Wargames On The Horizon

 This coming Saturday Mat and I will play another American Civil War game this time on the 12 foot by seven foot table in the garage rather than the 12 by 11 we used last games. Yes, it should be free of assorted STUFF.

The plan is that the game will be slightly bigger than last game with ten or so units a side plus four or five  cannons. We will take turns each move rolling dice to see how many units (of our choice) we can bring on. That way a small force might have to hold up or evade a larger force until reinforcements arrive.

We also are well advanced in planning our fantasy campaign game. We each will have 800 credits to buy units and supplies. Map movements will be undisclosed by each player until forces meet via paper placed in screw drawers. If a scouting force discovers an army it has to return to the main force to disclose what is there otherwise all the other player will know is that SOMETHING is there. There will also be a chance that war does NOT break out yet or that third countries invade our own.

We each have five castles, including our capitals and various settlements. I spent some time today naming these and also natural features. I looked up my old battle reports from a few years ago to use some of the same names although I was not sure exactly on location of some of them. Some of the rivers are named after old Australian, extinct soft drink brands - Tarax and Marchants. Some places are named after local towns with spellings reversed. The Whispering, Endless and Wandering Forests have been added to the map.

The price of units favours the new style army of matchlocks and pikes, these being cheaper than long bowmen. But the selection of the long bowmen in limited numbers is still a temptation as they have superior range and bowmen can make a half move and still shoot.

Armies will be commanded by generals that will have various qualities that might be advantageous or a liability. Additional heroes can be attached to armies or sent on quests for treasure into the more supernatural lands. A small number of wizards can also be distributed with armies. Some forces will just be small garrisons or scouting forces.

I still need to fine tune the heroes and commanders as quite a few heroes with our chance mechanism actually produced quite a few wimpy ones! There will be some upgrades.

Weather may also be a factor we introduce. This can affect movement and the effectiveness of matchlocks and bows.