Rules Criteria Addendum

In a previous post I listed out the criteria I am using to decide on a rule set.

After reading several rule sets and reading reviews for others, I realized that a major component of game mechanics is how the rules implement Command & Control of units. There are a few different "flavors" of C&C that I will try to detail in a future post, but for now here is the new formulated criterion in a similar format to my previous criteria:

"Realistic" Command & Control - The way elements are ordered to take action in the game must in some way simulate the "fog of war". Straight IGOUGO is just too abstract for my tastes. I'm not particular about exactly how C&C is implemented as long as it in some way simulates the difficulty of controlling a force in an ancient battle.

Lost Battles

After embarking on this quest to find a good rule set for Ancients wargaming, I pretty quickly realized that intrinsic to selecting a rule set was an understanding of the common vernacular used in these games.

Questions such as "why is it better to move my elements in a line?", "what exactly are light infantry useful for?", and the ever present "how do you out-flank?" stumped me early on and it seemed the rules were happy to explain the game mechanics, but not necessarily expound on the underlying assumptions.

To determine ultimate viability of these rule sets, one arguably needs a historical understanding of the era, knowledge of the different troop types & qualities, appreciation for the environmental challenges, acknowledgment of the limitations of command & control, comprehension of the psychology of an ancient warrior, and detailed analysis of the many famous battles & commanders that marked this time.

The book I found to help with these questions is Lost Battles: Reconstructing the Great Clashes of the Ancient World by Philip Sabin.

Reading this book answered many of my questions and generally helped me become more knowledgeable about the era. Here is my full review on BoardGameGeek.

Gaming in Plastic

I did a little bit of second guessing early on in this process about scale. As I scanned the web for wargamer blogs and sites, the majority embraced a different scale. Very few people I could find had adopted 20mm, much less plastics.

Undeterred, I was happy to find a few key sites that supported my decision.

Here's a 9-part series from Tabletop Gaming News called Gaming in Plastic that addresses some of the more common concerns.

Why Game with Plastics?
Perhaps the most oft-cited reason to game with 1:72-scale plastics is the low cost. It is possible to get boxes of 40+ figures for $12 CDN in most historical eras. At 30 cents each, these models are significantly less expensive than metal figures. For gamers who are either exploring historical miniatures for the first time or starting in a new era, this cost saving is very attractive.

Plastics are also readily available at many local hobby stores and over the Internet. And, most importantly, there has been significant growth in the available ranges over the past five years, particularly from producers located in various eastern European countries.

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Over the course of this series, I will address [several] concerns through the application of modeling, painting and basing products and techniques.

Gaming in Plastics