For several years I played in 25mm as a member of the Glasgow and District Wargames Society. However, in 1987 I went down with ME/CFS and spent about two years when I went out only if starvation threatened. Since then I have slowly, very slowly, recovered and have gone from having 10% of my original energy to about 50/60% - on a good day. This is not nearly enough for me to be able to spend 4 or 5 hours round a 9' by 4' games table.
With ME/CFS, not only does one tire very rapidly, but any prolonged exertion is likely to produce a relapse which knocks one back for several days. If you know anyone who has ME, they will probably tell you that I am one of the lucky ones if this is all the reaction I suffer. If I was going. to get back to Wargaming, it would be very much as a regular, rather than an occasional Solo player.
I was going to be limited in space but fortunately I had a 3' by 2' board which had at one time been covered with green felt to assemble jigsaws. This would be adequate for 6mm figures and it also meant that I could move two armies around while sitting down. I started building armies of Irregular Miniatures 6mm figures. The choice of Irregular Miniatures was partly accidental but was influenced by the fact that their figures are already on stands. However I have also found that they can refer one to a very reliable painting service and they are meticulous about replying to letters and inquiries on how to put their models together. I have my figures painted but I can cope with painting buildings.
With ME/CFS it is a good thing to develop activities that give satisfaction but are not too demanding in effort and can be abandoned when one feels one's energy is running out.
The rules I use are WRG 1685-1865. I was already familiar with them and I felt that I could do without the challenge of learning new systems at that moment. The problem was how to introduce extra mechanisms to make solo playing realistic and interesting. I have my prejudices; I like the British to win. I like the side with the odds against it to come out on top. However, I cannot run an endless series of games pitting a French Brigade against a British Division. Somehow the figures and the events should take control. Characters and Reactions
The first addition was fairly simple. I threw dice to give character to all Unit Commanders, not only the Generals. It would be the Unit Commander's character which would count in Morale Tests unless a General of different character was within 40 paces (two centimetres). I should also try to involve the Unit CQ's character in the Unit 's ongoing behaviour: ) for example, a cautious CO would never outdistance his Supports; a Rash CO would push ahead regardless. (A Bold CO would do the sensible thing that you or I would do.) Where there was choice between courses of action, the decision would be made by the dice: e.g. A cautious CO is faced by a choice between a cautious and a bold course of action, there is a 1 in 6 chance that he will take the bold course.
Learning to Play Solo Wargames
Movement Uncertainty Perhaps the main change I made was in the Movement Allowance.
If units moved faster or slower than was expected, then an element of uncertainty would enter into the development of the game. Here I started with an Infantry Unit moving in column as the standard. In the Rules it moves 150 paces in a normal move, i.e. 7 centimetres in the scale I am using. (One centimetre equals 20 paces). The mean score from throwing two Average Dice is 7. However, the actual distance moved on the Wargames Table is irrelevant.
What matters is the proportional movement between different Arms and between Units moving in different Formations i.e. Regular Infantry Lines move two-thirds of the distance moved by an Infantry Column and Regular Heavy Cavalry can move twice as far. If the Unit's move depends on the score of two Average dice, then Infantry in Column will move, on average, seven centimetres in a move.
But, in practice, anything from four to ten centimetres, while the same Unit in Line will move two-thirds of that. Regular Cavalry will move anything from eight to twenty centimetres but, on average, fourteen. Soon the General's plans are going to become unstuck as some Units forge ahead and others lag behind, and, of course, hold up those following.
The following table shows examples of WRO allowances and the Range of Allowances under my system.
| Formation | WRG in Paces | Amended Allowance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Average | Maximum | ||
| Infantry in column | 150 paces | 4 cm. 80 paces |
7 cm. 140 paces | 10 cm. 200 paces |
| Cavalry | 300 paces | 8 cm. 160 paces | 14 cm. 280 paces | 20 cm. 400 paces |
| Infantry in line | 100 paces | 2.66 cm. 54 paces | 4.66 cm
94 paces | 6.66 cm 134 paces |
Deciding the Quality of Units My games are mostly taken from Charles Grant's "Scenarios for Wargamers". Thus the number of units on each side is already decided. There remain the decisions about their Morale. I have this fantasy of the Duke of Wellington sitting in his tent the night before a battle and trying to decide whether to spend his last 150 points on 30 Veteran Line Infantry or 15 Elite Heavy Cavalry.
Battles were not fought between two sides calculated at 1500 points each and, while I accept the need for parity in competition games, I was not playing against anyone except myself and I could indulge my preference in this. Each side was given one Elite unit. Each other unit had a 50/50 chance of being Veteran or Trained. This was not a hard and fast rule. In some scenarios I varied the odds. For an Ambush I considered the ambushing force would be a select group and as good as could be found. So there was a 2 in 3 chance of each of these units being Veteran.
Learning to Play Solo Wargames - Part 2
(This Ambush game, in fact, turned out nicely, with the Escort made up of four Trained infantry battalions, two Veteran cavalry regiments and a Trained Battery of artillery. This seemed reasonable for a Napoleonic Peninsular game:
Four infantry units and a battery just disembarked at Lisbon, two cavalry units which had returned to base for refitting, a suitable escort at hand. The final result was satisfactory and interesting. Two of the eight wagons made it over the bridge to safety, two were captured and driven off, and the remaining four formed a Laager for the night with the escort. I could have carried the game on for another "day", but other concerns regrettably prevented this. One further addition I made was to throw dice at the beginning of each turn to see whether any of the wagons broke down or not, and, if so, which one and how long it took to mend It.
Combining Variables The next step was to see whether I could combine the modifications I had made. One possibility was to allow a faster movement for columns on roads. I could throw three average dice and count the two highest. This gives an average move for an Infantry column on a road of 7.8 centimetres (approximately). Another possibility was to relate the move to the Character of the unit's CO. For a Bold CO two dice would be thrown as normally, For a Cautious or Rash CO four dice would be thrown and the two lowest would determine the move for a Cautious CO. The two highest would give the move for a Rash CO. Taking our Standard Column of Infantry, this would give an average move of 5.7 centimetres for a unit with a Cautious CO and an average move of 8.3 centimetres for a unit with a rash CO.
In the end I used the second of these two possibilities, relating the move to the character of the unit's CO. The second method seemed more generally applicable and overall it seemed more likely to produce interesting situations. I did give some thought to the possibility of combining the CO variable and the Road Variable but this defeated me.
(N.B. My Arithmetic results would be subject to revision if anyone disagrees and likes to submit their own calculations. I do not think they are far out).
[Further developments would be most welcome].
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