Monday, April 12, 2021
Toy Soldiers Wargame
In the last few weeks I have been playing with different ideas for games. I have also spent too much time on the computer trying to get inspiration. I started thinking of why I enjoyed playing with toy soldiers as a kid. As a kid there was no tape measures, no dice and no rules. I decided to try a game where movement was between terrain, not measured moves. Using "Close Wars" terrain, the toy soldiers would advance to the next terrain feature in front of them. If it was occupied by the enemy, they would be caught in the open. There is no measuring for shooting; depending on the weapon it would be decided if the enemy was in range. When in doubt roll to decide. I still use dice to decide hits. I started a game using some Airfix Combat Infantry Group figures. It has been enjoyable game, wither I play again or not.
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I've done something similar with an idea borrowed from several board games. Area movement and shooting with the battlefield divided into nine areas, 3x3 with the areas defined by the terrain. (A hill, a wood, a town etc.) Fast units can move 2 areas, slow units one. Units must stop if the enemy is in an adjacent area. Combat is between adjacent areas, as is shooting, with long range units shooting 2 areas. Both sides also have a reserve area which touches all three areas on their base line. They can't deploy units in the three middle areas, but must move there.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good idea. Just reading your ideas makes me think of a limited campaign game. Having a master map divided into grids, each grid would be transferred onto your playing area. This might work well with an urban campaign, such as the battle of Stalingrad.
DeleteThanks, it's simple enough to be easily modified for just about anything.
DeleteVery interesting idea indeed. I must give it a go...
ReplyDeleteI think it might work well as long as one side is mainly defense. The "Green Helmets" would only advance to retake lost territory. At one point they did attack forward their line of defense, losing one man. Once again, this was not "written down" anywhere, I just went with the flow of the game and what made sense at that point of the game.
ReplyDeleteI intend to try your rules from the above post, sounds terrific fun!
DeleteThanks, interested to hear of your results.
DeleteFor a slightly more complicated game you might want to give Bob Cordery's portable wargames rules a go, it's a fun, fast, flexible system.
ReplyDeleteI have been using Bob Cordrey's various rules for many years. I was trying to make a very basic game, that would be fluid and different from the games I have been playing. I started writing ideas down earlier: after looking at them my rules were basically Memoir 44 using normal dice and no cards. I was shooting for rules that a 9 year old would understand.
ReplyDeleteTry adding this to my movement rules above. Units start with 2-6 strength points, each hit removes one, at 0 they are eliminated. Each unit has a rating of 1-3, one being poor, two average and three elite. They roll 1d6 when shooting or in close combat and score a hit if they roll less than or equal to their rating. If they have the advantage, like flanking, uphill etc they roll two dice and can score two hits. Turns: both sides roll a die, high roll choosing to go first or second. Shooting, both sides shoot, considered simultaneous, units can shoot at targets they can see not in melee one area away, two for artillery. If the target has cover it gets a 50% save. Melee, units melee by entering an adjacent area. All units involved roll to hit. If one sides units take per more hits than the other they test morale by rolling 1d6 per unit and adding its rating. If the total is less than 6 it must retreat. If both sides have units in an area at the end of the turn melee continues next turn. Units in melee at the start of a turn can't move or shoot and combat continues until all units in an area are destroyed or retreat.
DeleteYou have many interesting ideas for a game. Have you played out any games with these rules? It sounds like you started with some basic rules, then added rules to make the games more unpredictable and interesting.
DeleteYes, I've been using them for quick games for years and experimenting with different time periods. The idea was to make some one brain cell rules that fit on one sheet of paper. Then have period specific rules that also fit on one sheet.
DeleteThat's a good way to do it, have a basic set that you can add to.
DeleteFor slightly more complexity, the initiative rolls are the number of units a side can move in a turn. Generals can move an extra unit if attached, but have a 1/6 chance of being hit if the unit suffers losses, but grants an advantage to the unit. Winning the battle: you can win by eliminating all enemy units in one vertical column ( left, right or center), or by eliminating units. Roll an average die at the end of the turn (233445), if the number rolled is equal to or greater than the number of units lost, the army breaks. I use armies of 5-8 units. For a longer game, if a unit has advantage, it rolls two dice and takes the best result, but can only score one hit. I also sometimes apply disadvantage, an example would be cavalry attacking squares, roll two dice but take the worst result. That's my whole basic system, hope it provides some enjoyment and food for thought.
DeleteBy the way, one project I was considering was a WW2 campaign using Bob Cordery's Hexblitz rules.
ReplyDeleteI, too was thinking of doing a campaign using Hexblitz. Instead I used the old Avalon Hills game, Tactics 2. Unfortunately with my fat shaky fingers, it was a little tricky. I want to start using clearly identified units again, where units could built reputations, wither it's good or bad.
DeleteYup, sometimes its best just to let the spirit move you.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the "spirit" will take over in other games for me. Being less of a "Rules Lawyer" was quite liberating!
ReplyDeleteFree-ranging rules using army men. That is inspired stuff John!
ReplyDeleteRegards, James
I started to work on this to use with some other figures. I was trying to capture that "playing with toy soldiers" from childhood, except with rules for hits.
ReplyDelete