Several months back, when preparing for the Spring semester course on wargaming, I wrote a blog post about the plans to use Stephen Rangazas’ The British Way in the classroom. The game has now made its debut at the university, and it is interesting to look back and see what worked and how. Whenever introducing […]
Playing The British Way at the University Read Post »
Hobby General Interestby Mark G. McLaughlin (with Fred Schachter) Does the gaming community need another Hannibal game? The answer is “why not?” or, more simply an empathic “yes!”: just as it is to the question of a new Gettysburg, Pacific Theater WWII or another Waterloo game (such as Mark Herman’s latest forays into those topics) or of
Welcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week, in the eleventh article, I talked about the fifth scenario, “Purple Heart Lane”. This got us into artillery and multi-deck scenarios. All this pales in comparison to this week though, where we only have one thing to cover before our scenario: Armor. Almost every scenario from here on
Firefight Friday #12: Scenario Design 6 Read Post »
Designer BlogsTurn #6 Spotting Only the German Infantry still in the trucks is unspotted. All French not Hidden Units except PzIIIF #3 are spotted. None of the Hidden units are spotted. Command Phase German Commands – The forward-Most Tanks are firing. The rear most tanks are moving. At least one unloaded infantry is firing while the
Panzer Expansion #4 Solitaire Scenario #46 Replay Part 3 — Turns 6-8 Read Post »
Series ReplayBy Ed Ostermeyer (Master Engineer – Grade 2) Ah, good day to you once more, young Inventor. I am happy to see you once again. And you have brought your copy of the Inventor’s Vade Mecum with you. May I see it, please? Hmmm, I notice it is now a very worn and much-thumbed work.
Welcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week, in the tenth article, I talked about the fourth scenario, “About Last Night”. We looked at exciting new mechanics introduced by that scenario, like mortars and snipers. This week we will be moving on to one of my favorite scenarios, “Purple Heart Lane.” Purple Heart Lane is our
Firefight Friday #11: Scenario Design 5 Read Post »
Designer BlogsWelcome back to Firefight Fridays. Last week in the ninth article I talked about the third scenario, “Shot in the Dark”. I covered a couple of new concepts like reinforcements and night combat, neither of which are too different from what we have seen before. Well, buckle up, because this week we are jumping into
Firefight Friday #10: Scenario Design 4 Read Post »
Designer BlogsOver the years, Fields of Fire has proved to be quite tricky to learn for a lot of people. As a solitaire wargame, the usual method of a finding an experienced opponent, or even a club of experienced players, to guide you through learning this new, complex system is a non-starter. This leaves you at
Learning Fields of Fire Read Post »
Developer Notes, Solitaire SystemsWe intend to offer up our design notes regarding our simulation of the 2nd Russo-Ukrainian War, Defiance, beginning with Volume 1: Miracle on Dnipro: Kyiv & Chernihiv Campaign, from time to time. Given that we are designing a simulation regarding an ongoing conflict, it’s a first draft of history. Consequently, at least you’ll get some
Defiance Design Happy Hour: A Developer’s Perspective Read Post »
Developer NotesIn the early days of 2020, as most of us were in confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself diving deep into Volko’s COIN series. My journey into the COIN system began somewhat by accident. I had played a couple of games, only with two players, and hadn’t enjoyed the experience. But as
Is A Gest of Robin Hood a COIN Game? Read Post »
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