people to produce the product and the AI is just a tool, a means to an end. The nice thing about these AI tools is they'll allow people who otherwise don't have the skills, to produce the creative output they have in their heads. I mean imagine a person with a physical handicap being able to create a sculpture with the final output being produced by a 3D printer.
I may not have used an AI chatbot to write this comment but I did use voice to text. I have full use of my hands but typing all of this out with my thumbs would have probably taken 20 minutes!
Mr. Pavone,
ReplyDeleteI’d not heard of Bard. It sounds very interesting and I can understand why your wife would like to be part of the development team. Enabling users to interact with the AI output to improve it makes a lot of sense. I must admit that some of the output about historical events that I’ve seen seems to have been very Wikipedia-dependent.
AI is definitely here to stay, and rather than pointlessly rage against it, we’d be better off working with it to make it our servant rather than our master. I can understand why teachers and lecturers are wary of pupils and students using AI to write essays, but to date I’ve not seen any output that was long enough - or suitably referenced - to meet the necessary academic criteria for a piece of written work.
I like your example of a disabled person being able to produce a sculpture using AI and a 3D printer. It’s not a concept that I’d considered before … but it make a great deal of sense.
I’ve tried dictating text to my iPad and PC, but every time that I have, I’ve ended up going through it to correct errors and improve the text. I seem to think and write better using my two forefingers!
All the best,
Bob