Here we go again….again.

I finally managed to modify Neil Thomas’ One Hour Wargame rules down to a level that keeps with the vibe of the game.  The only departure to the rules is that I added a simple morale system.

I decided on each unit being eliminated upon taking its third hit.  It is easy enough to mark one or two hits with either a numeric marker or a two sided counter.  The third hit eliminates the unit so there is no need to mark that.

Determining the staying power of a unit on the average is also important.  I did what I usually do and assumed a chance to hit as partial damage.  So for instance, in normal conditions, a unit will be eliminated after the fifth turn of combat on the average.  I decided that if a unit took .67 hits per turn, it would acquire its third hit after 5 turns.  A simple table was developed so that a single die roll of 3+ would cause 1 hit.  A unit being attacked by a poor unit (D6-2) is eliminated after 9 turns.  So assuming .33 hits per turn would accomplish this.  So a roll of 5+ would cause a hit.  The final is a unit attacked by a superior unit (D6+2) would be eliminated after only 3 turns.  So this really is 1 hit per turn which would normally not require a die roll.  I decided to add some uncertainty.  So a 1 is a miss.  2 through 5 causes 1 hit.  A 6 causes 2 hits.  This fits neatly with the the rules since superior units can eliminate an adversary in 2 turns.  For half damage situations, 6 for poor, 5+ for average and 4+ for superior causes 1 hit.

Morale should not be overthought for this game.  When a unit takes a hit in melee, roll a die.  On a 5+ it must retreat 1 move.  This counts as that unit’s move for next turn.

This is the full play sheet.  Observe all of the rules and period specific rules from the book.  These modifications can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Turn Sequence

Move

Shoot if allowed

Melee if in contact

Morale for target if it took damage this turn

Move rates and Shooting Ranges

Infantry Move 6” Shoot 12”

Artillery Move 6” Shoot 36”

Cavalry Move 12” Shoot 6”

Combat

Die Roll	-2	0	+2
1	0/0	0/0	0/0
2	0/0	0/0	1/0
3	0/0	1/0	1/0
4	0/0	1/0	1/1
5	1/0	1/1	1/1
6	1/1	1/1	2/1

-2 column is for D6-2 combat. 0 column is for D6 combat. +2 column is for D6+2 combat.

The first number is damage for no cover/armor. The second number is damage for cover/armor/hill.

For double damage, simply roll twice and add the combat results together.

Units are eliminated after 3 hits.

Morale

Target unit retreats on a 5+ if it took damage in combat.

Cavalry will fall back if in contact with infantry at the end of combat.

My Favorite Rules Pt3b Artillery

Artillery generally has a maximum range of 4 times the maximum range of muskets. So if a musket has a range of 8″, then artillery has a maximum range of 32″.   A battery should be represented by a single gun model and 3-4 figures.  Each figure is representative of a single section.  This is particularly useful when trying to distinguish between a horse battery which typically had 3 sections and a field battery which usually  would be 4 sections.  British batteries always have 3 sections regardless of type.

Artillery ranges are close(2+), short(3+), medium(4+), long(5+) and extreme(6+).  A die is rolled per figure in the battery with each successful hit being a casualty.   There is a penalty of 1 when firing at other artillery and skirmishers.

Field artillery move at the rate of line infantry and may not fire on any turn they move more than 1″.  Horse artillery move at the rate of light infantry and can not fire if they move over half of their movement.

Close and short range cover the same range band.  If we have a 32″ range then close range is 4″, short is 8″, medium is 16″, long is 24″ and extreme is 32″.

That is about it for now.

 

My Favorite Rules Pt3 – Combat

Combat, be it melee or shooting, can share most of the same mechanics. I went back and forth with whether or not their should be a saving throw. Given that most simple games do, I thought I’d be different and dispense with them.

Lets take shooting first. I read once in an old Strategy and Tactics magazine, the one with the game Ney vs Wellington, that a musket was about 95% accurate at about 40 yard, 45% accurate at 100 yards and 5% accurate out to 200 yards. These are probably generalizations. I do agree that accuracy falls off at about 50 yards. The musket is probably not the limiting factor. It is the MK-I eyeball, the optical range finder that has not changed since the dawn of humanity that limits accuracy. Even in todays modern military, a firefight rarely occurs outside of 300 yards, which is the same range that firefights developed during the American Civil War.

I digress. The accuracy numbers are almost certainly only valid for a man who has no pressure and plenty of time to aim. For our purposes, we can fudge these into probabilities on a six sided dice. At close range, even under duress, a man can remain pretty accurate. So at short range, a roll of 3+ is a successful hit on a target in the open. Since we have no saves, a hit is a “kill.” At medium range, a 5 or 6 on a six sided die is a hit. We could over think this and say that 2 hits are required for 1 kill at long range and only a 6 is a hit. We are playing a game here. A 6 is required to hit.

We could say that we roll 1 die per figure shooting. That would probably result in a rather quick game. I’ve seen 1 die per 2 figures in games that had saving throws. I think for our game 1 die per 3 figures is good enough. At close range casualties will mount quickly. At longer range casualties will almost certainly mount slowly resulting inn a prolonged firefight. Round up the number of dice because this is being designed for a collection based as 3 figures per stand. So really you are rolling 1 die per stand.

Ranges can be whatever you want but short range is out to 1 quarter maximum range. Medium range is out to half maximum range. Long range is out to maximum range. Generally there can be a cover penalty of -1 or -2. -1 is appropriate for most cover. The target could be woods or inside a wooden building. -2 should be reserved for the toughest of cover such as trenches or higher stone walls. If the modifier puts you at a 7 or more to hit, then your fire is ineffective. It may seem a little harsh but it keeps a player from fighting the action at Marye’s Heights from long range. The player will have to move in close just to hit the enemy at a disadvantage while the enemy will likely delivering casualties at twice the rate!

You are probably wondering, “What is with the to hit numbers anyway?” 3+ is twice as likely as 5+ while 5+ is twice as likely as 6+. With that, we can ow discuss the melee, which units will hit on a 4+ in an even fight.

With melee you can have a list of situations that may favor one side or the other. Sum up the totals that apply to each side. If the difference is 1, the disadvantaged side hits on a 5+ in melee while the advantaged side still hits on a 4+. If the difference is 2 or more, then the advantaged side hits on a 3+ while the disadvantaged side hits on a 5+. I don’t want to make this too granular. Melee is messy. Casualties are always going to be inflicted on both sides.

In a melee, one side or the other must win. There are no ties. If the casualty totals are even, the attacker is repulsed. Otherwise, the victor is the side that inflicted the most casualties. This total for victory purposes can be increased if a general or other supreme commander is in the fight. He will usually add 1 or 2 to the total for victory point total calculations.

Finally, you are probably thinking that melee should be more bloody. Well, it has been shown time and time again that hand to hand combat was rare and short. One side or the other usually broke before the enemy came to grips. When combat did occur, other engagement would be resolved quickly.

That is enough for tonight. I would like to thank Vincent Tzao for kicking me into gear. 😉

My Favorite Rules Pt2

In my last post about my favorite rules, I said that I would work on combat in the next post.  Well, I generally like to write rules in order of sequence of play.  Movement comes next, so today I shall talk about movement.

Like everything else, I like to keep my rules short and sweet.  Infantry can move 6″ and cavalry can move 12″.  Remember, this can be modified by morale results.  Sometimes, a morale result can allow only a half move or even no move at all.  Other times, the unit might fall back or route 1 or two moves, which counts as the unit’s move for that turn.

Formed units typically turn about the center  with a turn consuming half a move.  Skirmish/light units may turn about the center up to 45 degrees for free.  Optionally, a unit may wheel and spend movement for each inch moved measured from the outside corner.

A formation change costs a unit a half move.  Formations can be line and column.  Columns can be march column or field column.  March column is 3 figures wide with multiple ranks lined up behind.  Field column is 6 figures wide with multiple ranks lined up behind.

As mentioned, infantry moves 6″ and cavalry 12″.  A unit in column gets a bonus move of +3″.  A unit in march column may gain an additional bonus of +3″ if it moves entirely on a road or path.   Finally, skirmish/light units get +3″ for being in skirmish formation.

It should be noted that a unit that is afforded a half move because of a morale result would only be able to move, change formation or turn as it only has a half move available to do one of the three.

As a final note, morale plays heavily on a unit’s movement ability.  A player may typically move their units as they see fit, within the rules of course!  When a unit starts taking casualties, morale rolls are typically required and this can slow a unit or even force it back.

So there it is!  Short and sweet!  Next time, I shall provide rules for combat.  This time I mean it!

My Favorite Rules Pt1 – Initiative, Turn Sequence and Morale

It’s  been longer than I intended to get this thing rolling.  I pinch my sciatic nerve and I aggravated it  to the point where I had to head to the doctor for some medicinal help.  I am well on my way back to full strength now and am ready to get going.

Initiative, turn sequence and morale seem like quite a lot of ground to cover but frankly, it really isn’t.  For initiative, it should be a matter of a head to head roll.  If one side has a better commanding general, then they get to add 1 to the roll.  A tie goes to the side that one the initiative last turn.  If it is the first turn of the game, a tie goes to the attacker.  The winner chooses to move first or second during the turn.  If they choose to move second, then they are surrendering the initiative to the other side.  This means that the initiative winner becomes the other side for tie breaking purposes.

The turn sequence is as follows:

Side A moves all of its units

Side B moves all of its units.

Both sides shoot with the following priority.

• Units that did not move shoot first both sides simultaneous
• Units that moved shoot next both sides simultaneous

Close combats are performed.

Units that took casualties are marked with a marker indicating that they will take a morale check before they can move in the NEXT turn.

Morale checks are made immediately before a given unit moves.  Sometimes it will be better for a player to move units at risk of routing first while other times you can wait until later in the turn.  Morale checks can result in a unit retreating, routing or even skedaddling off the board.  They can potentially shrug off the effects and move normally that turn or even go out of control and advance aggressively toward the enemy as a result of a morale check.  Nearby commanders can influence the die roll up or down by 1 or even 2 for army commanders but they will risk being killed.

0-   Unit dissolves.  Remove from play.

1     Unit routes 2 moves.  D3 casualties.

2     Unit retreats 1 move.

3     Unit may not move and remains disordered.  Check again next turn.

4     Unit rallies with consuming all movement.

5     Unit rallies consuming half movement.

6     Unit rallies without loss of movement.

7+   Unit rallies.  Cavalry and impetuous units make an uncontrolled advance toward the enemy attempting to make contact.

-1 for 25% casualties, in contact with an enemy, charged in flank or rear

-2 for 50% casualties

+2/+1/0/-1/-2 Army Commander nearby or  -1/0/+1 other general nearby.

For standing against an enemy charge, a 6+ and the unit will fight first, 5 or 4 unit fights simultaneously with charging unit, 3 unit disorders (morale marker for next turn) and fights simultaneously but at half effect.  2 or 1 unit retreats 1 move and fights second if contacted anyway.  0 or less unit routes 2 moves taking D3 casualties.  Also does not fight back if contacted anyway.

When a commander is used, roll a die.  On a 6, the commander is hit and may not use his influence.  1-2 horse shot.  Commander is out for the next turn.  3-4 commander is wounded.  Out D6 turns.  5-6 commander is mortally wounded or killed.

Notes:

It seems to be a trend these days where designers go for simplicity in much of their design and then muddle up the rules in the name of command and control.  They constantly try to go for near simultaneous play.  To me, this is a huge mistake for a number of reasons.  1) it often very hard to explain these rules to new players and even players who are more used to IGO-UGO.  Having both sides moving within the same phase and then resolving combat with a few simple priorities works wonders for keeping the game flowing and it still allows both sides to get into the fight.  The morale checks right before the unit moves will ensure an amount of uncertainty and that commanders can influence the die roll allows for a simple command and control system.

Units should be allowed to move as the players wish (within the rules!) until they get stuck in.  It is a rare occurrence that a formation would sit idly by for no apparent reason at all.  They are not under attack and likely will move toward the front when ordered to go.  Once stuck in, it will become increasingly difficult for a commander to control the units until it becomes unengaged.  The morale rules do an excellent job of enforcing the latter.

There is nothing difficult to explain here.  It is fairly linear in concept.  Both players remain engaged in game play throughout the turn.  I’ve used this system many times and have blted it onto my Featherstone rewrite, which you can find on my “Old School” page at the top of this blog.

Next time, I will go through the combat rules.  I’ll be changing them up some, moving away from the Featherstone style combat mechanisms.  I’ll even give some options for those that like saving throws and for those that prefer to do without them.