Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Steve's Simple Wargaming Q&A for Fields of Honor

Homework time.  Steve's Sound Officers Call blog recently featured a post on the Allure of Simple Wargaming.  In that post, Steve presented a case for simple wargaming and proposed a closer look into that genre of quick to learn, easy to play rules.  A handful of rulesets were identified as likely candidates and a list of post-battle questions posited to apply to each of the games played in his experimental study.

I took up the challenge and applied Steve’s questions to my recent games of Fields of Battle: AWI.  See battle report, Action at Mill Creek Redux for a blow-by-blow presentation of the battle used in completing the following Q&A.
Steve's post-battle questions (and a few of my own) with my responses follow:
  • Rules: Fields of Honor: AWI.
  • Rules' complexity: Simple.
  • Period: American War of Independence.
  • Gridded/Open:  Both GRIDDED and OPEN rules are included.  I used GRIDDED with four inch hexes.  Any conversion between hex and open form is easy.
  • Figure size: 15mm.
  • Table size: Small with a grid of 8x6 4 inches hexes. 
  • Method of play: Solo.
  • Scenario: Action at Mill Creek.
  • Scenario Author:  Derived from Norm's scenario of the same name as found in his Two Flags - One Nation rules.  Modified slightly and transported back into time for the AWI.
  • Victory conditions:  British player must take the bridge and have two regiments on the heights before sustaining 50% units lost. 
  • Game duration: About one and a half hours including note taking and photos.
  • Number of in-game rules' consultations:  Two.  One to check on leader casualty procedure and the second to confirm mechanisms for multiple attackers vs a single defender in melee.  No more than two minutes to find and interpret the answer in each case.
  • Battle victor: American defenders in a closely contested battle that went down to the wire.
  • Contributing factors to victory:  Attacking is hard work especially when only slightly outnumbering defenders in good ground.  The British suffered heavy casualties in the first fire exchange losing one regiment and having two others damaged.  Later, Smallwood's regiment destroyed two regiments in quick succession.  Having the American officer only wounded rather than killed by a sniper may have prevented an American defeat.  Although the British were clearing Rebels from the American right rapidly, it was too little too late. 
  • Game satisfaction (0-None to 5-Complete): 4.
  • Reason for satisfaction score:
    • Pros: Sequence of Play is straightforward without complication.  With nine units per side in this small battle, play was quick.  Only a handful of modifiers needed for each of FIRE/MELEE/MORALE resolution.  Not all modifiers are applicable in every situation and quickly can be committed to memory.  Resolution of each interaction is fast.  Unit quality modifiers highlight the differences between the various troop types.  British line definitely fight with different attributes than do American militia.  Unit attributes easily adaptable by Quality Modifiers to account for a wide variety of troop traits.  Total possible combinations of unique unit qualities is 125 (5x5x5).  Sequencing of the turn phases lends to dynamic game play.  A feel for a tense battle ebb and flow as each combatant takes a turn putting the enemy off balance before the turn reverts to the opponent.  The Events Table adds some uncertainty and creative randomness into the battle.  These events can aid in driving an interesting narrative.  The in-game narrative developed during play was engaging especially with the battle hanging in the balance on every turn.  System uses 1D10 having uniform distribution but in this case, 1D10 variability is no issue since there are no opposed differential computations.  Solitaire suitability very high.  Game was very enjoy as a solo exercise.  Rules work well with my single element BMUs.  
    • Cons: Rules have some ambiguity and are not as complete for all situations but omissions are easily resolved.  Leaders are all rated the same with a +1 DRM for FIRE/MELEE/MORALE CHECKS when attached.  When faced by a high ratio of leaders to units, leaders may become too effective in driving an attack or defense.  With sections of the rules written for both hex/counter and miniatures, there is some confusion and overlap.  Some inconsistency in the tabled values between text and back cover QRS.  
  • Extraordinary, noteworthy, heroic, or cowardly events:  See battle report linked above for a fully detailed examination of the action.  A few notable events include:
    • Pennsylvanians on first turn discover they are low on ammo with a Calamity Event.  They will remain so for the entire battle.
    • With the British left hitting the 7th Penn hard near the bridge with six hits and needing only three hits to destroy the unit, the PA boys shrugged off four of those hits to remain on the battlefield.
    • With the American right reeling under heavy pressure from the attacking British, Smallwood's regiment marches up the hill to plug the gap created by the retreating Americans.  Smallwood then proceeds to scatter the British 9th Foot before descending the hill to destroy the British 4th Foot and retake the bridge.
Having gotten Fields of Honor out onto the gaming table for two games, I plan to keep this easy to play game in my back pocket for days in which I want a light but satisfying gaming experience.  With the Fields of Honor AWI version fresh in mind, I am tempted to use the older and more detailed, colonial version to tackle the Spanish-American War.  I ought to capitalize on the groundwork laid learning the AWI version.  

32 comments:

  1. Very in depth Jonathan and very handy too.

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  2. I liked that Jonathan despite only having Honours of War. I play Johnny Reb II and dropped the officer bonus for firing almost at once.

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    1. Glad you liked this piece, George! I will reserve judgment on dropping leader firing bonus for now but that is something to consider.

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  3. Very good post game analysis of the rules and the actions Jonathan. I would certainly keep the momentum going with the rules for a Spanish-American War clash. These days I keep a core of rulesets that use a similar game mechanic, which means I don't have to do a massive re-learn each time I want a game. This keeps things simple and at the meaty end of the scale as it were.

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    1. Thank you, Steve! I do much as you with respect to using a "core" set of rules when possible for wargaming. Many of my lighter gaming rules use a similar engine so that reduces confusion, forgetfulness, and relearning every time I play. I find that the number of rules' systems I use tends to decline as I age. You make good points!

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  4. Good read (the rules book cover is very evocative) and I have since returned to your original post for another look. I am looking forwards to Steve’s summary post, which I think will be quite a task.

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    1. Excellent! Very pleased to provide something worth reading (and re-reading)!

      Amalgamating a bunch of difficult to qualify data from disparate sources over different games is not going to be easy. We will see what Steve manages to produce. It will be interesting.

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  5. Bravo, Jonathan, and thank you for posting this! Another battle report to add to the list!

    I also really liked your game satisfaction index, which is a much more convenient way of marking your thoughts on the game (and would have made more sense in the ensuing data/feedback crunch coming up).

    I "ordered" FOH from BGG but have yet to hear from the seller and so have not yet paid for it!

    Norm - I've been thinking about the best way to present all of the various findings - meanwhile the project marches on with THREE more simple games being played - Hold the Line AWI, Eagles Cheaper than Brain Cells, and Norm's Tigers at Minsk which was played on a squad leader board with counters (heresy!??!?).

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    1. Steve, that is a good use of TaM. I have been thinking about your presentation and wondering how you will go about it - it is a tough one. A conversion of facts and findings to raw data first springs to mind (and no doubt Jonathan would have some good guidance on that), but I am wondering whether is might just need an objective type essay with the material described in a subjective way - or perhaps a mix of data and essay. I doubt that number crunching alone will cover all the aspects that you are considering, but however you go about it, it will be interesting.

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    2. Thank you and you are welcome, Steve!

      You motivated me to pull this old set of rules off the shelf, blow off the dust, and give them a work out. This version of FoH is actually much better than I anticipated. There is much in a few pages of rules that makes it a most interesting and nuanced set or rules. Even at 20 years old, there is much I find innovative.

      If you get no response from the BGG seller, I saw a copy on ebay yesterday. Also check out those willing to trade it away on BGG.

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    3. Norm, Steve's task to assimilate all of these disparate results may be a challenge. We will see. This difficulty is one reason I suggested a common matrix to be completed similarly for all games/rules.

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    4. Steve, if you do manage to a get a copy of FoH, I would sure enjoy seeing a comparison between HtL and FoH using the same scenario.

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    5. Jonathan I would be happy to compare the 2 x rules when/if I get FOH!

      I have some ideas on how to show the information around some of the more common themes from what I've received. Stay tuned!

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    6. Looking forward to both your summaries and FoH comparisons. If you cannot find a copy of the rules, let me know.

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    7. I just reached out to the seller on BGG. Haven't heard back yet! Sale will be cancelled in 1 day.

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    8. Hopefully, the seller will come through with the goods. There are copies on ebay.

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    9. Noble Knight Games has one too.
      https://www.nobleknight.com/P/-670397535/Fields-of-Honor---The-American-War-for-Independence

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  6. I really like the format of the review; great post about a set of rules I was completely unfamiliar with.

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    1. I appreciate your encouragement, Sir! Your ECW regiment of foote sure was a dandy!

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  7. I too like the review format and think that could be very useful for reviews generally. I read many AARs and often wonder how long the actual game lasted, or how many times the rules were consulted.

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    1. Thank you, Lawrence! I will try to include these into future AARs. Appreciate the suggestion.

      I often wonder how many actually READ my BatReps!

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  8. A good review Jonathon as it piques the interest of the reader to perhaps investigate the rule set further...simple is good in my book- quick, fun and easily committed to memory is what we need!

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  9. Nice to see so many people getting on board and helping out with Steve’s simple project. Blogging communities are awesome. 😀

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    1. We are a helpful bunch! Steve's "simple" project appears to be becoming complex...

      Thanks for wading through my review and Q&A!

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  10. A fin and interesting analysis, not that we would expect any less from you, Jon. :-)

    It also very nicely complements the AAR!

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    1. You are very kind, Peter! I appreciate your support and encouragement.

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  11. Nice ,clear complimentary clarification, simple can be good. It's interesting what Steve says about using similar game engines, we seem to have moved onto using TtS and FK&P and yet we are now planning on using Hail Caesar and Pike and shot, not through any dissatisfaction, just the desire for something different, I guess most of us don't stick to just Italian, Thai or Mexican for our diet,good to have variety in our wargaming diet!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks, Iain! I try to consolidate rules' engines when possible too but as you say, variety is good. Each ruleset offers a different experience at, perhaps, a different level of detail. All are good and we need variety in our wargaming diet. "Wargaming diet;" I like that!

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  12. I love such Reviews/Q&A. Many thanks for your work.

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