On receiving this book for review I looked at my copy of "Setting up a Wargames Campaign" by Tony Bath. I see I paid £1.85 for it in 1973 so it's really about time another book came out. I've looked out the books in the bibliography of "Wargames Campaigns" that I happen to have in my wargames 'library'. They include "Scenarios for Wargames" & "Programmed Wargames Scenarios" both by C.S. Grant, "The Wargame" by Charles Grant, "Charge" by Brig. Peter Young and Lt. Col. Lawford and "Practical Wargaming" by Charles Wesencraft (my copy published by The Elmfield Press - A Morley book.) Lots of back numbers of "Lone Warrior" also have articles by John Bennett setting out his wargame campaign methods of construction.
C.S. Grant says in his introduction "Why produce another book on campaigns?" and gives the answer that everyone has their own ideas, so why not? I remember getting really bogged down myself in an Old Fritz campaign. Every third day bakeries had to be set up to bake bread for the army and I was trying to calculate the number of bricks needed to create a regimental bake oven, multiply by regiments and then work out how many horses and carts I needed to get the bricks to the location! I think a quotation from the book cover is in order and then I'll make comments.
"Wargames Campaigns" provides all you need to know to set up and run your own campaign in any period, real or fictitious, fact or fantasy - appropriate to beginner, seasoned wargamer or anything in between. "Wargames Campaigns" provides basic "do it yourself" detail on constructing maps, rules for movement, armies, structures, playing mechanisms and record keeping. There are chapters on characterization and personalities, casualties and hospitals, prisoners, recruiting, weather, rivers, boats and bridges, politics and finance (award yourself a 200% pay rise). The book is packed with scenarios, settings and other ideas. Postal campaigns, orders and communications, sea and air campaigns. Random happenings, technology and wargame campaigns, computers, board games, sieges and more are covered...."
What first struck me was how seasoned the wargamer was who is writing and similarly how unpretentious the laying out of the riches to the reader. No "tablets of stone" or "engravings in brass" here, but "I do things this way, you might like to try it?" is the style. In 152 pages an enormous amount of ground is covered and any would-be wargame campaigner with half a brain finds himself with teeming ideas to play with on reading it. A really excellent point right at the start is:- "Don't try to do too much to begin with, I suggest you limit the size of the theater of operations to keep it manageable and ensure considerable activity. Restrict forces involved and limit the duration of the campaign. Unless you are very confident leave out the financial and political aspects and keep personalities simple to begin with." So sensible - unlike those rules which try to hook gamers by saying "Run an entire galaxy after only half an hours reading " or "Slim - without tiresome exercise" of the advertisements in the Sunday papers.
Several sensible check lists are given for setting up a campaign in the first chapter. The next four give basic modules: maps, movement, armies and playing mechanics. Chapter 6 covers Personality Creation for your ruling Houses or would-be rulers. Anyone who has done this knows how these characters can take over a campaign to the amusement / bemusement of the player/s. Solo play is mentioned but both Don Featherstone and Stuart Asquith have written books on this but as CS Grant says, "Where there's a will, there's a way".
Postal games are touched on. I've played one or two and found the best part was the Newspaper detailing various happenings, false news, scandals and all the bogus football results e.g. "Weymouth Swifts 30 Arsenal 0 - after extra time" sort of stuff. Naval campaigns are touched upon. There's an interesting chapter on Computers and Campaign Wargaming - here the machine is seen as a backup for paperwork production and data-basing. Postal wargames can be revolutionized but all need a PC and a printer Back up disks and "hard copy" really are necessary too. Logistics can be made much simpler by spreadsheets and stock holdings updated easily. (Bricks for bakeovens?) Converting boardgames to table top is a good idea in "The use of Boardgames" chapter. The last chapter, "Other aspects," deals with Civilians, Spies Bribery & Corruption, Assassins, Newspapers and Bits & Pieces (which means dice, cards, boxes, counters etc. etc.) All in all, I thoroughly recommend this book as an interesting read let alone all the ideas it gives you. Every serious and happy-go-lucky wargamer should have a copy.
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