The French & Indian War is by far my favorite historical period. When Volko’s Wilderness War was published in 2001, it was the very first game that brought all I was looking for to that subject. I was glad I had abandoned a few years before my own inexperienced attempt at creating a FIW game.
Many years later, I was hard at work on Bayonets & Tomahawks, my fresh take on IW game design. The creative spark came one night in October, 2013: to create something as fun and intuitive as the old Warcraft computer game I had witnessed in the 90s (units building, grunting and fighting!). But in order to deliver a first rate simulation, it had to rest on solid and thorough documentation of the period — of which I had amassed plenty over the years. My game made an impression whenever I brought it to local Montreal events and it was fueled by expert gamer’s feedback.
In the summer of 2015, through mutual contacts, Volko ‘liked’ on several occasions pictures of my prototype on Facebook. I decided to write to him and tell him how much his appreciation meant to me. Formal at first, the exchange switched rapidly to very casual. Then he indicated that he wanted to try my game. “Whaaaaaaaat????” I was so happy, my grin must have extended right to the back of my head….
We finally managed to meet last May at Stack Academie Montreal’s big annual event. That day I happened to feel like a zombie (or worse) due to work exhaustion. A few weeks before the event, I had serious misgivings about whether he would find my design too simplistic — then a gamer friend accidentally reassured me: “Marc, I’m really sorry to tell you this, but it’s NOT a simple game.” So here I was with Volko in front of me listening intently to my instructions in broken English (I have good and bad days with Shakespeare’s tongue ;-)).
Volko Ruhnke playtesting Bayonets & Tomahawks.
So we started playing Bayonets & Tomahawks. Because there’s so much to see and do and try at events, I was convinced Volko would leave after an hour. But we stayed all afternoon together, playing a bit, discussing concepts, resuming play, and so on. OF COURSE, he kicked my ass! He was playing the French and I naively thought he had exposed Louisbourg by mistake. His trap shut very hard on my landing Redcoats…. In the end, Volko contributed a very neat evolution to my initiative system, and he encouraged me to submit my design to GMT Games.
Volko concentrating on French Strategy.
We also discovered a mutual interest in jogging. The following morning we ran together on my favorite trail in Mount Royal park (Montreal’s summit). A Virginian and a ‘Canadien’ running in the woods: all that was missing for a perfect Last of the Mohicans feel was period attire and muskets — or tomahawks — in hand!
The fun did not stop there. Next, we played Andrew and Volko’s brand new COIN Falling Sky together. The Gaul in me was thrilled to discover a design covering a fundamental period of French history. And it was my turn to kick ass as the Belgian — with some guidance I must admit!
Playing Andrew and Volko Ruhnke’s Falling Sky
To top it all, I played Bayonets & Tomahawks again with Barry Setser, who had travelled with Volko to the event. Barry got into the game really fast and put me in trouble in several spots. He loved the naval aspect of the game and the fact that your head stays focused on the board instead of the rules manual. A few weeks later, when he asked me for a prototype for Arizona’s CSW Expo, I gladly did a few night shifts to produce and send him one. His enthusiasm for the design prompted me to ask him to be the developer. I felt honored when he accepted.
Bayonets and Tomahawks with Barry Setser.
Even in my wildest dreams I couldn’t have imagined the chain of incredible encounters that led Bayonets & Tomahawks from anonymity to GMT Games P500! From Michel Ouimet, who organized the very first blind playtest at Stack Academie Montreal in 2014, to Marc Guénette the event organizer, then Marc Gouyon-Rety who pushed me to better my design, then Volko, Barry, and finally the great team at GMT Games. I am grateful also to my family, friends and all the playtesters who gave me their support along the way. ‘Vive le Roy!’ (war cry of the French troops).
Marc Rodrigue, Montreal
August 11, 2016
Author: Marc Rodrigue
Congratulation, Marc, on having your design selected for GMT’s P-500. I did my part to get it published by pre-ordering the minute I saw Gene’s monthly update email. I’m also encouraging my wargaming buddies to order as well. I want to see this published!
The GMT page for this game indicates that the game is of moderate suitability for solitaire play. What are the obstacles to soloing this design?
Thanks Ed! I was conservative on the solo play rating. I think it’s one notch above average. The token system facilitates game against a non-player faction: there’s no hand management in B&T. Personally, I almost like as much my solo playtests as playing against live players. Now, for the game to be truly solitaire I would have to devise some kind of ‘bot’ for the non-player. Something I’d like to do during final development.