Rupert Smith, Law Enforcer NPC for Tiny Frontiers

This is a non-player character (but can be used as a character) for the Tiny Frontiers Game in the Western Star micro-setting created by John D. Kennedy.

Rupert Smith, human law enforcer for the town of Southridge on Missick

Born and raised on Missick isn't something most people are proud of, or talk about. Rupert, though, loves his home world. Even with all of its problems, Rupert believes that Missick is not the dead world others claim it to be, it's just waiting for the right time to emerge again. Rupert's positive beliefs go far beyond that of just having the world come back.

A few years ago Rupert's parents were killed. There is still a lot of mystery around their deaths because it happened during an Avonti raid. But, it didn't look like they were killed by Missick's native race. The Star at the time didn't do anything more about it, and the people of the small town of Southridge were on the verge of rioting. Things changed. The Star along with some others left the town, none have been seen from since. Rupert stepped up. He knew the most likely reason his parents were killed were because they were working on creating a town of peace, maybe even working with the Avonti. He accepted the position of Star with the belief that his parent's deaths would never be solved, nor justice being served.

He looked to the future.  Deciding that he would carry on with dedication of solving the bigger problem his parents were trying to solve. He is helping the few people left in the town of Southridge to make a stable place with the best possible life they can create. They still have problems, but they are doing alright. And, because of the stability they are seeing a few more people come around from the outer reaches and even some who are using Southridge as a place to start from. With the growth Rupert turned out to be a good choice for Star.

As the law of the town, the MMA gives Rupert full authority, and so do the people who are permanent residents. This is good for the town because it sits on the edge of a wasteland that many consider dangerous, but with possibilities. The people that come to town are soon encountered by Rupert and confirmed that the town is no place for problems. The people here are under his protection and that if they want to create issues, there is plenty of room north of town to find them. Rupert is quick to put down trouble in the town, but is fair in his jurisdiction. This doesn't mean that he is willing to let strangers, or even friends, get away with creating problems.

When he can, Rupert explores the area around the town. His goal is to learn more about the native Avonti and to see if there are other resources to help the people he cares about. He has come across some sign of the Avonti and has been careful to show an interest, but respect for what he has found. He is not sure, but he believes this has led to some sort of peace agreement between the local natives and the people of Westridge. Although, some of the rougher prospectors that have come through town have not fared as well.

Rupert Smith, Human Star (Sheriff)

HP 6

Traits: charismatic, insightful, perceptive, prepared

Weapon proficiency and mastery: light range, laser pistol

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Card based system for wargames deployment

One of the features I like about the various strains of card driven board wargames, is the decision involved in playing a card for activation.  Clearly this does not apply to all card driven systems, but the ones I am thinking of have cards with multiple options on them, that the player must choose from when playing a card.  Does the player use the card for bringing on reinforcements, or to activate an event, or for a special ability/modifier, or simply to activate units/leaders already in the game?

 

This seems like a useful thing to try and bring into a miniatures wargame, to put a little spin on that old standby scenario - the meeting engagement.  So what I am considering here is a system of cards, each with two different pieces of information on it. Each player would, in turn, place one of these cards, from a small handful they have to choose from, on the table, in one of three different sectors.eventually, each player will play two cards in each sector.  Each sector would have one card, for that player's forces, that corresponds to one of the two categories of information on he cards (so, one card for forces, and one card for deployment).

The first piece of information is a partial basic order of battle. It would list a number of units that would belong to one of three sectors on the battlefield (left, center, right).  Depending on the period and the number of units a player owns, this could be tailored so that a personal collection could provide the figures needed. This could easily be three or four units, or as many as a dozen, depending on period, scale, and rules used.

The second piece of information would control the deployment of forces in that sector.  Are the forces arrayed in a single line? Some units off board? In column on a road?  Dug in with scouts deployed?  Again lots of possibilities, depending on period, scale, and rules.

An example might be this, for Blue Army's Left Flank... (Fictional situation, of course)

Forces Card: Infantry Division, 6 units of line infantry, 1 medium gun battery. 

Deployment Card: Probing Line, All units in a battle line, 12" in from base edge.  Up to two subunits (converged flank companies, or detached squadrons) can be deployed up to 24" in from base line.  

I can see this used in several ways. The easiest, and maybe most interesting, is to deal out six cards to each player, and they need to use all six.  The second way, is to deal three cards each, and as a player places a card, they draw a new one.  Other possibilities exist, but in all cases, the players roll initiative, and high roller places one card, and then the players alternate until all six cards for each side are played.

I am looking forward to trying a set of these, maybe for Napoleonics first. Loads and loads of possibilities exist, including special event cards, special decks for special scenarios, and ancillary effects of cards, like logistical conditions, weather, or affects to limit or increase command.

A neat project to ponder.

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More on Arthur

I have found a nice blog, by Guy Halsall, on his wargaming activities. Dr. Halsall is an academic that makes a fine study of sixth century history, and starting back in the late 1990s he combined his history pursuits with his wargaming and published a series on King Arthur.  Much of the series found its way into Wargames Illustrated, all of it is on his blog.

Halsall goes on to complete a lengthy, and excellent (once he moves away from the touchy subject of Morris) series on both Arthur and the wargaming of Arthur inspired scenarios.  He has a nice introduction to campaigning, here giving a set of simple mapless rules (but with excellent scenario generator guidelines), and also a set of map based campaign (more detailed, naturally) rules. He discusses lists and rules (as I had done earlier here  but while I chose to compare lists against each other, he is comparing them to what he projects to be proper warfare for the period, based on his scholarly research).  In his discussion of rules, he gives kudos to Dan Mersey (Glutter of Ravens) and to Simon McDowall (Goths, Huns and Romans), both of which I highly regard.

In short, a great article series. Halsall's historical work is top drawer, and even his criticism of Morris is well placed (he takes down one of my favorites, John Morris, for writing history that is more of the "enjoyable narrative" rather than the "rigorous scholarship" type of work).  I am forced to agree with his criticism, even if I have a strong fondness for The Age of Arthur. 


For me, as a wargamer, I am perfectly fine with a strong narrative version of a potential historical Arthur.  It was not an especially literate time, so the lack of much literary evidence doesn't bother me - and an actual King Arthur is not necessary to me as much as a potential Arthur that is consistent with what we do know about the history. 

I find very appealing the notion of an Arthur-like figure in the sixth century keeping alive the spark of Romano-civilization against the inevitable sweep back into Germanic paganism.  And so it follows that I would want my wargaming to be based on that idea. It is my world view, and my sense of myth and legend of the West.

So, I will stick with Morris, and Arthur, warts and all.  And still enjoy the great work of Guy Halsall, as well.

 

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Switch, Game Review

More pictures on their page

Every so often you are sitting with a few people around and just wanting a quick game to fill in the time. Something everyone gets involved in. In my group we call these filler games. At a couple of recent conventions, Salt Lake Gaming Convention and SaltCon, I came across a game that really fits the definition of a filler game.

Switch is a fast-paced, everyone play at once, game. It reminded me of a game we called Speed crossed over with some Crazy Eights. In Switch you are working to get rid of your hand as fast as possible into a central discard pile.

A hand starts with each player having a dealt hand that you turn over at the same time. Then you get rid of them as fast as possible. You start out with a condition to play cards, pairs, color (suit), or runs. You keep playing on the top of the discard pile until you can't play or a switch card is used to change the condition.

When I played we just played individual hands, but you can keep score to have your game last longer than just a hand. Many hands are completed in less than a minute. I also watched other playing and how many younger players really enjoyed the fast pace of the game and how short of time a hand took.

I can see there is a lot of potential to create your own house rules for discarding. You can also change hand size. You could also create different hand sizes to provide a balance between younger and older players. All of these, and other ideas, create a basic card game that can be played differently to keep the game fresh.

You might be waiting for only a few minutes and be looking for something to fill the gap of time. Or, you might need to fill a little more time. You could even play this between ordering your food and waiting for it to be served.

Switch is designed and distributed by Bored Brothers Gaming (Facebook link). It designed for 2–6 players, with no age listed, to last about 15 minutes (based on the games scoring system).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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Taking Stock - 15mm Collections pt. 6 - 19th Century

Wargaming topics and possible theaters of battle in the 19th century are extremely varied and provide for a lot of exciting gaming possibilities.  One of the most popular is of course the American Civil War.  But not for me, I have tended to avoid that conflict ( I had a collection in 25mm, but I only used them for imagi-nations gaming).

This period, from the perspective of military operations and wargaming potential, is fantastic.  It is the century that sees musketry evolve from a weapon of mass application (with little precision), into the dominant force on the battlefield (as we evolve from the age of muskets, to the age of rifles).  The introduction of the railroad and mass production also mean that armies and logistics are evolving, so that operational campaigns are very different.  Naval capability changes from being wind and muscle driven, to being steam driven - which means that imperial and global colonialism is not only possible, but commonplace (with the colonial wars that go along with it).

I will include in this listing a few armies from the very early (pre-WW1) 20th Century.

Mexican-American War

This is a big enough collection to put on a 6-8 player game. Maybe a thousand Mexican figures, and maybe eight hundred Americans and Texans.  All painted, recently rebased.

Mahdi Rebellion

This is a larger scale (in terms of larger scale battles) and more serious study of the two parts of the River War (as Churchill called it) than my 28mm TSATF collection ( which is, appropriately, for small scale skirmish engagements).  I have British (painted), Egyptians (unpainted, but also suitable for the Arabi Revolt), and Mahdists (hundreds painted, but hundreds not painted).

Zulu War

Probably not worth mentioning except for an impressive stash of very nice, but unpainted, Zulus. Hundreds of 'em.

American Indian Wars
This is a recent acquisition for me, a set of very nice (but individually mounted, so suitable for skirmish gaming) figures including US cavalry forces (mounted and dismounted), and a large selection of American Indian figures.  There are leaders and a variety of figures for both sides.  I have not gamed with these yet, but I am planning on trying The Tomahawk and the Flame, Pony Wars, and/or Hey You in the Jail (one of my favorites, now available as a PDF download).

Spanish American War

A few years back, Patrick Wilson re-released the Richard Houston Lyzard's Grin collection. I bought in. I have a few hundred figures, all painted nicely by John Callahan. Both sides, and big enough for a modest game. No Philippines or Moro figures.

Boxer Rebellion

Very nice Old Glory 15s, this is at heart a nice, large collection of unpainted Boxers, and some Europeans. Started this collection to take advantage of Americans (from above), and Russians and Japanese (both from below).

Russo-Japanese War

Another nice OG15s set, painted (by me) and large enough for a meaningful game. Maybe a dozen infantry units per side, with 2 or 3 cavalry and artillery units for each side. Many more troops for Russians. In addition, maybe another dozen units each side, of infantry.

This series includes

Part 1 - Ancients

Part 2 - Medievals

Part 3 - Renaissance

Part 4 - 18th Century

Part 5 - Napoleonics

Part 6 - 19th Century (this article)

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Word Domination: Spelling Disaster, Game Review

Art by Ryan Goldsberry from Uproarious website

Criminal masterminds don't just have to worry about the good guys. There are only so many great treasures to take and other domineering deviants are going after them. You must devise your strategic maneuverings to position your plot in claiming the treasures available before the secondary scoundrels abscond with the booty. And, in so doing you not only secure the ancient and modern artifacts of the society, but promote the security of your position by establishing control of the territories.

Word Domination: Spelling Disaster is an area control game that uses your vocabulary as the mechanic to gain the spaces to earn points. However, having the great words at your disposal is only the means to the end. It is more about how you build the words to gain the spaces, not just using the biggest, grandest words you can come up with.

Each player takes on the role of one of the criminal masterminds who are vying against each other by capturing the space and stealing the great treasures of the world. The criminal character information gives players a unique advantage. Or, in the case when I played it, everyone is equal. This is a benefit for beginning and younger players. Word Domination is designed for 1–4 players with both cooperative and competitive rules.

We played a competitive game. On your turn you spell a word using the tiles in play. As the game progresses it becomes more important on the location of the tiles and not so much as what the word is. That's because you don't score for the word—it's the mechanic for capturing the space.

Along with playing a game against the developer (Jeff Beck), I had the opportunity of watching others play at SaltConthis year (2017). It was fun to watch as people realized the change in strategy because so many people are used to scoring the word. In fact, I saw one younger player give a solid run to a much older player by going for the basics they understood. It was a good example of how well the game is balanced.

There is also a lot of replayability with Word Domination. The letters that come into play vary, booth on the initial setup and as they are drawn into the game. Some of the tiles have special play options that you can use when you play a word using that letter. There is also the variability of the criminal personalities available.

I liked the twist of using words as the mechanic instead of the scoring mechanism. Another person playing the game (at a different time) commented how using this as the means to the end caused them to have to rethink what they were doing because they started out in the mode of looking for the words instead of the territories.

You've sharpened your thesaurus talents to stay a step ahead of the conniving competition. The master plan is made and now it is time to implement the scheme to take demonstrate you are the mastermind you have always known yourself to be.

Word Domination is designed by Jeff Beck and illustrated by Ryan Goldsberry and is from Uproarious Games. It is for 1–4 players and designed to last 30 – 60 minutes.

At the time of writing this the game has successfully completed a Kickstarted campaign and should soon be available on the market.

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

You can also join Guild Master Gaming on Google+, Facebook, and Twitter (@GuildMstrGmng).

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Castle Panic, Game Review

Picture from Fireside Games

The castle stands and we as the defenders stand ready to defend it. There are hordes of monsters coming from all around us. We can work together to keep them from tearing down the walls and invading our home.

Castle Panic pits the defenders of the castle against the invading monsters. Players build a hand and play the cards allowing them to strike at the monsters in different zones. The goal is to keep them from getting to the castle walls. If they reach the walls, they can tear down them down and invade inside the wall.

I had the opportunity of playing Castle Panic at SaltCon in the room hosted by Double Exposure Inc./Envoy games. Three of us sat down and played the basic game with no expansions. The base game is a good for beginners and younger players. The expansions might also work, but I haven't played the game with expansions. The three of us were able to start quickly because the rules were straight forward and easy to understand. For two of us this was the first time we had played Castle Panic.

The board

We played a cooperative game. The instructor told us there were several ways to play, which included the cooperative style, team play of one side playing the monsters, solitaire, and one with players collect trophies for a high score. We went with the pure cooperative game, which I also found out was the first time one of our players had played a cooperative game.

The rules are easy to understand. Players start with a hand of cards that are used and traded to other players. Monsters are randomly drawn and placed on a zone of the board and they move forward to attack the castle. The cards give the player the opportunity of seeing which area they can defend and at what distance from the castle wall. There is some planning of seeing when an invader is within range and giving the right cards to that player who can make the defense.

Playing the cooperative game gave us an advantage of helping each other with advice on how to pass cards. Even the less experienced gamer at the table soon understood the basics and was picking up on the options they could do on their turn.

Moster tokens

Castle Panic is a good family game. It is rated for ages 10+, but younger players, especially those who have played some other games, can easily join in on their own. Inexperienced younger players may need a little help. The game also has a quick pace so the game keeps moving and keeps the interest of younger players. A friend with children told me this has become one of their staples on family game night. To add a more excitement, they use miniatures to represent the monsters attacking the castle.

Castle Panic is designed by Justin De Witt and distributed by Fireside Games. It is designed for 1–6 players to be played in less than an hour (our game took about 45 minutes).

If you have a comment, suggestion, or critique please leave a comment here or send an email to guildmastergaming@gmail.com.

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