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Friday, December 9, 2022

D3 or not D3?

That is the question.

Peter, at Grid Based Wargaming asked if I was interested in participating in a remote game using his 40mm paper models and his D3 rules in a game.  Without hesitation, I jumped at the chance to see Peter's figures and rules in action.

While I have followed along in Peter's steady stream of battle reports from a variety of periods, I never really read the rules closely.  That is until he offered up a game.  Peter's D3 rules strike out from a starting point of Neil Thomas' One Hour Wargames rules and expand from there.  Hits to eliminate a unit are reduced from fifteen to nine and rather than a D6 for hits, a D3 is utilized.  Each rolled pip is a hit on the opponent.  As Peter explained, one hit represents light casualties, two hits moderate casualties, and three hits heavy casualties.  

Who uses a D3?  Not me!  In fact, I had to use ersatz D6s for our game last week.  Some other modifications include attacker repulsed if a defender is not destroyed in a charge, an activation roll, and officer rally.  All cleverly incorporated into a base game.

How did my first game pan out?  Well, I took command of the attacking Jacobites while Peter commanded the Government forces.  I provided a battle order for the Jacobite Army to be used to set out the forces when the game began.  Did I mention this was Peter's first hosting of a remote game?  Should be fun.

A brief recap of the action follows.

Government in the foreground.
Jacobites in the background.
The rebels march forward as the gun opens fire.
Rebel cavalry swings around the left flank as musketry
 attempts to soften up the Government defenders.
Government forces await the assault.
After an exchange of fire all along the line,
 the Rebel cavalry charges in after seeing
Government infantry waver.
One Government infantry regiment is destroyed in the melee.
The Rebel cavalry pursues into the Government gun.
The gun is overrun!
Rebel horse is repulsed while Irish infantry
 move up from the second line onto the left flank.
Highlanders charge into the center of the Government line
but are both repulsed after causing
heavy casualties to the defenders.

Having been repulsed, Highlanders regroup
and charge back in.
This time the defenders melt away.
The Rebel left takes fire from enemy skirmishers
 but keep up with the advance.
On the Rebel right, the enemy counterattacks in an attempt
to destroy the Highlanders before they can charge in again. 
With the Highlanders battered but not broken,
 the enemy is forced to retire.
Clearing the enemy left, Highlanders move to turn a flank.
  To cover this maneuver, Highlanders charge back into the fray.
Hit from fore and flank,
another Government unit is destroyed.
Pursuit carries the victorious Highlanders into a wavering unit. 
The enemy buckles and flees.  The battle is over.
With the Government army down to only two units remaining, it is forced to concede the field.  Victory for the Rebels!

That was good fun and moved along at a rapid pace.

The amendments Peter has introduced provide a more satisfying game than the Original OHW and offers many more interesting decision points.  I can see tactics beginning to develop.  Peter's D3 rules simply work to produce an easy to learn and fast game.

Flush with success, I quickly took up Peter's offer for a second game next week.  D3 rules will still be in play but the wargaming period may change.  I placed an order for a handful of D3 dice for use in the next game.  Dice have arrived and I am ready for a rematch.  More on the rules after I get another game or two notched into my belt.

The answer to my original question?

D3!  

42 comments:

  1. Ok, how is a d3 marked? Interesting game.

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    1. The die is six-sided with faces marked as ‘1’,’2’,’3’ twice.

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  2. The paper figures look very effective. I don't think they would dissuade me from sticking to metal, but they look far more substantial the way Peter has based them than I imagined they would. Lovely stuff.

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    1. Peter has increased the size of the figures to 40mm when printing. Coated with a sealant stiffens the figure. When based in a large unit, the effect is quite substantial.

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  3. Interesting game the figures look effective and obviously give a good game 👍

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  4. Most interesting I look forward to reading more.

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    1. Phil, there will be at least one more from following next week's game.

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  5. Yes, an interesting game and a good looking one.

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    1. This was a very interesting game with a lot of possibilities.

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  6. Well done! Speaking or typing as a comparative outsider, it is nice to see the variety offered here. Not just in terms of period or figure scale, but in terms of medium (is that the right word?). A wargame was played, but without the "traditional" equipment of metal or hard plastic figures, etc. Another set of rules? Oh my word . . . Cheers, Chris

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    1. Hi Chris!

      Thank you for stopping by and double thanks for leaving a comment. Much appreciated!

      If you hang around long enough, you will eventually find a period/rules/figure scale/group size on which to hang your hat. With the number of games played having a variety of players and hosts, almost anything is possible. Even a hex and counter boardgame on occasion.

      In my annual recap, it will be interesting to see the tally of the number of games, rules, periods, etc. that saw action in 2022. Always enlightening.

      No one is an outsider. Glad to have you aboard!

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  7. A nice looking game, Peter’s upscaling of the paper armies to 40mm looks particularly effective.

    I have some D3’s but can’t for the life of me remember why!

    I do like alternatives to the good old D6 and a D3 does smooth out the wild swings of casualties that can occur in the likes of Neil Thomas games, where 1 pip is a hit ….. but Average Dice have to be my faves.

    You would think that the advantages of such dice would see them used in many more designs - perhaps designers / publishers want to reduce barriers to play and so go with the dice that everyone has (a hundred times over!) the simple D6 - though the designers of yesteryear didn’t worry about the niceties of what dice the consumer might or might not have - goodness in those days, we even had to build our own bounce sticks before we could conquer the enemy :-)

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    1. I agree, Norm. Peter's armies look quite splendid. They are much bigger than I expected. I think infantry frontage is 8 inches.

      Using a D3 offers different possibilities as does the Avg Die. I have used Avg Dice a lot in several games but it is a bit "Old School" I think. Looking back, I recall GDW's System 7 Napoleonic "Fire and Steel" used average. That was my first exposure to one back in the late '70s.

      Designer's ought to employ the random number generator (die) that best fits their combat model and game engine. Sometimes, I wonder what actually drives those decisions. Barriers to play is a good excuse but it never stopped me from making my own Avg Dice in the '70s to play System 7.

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  8. I like the look of those paper armies. As for D3'sI have a few in the collection but not sure why as can't remember ever using them

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    1. Yeah, the paper armies look good especially when enlarged to 40mm as Peter has done. You must view them from either front or back to fully see the artwork. When viewed from the side, it is difficult to discern what is what.

      What to do with your D3s? Give Peter's rules a try!

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  9. Smashing looking game. The paper figures are impressive and the rules sound efficient and enjoyable.

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    1. Correct on all counts, Richard!

      Having played many a game with a buddy's WoFun 2D plexiglass figures, gaming with paper soldiers was no shock to the senses.

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  10. Wow that was a comprehensive win for the Jacobites, Jon, certainly more Prestonpans than Culloden! The table and figures looked great. What does a D3 actually look like, I am having trouble visualising one!

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    1. Yes, I scored a convincing victory. A D3 is an ordinary D6 but two ‘1’s, two ‘2’s, and two ‘3’s on the six faces.

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    2. Duh....that's pretty simple then....I could not see how one could creste a three dimensional shape without a minimum of four sides! I do know, people can use a standard D6 as just count four as one five as two and six as three...

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    3. Treating 4,5,6 as 1,2,3 is exactly what I did in this game. Next game, I have proper D3s!

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    4. Double duh.....I just read the very first comment and answer.......😏

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    5. No worries. Don’t skip the comments. Often the best ideas pop upon in the commentary.

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  11. What a great game on many levels and Peter's simple rules seemed to work a treat. The D3 system works in an elegant and simple way, something that I'd not appreciated before.

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    1. I agree. It was a unique gaming experience on a number of levels. The rules were quick to assimilate. After a turn or two, no need to reference the rules at all. It all just worked.

      Until playing the game, I had not appreciated what Peter accomplished with his battery of rules either.

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    2. That is EXACTLY the type of gaming experience I relish these days...!

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    3. You ought to give Peter’s D3 rules a go then, Keith. For remote games, I much prefer rules that I can easily remember especially when hosting and adjudicating.

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  12. Such a provocative post: 1. an interesting rules system to check out; 2. a successful first time remote game (encouraging for those of us who are still inching in that direction); 3. paper models in action (and lovely). 4. And a good battle report!

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    1. Thanks, Ed!
      Check.
      Check.
      Check and
      Check.

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    2. Thanks for the game report. My lack of pictures made if difficult. Next time I will be better prepared. I have just posted the rules up on a page at the top of blog.

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    3. You are welcome, Peter! Thank you for hosting the game. It was great fun for me.

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    1. It was, Ray, it was. I have another game on deck with Peter later in the week.

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  14. I do love me a good Jacobite Rebellion. Fun battle to follow along with too.
    D3's... Do they give you enough of a variation in results during the game? Otherwise, as you've described I'm sure they provide a very straight forward gaming experience.

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    1. Glad you approve of the battle account! A D3 does not allow much variation and may be too deterministic for some but it works. Using a D3 allows for meaningful tactical decisions with chance playing not too large of a role.

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  15. Peter mentioned on his blog (and above) that he'd been too engrossed running the game to take photos (completely understandable), so we were relying on you and you did not let us down! It certainly reads and looks like it went at a cracking pace and was a top game, not to mention looking really good too.
    Regards, James

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    1. Running a remote game takes practice since it requires many plates to be spinning (and kept spinning) simultaneously. I would like to think it gets easier with practice. I still find that running the game, rules' adjudication, and fielding a barrage of questions from as many as six or seven players push photo taking down the To Do list. Not having time to take photos is understandable.

      Peter's game was really good fun. Unfortunately, readers must rely upon my screenshots rather than Peter's in-house photography.

      Glad you enjoyed the battle account!

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  16. Very nice, sorry I missed it! Will definitely check out the next one - may be trying them myself tonight.

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