My first goal with Piquet was to allow a more fluid and realistic treatment of time in the battlefield environment. In most wargames to date, time is fragmented into finite and equal units called turns. Within those turns each army has an equal opportunity to use time by moving, firing, or maneuvering.

Not only do wargame generals have a helicopter view, and omnicient knowledge of the enemy, but complete control of time and unit movement! The grandest fantasy of them all may be this equal apportioning of time with a highly structured sequence of events. No surprises here, eh?

Another goal with Piquet was to reduce the unrealistic "sure things" that wargames have previously provided. I wanted to take away the wargamer's "Na-Na" blanket. By allowing time to flow in a free (and unequal) fashion one can allow for the gutsy surprise maneuver, the gallant attack, and the overly hesitant advance. Planning is even more strongly rewarded than in typical wargames. For the gamer that is risk averse, an ad hoc planner, or has no Coup d'Oeil, Piquet can be a cold, cold shower.

Within the half hour represented by a turn in Piquet, all units are moving in a non-sequential manner. Some will have more impetus (energy) than others within the turn and may accomplish more. The unpredictability of the cards takes away yet another unrealistic bit of knowledge; the player's ability to predict with certainty what will happen next.

By rating the troops, and keeping that value secret from the enemy until combat, another blow is struck against the "Helicopter View" of wargame generals. In fact, in the case of the "Vacillating" Battle Quality rating, a general may not even know the true value of some of his own troops!

Piquet is about managing diverse, ever changing, variables in a fluid situation, not, as in many wargames, managing constants in a rigidly structured situation.

All of this has allowed design simplification, rather than complexity. Three or four tables cover 95% of battle events. Combat, morale, and command rules have been limited to one page each. The sequence deck gives definition to the game and allows new gamers to learn the rules as the cards are revealed. The deck also allows different periods, and particular armies in those periods, to be modeled in a new and effective way.

Elements Three

There are three main unique elements to the Piquet design:

Time is not solely sequential -(i.e., First your cavalry moves, then the enemy cavalry moves) but, rather, primarily concurrent. Within the half hour of a Piquet turn events happen "all at once." The infantry is moving at the same time as the horse, it just may not move as far, and the combat occurs where the two concurrently moving forces happen to meet.

Certainly one unit may fire before the other, but movement is relative. If an infantry unit moves within the first initiative phase of a turn and the cavalry moves in a later initiative, we can only say that they moved within the half hour, not that one moved "before" the other. They were moving at the same time, but the distance they cover and the activities they complete may be very different.

The only events that we can say definitively occur sequentially are combat-fire and melee. That is, only when one unit affects another are they of necessity defining that one fire event preceded another, or that melee occurred prior to another unit's moves.

Combat in Piquet is uniquely calculated. It is predicated around the idea of "mean" rather than "average" results, as described in my article on that subject in MWAN and on AOL. The opposing die roll sytem in Piquet has more decisiveness in its combat results than most rule sets, while at the same time allowing units the necessary durability in battle to allow for a satisfying game.

Terrain in Piquet is not merely a brake to movement. Movement in Piquet must be thought out carefully because of the vagaries of impetus, sequence cards, and the unprecedented impact of terrain. Woods, streams, and hills are the tools of the generals' trade. Proper assessment of terrain; using it as both protection, and as a way to channel either an attack, or defense, is the key to winning.

Specific Do's and Don'ts

Do rate the troops and command – even when recreating an historical battle. Piquet is dependent on a scattering of unit values over an entire army. This reinforces the "fog of war" and when coupled with die roll corrections, allows historical battles to be refought without giving too much information to the gamers.

Do not use excessive amounts of terrain, or very rough terrain. Terrain in Piquet is far more of an impediment than found in the typical wargame. Type II is representative of a typical European forest or hill; Type III is possessed of considerable undergrowth or a steep hill, and Type IV is "The Wilderness." Type V, except on roads, is simply impassable. If you do choose to let the board be dominated by class III or IV terrain then you might want to adjust the sequence deck for this specific scenario to allow for extra Class III-IV cards, particularly in the likely attacker's deck.

Do change the mix of cards for certain scenarios. The key to Piquet is its design flexibility. Use the supplemental tables as a beginning point, but consider the unique challenge of each individual scenario and decide how either Battle Quality Ratings, or an adjusted mix of Sequence Cards may be used to model the event more closely. Piquet makes every gamer a game designer and gives him the tools to customize every game.

New Approach

I intend Piquet to be a new, fresh, and iconoclastic approach to miniature wargaming. It provides the gamer with new challenges, not just in the mechanical movement of his units, but to his ego and mindset. This game can give you delirious highs and abject lows.

It is not for the timid, for they will waste impetus. It is not for the gamer with a poor self image, for he will not be able to deal with plans gone awry. It is not for the dull of wit, for they will not be able to see the subtle combinations necessary to win. It is not for the barracks lawyer, for the rules are far too simple, with too few places to hide in verbiage.

It rewards decisiveness, courage, cleverness, and opportunism and is for gamers that possess these traits. These are the qualities possessed by great commanders.

Let Piquet introduce you to new ideas, feelings, and experiences in historical wargaming. Most of all have fun!

Related

Piquet Les Grognards Scenario Book: Chapter 9 (1809 Spain)
Piquet WWII Point of Attack Scenario Book: Chapter 5 (France 1940)
Piquet ACW Hallowed Grounds Scenario Book: Introduction
Piquet ACW Hallowed Grounds Scenario Book: Chapter 1 (First Manassas, 1861)
Interview: Bob Jones, Piquet Designer