Battle Games Poll?

[Matt W]

"battles that are more... linked"

The campaigns like Brave but Futile or Steadfast and Loyal had those provisions. On the other hand the mechanism to create the scenarios was not historical but rather meant to be evocative of the types of battles that would have been fought. Plus the paperwork was daunting.

Something like Spearhead would be perfect for some kind of amalgam of the Battle Game concept and some aspects of attrition, however, that would create a cascading effect in the "game" part of PG where a player who lost (potentially badly) in an early scenario is now incapable of recovering, rendering the play of the subsequent scenarios a forgone conclusion. We are trying to not only reflect the history but to give players a game that is playable and enjoyable for both sides. I designing the campaign game for the Inchon landings I tried to point out the effect of any North Korean "win" in the Perimeter battles, with an NKPA win requiring a much more significant victory by MacArthur's gamble. In reality, of course, an NKPA victory of the type required in the Battle Game would most likely have caused a postponement in the invasion if not an outright cancellation.

The coming campaigns in Fire in the Steppe will have some of that "wearing" effect included. In designing the Battle Games for the scenarios that will ultimately end up in Armata Romana, for example, units that appear in multiple sequential Battle Games may have adjustments to morale as well as unit losses.

In most Battle Games the actual units involved are not the same from scenario to scenario and the scenario designers have spent considerable time determining the OOB to be what was available historically. Typically we don't change those (unless we are doing an Alt-History scenario in which case we can and will do anything to -fix- a balance problem). As a result, the Battle Games focus on operational goals rather than the attritional aspects of the combat.

I understand the desire for smaller Battle Games and am considering focusing the Battle Games on a subsection of the scenarios which encompass the operational aspects of a particular engagement. The completist in me wants every scenario to have a greater purpose but I think I can keep that in check...