This is the Action Round example as it appears in the playbook, except for a few additions to facilitate understanding without a copy of the game. Rules reference numbers remain in the text to minimize editing. Enjoy!
This article picks up where the previous one left off. It will get you to the end of a game Year. If you would like to read Part One first, that can be found here. Enjoy!
There’s been a long hiatus of the B&T Warpath Chronicles. It was caused by the shift of all efforts to the game itself. As all the graphic files are now completed, I can share again some of the game’s content. This is the Game Year example as it appears in the playbook, except for a few additions to facilitate understanding without a copy of the game. Rules reference numbers remain in the text to avoid editing. A glossary of the acronyms used in the article has been added at its end. Enjoy!
I started wargaming in the 1980s with the first edition of Jim Day’s Panzer. Convincing battle modeling has always been crucial for me. For a long time, I found the “to hit” process and also odds based combat result tables to be the ne plus ultra — along with 10-sided dice (I confess my love of exotic dice sprung from my D&D past!).
Then in the early 2000, my interest shifted to the bucket of dice approach. My experience is that when it is well conceived, its simplicity (1 piece : 1 die) frees the brain, allowing us to focus more on the narrative of the game.
From the very start, I wanted Bayonets & Tomahawks to be devoid of calculations. But I aimed for a battle system that could replicate each and every historical battle outcome of the French and Indian War. Dedicated research and perpetual evolution/streamlining (with many good ideas contributed by expert players) led to a custom dice system that is fun to use and delivers realistic results for that conflict.
Here’s the story of its development.
“My friend, I have a bad feeling something bad is about to happen.” “Nonsense George, there’s no enemy within hundreds of miles of Wills Creek, Virginia.” Famous first words for the beginning of a game of Bayonets and Tomahawks as the British player. As the war begins, the British western frontier is woefully undermanned and it is the wise and savvy French that start the first two turns off with a massive raiding campaign to put the British firmly on the defense from the get-go.
In the old days, to be a vassal meant that you would agree to submit to a king in exchange for their protection against other kings and lords. We’ve moved past those days; today in the gaming field it means to submit your board game to someone for creating a Vassal module. Since most of the folks who follow this field don’t have much free time (the exception being our fortunate retired chaps), creating online play kits are important to playing. In game development though, this becomes pivotal since you can design an entire virtual game (including graphics) and do all the development work without ever creating any real playtest kits. Once you create a Vassal module, you have unlimited playtest kits.
My introduction to the online gaming world began in 2005 when I had to play Triumph of Chaos and really wanted to do it virtually. At the time, I had only a faint idea what that entailed. After many months of playing around on Cyberboard, in addition to learning a wide range of graphics editing tools, I somehow managed to finish the playkit. Fortunately, I had a good friend on hand to get me going on Photoshop and I developed a skill set for making all the pieces needed for a virtual game. Fast forward 10ish years and 12+ playkits later, Cyberboard is no longer the king – that honor now belongs to Vassal.
“Bayonets & Tomahawks Biweekly” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically every two weeks. It features articles from the Bayonets & Tomahawks development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
Issue #5: From Bellin’s map to B&T’s game board: how I use cartography in game design.
First my heartfelt thanks to everyone who pre-ordered the game so far! We reached 500 pre-orders on Halloween night.
The Bayonets & Tomahawks board was key to generating interest in the project. Most people have a positive reaction when they see it and they become curious about the game, which is good because they end up playing it! In this article, I’ll tell the story of its development.
Greetings from just south of Baltimore, MD. My name is Barry Setser and I am the developer for GMT’s upcoming game – Bayonets & Tomahawks. Many of you know the name from numerous conventions and gatherings over the years, but there’s a larger contingent that have no idea who I am. I would like to take this bi-weekly occasion to introduce myself, let you know a bit about my gaming credentials, and then top things off with a development update on B&T.
“Bayonets & Tomahawks Biweekly” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically every two weeks. It features articles from the Bayonets & Tomahawks development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
NOTE: The cards in the final product have replaced the Action tokens.
Issue #3: Action tokens PART 3 — Full Action Round Example: French & Indian Rampage, British Resilience.
The following play example focuses exclusively on how tokens are used in the Action Round. Movement, battles and other game mechanics will be explained elsewhere. I’ve minimized strategic insight for a clearer demonstration. The Action list featured in previous article is repeated at the end of this article for reference.
“Bayonets & Tomahawks Biweekly” is an article series appearing on InsideGMT periodically every two weeks. It features articles from the Bayonets & Tomahawks development team regarding the game’s design, development and upcoming release.
NOTE: The cards in the final product have replaced the Action tokens.
Issue #2: Action tokens PART 2 — ABC of action tokens and round start play example
In part 1, I explained how the Action tokens came to be, introduced their role and described broadly how they benefit gameplay. In part 2, I will explain the Action tokens in more detail and show how they are actually used at the start of an action round.
