Whenever I play a wargame, I enjoy it. But I haven't played a wargame in about ten years. Why, you might ask? I've discovered that they take a long time, and none of my friends like them. And, of course, most wargames are for just two players.

The thought has simmered in the back of my mind that it would be interesting to have a wargame that doesn't take long to play, and doesn't require 10 minute waits for turns. So, I designed a game mechanic to allow for real-time wargames with more than 2 players. I even applied for a patent on the mechanics for the game, because it would apply to so many gaming venues, such as video-to-boardgame conversions. So now I have this wonderful real-time game mechanic that lets players take turns simultaneously, and creates very tense 20 minute wargames. There is only one major problem to keep me from designing a realtime wargame; My history sucks.

Yes, it's true that if someone asked me which came first, World War 1 or 2, I would have to look it up. I thought Battle of the Bulge was a diet plan. You get the idea. I need help. Particularly, I need a battle/skirmish/war with more that two parties involved (as with Risk and Kingmaker), since the realtime mechanics work best with 3 or 4 people. It's best if there are a very limited number of unit types (perhaps 4), since the combat mechanics in a realtime wargame are, by necessity, very simple and fast (dice are not involved). A total number of about 20 units per person, of mixed types, seems to work very well.

The design problems with four players are fairly obvious; a pure and simple battle does not work, since it devolves into two separate battles. Thus, a common goal (such as taking a castle, for example, or capturing flags, or stealing a single "treasure") works best, since it draws all the players together at a nexus.

I'm looking for scenario suggestions. I'd be glad to work with someone on a great idea, and split whatever profit comes out of it. I wouldn't be making it myself, of course, I'd try to get a real wargame company to publish it. Naturally, if 30 people respond to this, I'll have to limit myself to 2 or 3 suggestions, so be forwarned that I can't work on everything that gets suggested. My apologies ahead of time to people I can't work with due to a lack of hours in a day.

If anyone hasn't guessed yet, I think this is a great inroad to bringing new folks into the wargaming arena. It's a new idea, I think, and non-wargamers will be able to pick it up as fast as Risk. The first prototype I made (a "get the treasure" scenario) had 2 pages of rules, and took 20 minutes to play. It was very intense.