Whilst I was on my recent cruise, I began drafting some period-specific rules for my Belle Époque project.
I find that the days when the ship is sailing from one port-of-call to another are ideal for me to write. I don't have to worry about refreshments (food and drink is available for almost twenty-four hours per day!) and there are few things to distract me ... unless I want to be distracted! (On this cruise I was distracted by going to the excellent guest speaker's talks and the hilarious 'radio play' staged by the entertainment team.)
By the time we reached Cadiz, I had produced almost a dozen A4-sized pages of 10pt text that included several ideas that I wanted to include in the rules ... but when I re-read what I had written when we were on our way between Cadiz and Ibiza, I realised that it was rather verbose and the new mechanisms I had used were not just over-complicated but also extremely clunky!
I chose to start again ... and almost repeated the same mistakes! In the end, I decided that rather than start from scratch, I would base my 'new' rules on THE GATLING'S JAMMED rules that are in THE PORTABLE COLONIAL WARGAME book.
These use units of figures mounted on 40mm wide bases (i.e. standard DBA/HOTT bases for 15mm figures) on a grid of 50mm squares or similar-sized hexes (e.g. the terrain boards that comes with MEMOIR ‘44/BATTLE CRY).
At present, the significant changes I have made are as follows:
- Machine guns a treated like artillery and have their own fire phase.
- The number of units a general can activate each turn is subject to a degree of randomness that depends upon their ability.
- A timescale has been introduced.
I am hoping that I will get the present draft of the rules finished by the middle of next week ... and then I can begin thinking about playtesting them.
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Hello there Bob,
ReplyDeleteIf you need any testing help give me a nudge! The block armies are looking for an outing!
All the best,
DC
David Crook,
DeleteCheers! I’ll send a copy of the draft to you when it’s finished.
All the best,
Bob
No need to re invent the wheel. I think your Portable Colonial Wargames rules will do the job with only minor changes. The Portable Wargame system is an excellent series of rules and doesn't require much tweaking to produce a wide range of games. This would give you more room for other material in your upcoming book. I would like to see backgrounds on the countries, history and maps along with a uniform guide. Maybe even a mini campaign along with battle reports. In any case I'm looking forward to adding the final result to my collection.
ReplyDeleteMark Cordone,
DeleteI agree. The existing PWC rules will need a few tweaks, but they should provide the basis for an era-specific set of rules.
There’s a dedicated Belle Epoque blog here = https://bellyporkwargaming.blogspot.com/ . It has the background details about my imagi-nations as well as pictures of the various armies.
All the best,
Bob
Bob could you put a follower thingy on your BE blog so we can know when there are updates?
DeleteThanks
Tradgardmastare,
DeleteWill do!
All the best,
Bob
Tradgardmastare,
DeleteI have just added 'Followers' to the Belle Époque blog.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others in respect of the Portable Colonial Wargaming. With a few tweaks to take into account my own army set-up, I found the system fine for my own Blacklands war, Kavkaz Campaign and Little Great War battles. I seem to recall using one of the PCW for the unfinished 'Darkest Aithiops' as well.
My first reaction in respect of incorporating MG shooting in the artillery phase was 'good idea'. I still think so in respect of, say, preparation for a close assault. But I have a feeling a defender might want to reserve it for the assault itself. It might be worth exploring the possibility of players' choice.
I've been exploring further randomising activations using my 'dice' system, working around the median number of units. I've used the following scheme:
1 => M-2
2 => M-1
3 => M
4 => M
5 => M+1
6 => M+2
A 'good' general adds 1 to the die roll; a 'poor' one subtracts 1.
If using 'priority chits', one idea might be to split the pile randomly according to the units available to either side BEFORE allocating them to the units. To bias the thing in favour of one general or another, perhaps the '1' chit (or more) goes to his army and mixed in with his allocation. Just a thought...
Overall, I have found the PCW and PNW systems very suitable for my own Chronicles of Aeryth Chromatica.
Cheers,
Ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteYour comment about machine gun fire has given me pause for thought. Perhaps a machine gun unit could 'reserve fire' if it is about to become involved in close combat (i.e. use an activation but not fire so that it can throw 3D6 if involved in a close combat.) It's something for me to give more thought to.
Your dice system has certain advantages over my card-driven mechanism. Again, its something for me to think about.
The suggested priority chit system sounds very similar to that used by the late John Sandars. I've used something like it myself, and it can produce some very interesting results.
All the best,
Bob
Bob -
DeleteI used the priority chit system for my 'Retreat from Smolensk' games. I quite liked the system: random, but you got to move everything each turn.
On the matter of differencing generals' competence, if using initiative rolls, adding +1 to the better general's roll. I have used it before, but remembering it each turn proved ... elusive. The (slight) downside is that the initiative switch will favour the weaker commander (who gets two moves in a row, which is where things can get exciting); but this is balanced by the quick reversal in favour of the stronger.
Cheers,
ion
Archduke Piccolo (Ion),
DeleteThanks very much for the useful suggestions, particularly the one relating to the general's initiative roll. It's something else that I need to consider.
All the best,
Bob
Perhaps as Paul did in FLW each nation could have one advantage and one disadvantage, thus giving local colour. I agree re reinventing the wheel.
ReplyDeleteTradgardmastare,
DeleteNow that is a very sensible suggestion that I must look into further! Thanks very much for making it!
All the best,
Bob
A minor rework of the Colonial rules should be ideal, Bob 👍🏼. Good luck on progressing (- and also good to hear the cruise days helped you with getting the creative juices flowing… no domestic distractions, and plenty of free time 🛳️ ).
ReplyDeleteAll the best.
Martin S.,
DeleteThe adaptation of the rules is progressing well, and I hope to include them in the next PW Compendium.
I find that cruising both allows me to relax (no need to worry about going shopping for food etc.!) and to think ... and when this happens, the good old creative juices begin to flow!
All the best,
Bob
Hi Bob,
ReplyDeleteSplendid to hear the Belle Époque rules are making swift progress! I’ll keep an eye out for the playtest reports!
All the best, Andy
Andrew Bruce (Andy),
DeleteAs long as we don't have another heatwave - and I get driven out of my toy/wargame room again - I hope to begin playtesting soon.
All the best,
Bob
I like the restricted activations based on General's ability idea Bob.
ReplyDeleteMaudlin Jack Tar,
DeleteI'll try to write a blog post about it later this week to give regular blog readers a sneak preview!
All the best,
Bob