Even more ideas generated by using the 'Dominion of the Spear and Bayonet' rules

Further to my earlier blog posts (here and here), I have been thinking about the tabletop battlefield I might use for my hybrid rules.

In the DOMINION rules, the tabletop looks like this:

In the FAST-PLAY 3 x 3 PORTABLE WARGAME the tabletop looks like this:

I have been looking at two possible hybrid tabletop layouts, both of which combine aspects of the above. The first is a slight reworking of the FP3x3PW …

… and the second adds a further rank of squares to create a tabletop that has a 3 x 4 grid plus reserve areas.

I hope to experiment with both tabletop layouts over the coming weeks in the hope that a preferred layout emerges.

Thinking about the Fourth Portable Wargame Compendium

I have had several requests for information about the next PORTABLE WARGAME COMPENDIUM … so I suppose that it’s about time that I started work on it.

As people who have read one or more of the previous issues will know, I rely on contributions from the numerous users of the various PORTABLE WARGAME rules and I am therefore issuing a request for suitable articles. For the first time, I’d like to include articles that relate to the ‘DOMINION OF …’ rules as well because although they aren’t part of the PORTABLE WARGAME stable, they are very much portable wargame rules.

I cannot pay for contributions BUT any author whose article (or articles) is accepted and published in the next Compendium will get a free copy of the hardback and softback editions, a free PDF edition, and a credit on the Amazon webpage.

If you would like to contribute to the next PORTABLE WARGAME COMPENDIUM, please contact me at theportablewargame @ gmail.com … but leave out the gaps in the email address!

Dominion of the Spear

Recently I received a copy of Steve Parker's DOMINION OF THE SPEAR wargame rules. I wanted to play test them before writing a detailed review, but as I lack any suitable Ancient figures, and what figures I do have are in storage, I was not able to do so until now. (Basically. I didn't read Steve's Introduction until last weekend. In it he states that it 'is a simple solo game played with paper and pencil and two dice'. Stupid me for not picking up on that sooner!)

DOMINION OF THE SPEAR is a simple set of solo Ancient wargames rules.

The armies used in the rules consist of three to six units which are determined by a points system that is included in the booklet. The battlefield is divided into eight areas:

There are four basic types of units:

• Melee Infantry with melee weapons.
• Missile infantry with long-range missile weapons.
• Melee Mounted with melee weapons.
• Missile Mounted with long-range missile weapons.

These units can be classified as armoured (+1 point) or not and/or as elite (+1 point) or not.

Some examples of units are:

• Melee Infantry: Ancient Egyptian Spearmen
• Armoured Melee Infantry: Greek Hoplites
• Missile Infantry: Persian Sparabara Archers
• Armoured Melee Mounted: Parthian Cataphracts
• Missile Mounted: New Kingdom Egyptian Chariot Archers

Units deploy on the battlefield with the back rank on both sides being the reserve area and the central three areas being the left, centre, and right sectors. A D6 dice throw determines which side is the attacker and which is the defender.

After each side has deployed their units, the battle begins. Combat takes place in each sector in turn, with the Missile troops firing before the Melee troops engage in combat. If a unit is destroyed, it can be replaced by a unit that is in the reserve area. The combat system uses a D6 die and is both simple and elegant.

The book includes a play through of the Battle of Hydaspes (326 BC) between Alexander the Great's Macedonians and King Porus's Indians, and going through it really helps the reader to understand how the game's mechanisms work.

The booklet also includes 196 army lists that are divided into the following periods:

• The Ancient Near East Age
• The Age of the Greek and Persian Wars
• The Age of the Romans
• The Dark Ages
• The Age of the Crusaders
• The Age of Mongol Invasions
• The Late Middle Ages

Designer Notes are also included along with a quick reference sheet on the back cover.

Since then, Steve has sent me a copy of his DOMINION OF THE SPEAR BATTLES EXPANSION booklet, which contains scenarios and army lists for thirty-six battles ranging from Megiddo (1479 BC) to Agincourt (1415 AD). The complete list is as follows:

• Megiddo 1479 BC
• Kadesh 1274 BC
• Arrapha 616 BC
• Thymbra 536 BC
• Marathon 490 BC
• Plataea 479 BC
• Gaugamela 331 BC
• Ipsus 301 BC
• Raphia 217 BC
• Cannae 216 BC
• Magnesia 189 BC
• Carrhae 53 BC
• Taurus 39 BC
• Edessa 260 AD
• Immae 272 AD
• Adrianople 378 AD
• Chalons 451 AD
• Badon Hill 517 AD
• Dara 530 AD
• Taginae 552 AD
• Yarmouk 636 AD
• Nechtansmere 685 AD
• Tours 732 AD
• Brunanburh 937 AD
• Lechfeld 955 AD
• Civitate 1053 AD
• Hastings 1066 AD
• Manzikert 1071 AD
• Dorylaeum 1097 AD
• Hattin 1187 AD
• Arsuf 1191 AD
• Ain Jalut 1260 AD
• Bannockburn 1314 AD
• Kulikovo 1318 AD
• Kosovo 1389 AD
• Agincourt 1415 AD

The scenarios and setup are very simple. For example, the Battle of Agincourt (1415) sees five French units (1 x Armoured Cavalry [Mounted men-at-arms]; 1 x Armoured Spearmen [Dismounted men-at-arms}; 2 x Spearmen [1 of which are Dismounted men-at-arm in mud]; and 1 x Crossbowmen) take on four English & Welsh units (1 x Armoured Spearmen [Dismounted men-at-arms with polearms]; and 3 x Elite Longbowmen [Welsh])

The booklet also includes some optional rules for unit activation, larger armies, and terrain.

Finally, the back cover has a Quick Reference Sheet for the rules.

Having played through a couple of the battles on paper (once you have realised that you do not need a physical board and figures to use these rules, just a piece of paper, a pencil, and two D6 dice!) I see them as an excellent alternative to the Fast Play 3 x 3 Portable Ancient Wargame rules, especially for the solo wargamer who has limited time and space but who still wants to fight campaigns. I thoroughly recommend these rules ... and at the price they are being sold at, in my opinion they are a bargain!

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DOMINION OF THE SPEAR was written by Steve Parker and published on Wargame Vault by Ork Publishing. As of today, they cost $5.56 ... which is about £4.50.

DOMINION OF THE SPEAR BATTLES EXPANSION was written by Steve Parker and published on Wargame Vault by Ork Publishing. As of today, they cost $5.56 ... which is about £4.50.

Some Portable 3 x 3 Chaco War Wargame rules produced by ChatGPT

As I mentioned in a recent blog post, I have been using ChatGPT to create a set of Portable 3 x 3 Chaco War wargame rules. They needed a minor amount of tweaking to improve the clarity of the rules but what follows is probably 90% ChatGPT and 10% me.

A 1933 map of Paraguay. The disputed area - the Gran Chaco - is shown shaded in pink.

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Portable Chaco War Wargame

A fast-play grid-based wargame representing the difficult jungle and desert warfare of the conflict.

1. Game Setup

• Map: A 3 x 3 (or larger) grid, covered with a mix of open areas, dense jungle, dry scrub, and fortifications.
• Units: Infantry, Machine Guns, Mortars, Cavalry, Artillery, Air Support, and Commanders.
• Command & Control: Each side has a Commander with randomly-generated number of unit activations per turn.
• Fog of War: Hidden movement represents surprise attacks in difficult terrain.

2. Turn Sequence

• Command Phase: Each side rolls a D6 die to determine the number of units that can be activated this turn (each side activates that many units).
• Movement Phase: Activated units move one or two grid area, unless slowed by terrain.
• Combat Phase: Activated units may fire or assault enemy units in adjacent grid areas. (Defending units can fight back.)
• Morale Phase: Units check morale if they have been hit twice or more.
• Supply Phase: Check supply lines (units without supply suffer penalties).

3. Units & Special Rules

Unit	Move (in grid areas)	Weapon Range (in grid areas)	Attack Value	Defence Value	Special Rules
Bolivian Infantry	1	2	2	3	Well equipped, but suffers if moving through jungle. D6 die sore of 3, 4, 5, or 6 needed to move through jungle.
Paraguayan Infantry	1	2	2	3	Better adapted to the terrain; gains +1 Defence in jungle.
Machine Guns	1	3	4	3	May not move and fire in the same turn.
Mortars	1	3	4	3	May not move and fire in the same turn. Can fire over obstacles, but have limited ammunition (D6 die mortar rounds per gun).
Cavalry	2	1	2	2	Can move after attacking (this represents their ability to hit-and-run),
Artillery	1	4	3	2	May not move and fire in the same turn. Can fire over obstacles, but have limited ammunition (D6 die artillery rounds per gun).
Air Support	-	-	3	-	May be used once per battle. May only target non-jungle grid areas.
Fortifications	-	-	-	+2	Provides cover bonus.
Commanders	2	-	1	1	Boosts morale by adding +1 to morale of any unit in an adjacent grid area..

4. Combat

• Both players roll a D6 die and add and subtract their attack/defence values and any modifiers.
• Higher roll wins; loser is hit.
• If the result is a tie, both units are hit.

5. Special Features

• Hidden Movement & Ambushes
• Each side may place dummy counters in jungle/scrub grid areas.
• Units are revealed only when spotted by a unit entering an adjacent grid area and rolling a D6 die score of 4, 5, or 6.
• If an enemy unit moves into a grid area occupied by an enemy unit they have not spotted, they suffer -1 from their defence value.
• Supply & Attrition
• Each unit must be able to trace an unimpeded path to a supply base.
• If cut off for two turns, units suffer -1 on attack values and movement distance.
• Capturing enemy supply base restores half a D6 die score (rounded down) of lost units.
• Morale
• If a unit has taken two or more hits, roll a D6 die:
• 1, 2 or 3: Unit retreats a grid area.
• 4, 5, or 6: Unit holds position.
• Commander in adjacent grid area +1 to any D6 die score.
• Weather Effects
• At the start of each game, roll a D6 die for weather:
• 1 or 2: Extreme Heat: Reduce all movement by 1 grid area.
• 3 or 4: Fog: Ranged attacks suffer -1 attack value.
• 5 or 6: Normal Conditions: No effect.

6. Campaign & Scenarios

• Scenario 1: The Battle of Nanawa (1933)
• Bolivian Objective: Capture Paraguayan defences within 6 turns.
• Paraguayan Objective: Hold the position or repel attackers.
• Special Rule: Paraguayan defenders are fortified and get +1 defence value.
• Scenario 2: Guerrilla Warfare in the Jungle
• Bolivian Objective: Escort a convoy across the jungle to supply a fort.
• Paraguayan Objective: Ambush and destroy at least 2 Bolivian units.
• Special Rule: Paraguayan forces start hidden, Bolivians must scout carefully.
• Scenario 3: The Fall of Fort Boquerón (1932)
• Bolivian Objective: Break through Paraguayan lines before turn 5.
• Paraguayan Objective: Defend the fort; if it falls, retreat to fight another day.
• Special Rule: Mortars and artillery have limited ammunition (D6 rounds per gun).

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It is interesting to note that ChatGPT has taken into account the terrain found in ther Gran Chaco and the differences between that Bolivian and Paraguayan infantry. The former were mainly drawn from the Bolivian Altiplano (which is a high semi-arid and arid plateau with a cool and humid climate) and the latter were mainly Guarani who were used to living in the semi-arid, broadleaf jungle and scrub-covered lowland terrain found in the Gran Chaco.

A truly portable Portable Wargame

Last week, Daniel Weitz wrote a post on the Portable Wargame Facebook page about a portable ‘wargame in a box’ version of Mark Cordone’s recently developed HOPLITE Portable Wargame mini-campaign … and I was very impressed!

Daniel had created his boxed game using his 3D printer, and he has now added the printer files to the relevant part of the group Facebook page. From what I can gather, I was not the only person who was impressed with Daniel’s game and I understand that at least one other wargamer has 3D printed their own game.

I never cease to be impressed by the way in which other wargamers have taken my simple game concept and turned it into something incredible! May this long continue!

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Since I wrote this blog post, Daniel has now produced a boxed version of the PORTABLE NAPOLEONIC WARGAME ... which is even more impressive!

Daniel made the following point in a caption under the above photograph:

‘By standing the tiles on edge you have a 'Fog of War' as there are blanks. Artillery, cavalry and guns are of a slightly different size so that 'in the distance it looks like some horse, some foot and 'probably some guns' ... The French cannot see whether the British units are Elite, Line, Blanks or Poor until they start to move.’

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Please note that the photographs featured above are © Daniel Weitz.

Other people’s wargames: Nick Huband’s Egyptians vs, Nubians Fast Play 3 x 3 Portable Wargame battle report

Recently, Nick Huband fought an Egyptians vs. Nubians Fast Play 3 x 3 Portable Wargame using a modified version of Mark Cordone’s Ancients adaptation of the rules for a 6 x 6 squared grid.

The battle report:

In the 8th year of his reign the Divine Senusret set out on an expedition to subdue the wretched Kush. This is an account of his victory:

The Egyptians gained the initiative in the first turn and stood fast relying on their archery to wear the Nubians down. They scored 3 hits,  but the Egyptians elected to absorb the hits rather than retreating as the Nubians only hope was to get to close quarters. The warband charged home on the central Egyptian archers using the +1 bonus to contact. In the ensuing melee both sides took a hit with Pharaoh luckily avoiding getting hurt. This was enough to wipe out one of the warbands which had already suffered 1 hit from the bows.

On the second turn the Nubians took the initiative and fired on the Egyptians causing one hit on the spears. On the Egyptian's turn, the spearmen charged the light infantry who, taken by surprise, were unable to evade and suffered one hit and had to retreat. Against the other unit of spearmen the Nubians also doubled their score and wiped the spearmen out.

In the centre the melee continued with the two units backed up by their respective leaders clashing first. An additional modifier was applied in the melee, the difference in strength between the units. The Egyptians threw 6 and the Nubians 5. The Nubians had expended their charge bonus during the last turn, there was no difference in SPs, but the Egyptians gained +1 for having a unit in support. The Egyptians however suffered a -1 modifier being bowmen. The result was that the Nubians lost (just!) and the warband suffered 1 hit. The unit, already having lost 1 SP, was eliminated and the Nubian chief, having thrown a 3 was killed with his men.

At this point the Nubians had lost 8 SPs and fled the field.

Conclusion:

The odds were in the Egyptian's favour but if the pell mell charge by the Nubian warband had succeeded in killing Pharaoh, the Nubians might have won. The massed archery worked well but it was a close run thing!

The rule changes:

Because the 3 x 3 board is smaller than the 6 x 6 board used in Mark Cordone’s rules, the following changes were made:

• Bows had a range of 4 grid areas.
• Nubian warband was rated as barbarians.
• The remaining Nubian infantry was rated as light infantry.
• During activation, only 1 activation point is expended to move all the units in a grid area if they are all moving into the same new grid area.

The initial starting positions. The Egyptians are on the left and the Nubians are on the right.

Massed Egyptian archers. The Pharaoh has taken up a position just behind them.

The Kush (Nubians).

The Egyptian camp ... with all the comforts of home!

The Nubian encampment.

The Egyptian archers and Nubian warbands clash.

The critical clash!

The Nubian army is broken and flees from the battlefield.

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Please note that the photographs featured above are © Nick Huband.

Hare & Hounds: Maudlin Jack Tar's latest developments

Maudlin Jack Tar has continued to develop his version of the Hare & Hounds mini-campaign board and has come up with some really great ideas that he has shared via his blog Projects and Procrastination.

He has used the conditional formatting function on MS Excel to produced a spreadsheet that will automatically produce terrain maps for both 3 x 3 and 6 x 6 PORTABLE WARGAME tabletops ...

... and his maps include hills, woods, wooded hills, lakes, and built-up areas. In my opinion the results are impressive and very useful and I can see this being adopted by many other wargamers.

Furthermore, he has begun to use a Hare & Hounds mini-campaign board to fight an Ancient campaign ...

... and he has already fought the first battle of the campaign. For further details, please visit Maudlin Jack Tar's blog.

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Please note that the images featured above are © Maudlin Jack Tar.

A hexed version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame: Incorporating more feedback

Although some of my regular blog readers are happy with my suggestion that I turn my 3 x 3 hex grid through ninety degrees so that the the corners rather than the face of the hexes were at the top edge of the grid, other are more resistant. I have therefore gone back to look at the original layout both without ...

... and with the full-size Reserve Areas added ...

... and then with half-sized Reserve Areas added to the centre column ...

... to see if the suggested use of half-hexes works with it. The result looked like this:

My first reaction was that the end result was rather ugly and ungainly, so I made few changes. I turned all the Reserve Areas into half-hexes and removed two half-hexes from the central column, thus:

I think that the end result looks far better and returned to a 3 x 3 grid arrangement, albeit that the central column is made up of two full-size and two half-size hexes.

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I am not sure which of the two orientations (point of the hex to the top vs. flat side of the hex to the top) will work better than the other ... but it will give me something to think about over the next few days.

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After I thought that I had finished writing this blog post, I was struck by the fact that in the section immediately above this paragraph, I was trying to compare two versions of a 3 x 3 hex grid that were not really comparable. I therefore altered the left-hand grid by reducing by one column in width. The end result looks like this ...

... and has the same number of green half-hexes as the right-hand grid.

Despite being smaller, I still think that it looks better than the alternative.

A hexed version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame: Incorporating some feedback

I've had some interesting feedback from Arthur1815, Mark Cordone, and Archduke Piccolo and I have been playing around with my hexed version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame. In my last blog post, my hex grid layout looked like this:

My first change was to add a half-hex to each of the three hex rows (as suggested by Arthur1815) ...

... and this made the whole thing look better. (I think that the aesthetic side of wargaming is something that should not be ignored. I'm a great believer if something looks right, it probably is.)

I then divided each hex into two (again, as suggested by Arthur1815).

This immediately increases the number of grid areas.

I then changed the full-size Reserve Area grid areas to half-hex, which makes the whole thing far more aesthetically pleasing.

My 15mm Belle Époque armies are mounted on the following sized bases (width x depth):

• Infantry: 40mm x 20mm
• Cavalry: 40mm x 30mm
• Artillery: 40mm x 40mm
• Machine guns: 40mm x 30mm

The half-hex measures 10cm across and 5.8cm high ... so I can fit two single-base infantry and/or cavalry units or an artillery unit in each half-hex.

This means that the single-base infantry and cavalry unit can advance straight ahead or obliquely BUT the artillery unit may only advance obliquely.

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It is worth noting that Archduke Piccolo is also looking at the use of half-hexes, and I thoroughly recommend that anyone who has found this blog spot interesting should read his recent blog post.

A hexed version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame: Further thoughts

After looking at the original layout of the hex grid that I featured in yesterday's blog post, ...

... I wondered what it might look like if I turned it through ninety degrees so that the the corners rather than the face of the hexes were at the top edge of the grid. These result looked like this:

The second version of the hex version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame board.

The second version of the hex version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame board with the Reserve Areas marked in light grey.

This version of the grid still has ten hexes (shown in green) with three hexes in each of the top and bottom rows and four hexes in the central row. This is the area over which the battle will take place and a further row of four hexes (shown in light grey) are placed at top and bottom edges of the grid to act as the Reserve Areas.

Aesthetically, I feel that this second version looks better than the first and I wonder whether this alignment of the hexes might be more suited to the sort of wargames that are fought using the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame Rules. Unfortunately, for the moment I am unable to test this ... but the more I think about it, the more inclined I am to give it a try at the earliest opportunity.

A hexed version of the 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame?

One night recently I just could not get to sleep. The nerves in my right leg were constantly sending pulses of pain from the ankle to my knee and then back again. (I have been told by the Occupational Therapist that this is normal when one begins doing exercise after such a long time being immobile.)

I tried reading ... but just could not get comfortable. There was nothing on TV were watching at that time during the night and YouTube seemed to be overwhelmed with videos that I did not want to watch. In the end, I chose a recorded book (John le Carré's A SMALL TOWN IN GERMANY) to listen to and within a few minutes I had drifted off into sleep ... and then I began to dream!

Somewhat unusually for me, I actually remembered part of my dream when I woke up. It had been about discussing and playing a version of the Fast Play 3 x 3 Portable Wargame on a hex grid rather than a square one. I jotted this down on a notepad that I keep next to my bed ... and promptly forgot about it until yesterday.

Using MS Paint I created a suitable hex grid, and this is what it looks like:

Now, it has ten hexes (shown in green) with three hexes in each outer column and one four hexes in the central column. This is the area over which the battle will take place and a further row of three hexes (shown in light grey) are placed at either end to act as the Reserve Areas.

If I build such a hex grid using some of my Hexon II hexes, it will be approximately 60cm x 30cm, but if I leave off the Reserves Areas (which I know quite a few 3 x 3 Fast Play Portable Wargame players do) it will measure approximately 40cm x 30cm, which is approximately the size of an A3 sheet of paper.

I don't know if I will develop this concept any further, but if I have another dream about it, I may well do so!

My third YouTube video has been uploaded

I must admit that I've rather caught the YouTube 'bug', and I am really enjoying putting together videos to upload to the Wargaming Miscellany channel!

The latest is the next instalment in the story of the Franco-Prussian War of 1810, and covers the twin Battles of the Northern Frontier. Because it covers two battles, it lasts just over twelve minutes, but I hope that it isn't too long. (I have been told that five minutes is the average time viewers will spend watching a YouTube video.)

I have scheduled the latest video to upload at 10.00am this morning ... and it should be available to watch by the time you read this blog post.

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The video can be seen using this link.

My second YouTube video has been uploaded

I found myself with a couple of hours on my hands this afternoon, so I decide to see if I could create a video of a 3 x 3 Portable Wargame battle report.

I chose the first battle of the Franco-Prussian War of 1810, and despite a few mistakes that I made along the way, I learned a lot and this will hopefully help me to make more and better videos in the future.

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The video can be seen using this link.

Working on the ShamBattle/Portable Wargame battleboard (Part 2)

Once I had glued the first layer of foamcore to my baseboard, I marked the 8cm x 8cm grid on it using a long ruler and a Sharpie pen.

I did this to give me some idea what the end result would look like. I already had a rough plan of the grid I wanted to create ...

... and having a full-sized grid to look at helped me to finalise my ideas as to where various terrain features would go.

The board is intended to be used to fight battles using the ShamBattle/Portable Wargame hybrid rules that I play-tested back in November 2023.

I then began the process of gluing the second layer of foamcore on top of the first layer. Whereas the first layer had been glued on landscape (i.e. the longer edge of the A4 sheet of foamcore was glued parallel with the longer edge of the baseboard), the second was glued on in portrait (i.e. the shorter edge of the A4 sheet of foamcore was glued parallel to the longer edge of the baseboard), thus:

You will note that I cut the outline of the river into the foamcore sheets as I glued them in place. (I also made a small mistake when doing this and made the river end in the wrong grid square! I will need to amend my rough plan for the finished layout accordingly.)

I also marked the 8cm x 8cm grid onto the top layer of foamcore as I went along as I thought that this would be of assistance at the next stage of the baseboard's development.