HMGS-MidSouth

Afghanistan and Iraq articles

2009-11-04T08:25:00.000-08:00

Just want to let you know about a couple of articles I published this week that may be of interest. One is Operation Phantom Fury - the Beginning of the End of Al Qaeda in Iraq, by Richard S. Lowry. Saturday will be the fifth anniversary of Phantom Fury, the second battle of Fallujah.

The other article is What Next in Afghanistan?, an analysis/debate on the best option for success in Afghanistan that my employer arranged. The authors are strategist Ralph Peters and DoD intel expert John Sutherland. We asked each of them to write their opinions separately, then sent each one the other's comments and gave them a chance to rebut. Feel free to weigh in with your own opinions.

NASHCON 2010

2009-11-03T15:48:00.000-08:00

It is official - the contract has been signed, and Nashcon 2010 will be held May 28 - 30 at the Franklin-Cool Springs Marriott, where it has been for the last several years. Peter is working on the HMGS Midsouth Website so that updates can be posted as we have them. Please tell every miniatures gamer you know about this.

Baxter and Al will be handing out flyers at Fall In.

Gunboat Diplomacy at Uncle Bob’s Backwater ~~

2009-10-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

Gunboat Diplomacy at Uncle Bob’s Backwater ~~

By David aaaaaaarrrrgggggh Raybin

Now boys THIS was a game. Chinese pirates attacked by British gunboats in 28mm. A dozen players. A cast of thousands. The Brits were to capture or sink the pirates. Now we know why the Chinese boats were called Junks. They were shot to fish bait. But still a hell of a game. Duncan’s naval games are first-rate mate. And yes, the fellow with the silly pirate hat is me. Duncan is wearing the ball cap. Click on the PHOTOS to make a larger image Carry on !!!

Campaign Gaming - thoughts

2009-09-26T21:44:00.000-07:00

I've been involved in Campaign games since 1989. In those 20 years I've seem some that were enjoyable and many that fell apart. Lately some insight into this type of gaming has been brewing in my head. Ideas that are counter intuitive to my previous thinking.

Here are the main points I'd like to discuss:

1. An enjoyable battle is one where skill determines the outcome the most.

Thinking: I've spent the past couple of years getting involved in "points based" competition. Namely things I have avoided like the plauge for years like DBA are appealing to me more. In the past I held to strict simulations (determine how many yards to the inch, how many troops to the casting, recreate battles as closely as possible.) While that prior mentality was fun - what makes a game the most fun is a sense that, at the begining, anyone could win. This is especially so in a campaign setting.

2. Battlefield wins translate to bonuses on the larger campaign. Campaign bonuses do not translate into battle advantages (to comply with theory 1 above.)

Thinking: Balance battles are a key factor. This is counter-intuitive. Most battles in history favor one side or the other. We are playing a game though, not defending the mother/fatherland. We care more about having fun and having an ability to pull defeat from the jaws of victory with really awful play!

3. Fog of War must be artfully and carefully woven into the game.

Thinking: The players need enough information to make key decision and lack just enough to make it a gamble.

4. Campaigns must have clear win conditions for both sides. they may be different but they must exist and in a form that there is no ambiguity.

This means many things but the most important consequence is that players will be able to agree what is needed and move their forces in concert with each other. Nothing is guarenteed of course; there are still a lot of inexperience players out there. It should be the objective of the campaign to cement team members into a team that has great fusion. The best games I've ever played were like that - each of us acting like part of a larger whole.

5. Someone needs to collect the stories that come out of campaign play.

Thinking: Nothing is more important than recording everything so that in the end everyone can see the clever hidden movement, tactics, strategy, etc. I remember some of the best campaigns I was in because this was done. Create stories you and your friends will talk about for years to come.

Free PC Game - March to Baghdad

2009-09-16T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys, just want to let you modern warfare players know ProSIM is offering a free download of their Operation Iraqi Freedom game March to Baghdad: Episode 1 - Decision at Tallil Air Base. It's a special promo they worked out with our Armchair General magazine.

Here's the link:

http://www.armchairgeneral.com/marchtobaghdad

HMGS Midsouth September membership meeting

2009-09-12T13:28:00.000-07:00

General membership meeting of HMGS Midsouth will be held 11:00 a.m., September 19 at Wargames new location, 4825 Trousdale Dr., Suite 217, Nashville, TN. Gaming to follow.

Siege of Agusta News

2009-09-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

Mike Baker wrote to tell us about the convention known as "Siege of Augusta." He writes:

Siege XIX

www.siegeofaugusta.com

Siege of Augusta 2010 is coming.

January 22-24, 2010 in Augusta, Georgia
at the Doubletree Hotel (formerly the Sheraton)
2651 Perimeter Parkway, Augusta, Georgia 30909
Reservations: (706) 855-8100

We are looking for game hosts, sponsors, and volunteers. While we are billed as an historical miniatures gaming convention (being sponsored by the Historical Miniatures Gaming Society-Mid South), events are not limited exclusively to historically-based games. If you want to host a role-playing, fantasy, science fiction, or other event, you are welcome to sign up and attend. The only genre that we do not host is live-action role-playing (LARP) games due to space considerations. We look forward to ALL GAMERS attending this year's Siege!

HISTORY of the SIEGE OF AUGUSTA
The Siege was the brainchild of Dr. James Birdseye. Jim decided to start the Siege because he was new to the Augusta area and wanted to meet other gamers.

The first convention was held at the Ramada Inn on Washington Road in January 1992. Because the Siege was too large for the Ramada from the get-go, Siege II was held at the Landmark Hotel on Broad Street. Although many of the "grognards" enjoyed the Landmark (could it be due to the "gamier" aspects of downtown Augusta?), that facility was soon outgrown and for the fifth installment (1996), the convention was moved to the Augusta Doubletree) where it continues for Siege XIX (2009).

Although ably assisted by various persons throughout the years, Jim was the driving force behind the planning, organizing, and running of the Siege of Augusta. Everyone, whether player, event host, dealer, or guest, owe him a great debt of gratitude for his vision and hard work to have started The Siege and in keeping it running through all of these years. Jim has now passed the baton to others to continue the convention-we hope that the seed he first planted in 1992 continues to grow. We also hope that he will enjoy attending the Siege as a player as much as he did as it's Director.

Jim's dream was realized as the convention proved to be fruitful. During the 90s, the local gamers met on a monthly basis at Augusta State University; at times there would be 30-40 gamers attending. Although the group has dissipated over the past 5-6 years, renewed interest and commitment to reform the group has begun; many of the locals are now meeting regularly at the 2 locations of the Augusta Book Exchange in Augusta GA and Common Grounds Coffee House in Barnwell, SC.

Although the convention is one of the "crown jewels" of HMGS Mid-South (a historical miniature gaming society), it has never been strictly limited to historical miniatures, but rather, the convention has been open to a multitude of gaming genres. We like it this way because regardless of whether you are pushing around an orc or a fusilier, you are a part of the miniature gaming community. +

Wings of War at Uncle Bob's Den

2009-08-28T20:28:00.000-07:00

Wings of War at Uncle Bob's Den

by David Raybin

Gerald Swick put on great Wings of War game two weeks ago at Uncle Bob's den. First game since Nashcon. We were all ready to play. Gerald simplified the rules a bit so 10 (!!!!! ) of us could play. It was a lot of fun. Here are the photos boys:

HMGS Midsouth Membership Meeting set for Aug 15

2009-08-09T15:41:00.000-07:00

General membership meeting of HMGS Midsouth will be held 11:00 a.m., August 15 at Wargames new location, 4825 Trousdale Dr., Suite 217, Nashville, TN. This is intended to reinstate the third-Saturday-of-each-month meetings that had been held in the past.

Brief updates on activities of the HMGS Midsouth Board - Gerald Swick president, Al Gaiser vice president:

Nashcon 2010
We are exploring possible new sites, in addition to the Marriott where the convention has been held for several years. Board accepted Baxter Key's offer to serve as hotel coordinator, handling hotel negotiations and communications.

We placed a poll online re: Keep Nashcon on Memorial Day Weekend or move it to first weekend after Labor Day. Results marginally in favor of staying with Memorial Day weekend; the board's final decision will be based on hotel pricing and availability.

Individual board members and others have volunteered to serve as coordinators for various aspects of organizing the convention:

Advertising and Promotion: Gerald Swick
Dealer room manager: Al Gaiser
Game scheduling: Bryant Williams
Setup and breakdown: Scotty Reeves
Registration desk: Neel Woodall
Preregistration: TBD

Our membership database has existed only in paper form since a computer crash destroyed the electronic version some time ago. (Backup . . . always backup!) A member is in the process of rebuilding it in a format that can be used for email notices and for postal mailings when those are necessary.

Several fundraising options have been discussed and are being explored.

Historicon 2009 Photo Essay

2009-08-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

Just want to tell you I published a photo essay about Historicon on ArmchairGeneral.com. Our own Peter Mancini is among those pictured, during his presentation in the War College.

The Wanted program on NBC News

2009-07-13T13:01:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys. Just want to tell you something about a new program you may (or may not) have heard about. It's called "The Wanted," from NBC News, and it deals with tracking down accused terrorists who are living openly in Western countries. The investigators include a former Green Beret, a former Navy SEAL, and a journalist. I interviewed the former Green Beret, Roger D. Carstens, about the program, http://www.historynet.com/nbc-news-the-wanted-an-interview-with-roger-d-carstens.htm

The first episode airs Monday, July 20, 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time; the second (and so far final) one will be at the same time on Monday, July 27. I didn't get a screener on this one, the way I do with HBO programs, but it sure sounds interesting.

New location for HMGS-MS Activities

2009-06-27T15:35:00.000-07:00

From Wargames New Home

Wargames LLC, the Nashville based historical miniatures store from which HMGS-MS conducts many activities has moved to a much nicer location. While the last location was great - this one really is wonderful. There is a large enough area for 2-3 games out back and a parlor for 4 DBA games out front. The location has a great parking lot and is more convenient to gas, food and the highway (without the surprise of getting caught at the Rail Road crossing for 20 minutes!)

From Wargames New Home

I was there a couple of week ago when they first had it opened up with nothing there and returned again to day to find about 20 people there! There were 5 games going on at the time. I got in a round of DBA with a Marion Rome army. I was proof that it is better to be lucky than good. At the very end my opponent ran into command friction as I managed to pull my General out of the jaws of defeat and into a massive line of Cavalry and heavy troops that punched in and did their job. My opponent lost 3 points up front when his BUA was lost quickly. There was no hope of regaining it and that set him back greatly. He did have me exposed and ready for the kill but what can you do when the dice come up '1's for you and '6's for the other guy?

For fans of science fiction and fantasy there is plenty to do, see and buy at the shop which is a Games Workshop retailer. I got to see some painted up GW terrain that looked fabulous. Some of the gamers were there playing Warhammer 40K. It was quite a big battle and everyone seemed to be having fun. I am told that next weekend (July 4th) there will be a big shindig at the shop, open to everyone so please grab a friend or two and come on down.

LOCATION:
4825 Trousdale Suite 217 Nashville, Tennessee 37220

The big sign isn't out yet but the shop is down in the back near the model hobby shop.

From Wargames New Home

Ninja Revenge AAR posted

2009-06-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

I wrote up the Ninja Revenge AAR with lots of photos here. It was a fun game! It wasn't very historical but it did have elements of history and myth captured quite nicely.

There was an Arab-Israeli game at the shop as well. Someone who was in that should write that one up. I don't know if anyone took photos of it but the figures were very attractive 15mm and it sounded like everyone had a lot of fun!

Give my AAR a look and let me know what you think!

From 2009-06-13 Ninja Revenge
"You talkin' to me?"

Ninja Revenge, Next weekend at Wargames

2009-06-05T12:38:00.000-07:00

Hey all, I am hoping to run my Ninja Revenge game at Wargames next weekend. Anyone is free to join. I have room for 10 players. It is a nice balance between historical and realistic play with Shinobi Myth and fun rolling a lot of dice. All the players are on the same team trying to beat the system (which pretty much describes the life of a Ninja!)

Game start time will be 1PM so grab lunch. When you are there I'll tell you all the story of how a bottle of asian flesh paint exploded last week covering me and Ray and how Ray didn't Ninja Kill me on the spot!

From Ninja Revenge

Tennessee Game Days this weekend

2009-06-04T22:32:00.000-07:00

Hi all, I just found out about a boardgame convention that is in Nashville this weekend. It is called Tennessee Game Days and is up on Lebanon Pike (near Briley Parkway). You can get more information here: http://www.tngamedays.com/index.html.

I think I will attend. It is close to where I live. I think it would be fun. If anyone wants to join me just drop me a line.

They are also having a food drive so if you decide to go pick up something canned to help the needy.

Location: Donelson Christian Church, 2319 Lebanon Road, Nashville, TN 37214
Date: Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7
Times: Friday & Saturday: 9 a.m. until 1 a.m.; Sunday 12:30 p.m. until 8 p.m.
Cost for the Weekend: $25 at the door

At Tennessee Game Days, we like to try and give back to the community during our event. The location we are holding our event also serves as a food pantry for needy families in the area. With this in mind, we are, once again, holding a food drive in connection with our gaming event. We ask that, as part of your admission fee for the weekend, to please bring some non-perishible food items to donate to Second Harvest. Second Harvest is one of the largest food banks in the country and is pivotal to supplying many area families with much needed food. Please be generous and give back while you're having fun!

Nashcon 2009 After Action Report

2009-05-27T09:00:00.001-07:00

Nashcon 2009 has come and gone. Overall it was a success with many very interesting games being run, a great turn out of vendors and few issues with the location. Turnout was adequate. I did not get a chance to see every game in play, but for the sessions I wasn't there, there were some great games I heard about.

From Nashcon 2009

I arrived on Friday at about lunch time and set up my Wings of War game. I had 10 aircraft on the table. I also had a German aerodome, trench lines, two observation balloons and 3 AAA batteries. The 6 Allied aircraft needed to attack everything in sight with their bombers first bombing the Aerodome and then taking damage assessment photos. The game got exciting when I, as the Germans, miscalculated my immelmen turns and ended up having most of my aircraft tailed! Oh the humanity. While I did manage to put the hurt on several allied aircraft, that initial mistake ensured that my planes would be shot down before any allied aircraft were. That left it up to the AAA batteries and the trenchlines... While several near hits were made by the AAA, no further damage was done. With the remaining time the Allies made a nearly clean sweep of the Germans.

Next to me was a beautiful Minas Tirith game put on by Keith Jordan using HOTT. I believe it was the Battle of Pellenor Fields which he ran again on Saturday.

That evening I played in another WWI air game put on by Richard Houston (of famous Houston's Guns, Houston's Ships and other ventures). This one was massive with 100 air craft models at 1/300 scale involved in giant bomber attacks and fighter furballs. The rules were fun with enough detail to give some interesting tactical problems!

I heard that the Battle for Hoth game on Saturday Morning was a lot of fun with the Rebels gaining a slight victory over the Empire. Way to go! Bob Moon ran several 40mm FIW games and they are remarkable. He came all the way up from Florida to run these and they are fun and inspiring. The terrain detail alone is amazing. The figures are just gorgeous.

I attended the DBx clinic held at the convention on Saturday afternoon and that was great fun. There they taught the rules to any DBx game you were interested in. I have already played some DBA and liked it so I thought I would give HOTT a try. David Crenshaw brought two incredible armies he had just recently painted up and they were phenomenal to look at. I played two games using each army once. I have to say I am hooked on HOTT. I have a ton of fantasy figures I've collected. Some really oddball stuff! Finally they have a use.

David Crenshaw wrote up a nice report with photos of the event. I suggest giving his blog a view to see the photos and read about the 2009 Open DBA Championship. Congratulations to David Cliffel for his overall win!

One can't help but mention David Raybin's Combat Captain game which ran on Saturday night. This massive game involved 28mm scale figures and depeicted a small part of Operation Sealion with many reports on the web already. The rules are fun - without a doubt. They have some great innovations and are a good set of convention rules as they are easy to pick up and produce decent results.

From Nashcon 2009

ON the business side of things we had a membership meeting and election. The new set of BOD officers consists of:

Voting board members:
Gerald Swick, president
Bryan Connolly
Al Gaiser
Mike Randall
Bryant Williams

Non-voting members:
Neel Woodall, secretary
Mike Peccolo, treasurer

General Counsel: David Raybin,
Hollins Wagster & Raybin

That concludes the Nashcon 2009 After Action Report.

Nashcon coming soon!

2009-05-17T21:45:00.000-07:00

Memorial day weekend is nearly upon us and that means Nashcon! The HMGS-MidSouth web page has been updated to have the Preliminary Events List (PEL) and a complete list of vendors who will attend the show. We are all looking forward to Nashcon 2009 and hope you will join us.

May 22-24
Friday May 22 Doors Open at Noon
Sunday May 24 Doors Close at 1PM
If you have not done so book your room at:

Franklin-Cool Springs Marriott & Conference Center
700 Cool Springs Blvd.
Franklin, TN 37067
Phone (615) 261-6100

Combat Captain (Nashcon WWII)

2009-05-07T09:02:00.000-07:00

Combat Captain (the RULES) Nashcon 2009

As the song goes: "Saturday Nights All Right For Fight'n." Well at Nashcon this year we will have the premier of Combat Captain. WWII tactical combat with as few charts as I could contrive. The game has been playtested and will involve a might-have-been invasion of Great Britain in 1942. You can download the rules HERE for free. Lower down on this page are some photos from the game. We hope you will join us this year at Nashcon and give this a go.

Designer's Notes: My earlier rules – Charge of the Light Brigade – were primarily devoted to the Crimean War with significant numbers of battalions roaming the battlefield. More recently I toyed with Pirates and even Ironclads when I was in my “water mood.” An impetuous acquisition of some early WWII British and German troops put me square in the need of some tactical rules for that period. I looked for some suitable rules and found most were vastly too complicated. Others compelled the use of assorted-sized dice which have never appealed to me. And so, like most of us, I rolled my own: rules that is.

The limitation of six-sided dice dictated a host of charts and variables which made my first attempts as complex as all the other tactical games on the market. In a dream I suppose I hit upon the full, even, odd dice convention that plays prominently in the range and movement rules. I then decided that dice could represent not only distance and fire combat but that dice could substitute for time itself. “Paying” so many dice to conduct an activity would permit a delay in movement for example while the unit engaged in some other event such as seeking cover. This took a long time to conceptualize but once I understood the relationship the various factors became more apparent. The incidental benefit was the elimination of as many charts as possible.

Hitting on “three” as the “magic number” of dice per turn was by default. Fewer dice made things too slow and more allowed a side to get too much of a jump on the other side.The fire rules are an evolution of my musket-era charts albeit with far more variables that seem to be required in modern era games. We can agree I suppose that “shooting”is what WWII games are all about. A single chart would be tolerated if it was devoted to the killing of enemy units from afar.
The morale rule is a variation of that used in my other games. It is gradual and if you want to run about with morale markers affixed to your troops so be it. Again there are no charts and anybody can subtract one pip from every die as a penalty.
The “cover” rules flowed naturally from the need to avoid complex terrain modifications. Instead of you going to the terrain, the terrain comes to you as a function of the time it takes to get into the several degrees of cover. At the end of the day the game is designed for fun at our wargame conventions or where some stalwart souls want to engage in a favored pastime of our hobby.

Operation Market Garden Video up on YouTube for a shot time

2009-05-06T07:13:00.001-07:00

I finally found a copy of the film I made a few years ago. It is a home film of the Operation Market Garden mega game run at Fall In 2003. The video was intended as a home video only so there is a lot of copyright video in there. I also have lost all the interview permission slips, etc. So for those reasons I am only going to keep it up for a few weeks before the copyright police at Youtube catch wind of it.

The video takes about an hour, is unscripted and does the best it can to capture the entire game. The table was 60-70 feet long (20+ meters). There were thousands of miniatures, many dozens of buildings, all 11 bridges, etc. 70 gamers played in the game and were all playing the Germans. The 13 umpires pushed the Americans and British. It was run on Friday and Saturday and was grueling as hell for anyone who was there from first setup to final take down. It was rerun at Historicon 2005. I participated in that as well. The majority of the terrain boards were tossed in the dumpster as Marty didn't have room to store them. We saved the expensive bits as best we could.

This was one of my earliest films. I am an awful camera man and it shows. I didn't have great equipment but it came out reasonably good. Please spread the word about this video to anyone you know who games. The game was incredibly inspirational to my own efforts. So please blog about it, email and spread the word by mouth. Eventually I'll take it down or have it removed for me.

Enjoy!

Home Guard: (Invasion of Great Britain 1942)

2009-04-19T19:23:00.000-07:00

"If the enemy had descended suddenly in large numbers from the sky in different parts of the country, they would have found only little clusters of men mostly armed with shotguns, gathered around our search light positions. But now, whenever he comes, if he comes, he will find wherever he should place his foot, that he will be immediately attacked by resolute, determined men who have a perfectly clear intention and resolve to namely put him to death!" Churchill

On April 19 we play-tested the final version of our Nashcon 2009 game which is a tactical encounter during the might-have-been German invasion of Great Britain. The Germans believe that seizing selected airfields coupled with random troops landings will force general panic and compel a British surrender.

The battlefield is a 6 X 12 foot table with 28mm troops. Each player commands a company

The Home Guard is prominent in the defense of the airfield and the adjacent village. The Germans are represented by the feared Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers) who attempt to take the airfield. The Germans will also land troops from off-board in an attempt to link up with the paratroopers. The British regulars are rushing to stop the invasion.

The game is played using our Company Commander rules which allow a high degree of flexibility in unit activity during a turn. The idea is simplicity of play so the game will move along to a satisfactory conclusion in under three hours.

The Rules will be posted on-line in about a week. As with all our rules they are free. http://www.hmgs-midsouth.org/index_files/Page931.htm

We want to thank all the stalwarts who gave the game a go and gave us a final tinker with the rules.

Bernard Cornwell interview

2009-03-31T08:39:00.001-07:00

Many of you know I'm the Web editor for the Weider History Group's magazines. I try not to use this HMGS site to shill for my employer, but sometimes we post articles I know would be of interest, so I feel like I ought to tell you about them.

Case in point: On our GreatHistory.com site (we have three sites, which explains why I don't get to game as much anymore) I just published the last segment of an exclusive, 3-part interview with Bernard Cornwell about his Sharpe series, and I know he's a favorite with many of you. If you'd like to read the interview, this link will take you directly to all the postings of the interview's author, Paul Davis.

Cast a Mini Shadow

2009-03-08T18:43:00.000-07:00

March roared into Middle Tennessee like a lion, and it looked like snow would cancel the scheduled game at Bob Duncan's mancave on March 1. But then the ghost of Napoleon whispered to us, "You call this snow? Let me tell you about Russia." Thus inspired, we gathered, and the battle was on. We even had Richard Ellis, a son of Great Britain, recently transplanted to Tennessee, who came all the way from Jonesboro, and whom you can expect to meet at Nashcon. Unfortunately for Richard, he drew a French chit for his command.

The scenario was the Napoleonic clash at Talavera in the Iberian Penninsula, 1806, fought this day with 6mm figures. And there were a passel of 'em. Bob filled the table from one end to the other with little guys toting itsy-bitsy muskets. The French fought bravely as they overran advanced batteries, crossed the river and threatened the British center, but Bryant Williams' Spanish troops denied Nappy's horsemen admission to the town. The Spaniards wavered but held, and signed a lucrative contract with Alpo following the battle to get rid of all the dead French horseflesh.

Here are some photos from the day's battle.

Very Large Scale Games

2009-02-28T07:25:00.000-08:00

Background

Back around 1990 I got involved with very large wargames at MIT. These games were invariably based in WWII, 20mm scale and attended by 20 to 30 people. The rules we used were Command Decision II by GDW. There wasn't much about those rules that lent them to such large games excepts for the fact that one player could command a battalion easily.

Here is where we played a majority of the games: The Walker Memorial Building at MIT on Memorial Drive in Cambridge Massachusetts.

The second floor has an open area that can accomodate a 20' x 20' game pretty easily. And that is about the size of our largest games at the time. This allowed us to actually do a North Africa game without distorting the gun tables. Those extreme range shots made possible only due to large calibur weapons with excellent optics and trained crews. The frustration of seeing your enemy and knowing you'll be dead before closing into an acceptable range with him was all to real.

The games were rarely attractive - with such a large space we laid down tape for roads, clumps of trees as needed (excepts North Africa of course!) and that was about it. The most attractive game we did in that space was Omaha Beach. This a magnificent set up with sculpted beach, breaks and hills with bunkers. The Higgins landing craft would sail up and then it was the heart pounding race to find cover in the shingle. It was magnificent. We later ran that game at the Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA. I had the great privilage of running the 116th RCT up Dog Green into Vierville. It was a privilage because one of the spectators was a veteran Ranger who served at that battle. Another spectator who also had been speaking at the Museum that day was a Naval officer who showed us a section of the "map" that was used for planning before the battle and control afterwards. It was molded foam rubber, to scale, and had more detail than even our miniatures layout. In fact it had detail down to where fences were. I was shocked that they had that much information but they had done a number of photo recon flights and military intelligence did a great job of putting it all together. Both gentleman were interested in the way we simulated the battle and could appreciate the level of abstraction we had to take it.

Operation Market Garden

By far the largest game I'd ever been in was Operation Market Garden by Martin Baber and Sam Scott. This was a monster recreation of the battle. It literally had the entire Highway to Hell for XXX Corps to push up while all 11 bridges were air assaulted by the combined British and American forces. For 2 years these men labored to build the terrain and pull it all together. They tested sections of the game. My first exposure to it was fighting Nijmegan at an after-hours game at "Fall In" in 2002. This was just the city setup and it was gorgeous. Sam introduced his special, simplified rules for the game. It was a blast to play. We learned the style Sam was going for in running the game. The objective was for all potential game masters to learn how they intended the rules to work and then implement them that way when the whole thing was run. 6 months later we did 17 feet of the game at Havoc and we got to try acting as judges who pushed the Allies while all the players pushed the Germans. This allowed for drop in/drop out play as the German's had no "real" overall plan - just piecemeal attacks to try to slow down XXX Corps and retake any of the vital bridges. Finally at Fall In, 2003 we ran all 60-70 feet of game. Over 100 people participated and it was spectated on by pretty much everyone over the course of two days.

I made a film of it but the original files are lost (I have the hard drive from the dead machine so it is possible in the future I'll be able to get them back.) Here is a trailer made for the film:

Here is a picture from the game (photo edited of course!):

From HMGS-MidSouth

Running your own large scale game

The key to running a large game is making sure everyone is actively participating. Secondary to this is making sure you have distributed the load of Referree to enough skilled people who understand your vision. Optionally making the game visually appealing so that the whole spectacle really stands out.

Active Participation

Active participation is paramount. It is hard enough gathering a few gamers together. Gathering a large number is like herding cats. Keeping them active keeps them around. Nothing is worse than a game falling apart after so much set up and a couple of hours of play because people have become bored and walked off. One way of doing this is setting up the turns so that player interaction is constantly needed. Another way is having the GM's play one side and manage the players. In any event, the busier the players are the more engaged they will be in playing the game.

Referee Load

If a referee is overloaded he may be having fun but he isn't giving all the players that need his attention the full measure they need. Keep the game system simple enough so that people don't have to ask a lot of questions.

Good terrain and models

Large games benefit from good terrain and models. Large games have depth that smaller ones don't so they photograph better. The better the terrain and models are the better the game looks. You can also do things with larger games that you have trouble doing with smaller ones. In Operation Market Garden Martin and Sam created vignets of various things - like surprise scenarios. For example they modeled a crashed ME-109e and the pilot. This was randomly dropped into the game and suddenly it didn't matter what was the overall objective - everyone wanted to capture the pilot. It was randomness like this that really gave the game a feeling of authenticity - of being part of a story instead of a simple tactical situation.

Conclusion

Large games can be beautiful and can be fun. A lot of work up front is needed and you need to stick to the advice above to keep the game flowing. You may need to do a bit of work in fine tuning rules to get the mega game to work or you may find commerical sets work fine for this scale of a game. Be prepared to be flexible - no simulation works perfectly and some things can't be forseen before game day so keep your mind sharp and be ready to implement fixes if anything gets out of hand. Just remember - it's a game and it is meant to be fun!

World of Battle Tech

2009-02-10T20:03:00.000-08:00

PHOTOS (click on the photos for a larger version) and POSTED BY DAVID RAYBIN

Bryant Williams Put on a FANTASTIC World of Battle Tech GAME. Here is his write up and some photos I took of the game. This group REALLY knows how to pitch the dice. My son Ben couldn't make it since he has a new girlfriend and a new car !!

Gentlemen,
It's that time, again. The monthly meeting of the Greater Maury County Cussin', Fightin' and Drinkin' Club will be this Sunday (2/8/09) at 1:00 pm in the usual location. Strap on your Neuro-Helmets and warm up the Gauss Rifles. It's time to get down and dirty with a little taste of future history, as Major Bill so succinctly puts it! In the "kill or be killed" world of Battle Tech the only Mech Warriors that live long enough to count their credits are those willing to take risks and have the skills to see them through! Are you one of them? Can you pilot your mech through the fury of warfare in the 31st Century? We'll see on Sunday!

Gettysburg Trilogy available on MP3

2009-02-03T20:58:00.000-08:00

It was about 10 years ago that I helped research and then acted in a 3 part radio drama depicting the battle of Gettysburg. I just recently came across it again only to find it has been re-released as an MP3 trilogy! I don't get any residuals from this but I have very fond memories of working under the direction of Jerry Robbins at his mammoth high tech studio (aka his garage). The cast consisted of actual actors and then people like me who were re-enactors dragged into the production! It was fun and I ended up doing some work on two other radio dramas for Jerry. Great stuff.

I hope that if any of you are interested in this battle that you'll give it a listen. The production used real cannon and musket sounds (previously recorded of course). It took days to record, weeks to write and 10 years to make it into the 21st century!