I'll do these posts as I work through the scenario, proportioned for a smaller miniature army that is functionally possible to use in a reasonable length game.
A quick look at a map shows that the length of the Gettysburg field, from roughly the end of Little Round Top to the other end at Cemetery Hill is around 7000 yards. I haven't decided if the first day's battle will be included or not. For this exercise, I'll just use the 7000 yard figure.
My table is 108" ( 9 foot). So - 7000 yards/ 108" = 64.8 yards per inch. I'm comfortable enough with my historicity to round that up to 1" = 65 yards. My preferred set of rules is Field of Battle, 2nd Edition. FoB's nominal ground scale is 1" = 25 yards. The actual to game ground scale ration is 65/25, or 2.6. I'm happy to say that the real to game ground scale is somewhere around 2.5 to 3 to 1.
So, this begins to tell us what kind of game proportioning (real units to game units) we'll see. If we assume the same 2.5 to 3 to 1 scaling, we can start to see where we are.
Assume that the game unit is the game representation of the nucleus of the multiple units it represents. The multiple real units would be deployed "somewhere" around that game unit nucleus, with 2.5 to 3 times the frontage. This means we'd also have more depth than the nucleus game unit. So, if we make another assumption (never assume, or it will make an....), and say that we have something like a box of 2.5 to 3 real units wide by 2.5 to 3 real units deep roughly centered around our game nucleus unit, that means that the game unit represents something like 6.25 to 9 real units. I can live with rounding that and saying 1 game unit = 6 to 9 real units.
At the least detailed OOB level, the Army of the Potomac had around 93,000 men. The Army of Northern Virginia had around 73,000 men. Let's assume, for the sake of conversation, that the infantry present for battle (leaving out cavalry and artillery) represents around 60% of those numbers. That leaves us with around 55,000 for the AoP and 45,000 for the ANV. If we take that further, and assume that each infantry regiment is 500 men, then the AoP has 110 regiments and the ANV has 90 regiments. Are these numbers correct? I don't know. I have plenty of resources to acurrately figure this out, but quite honestly, this is for a game, not a dissertation and I just don't want to go to that level of research!
So, if you're still following along, we were looking at 1 game unit equaling 6 to 9 real units. That means that the AoP would be 110/6 to 110/9 infantry units, or somewhere between 12 and 18 infantry (game) units. Similarly, the ANV would be somewhere between 10 to 15 game units.
My ACW collection (25mm) presently has 15 Federal infantry regiments in it. Zowie! 15 units is right in the middle of the 12 to 18 unit range we're looking at above. If I follow proportions, the ANV would then have 12 infantry units or so for the game.
What does each game unit represent? Surely at the extremes, a very large brigade to a division of real troops. Does that change the game? Not in the least.
Next will be a scaling of support units (cavalry and artillery) to get that correct.
This is actually quite a bit of fun! Now its back to the painting table to work on Libyan spear units for my Carthaginian army (Pulse of Battle).
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Saturday, December 8, 2012
Proportional Scenario - Process Begins!
I've been pondering which battle I'd like to use this process (proportioning) for to set up a game. My decision - the grand daddy of US battles - Gettysburg!
Why Gettysburg?
Well....why not? Everybody knows it, its fascinating, and there is interesting terrain.
Having been part of a club game for a convention around 25 years ago that was intended to do all three days of Gettysburg in the 3 days of the convention....in real time....that at the end of day 3 of real time at the convention was still mired in day 1 of the battle representation.....I know what hassles there are in doing a 1 unit to 1 unit representation of this battle.
I'll be pondering the scaling (game unit to real units), ground scale scaling, as well as time scales.
I'm really looking forward to this!
Why Gettysburg?
Well....why not? Everybody knows it, its fascinating, and there is interesting terrain.
Having been part of a club game for a convention around 25 years ago that was intended to do all three days of Gettysburg in the 3 days of the convention....in real time....that at the end of day 3 of real time at the convention was still mired in day 1 of the battle representation.....I know what hassles there are in doing a 1 unit to 1 unit representation of this battle.
I'll be pondering the scaling (game unit to real units), ground scale scaling, as well as time scales.
I'm really looking forward to this!
Monday, December 3, 2012
Representational, Proportional Historical Scenarios
What do I mean by "Representational, Proportional" scenarios? A more "common" term would be "bathtubbed", although I think this concept goes way back to Featherstone, Young, and Grant.
In short, all it is about is taking an historical action and scaling it to fit your existing collection size. There are some other considerations, and I think that is the "art" in the process.
Let me blather on and explain myself.
I see multiple posts on TMP or in blogs every day about refights of the battle of XYZ, using completely historical OOB's and ratings and terrain. Except.....does anybody enjoy these? I mean - if the real battle had 74 battalions on one side vs. 63 battalions on the other - who wants to play that game? Do you have a life? Not to mention the space and abstraction issues that arise from packing all the depth exaggerated units onto the table, the sheer time to move all the figures.....yawn. Those games remind me of monster board games. They sound good in theory, but by the time you get all the pieces set up, you want to just put it away because the thought of playing has become so daunting.
The solution is to take an historical action and just scale down the action.
But wait (I hear you say) - instead of doing that, I prefer to use grand tactical scale rules, and have each unit represent a brigade, with special rules for that appropriate level of command.
Well - that works, but quite often those types of games lack the tactical flavor and decision making that players like.
I much prefer to (using horse and musket terminology) use the battalion as the game unit and still have all the tactical interplay in the game.
We regularly scale a unit internally (ie, 1 figure = 50 men), but it is much less common to scale a battle externally (ie, 1 game unit = 5, or 10, or 17 real units).
Externally scaling battles also allows compression of ground scales, as well as terrain features. If you externally scale units, you should similarly do that for towns, villages, etc. (Have you looked at how many villages you'd have to use if you did a "true" scale game in NW Europe in WW2?) I'd also propose that the ground scale could be similarly scaled.
I think I'll take on an historical battle as a Proportional game and use that for some future posts as I work through the process.
No pictures this time....just thoughts.
In short, all it is about is taking an historical action and scaling it to fit your existing collection size. There are some other considerations, and I think that is the "art" in the process.
Let me blather on and explain myself.
I see multiple posts on TMP or in blogs every day about refights of the battle of XYZ, using completely historical OOB's and ratings and terrain. Except.....does anybody enjoy these? I mean - if the real battle had 74 battalions on one side vs. 63 battalions on the other - who wants to play that game? Do you have a life? Not to mention the space and abstraction issues that arise from packing all the depth exaggerated units onto the table, the sheer time to move all the figures.....yawn. Those games remind me of monster board games. They sound good in theory, but by the time you get all the pieces set up, you want to just put it away because the thought of playing has become so daunting.
The solution is to take an historical action and just scale down the action.
But wait (I hear you say) - instead of doing that, I prefer to use grand tactical scale rules, and have each unit represent a brigade, with special rules for that appropriate level of command.
Well - that works, but quite often those types of games lack the tactical flavor and decision making that players like.
I much prefer to (using horse and musket terminology) use the battalion as the game unit and still have all the tactical interplay in the game.
We regularly scale a unit internally (ie, 1 figure = 50 men), but it is much less common to scale a battle externally (ie, 1 game unit = 5, or 10, or 17 real units).
Externally scaling battles also allows compression of ground scales, as well as terrain features. If you externally scale units, you should similarly do that for towns, villages, etc. (Have you looked at how many villages you'd have to use if you did a "true" scale game in NW Europe in WW2?) I'd also propose that the ground scale could be similarly scaled.
I think I'll take on an historical battle as a Proportional game and use that for some future posts as I work through the process.
No pictures this time....just thoughts.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Pulse of Battle Update
WooooooHoooooo! The Denver Mannings....err....Broncos are 9-3! Sweet season so far, I can hardly wait until Thursday when the next game is against the Raiders. Have I mentioned how much I dislike the Raiders?
Anyway - an update on Pulse of Battle. We played another development game last night, and it successfully cleared up a handful of lingering issues. I'm very happy with the rules, how they play, and the feel of the games. I'll be cranking away on finishing the writing.
Next game in January will be with an entirely new concept for "Follow Me!", the WW2 squad game.
Some photos from the game:
Anyway - an update on Pulse of Battle. We played another development game last night, and it successfully cleared up a handful of lingering issues. I'm very happy with the rules, how they play, and the feel of the games. I'll be cranking away on finishing the writing.
Next game in January will be with an entirely new concept for "Follow Me!", the WW2 squad game.
Some photos from the game:
Saturday, November 3, 2012
My Armies
As I sit and create this post, I look off to my right, and see the cabinets containing the "completed" armies that I have. Unfortunately, the not-yet-started greatly outnumbers the completed. What are my armies and why do I have them?
Franco-Prussian War 1870 - Wargames Foundry figures. This is my oldest 25mm set of armies, and the first that I raised once I made the decision to solely focus on 25mm. I love this period - the full transition to breechloading rifles, much better artillery, cool uniforms. Eventually I'll return to these armies and add more infantry and artillery.
Austria, 1859/1866 - Technically, these figures (Battle Honors) are for 1859 as they're in the tunic and not the boring grey coat. But - white coats are prettier, they're my armies - so there! These little warriors do battle with the French (see above) in 1859, and also the Prussians in 1870. They exist to give the French and Prussians an enemy that they can both beat regularly. I consider this army to essentially be complete.
French Napoleonic - created around the pre-1812 uniform and flags, with a combination of Old Glory, Elite, and Wargames Foundry figures. This is one of the larger armies that I have, and it features several units of figures painted by Eric Miller, painter extraordinaire. Future plans include more cavalry.
ACW Federal - another of my favorite armies, using a combination of Old Glory, Sash and Saber, Redoubt, and Wargames Foundry. No two figures alike in the units. Considering that the ACW is my passion for reading and researching, this shouldn't be a surprise. My long term plans are to add more units, but specifically a ton of cavalry for some entirely cavalry vs. cavalry bashes.
British Napoleonic - created in the stovepipe shako with the Penninsula in mind. These are Elite and Old Glory figures. I love the red, and the Spanish and Portuguese allies. What a colorful army on the tabletop.
ACW Confederate - a wondrous mass of browns, tans, khakis, grays, and blues. Combination of Old Glory, Sash and Saber, Redoubt, Renegade, and Wargames Foundry. I love this army. No two figures alike in the units.
Austrian Napoleonic - in helmets, for 1809 and earlier. The white uniforms "pop" with the bright variety of facings and flags. This army is essentially finished, but I'll probably add both infantry and cavalry. Combination of Old Glory, Sash and Saber, and Elite.
Prussian 1814/1815 Napoleonic - I picked this army up in a sale from Eric Miller. All Wargames Foundry. Not the most colorful army, but tons of variety in quality of units. They need to make it out onto the table more often.
Austrian SYW - still need to add more of everything to this army, using Old Glory. My Prussians are currently limited to 4 units, so this period will require some work to get onto the table.
Late Roman: Another army purchased from Eric Miller. Wargames Foundry figures, waiting for rebasing to Pulse of Battle standards.
Roman Republican: Old Glory and Wargames Foundry. I love these guys. Lots of color, but a stolid straigh ahead no nonsense army. No messing around with namby pamby archers and light cavalry for these boys.
Macedonian/Successor: Old Glory and Wargames Foundry. I purchased the core of the army from Eric Miller (pike and cavalry) and have added to it. What a combination of tactical tools - pike, elephants, slingers, archers, heavy and medium cavalry, as well as a conglomeration of Gauls that I toss in as mercenaries/allies.
WW2 - 1944 - WestWind Germans and US. Lots of Shermans and PzkwIV's, infantry, MG's, mortars, AT guns. I really want to get back to some WW2 games
You should see what I still have to paint - both in the above and in new periods! But....that's a different post.....
Franco-Prussian War 1870 - Wargames Foundry figures. This is my oldest 25mm set of armies, and the first that I raised once I made the decision to solely focus on 25mm. I love this period - the full transition to breechloading rifles, much better artillery, cool uniforms. Eventually I'll return to these armies and add more infantry and artillery.
Austria, 1859/1866 - Technically, these figures (Battle Honors) are for 1859 as they're in the tunic and not the boring grey coat. But - white coats are prettier, they're my armies - so there! These little warriors do battle with the French (see above) in 1859, and also the Prussians in 1870. They exist to give the French and Prussians an enemy that they can both beat regularly. I consider this army to essentially be complete.
French Napoleonic - created around the pre-1812 uniform and flags, with a combination of Old Glory, Elite, and Wargames Foundry figures. This is one of the larger armies that I have, and it features several units of figures painted by Eric Miller, painter extraordinaire. Future plans include more cavalry.
ACW Federal - another of my favorite armies, using a combination of Old Glory, Sash and Saber, Redoubt, and Wargames Foundry. No two figures alike in the units. Considering that the ACW is my passion for reading and researching, this shouldn't be a surprise. My long term plans are to add more units, but specifically a ton of cavalry for some entirely cavalry vs. cavalry bashes.
British Napoleonic - created in the stovepipe shako with the Penninsula in mind. These are Elite and Old Glory figures. I love the red, and the Spanish and Portuguese allies. What a colorful army on the tabletop.
ACW Confederate - a wondrous mass of browns, tans, khakis, grays, and blues. Combination of Old Glory, Sash and Saber, Redoubt, Renegade, and Wargames Foundry. I love this army. No two figures alike in the units.
Austrian Napoleonic - in helmets, for 1809 and earlier. The white uniforms "pop" with the bright variety of facings and flags. This army is essentially finished, but I'll probably add both infantry and cavalry. Combination of Old Glory, Sash and Saber, and Elite.
Prussian 1814/1815 Napoleonic - I picked this army up in a sale from Eric Miller. All Wargames Foundry. Not the most colorful army, but tons of variety in quality of units. They need to make it out onto the table more often.
Austrian SYW - still need to add more of everything to this army, using Old Glory. My Prussians are currently limited to 4 units, so this period will require some work to get onto the table.
Late Roman: Another army purchased from Eric Miller. Wargames Foundry figures, waiting for rebasing to Pulse of Battle standards.
Roman Republican: Old Glory and Wargames Foundry. I love these guys. Lots of color, but a stolid straigh ahead no nonsense army. No messing around with namby pamby archers and light cavalry for these boys.
Macedonian/Successor: Old Glory and Wargames Foundry. I purchased the core of the army from Eric Miller (pike and cavalry) and have added to it. What a combination of tactical tools - pike, elephants, slingers, archers, heavy and medium cavalry, as well as a conglomeration of Gauls that I toss in as mercenaries/allies.
WW2 - 1944 - WestWind Germans and US. Lots of Shermans and PzkwIV's, infantry, MG's, mortars, AT guns. I really want to get back to some WW2 games
You should see what I still have to paint - both in the above and in new periods! But....that's a different post.....
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Update!
Despite my best intentions, it seems to have been a couple of weeks since my last update.
Quite possibly, its the altitude here in the Denver metro area that has befuddled me and left me off of my game. At least, that's a theory that Al Gore seems to believe in.
On the other hand....
Sometimes its just hard to muster the enthusiasm to blog when other projects are rolling along. Pulse of Battle is entering the final stages of final draft writing, prior to submission to my hardy band of editors. I've also been furiously painting Romans for PoB games (photo below).
Other than that, I've been doing a ton of reading on the Punic wars and the wars of the Successors. I'm drawn more and more to the Successor/Late Hellenistic era - quite the paper/rock/scissors of troop types and capabilities.
I've also been doing more and more in depth study of the Wars of the Roses, along with acquiring more books (!) on the era. The names and lineage of the key characters is slowly starting to sink in. You must forgive an American for confusion with all the names and titles!
I do find myself feeling that Richard III may have gotten the short end of the stick, so to speak, from the Tudor's PR machine. He's certainly and interesting character - I'm fascinated to see what comes of the archaeological dig purporting to have found his burial place.
On to the Broncos - Patriots game tomorrow! It is SOOOOOOO nice to have a REAL quarterback in a Broncos uniform again. Should be a great game, although I do believe that the Broncos have their work cut out for them.
That's all for now. I'll try to post more frequently.....
Quite possibly, its the altitude here in the Denver metro area that has befuddled me and left me off of my game. At least, that's a theory that Al Gore seems to believe in.
On the other hand....
Sometimes its just hard to muster the enthusiasm to blog when other projects are rolling along. Pulse of Battle is entering the final stages of final draft writing, prior to submission to my hardy band of editors. I've also been furiously painting Romans for PoB games (photo below).
Other than that, I've been doing a ton of reading on the Punic wars and the wars of the Successors. I'm drawn more and more to the Successor/Late Hellenistic era - quite the paper/rock/scissors of troop types and capabilities.
I've also been doing more and more in depth study of the Wars of the Roses, along with acquiring more books (!) on the era. The names and lineage of the key characters is slowly starting to sink in. You must forgive an American for confusion with all the names and titles!
I do find myself feeling that Richard III may have gotten the short end of the stick, so to speak, from the Tudor's PR machine. He's certainly and interesting character - I'm fascinated to see what comes of the archaeological dig purporting to have found his burial place.
On to the Broncos - Patriots game tomorrow! It is SOOOOOOO nice to have a REAL quarterback in a Broncos uniform again. Should be a great game, although I do believe that the Broncos have their work cut out for them.
That's all for now. I'll try to post more frequently.....
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Pulse of Battle Update
Hmmm. It appears that it has been a while since my last post. A couple of vacation trips, including our motorcycle vacation to the Black Hills, has been part of the cause for the blackout. Also - I've been using my writing time to instead focus on the writing of Pulse of Battle, the Field of Battle based ancients set of rules.
We played another set of test games last night - Republican Roman vs. Late Macedonian. The Romans won game 1, the Macedonians won game 2. Both games were played in one evening. Game 1 took 2 hours and game 2 took 1 1/2 hours. Both games came down to the wire, and were everything I'm looking for in a set - drama, tension, command decisions, and action. The games seem to have the balance of types and capabilities that I want, and ran smoothly. A handful of changes came up, but those were small tweaks.
At this point, the rules are written, and are in the "right before sending to editors" stage. With any luck, I can be "done" writing PoB in October/November.
A couple of photos from the game last night:
A completely disordered Phalanx!
Battle!
We played another set of test games last night - Republican Roman vs. Late Macedonian. The Romans won game 1, the Macedonians won game 2. Both games were played in one evening. Game 1 took 2 hours and game 2 took 1 1/2 hours. Both games came down to the wire, and were everything I'm looking for in a set - drama, tension, command decisions, and action. The games seem to have the balance of types and capabilities that I want, and ran smoothly. A handful of changes came up, but those were small tweaks.
At this point, the rules are written, and are in the "right before sending to editors" stage. With any luck, I can be "done" writing PoB in October/November.
A couple of photos from the game last night:
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