There are a lot of war games.
There are a lot of different kinds of wargames.
Wargames can be played on boards, on hex maps, on grids, and on tables with 3D scenery!
Some of these games are small-unit skirmishes, with just a few miniatures on each side.
Some are huge battles with companies and regiments of hundreds of miniatures.
Or, just chits, counters or tokens, or printed top-down images.
All of these representations are valid.
In the comments for a previous video of mine, and on HissyCat’s discord there was a discussion about using chits vs blocks/cubes vs minis. At the same time, we debated using skirmish rules for larger battles, or vice versa.
On top of all this, I’m thinking about the upcoming Campaign Carnival. This year I’d like to incorporate at least one Skirmish-level game, in addition to the traditional large-scale battles.
that being said, the battles themselves are not the most important part of this year’s carnival. This year we are going to go deeper into the construction and preparation of a large-scale map-based wargames campaign.
The real meat of the project will be the management of the ongoing campaign. We will dig into info on
mustering troops
moving them on the strategic map
supplies
communications
There will be battles, but I would love for them to be simple enough to play out in an hour or so, for a watchable video. I would love it if y’all would participate as well, either by sharing your campaign or perhaps by fighting battles in this one.
Enter One Hour Wargames
One Hour Wargames was originally designed for gaming with 28mm minis. For this exercise, we are going to experiment with wooden blocks, RISK pieces, and traditional 15mm miniatures. The basics of the rules for One Hour Wargames are quite simple, only three pages long. If you do not have a copy, you can get one here One Hour Wargames (aff link).
Movement rates are 6”, 9” & 12”, which we will convert to cm for this scale.
Infantry can shoot 12, artillery 48.
Units can Move or Shoot.
Combat in the Rifle and Sabre system is abstracted to consist of firefights only, except for Cavalry, which retains its traditional shock attack role. In this sense, Cavalry can only melee against Infantry. Enemy cavalry units are assumed to be able to evade, rather than go head-to-head, as they might with lances.
All units can take up to 15 hits, with damage rolls determined by d6 rolls. This means all units will be able to take about 3-4 assaults.
That’s it. Elegant, abstract, quick, and to the point. This should make battles fast and video-friendly.
Skirmish Battles
I believe we can use these same rules for Skirmish-level battles. Each model will then take 15 hits and does the same d6 damage by type. In skirmish the Infantry will be able to engage in melee, doing d6 damage vs other Infantry, and d6-2 vs Cavalry.
If we decide to include Artillery in a skirmish battle, I’d say we would then assume a canister shot and roll two or three d6 for damage. We can playtest this, though the literature says a canister shot is horrifyingly deadly.
Scenarios
One Hour Wargames contains 30 scenarios, loosely based on actual battles of history. Thomas provides a table for randomizing the forces available in any given scenario, but for the map campaign, we will of course be using the forces available according to the map.
For the demonstration game, I have chosen Scenario 25: Infiltration. Thomas says this scenario is based on the 1862 Battle of Kernstown.
The First Battle of Kernstown was fought on March 23, 1862, in Frederick County and Winchester, Virginia, the opening battle of Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson's campaign through the Shenandoah Valley during the American Civil War.
Attempting to tie down the Union forces in the Valley, under the overall command of Maj. Gen. Nathaniel P. Banks, Jackson received incorrect intelligence that a small detachment under Col. Nathan Kimball was vulnerable, but it was a full infantry division more than twice the size of Jackson's force. His initial cavalry attack was forced back and he immediately reinforced it with a small infantry brigade. With his other two brigades, Jackson sought to envelop the Union right by way of Sandy Ridge. But Col. Erastus B. Tyler's brigade countered this movement, and, when Kimball's brigade moved to his assistance, the Confederates were driven from the field. There was no effective Union pursuit.
Although the battle was a Confederate tactical defeat, it represented a strategic victory for the South by preventing the Union from transferring forces from the Shenandoah Valley to reinforce the Peninsula Campaign against the Confederate capital, Richmond. Following the earlier Battle of Hoke's Run, the First Battle of Kernstown may be considered the second among Jackson's rare defeats.
~~ From Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Battle_of_Kernstown
A small blue force has penetrated the Red lines. It aims to plunder the Red Army’s supply network before the Reds can respond.
(As an aside, this series of battles looks like it would be interesting to play out all the way!)
The Red Army is allotted six units, Blue is allotted four (1HG, pp. 64-65). Roll a d6 and consult the table:
Red = 4
4 Infantry
1 Artillery
0 Skirmishers
1 Cavalry
Blue = 5
3 Infantry
0 Artillery
1 Skirmisher
0 Cavalry
Scenario Map
The red dice simply delineate the nine sectors of the table. the top of the image is north.
Deployment
The Red Army deploys one unit on the hill, facing south. No Blue units are deployed
On turn 1, all Blue units arrive on the southwestern table edge.
On turn 3, two Red units arrive on the northern table edge.
On turn 6, three Red units arrive on the southern table edge, via the road.
Rules
The game lasts 15 turns.
Blue Army goes first each turn.
Blue’s Objective is to get 2 units off the board on the northern edge.
Representation of the Units
For the complete game, I’ll be using the red and blue blocks and 15mm ACW miniatures. The blocks will be marked with traditional Kriegsspiel markings for Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery.
(I have ordered some actual Kriegsspiel stickers, but they have yet to arrive)