Recipe

[martin goddard]

Wargames rules often happen in waves, with a new set quickly followed by similar ones. Of course this is a generalisation, but will serve for discussion purposes(?)An example would be WRG DBM which was followed by a slew of ancients rules using the individual base as the smallest manoeuvre unit.

i will confess to not having read many recent sets but here is what "seems" to be the popular  recipe 2010 to 2020 for a big seller rule set.
I write this as observation/discussion, not as a set of ideas I might consider.

1. Use 28mm figures (worth selling, not many required   <40?)
2. Group figures into units 8-12.
3.Table size 4x4
4. Have a set of cards or charts to create random events.
5. Allow non historic compositions. skirmish units to have an attached artillery gun/tank/elephant/air support  Loads of (or only) tanks, fine. if it sells the rules. You want a field gun to accompany your patrol?, fine here it is.
6. Expect very high attrition rates.
7. Base games on a selection of scenarios. Usually a single victory criterion (capture the blue flag, seize the bridge)
8. Include a couple of "win" pieces (hero/special event/ crucial die roll)
9. Keep the mechanism non period specific. The rles can re-appear as Napoleonic/dark ages.

Discuss

martin

[pbeccas (Paul)]

I personally really like random unit activation which occurs in Bolt Action or IABSM. Then throw in the chance to blunder like in Blitzkrieg Commander or Black Powder.  Adds a bit of chaos into the game.

But I think current trend in all games is a small number of figures and quicker games.  We all seem to be time poor. 

[Leman (Andy)]

I certainly prefer quicker games with less complex rule mechanisms, but my preference is still for larger battles. Since buying Square Bashing, I have invested in Bloody Big Battles, Honours of War, Baroque and To The Strongest. I'm not very interested in post-1925 games or in many skirmish games (Pikeman's Lament and Saga being exceptions), and I am just as likely to be found using 2mm, 3mm, 6mm, 10mm, 15mm and 25/28mm. Re. RFCM games, I use PP figures for Wars of the Roses, Great Italian Wars, English Civil War, ACW and WWI 

[Colonel Kilgore]

To Martin's initial posting on rules trends:

A) there is a growing tendency for manufacturers to provide rule-specific / -targeted ranges, and even "battle packs" (or indeed, for the rules to be based around the figures). I guess they're simply lagging PP by about 30 years...?

B) Some rules are making more use of scenarios (e.g. Neil Thomas' One-Hour Wargames), which I feel is a welcome trend.

C) There have also been one or two goes at having online portals / app-based support to rules. I sort of get this, but it is also another kind of "table clutter" by another means.

D) There is a clear gap in specifying the music to be played while gaming...

[myrm]

To Martin's initial posting on rules trends:
D) There is a clear gap in specifying the music to be played while gaming...

Other than Ride of the Valkyries, Pomp and Circumstance and the 1812 Overture, what else do these maniacs wanting music need???!?

[Leslie BT]

Simon i am sure we could fix that  with the up and coming rewrite of the SCW, we do now try to include basic informtion for painting, books to read, and films to watch!!!!!

[Colonel Kilgore]

To Martin's initial posting on rules trends:
D) There is a clear gap in specifying the music to be played while gaming...

Other than Ride of the Valkyries, Pomp and Circumstance and the 1812 Overture, what else do these maniacs wanting music need???!?

@ myrm: Ah, but it's not just what you play, but when you play it: send in the Airborne Cavalry, and you get to play the Valkyries. Get your platoon wiped out, and it's Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings. Crank up a 7th Cavalry charge (the closest I could find to Zorro...), and it's the William Tell overture!

@ Les - precisely [and yes, I will try to get around to that SCW filmography at some point - I've been away a lot...] - opportunities abound! As one of "these maniacs" I think we could be missing out on a whole new dimension to our gaming...

[Leman (Andy)]

I find the music thing particularly irritating, distracting and a touch pompous. Someone in our club occasionally does this but only when playing Napoleonics.

[Colonel Kilgore]

@Leman: apologies for raising such a delicate matter: it was intended to be somewhat tongue-in-cheek... 

[mellis1644]

I personally really like random unit activation which occurs in Bolt Action or IABSM. Then throw in the chance to blunder like in Blitzkrieg Commander or Black Powder.  Adds a bit of chaos into the game.

But I think current trend in all games is a small number of figures and quicker games.  We all seem to be time poor.

Overall I agree with you and intact in my neck of the woods the biggest mini game by far is X-wing. It's pre-painted, fairly small scale and a decent amount of replay if you get into the various ships and force building. I admit to enjoying myself - those games have their place. An X-wing tourney will get 30+ players with ease. Something like warmachine may get ten if they are very lucky...

Interestingly. here many of the old GW titles are getting as much love as anything else. Gamers in their twenties and thirties are pulling out games from their youth and enjoying them. There were 8 people playing GW Epic stuff a little while ago in one store I know. Necomunda is another seeing the light of day again. 40K seems to still have it's fans in that group.

You can see game design and play style simplifying as well as a trend IMO - but use of interesting mechanics are helping keep the challenge in some of those new games. Newer players don't want to play perceived 'large, slow' games. Iit's good that the chess like control of troops is I believe slowly disappearing in new games. The idea of controlling everything from reloads to brigade moves in the same game seems to be disappearing.

The visual appeal of 28mm for me is in the skirmish game. Terrain becomes as much a part of the creative bit of hobby as painting figs. As the No. of figs get more 28mm loses it more for me. As said the new gamer does not want to paint that much and the 'mini-porn' (as I call it) on the web mean the quality expectations has gone through the roof. Meaning really many players never paint their figs... <sigh>

For me 15mm works great for the effect of a real conflict. It's a nice balance of size to scale.